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Impactful Marketing on a Budget

By Higher Information Group on February 28, 2020 | Marketing Solutions

Marketing- what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Direct mailers, TV and radio ads, newspaper billboards or events? Or perhaps emails, social networks, websites, and blogs?  The number of channels for marketing is ever increasing and it’s tough to know where to spend your marketing dollars. There are benefits of all the channels, but we’re going to focus on a few marketing strategies that will elicit a response from your consumer without breaking the bank.

Preparing a Plan

Have you evaluated your marketing lately?

First things first, make a plan. It sounds like a no-brainer but many bypass this important process. If you aren’t actively identifying the consumers you’re targeting and creating a plan to reach them – you’re most likely not marketing effectively. Don’t rely on doing the same things you’ve always done – take time and reflect on why you’re doing them. Determine whether they’re still yielding results and adjust your marketing plan. Avoid the automatic “yes” to all of the things you’ve spent money on for years, make sure they are giving you a worthwhile return.

Quality over quantity!

There are countless ways to market to consumers and many businesses try to use all of them. If you have a small marketing budget or small staff, it’s very difficult to use ALL marketing channels effectively. So, choose the ones that directly reach your target consumers the best. For example, instead of using four social media platforms- choose the two that reach the largest demographic of your market. Quality over quantity is true in many things and marketing is no exception.

Let’s Talk Tactics

Email Marketing

Keep it fresh with monthly promotions and make sure your emails are user-friendly.

How many times per day do you view an email on your cell phone? Think about this- 80.8% of users report reading emails on mobile devices, according to HubSpot. Email marketing is effective and inexpensive. Use your lists and don’t let this method be forgotten. Focus on doing scheduled, routine newsletters or email blasts about products or services. Use monthly promotion codes to keep things fresh and track which promotions are generating the most interest. Most importantly, make sure your emails are formatted for mobile viewing and all of the links work properly. Dead links are the fastest way to kill a consumer’s interest, they simply give up. Think about keeping your messages digestible, relevant and interesting.

Business Blog

Create reusable content that can be used across other channels and include a lead-generating call to action.

Blogging for your business is an inexpensive way to reach many consumers and give them valuable information. Consumers seek or stumble upon blog posts when they’re looking for information about a topic. They’re looking to the experts and businesses they can trust for explanations and clarification. Blog posts need to be written on a consistent basis about topics that interest your audience and consumers. Blog posts will help keep your business relevant and allow you to show up in search engine results. Content on your blog can also be used on your social media platforms and in email campaigns. Another reason blogs are so effective is because they can be easily shared by other sources that expand their views incredibly. Make sure you include a call-to-action that can turn into a lead and a sale for your business. The only catch is that you have to be patient to see maximum results. Hubspot reports that about 90% of the leads they generate every month come from blog posts that were published in previous months or even years. Although it may take time to reap all of the benefits, creating useful blog content is worth your time!

Social Media Contests

Be creative and let user-generated content run it!

Social media contests are a great way to reach out to your consumers and save you the work of content creation. Ask your consumers to share a photo of themselves with a product, or review a service or experience and share it on social media. Give guidelines like a hashtag to use and to tag your business. Any reviews you receive are also great content that you can continue to share. The best part – you’re going to get exposure and attention for your business without a lot of work. Run different contests and giveaways and change it up! You can even do contests that don’t directly relate to your business. It’s National Dog Day? Ask your consumers to share a photo of themselves and their furry friend! Enter all submissions into a random drawing and pull a winner. You only have to provide a prize, or free product or service.

Take Your Marketing A Step Further

Is all of this sounding good but you’re too overwhelmed with other tasks? If you need help identifying and implementing marketing strategies, Higher Information Group has a team of marketing experts. We’ll help you create and follow-through with a marketing campaign that will resonate with your target audience and consumers. Attract new customers and increase your brand awareness. Reach out to our team today!

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