Marketing

3 WAYS TO OPTIMIZE A TIGHT MARKETING BUDGET

Marketing is an essential component of business success, but when funds are tight, it can be challenging to decide how to spend marketing dollars effectively. Thankfully, there are many ways to increase brand awareness without spending too much — or even spending nothing at all. Here are just three ideas to get you started.

Google My Business

With 3.5 billion searches a day, Google is your company’s best friend. With Google My Business (or GMB) listings, you can share important information about your business that will compel users to visit your website, call your store, make an appointment and more. If you’re not already familiar with GMB, the listing appears in a box on the right side of the screen when a user searches for a business. Typically, the GMB listing includes customer reviews, photos and basic attributes such as your hours of business, services, address, phone number and website URL. You can also promote special offers, incentives and events. Because GMB listings can get more than quadruple as many impressions as your website, this should be one of your top priorities as a marketer. And perhaps the best part? The basic GMB listing is totally free.

David Ralls

Marketing

Let’s get social

Social media is a powerful tool. With the use of ads, targeted posts, messaging and hashtags, you can reach your target audience with just a few clicks. Challenge yourself by sharing the story of why you started your business or post educational content surrounding your product. Social media is also a platform on which people like to interact, so consider utilizing the different question, poll and quiz features that can make people feel like they have a more personal relationship with your brand. Like GMB posts, it is totally free for you to share content on any social platform. If you decide to deploy social media ads, though, there will be associated costs.

Make your website work for you

Before you’ve prioritized (and optimized) your GMB listing or started sharing compelling content on social channels, you need to make sure your website is a well-oiled machine because that’s where you will be directing people to in order to learn more about you and ideally make a purchase. One important component of a converting website is SEO, or search engine optimization. You want to make sure that users who perform a search online will be directed to your website. Blogs are a great way to drive traffic to your website when they are tied to topics or keywords that users are searching for. In addition, blogs can be repurposed for media opportunities and social media content. A reputable advertising agency can help you determine the best strategy for optimal website performance.

However you decide to share your company’s story, it’s important you are truly connecting with consumers. Once they trust and believe in your brand, they are much more likely to be brand advocates and recommend you to others.

David Ralls is the president of Commit Agency, a brand definition, consumer experience and influence agency that believes moments make brands. When brands deliver memorable experiences that truly connect with consumers, conversations take place that in turn amplify brands’ influence.