In this competitive world, a company can gain an advantage mainly thanks to a well-thought-out marketing strategy. It helps in reaching potential customers and encourages them to buy products. That’s why paying attention to marketing costs should be a very important aspect of your business. But can a small marketing budget be an obstacle to achieving this goal? Of course, not. Below we share with you the secret of effective small business marketing with limited marketing costs.
6 ways to manage a small marketing budget
1. Outsourcing
Despite appearances, doing everything yourself is not a cheaper alternative. Of course, hiring a full-time employee would significantly impact your budget. Therefore, it is worth reaching for an alternative solution, which is outsourcing. In this system, you entrust an external company or specialist to implement your project. In the case of marketing activities, you can cheaply outsource web design, campaign management, creating graphics, social media support, or writing blog articles. Outsourcing is a great way for marketing managers to optimize company costs and work with a small marketing budget.
Working with a freelancer is the cheapest option. You can reach them via Useme.This platform is also a great option to save on marketing costs if you already cooperate with subcontractors. Useme lets yoou cheaply settle accounts with freelancers – without signing costly and time-consuming contracts of work.
Also, you do not have to worry about formal and legal issues, because the platform also helps in this regard. Useme becomes the legal employer of your freelancer. After completing the job, the freelancer receives a remuneration, and you receive an invoice on behalf of the freelancer.
If you want to settle a deal with your freelancer through Useme, invite them to the platform by using the button below.
2. Content Recycling
As the name indicates, content recycling is designed to reuse what you already own. Suppose a copywriter has written an article for you that has been published on your blog. How else can you use it? You can adapt such content for specific social media, e.g. as a script for a video for a YouTube channel, a post on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, a short video for TikTok, or a podcast episode.
Thanks to content recycling you can save on marketing costs because you only pay once for content that you can use in many ways.
3. Analytics
Whatever you decide to do, do not give up analyzing your progress and results. Ongoing analysis of activities allows you to identify which marketing processes bring the expected results and which ones generate unnecessary marketing costs. If you have your own website, start by setting up Google Analytics 4. The data collected thanks to this tool will provide you with valuable information about traffic sources, user demographics, and their behavior within the website. Based on this information, you can better target ads, understand your audience, and set up remarketing campaigns.
4. Free or low-budget tools
Whether you need a tool to monitor mentions on the Internet, search for keywords, or conduct e-mail marketing, there are plenty of solutions available on the market. They differ in individual functions as well as prices. In most cases, those with a small marketing budget can find a cheaper or even free alternative to any tool. Take a look at what platforms you currently use and search for other, similar solutions. You can simply type in the browser, e.g. ‘Alternatives to Slack‘, and get acquainted with the obtained results.
5. Selection of appropriate promotion channels
Some entrepreneurs would like to be present literally everywhere. It is not the best move. Their activities should be preceded by the research of the target group and an analysis of which channels and forms of communication they use. For example, if your target group is people of retirement age, running a campaign and a TikTok page will only blow your budget. Instead, invest in TV or outdoor advertising (e.g., banners, leaflets).
When choosing promotion channels, do not be afraid to experiment either. Sometimes, instead of advertising in Google Ads, you can achieve better results by promoting yourself in other browsers, e.g., Bing or Yahoo. In some cases, the cost per result can be much lower, which makes a huge difference with a small marketing budget.
6. Organic activities and networking can decrease marketing costs
In your marketing strategy, you should also remember about organic activities. Start with SEO, i.e., optimizing your website for search engines. The Internet offers many free guides getting you through what activities to do in this area. These include selecting appropriate keywords, adding alt attributes to graphics, or building links.
In organic activities, you should also use social media. Running profiles in individual channels allows you to reach potential customers, build lasting relationships with them, and involve them in the life of your company. But how do you do it? Firstly, be systematic. Create interesting (from the audience’s point of view) content, ensure good quality of multimedia, respond to messages and comments timely, and be authentic and transparent.
In the case of certain social media (e.g., LinkedIn), you can also establish business relationships. In this way, even with a small marketing budget, you can reach influencers and build your position as an expert.
Summary – small marketing budget
Nowadays, a small marketing budget is not an obstacle to achieving good results. Advanced technology allows you to work with specialists from around the world, with whom you can quickly and easily settle through Useme without worrying about legal issues or high marketing costs.
