5 Frugal Ways to Promote a Business

frugal ways to promote a business tips company promotions

Almost 44 percent of local businesses have said they rely on social media to generate brand awareness. 

That number means that social media is a great place for you to travel to promote your business. It doesn't have to be expensive, though it can be a bit time-consuming. Saving money marketing, however, is worth a little extra time. 

Read on for the five best frugal ways to promote a business and create more awareness for your brand. 

1. Set a Goal 

Setting a goal for your brand—or just truly knowing your intent for it—helps customers recognize that you know what you're doing. You come across as stable, and they appreciate that feeling in a business they're interacting with. 

Think about online ordering. People reach for Amazon or Etsy first because they know those vendors are going to do their best to provide a quality customer experience. That's why people come back. 

Taking that goal and turning it into a plan that you can readily execute is the next step. Take it step-by-step so you don't get discouraged, and remember that it's OK for you to veer off course if necessary. 

The next few tips can even be implemented in your step-by-step plan to create an audience you can market to. 

2. Interaction 

Interacting with your followers on social media builds a reputation. If you're polite and take the time to have an actual, intentional conversation with them, it gets remembered. 

People enjoy intimacy on its most basic level, and creating a sense of it allows you to take their needs and meet them. Not only do they feel heard, but you're also letting them know they've been seen. 

This kind of marketing gets noticed, especially if you're someone your target audience can relate to as a creator, business owner, parent, or even just person. 

Taking those needs and meeting them can be seen in the products you create or the services you begin to offer. You can talk about a specific issue openly on social media to attract attention and then offer a simple way for people to reach out and speak to you. 

3. Free Stickers 

Vinyl decals are a great way to promote your business—especially if the stickers are free to those taking them. They're easy to put on car windows, lunch boxes, water bottles, laptops, even phone cases. 

They spread the word about your business and give customers a physical memory of your brand that isn't a business card. They can also hand them out friends and family, and it's a great way to start word of mouth advertising. 

4. Start a Blog or Channel 

Did you know that 78.8 percent of marketers consider YouTube to be the most effective platform? Video marketing provides a decent return on investment, but here's the thing: you don't need to invest a lot of money into creating videos. 

Now, if you want to hire people to make these videos for you, then that's a different story. But that iPhone camera of yours is just as good nowadays. It's more about the effort that you put into the creation of your videos. 

Show people into the everyday life of your company or provide them content they can learn something from. 

Starting a blog is also effective—especially if you have a niche blog. Choosing one topic to hone in is going to drive more traffic than a blog with a myriad of topics that don't seem to have a set focus. 

It goes back to feeling seen. Having a niche that people understand is going to make your target audience more willing to hear what you have to say, whether they're reading it or watching it. 

With your blog, pay attention to Search Engine Optimization. Your website can gain a lot of traffic with SEO and conducting keyword searches is a great place to start. 

5. Create a Course 

Creating a course allows you to combine everything we've covered so far, and it can be done on a budget. 

Having a goal for your business from the start can help you help others. It immediately tells potential students what you're about and gives them more time to be interested in how you can help them. It helps you better know yourself and what you can offer others. 

A course is easy to create because it's based on things you already know. Ditch the fancy slides and come prepared to speak to a room full of people. Grasp their attention with your knowledge and passion. 

Show them what you do and have done. Don't just tell them. 

If you can't find a space, hold the class or seminar virtually! There are plenty of platforms for you to work with. 

This tip combines other tips because it gives you a sense of intimacy with consumers, but you can also post about it on your YouTube channel. Writing about it on your blog is a great way to provide insight into the whole thing. 

There are Plenty of Other Ways to Promote a Business 

While these are great ways to promote a business, they're not the only ones. 

The great thing about these tips is that you can take them to build upon. Get creative with your advertising and make it your own. Combine ideas for maximum benefit, and remember to have fun with everything you create. 

The goal is to draw customers, but it's also to make sure your customers enjoy your products and want to keep coming back. 

If you're interested in reading more about business or marketing, check out the rest of our blog. Visit the Marketing section of the Frugal Finance Blog to learn more ways to promote a business on a budget.

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