10 Marketing Ideas for a Small Budget

If you're a company with limited marketing resources, don’t worry. There are still a lot of ways you can get marketing exposure with a small budget. Here are 10 ideas to get you started.

1. Facebook Live Videos

If you have a Facebook business page, you can create a Facebook live video. It’s simple to do and can give you a large amount of exposure. You don’t need to spend thousands or even hundreds of dollars on a video. Create something simple and go "live." Not sure how to do a Facebook live video? Here are the steps.

Digital Summit recently published a blog on Facebook Live content ideas that are sure to boost social strategy. Check them out!

GIF credit: Buzzfeed

2. Press Releases 

If you have something newsworthy about your business, write a press release. If you can get your press release picked up, you stand to gain a lot of exposure for your business. New to press releases? No problem.

Here are a few resources to get you started:

• How to Write a Press Release
• Top 5 Press Release Best Practices to Get Journalist’s Attention

And a couple examples of our own!

• Two Leading Agencies — Vye and Meta 13 — Become Stronger Together
• Vye President, Dan Soldner, Named Twin Cities Business Notable Executive

3. Word of Mouth

If you have a business, you probably have customers. And hopefully, you have customers that are truly loyal to your business. Word of mouth advertising from your loyal customers is one of the best forms of free advertising you can get.

Referrals and testimonials go a long way when people promote your business for you. Here is my advice – take care of the customers that are loyal to your business. Delight them, surprise them, and do small things to show them they are appreciated. This can go a long way.

4. Facebook Targeted Ads

Have you tried targeted Facebook ads? There are a lot of ways you can segment through Facebook ads to reach your target audience without spending a lot of money, such as demographics and interests. Learn how to set up a Facebook ad.

5. Community Involvement & Volunteering

Are you involved in your community and/or do you volunteer? This is not only a great way to meet other people in the community that you can network with, but it gives you great culture-related content to share with your audience and followers. In general, people like to do business with companies that do good things that align with their values. Share what you are involved in and what is close to your heart.

6. Branded Swag

This is pretty self-explanatory but branded promotional items help with brand recognition. For example, if you are in the community volunteering or at a Chamber event, wear your company shirt. This gives your company/brand exposure in a small way. Looking for a place to order promotional products from? Check out our sister company Magnetic Spark.

7. Webinars

Webinars or “Lunch and Learns” can be a great way to reach your potential audience. With webinars, think of a topic that will be valuable to your customers and/or something you can teach them. As a follow up to your webinar, email the presentation material, and provide some sort of offer to your audience.  

8. Use Humor

With marketing messages hitting us all day long, one way to stand out is humor. Give your customers something to remember you by. I think we all like a few laughs in our day. Even though I’m in the marketing field and run across marketing articles all the time, I often take the time to read something that makes me laugh or stands out. Be creative and try something different to get people talking.

9. Host an Event

If you have the capacity at your location, why not host an event? You could provide a few small appetizers or drinks and do an open house. Or you can invite a speaker to come in and give a talk. Events do not need to be over the top. Start with something small, test it out, and go from there.

10. Contests

If you are trying to increase the number of followers on your social channels, why not try a contest? Contests do not need to be expensive. It can be as simple as a $20 gift card or a small gift basket. Contests generate interest and help drive traffic to your page to build your audience.

So, there you have it - 10 marketing ideas for a small budget. Do you see any that you can get started on today? What other ideas do you have to share? Comment below!