These days, businesses are trying to conserve money rather than spend it on marketing. Some believe marketing is an unnecessary expenditure that won’t yield a return on their investment. However, there are affordable options that are effective and don’t require you to be a tech genius.
EMAIL MARKETING
Practically everyone receives emails daily that promote products or services. Emails may be considered an “old school” communications channel compared with Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. However, there are currently 3.9 billion email users. By 2023, this number will increase to 4.3 billion users*.
- Email generates $38 for every $1 spent, a 3.800 percent ROI
- Eighty-seven percent of B2B marketers say email is one of their top free organic distribution Channels**
Be aware that the typical person receives 80 emails daily. So, your email must draw the reader in with an engaging subject line. If not, the email may be deleted without being read. Tell the person what’s in it for them to read the email. Will they save money? Get a free item? Or benefit from a new product? Emails are one-on-one conversations with the reader, so your message should be conversational and make a connection. To save time, create targeted campaigns, invest in email software to track results, and manage them.
USE LOCAL SEO TO INCREASE WEB TRAFFIC AND SALES
Less than 25 percent of small businesses utilize SEO as a marketing resource. Partially because they do not understand how SEO works and because they feel it makes more sense to focus on having a more robust social media presence. Indeed, the odds that a small business will rank high in search engine results that appear to most users are low. For example, Google’s first five search results account for 70 percent of people’s clicks. Although it is suggested that using high-value keywords is one way to get a higher rank, this is a common practice and will achieve minimum results. However, using local SEO is the best option since you are not competing with the entire “universe” to achieve a higher ranking. Focus on getting localized results by mentioning your city, town, or neighborhood organically throughout your website. Search engines often ask the person for their location to provide the closest options. Search engines will give high rank to businesses located closest to the person based on the person’s requirements.
SOCIAL MEDIA BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS
Although the conversion rate is low, 37 percent of small business owners consider social media their most successful marketing channel. Social media is used primarily to grow brand awareness and build relationships with customers. Running a complete campaign can be challenging to execute without a dedicated marketing team. However, maintaining a Facebook page for your business is affordable and easy to accomplish. Focus on telling your story and building a relationship with your customers. Discuss the things that interest them the most—special events, unique products, and helpful services.
* Statista 2020
**Content Marketing Institute 2020
