Small businesses don’t have to spend a fortune to make an impact with advertising. Learn more about different low cost small business advertising ideas and tips below.
1. Create a blog on your website
2. Advertise on Facebook
3. Share infographics
4. Stay simple & professional
5. Create a Google My Business account
6. Increase your social media presence
7. List your business on directories
8. Collaborate with other small businesses
9. Utilize email marketing
10. Create lead magnets
Learn more about a specific tip by clicking the link above, or continue reading to find out more about all! You can also contact us at Relevantly to learn how you can make the most of your marketing budget.
Low Cost Small Business Advertising Ideas
From ideas that are completely free to use to others that only require a small investment, learn more about these great small business advertising ideas!
#1. Create a blog on your website
One of the most cost-effective ways to help promote your brand and get local customers to find you easily online is by putting a bit of effort into your website’s SEO (search engine optimization).
SEO encompasses a lot of different techniques and strategies, usually done by marketing professionals.
However, one easy SEO strategy that you can implement yourself if you have the time is to create a blog on your website and consistently post articles relevant to your business.
By consistently putting out high-quality content on your website, Google will notice, and it will help you rank higher on Google - making it easier for the right customers to find you.
#2. Advertise on Facebook
Social media advertising is something that almost all businesses utilize nowadays. For example, “91.9% of U.S. marketers in companies larger than 100 employees were expected to use social media for marketing purposes.”
Facebook ads allow for more engagement than organic posts
Facebook is one of the best platforms to use because of the sheer number of users it has. For example, at Relevantly, we recently ran an ad with a budget of only $30.00, and yet it reached over 5,000 people!
Facebook allows you to run ads with very, very low budgets - sometimes as low as $5.00 per day or less.
#3. Share infographics
Infographics have the ability to go viral, and are often shared on platforms such as Twitter.
If you or someone on your team has some graphic design training, you can make an attractive yet simple infographic that could be shared organically by hundreds or thousands of people!
One of the best things about infographics is that even if they do not end up going viral, they still add great visual content to your website or social media pages.
Giving your website viewers a great experience is one way to ensure they will remember you and come back for more!
#4. Stay simple & professional
This is more a general tip when it comes to small business advertising. It can be tempting to try to go as flashy as possible. “Go big or go home” right?
Well, in most cases, it’s actually best to stay simple and focus on creating the highest quality content you can within a small budget. Looking professional will always be better than looking flashy!
When creating advertisements, whether it’s a social media ad or a traditional print ad, you’ll want to stay consistent with your branding and keep your message clear.
You’ll also want to have a simple call to action (e.g. “call us now” or “learn more at our website”) so readers know exactly how to proceed if they are interested in working with you.
#5. Create a Google My Business account
You know when you search for a business on Google, and a little map appears with their location, reviews, contact info, etc? A Google My Business account allows you to create that for your business too!
The best part of all - it’s free to create an account. And it acts as free advertising when local users type in your business name or even the services and products you offer, and your business is one of the first ones to pop right up!
#6. Increase your social media presence
Whether or not you pay for social media ads, increasing your social media presence is still a good idea.
Creating a variety of social media accounts - and consistently using them - will help increase your brand awareness and connect with users who are more comfortable chatting with you via Facebook Messenger, or sending you an Instagram message.
When you create or update your company’s social media accounts, make sure that you use similar usernames/handles, colours, and images for your profile picture so that users are easily able to see who you are.
Using a tool such as a social media calendar or planner can help you stay organized as you plan your posts!
#7. List your business on directories
Local directories list businesses in your area, typically organized by category to make it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for.
Many of these directories are free to list your business. Usually, you can sign up with your email and list your business, or you may need to contact the administrator of the website and await approval to make sure you are a legitimate business.
Local directories are helpful not only because they can make it easier for new customers to find you, but also because they add another link to your business on the internet. Learn more about the importance of backlinking here.
#8. Collaborate with other small businesses
An easy way to get low cost small business advertising is by finding another small business to collaborate with.
For example, maybe you sell handmade gifts, and a local, independent coffee shop is willing to let you use their space to sell your items before the holidays In exchange, you offer to sell some of their product in your store.
Consider collaborating with other local small businesses
When it comes to collaborations, the possibilities are endless. You could do an exchange of blog posts (guest posts) on each other’s websites, or plan a community event together, etc.
Not only could this help you reach new customers, but it will also help you build a community of other local business owners.
#9. Utilize email marketing
Email marketing is a tried and true marketing technique. If you do it yourself, it can cost zero dollars or just a small amount of money per month.
Email marketing allows you to send out emails to users on your mailing list. You can send out a newsletter, updates about your business, product or service sale information, featured products, or anything else you’d like your customers to know!
Ready to get started with email marketing? Learn some great tips from MailChimp here.
#10. Create lead magnets
Building off of tip #9, lead magnets are downloads that attracts and pulls in potential customers. In exchange for the download (for example, a free e-book), the potential customer will give you their email address.
Now they are added to your email marketing list, and they get an awesome product.
An example of a lead magnet by Relevantly
Lead magnets should be exceptionally high quality and useful, since you are asking possible customers to exchange their email address for it.
They can take a long time and effort to create, but a high-quality lead magnet can get you hundreds or thousands of new people on your mailing list.
Other small business advertising Quick Tips
See a few more quick tips to help your business grow.
Consider working with the professionals: it may seem like you’ll save money by doing it yourself, but working with the pros can actually save you time and money.
Apply for business awards: There are awards given to local businesses that can help advertise your business and help give your business more credibility.
Create a YouTube account: YouTube is often under-utilized by businesses, but if you have the skills, you can create some great content that can be easily shared on YouTube.
Offer Training Courses: If your team has unique skills that you can share, consider offering training courses - whether free or discounted - to get the word out about your business and engage with new people!
Small Business Advertising
By Relevantly
If you are ready to plan your own small business advertising strategy but don’t know where to start, the team at Relevantly can help.
We focus on digital marketing strategies that target the perfect audience to help you get more sales, increase brand recognition, and drive traffic to your site.
At Relevantly, we have helped small businesses across Ontario, Canada, and North America take better control of their marketing strategy.
We have over 15 years of combined marketing experience and have worked with businesses ranging from local home improvement companies to overseas non-profits!
