$0 Marketing Budget? Here Are 6 Creative Ways to Land Clients

Over 600,000 new businesses form in the United States annually. Starting a new business venture can be both extremely stressful and rewarding. Creating a successful small business will require a lot of hard work. Engaging with modern consumers requires you to develop an online presence for your business. While this may sound like an easy task, it is anything but rosy.

One of the biggest problems that startup business owners face is a lack of capital. Instead of letting a lack of money hold you back from your full potential, you need to get creative. Luckily, there are a number of virtually free ways you can market your business.

Taking advantage of these low-cost marketing methods will allow you to increase your customer base and grow your bottom line over time. Are you trying to market your new business venture on a $0 budget? If so, here are 6 creative ways to land clients.

1. Social Media Giveaways Can Be Effective

Informing the general public about your new business and what it can do for them is imperative. One of the first places you need to start spreading your message is on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. If you are looking for a surefire way to get the attention of a large number of people on social media, hosting a giveaway is a great idea. A social media giveaway is one of the best low-cost marketing options in the market.

Having success with this type of giveaway will require lots of planning. When planning out a social media giveaway, be sure to consider factors like:

•       Choosing the right prize to offer consumers
•       Checking the rules a social media platform has regarding contests
•       Developing a list of rules
•       Creating a content calendar to ensure posts are being made

Ignoring the need for this type of planning can lead to a number of mistakes taking place. If your contest experience is a disaster, it can reflect poorly on your brand. This is why you have to make sure all of your ducks are in a row before you proceed with a social media giveaway.

2. Use the Power of Email to Promote Your Brand

If you are marketing on a tight budget, you have to use the tools at your disposal to their full potential. Businesses that already have a website need to use these digital tools to collect data from visitors. Being able to retain the email addresses of people who visit your website will allow you to engage in email marketing campaigns later on. An overwhelming number of consumers prefer receiving emails from the brands they use frequently.

An effective email marketing will help you generate a ton of new sales leads. Achieving success with this low-cost marketing option is possible if you do things like:

•       Design a marketing message that fits your brand
•       Avoid bombarding consumers with emails
•       Use a call-to-action to let the reader know what action to take next
•       Monitor your emails to see how well they are being received by consumers

As you start to convert the leads you receive from your DIY email marketing campaign, think about reinvesting it in new campaigns. If you can afford it, you need to hire professionals to help you develop and implement new email marketing campaigns.

3. Embrace User-Generated Content

When first starting a new business, one of your top concerns should be providing excellent customer service. As time goes by, the word about your company’s commitment to customer service will start to travel. Allowing satisfied consumers to tell the story of your brand is a wise move. Many companies have embraced user-generated content and have increased their online visibility as a result.

User-generated content usually comes in the form of positive social media posts and videos. If you think user-generated content is the right fit for your brand, you need to work on encouraging consumers to create this content. You can accomplish this goal by:

• Offer small rewards to users who generate this content
• Host a contest and reward the person with the best user-generated content
• Learn how to harness the power of hashtags

Getting user-generated content will be difficult at first. However, the more you advertise your company’s desire to see this content, the more of it you will undoubtedly receive. This is why being persistent in the beginning of a marketing campaign like this is so vital.

4. Video Marketing Can Help You Engage With Modern Consumers

As a business owner, you need to be passionate about using technology to attract attention from consumers. Modern consumers want to use businesses that have a commitment to following and embracing popular trends. While using written content is a good idea when trying to inform people about your new business, you also need to use other forms of media. Most people are more likely to watch a short video about your brand than they are to read a lengthy blog. There are various video editors available in the market which can help you create such videos

Instead of relying on one form of media to tell your story, you need to use a variety of content. If you are new to the world of video marketing, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

• Trying to produce video content without a script is a horrible idea
• Consumers love videos that are short and to the point
• Promoting videos on social media is crucial

Since most major smartphones feature professional-grade cameras, shooting a new marketing video is relatively simple. However, properly editing and optimizing the video for maximum impact can be difficult. Taking the time to look at the video content being produced by a competitor can be helpful. When doing competitor research, you need to avoid directly stealing elements of their campaigns. This can reflect badly on your business and can cost you valuable sales leads.

5. LinkedIn is Great For Networking

Taking your business from a startup to a success story is a long and difficult process. Getting some help along the way from other entrepreneurs is crucial when trying to have success with a new venture. Establishing relationships with like-minded business professionals is harder than you may think. One of the best tools you can use when trying to network with other entrepreneurs is LinkedIn. Since this platform is specifically designed for entrepreneurs, you should have no problem finding great connections.

As you start to make more money, you can contact influencers in your industry on LinkedIn to see if they will advertise your products/services. Before you reach this stage of marketing, you need to understand why using LinkedIn is so beneficial. This social media platform is very impressive when you consider stats like:

• Over 660 million people use LinkedIn
• Roughly 30 businesses are listed on this platform
• LinkedIn is the second most popular platform among entrepreneurs

Realizing the importance of networking as it relates to the success of your small business is imperative. Posting relevant and industry-specific content on this platform is a great way to attract attention. Posting lots of relevant content also allows you to position yourself as a leader in your industry. This leader status can help you gain the trust of consumers and increase the number of viable sales leads you receive.

6. Don’t Forget About Google My Business

Before you start your pursuit of worldwide market dominance, you need to focus on conquering your local area. With all of the different tools designed to make local marketing easier, it can be hard to choose the right option for your business. One of the most effective and popular tools used to attract local online consumers is Google My Business.

Since its inception, Google My Business has been used by companies operating in a number of industries. When used correctly, your Google My Business page can help you increase the number of customers you have substantially.

Using Google My Business is beneficial for a number of reasons like:

• One of the best free marketing tools on the market
• Make finding your physical location easy for consumers
• Analytics from your Google My Business page can be used to optimize marketing campaigns
• A great way to highlight positive customer reviews

An optimized Google My Business page can also help you increase the flow of traffic to your business website. When consumers in your area search for businesses in your industry, you want your Google My Business page to show up at the top of the list. The only way to accomplish this is by keeping the information on this page current. You also need to focus on getting more positive reviews from satisfied customers. Offering incentives for these positive reviews can help you motivate satisfied customers to take action.

Persistence and Hard Work Pays Off

Having success with the low-cost marketing tools mentioned in this article will not be easy. However, if you work hard and keep your marketing efforts consistent, you should have no problem accomplishing your business growth goals.