Did you take part in the ice bucket challenge?
Remember all the videos of people soaking themselves?
The campaign created a ripple effect that spread worldwide and was adopted by people including Obama, Bill Gates, the Beckhams, Mark Zuckerberg, Selena Gomez, and Justin Bieber.
The key was social media. Friends would post a fun video of themselves covering their heads in ice-cold water and then nominate three more friends to do the same.
It’s a bit of fun, right?
But what you may not remember about the videos is that they had a serious side. They were part of a genius marketing campaign to raise awareness of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) disease. We think they did pretty well!
The challenge attracted millions worldwide and made ALS a household name, spreading awareness and raising funds.
The Ice Bucket Challenge campaign has come to be known as one of THE MOST successful marketing campaigns in history. It garnered more than $220 million around the world for ALS research and cost almost nothing to get started.
The challenge is a perfect example of clever marketing, which involves using novel or unconventional methods to boost sales or attract interest in a brand or business.
Marketing does not have to be expensive but it must be FUN, CREATIVE, and COMPELLING.
So, with that in mind, here are ten affordable marketing strategies that can help you get the word out there about your brand:
1. Lumpy Mail
If someone sent you a package through mail, chances are much higher that you would be curious to open it than if it was a regular flyer or piece of paper, which would be your typical marketing on a budget territory.
I once heard of an incredible lumpy mail where a brand sent over a flip-flop to a potential customer. On it were written the words, “Now that I’ve got my foot in the door, can we have a conversation?”
Cheesy, right?
But at the very least, it would make the receiver smile. And chances are high that they’ll never forget that the brand exists. They would probably want to learn more about it and hopefully have a Google.
As the name suggests, lumpy mail is something tangible added to postage to make it more intriguing and to ensure it gets opened without costing a fortune. The flip-flop example costs about £3 per send.
Statistically, people are up to 20 times more likely to engage with a lumpy mail over a standard mailshot.
2. Lead Magnets & Downloadables
If let’s be honest – everyone likes free things. And not just free things, valuable free things.
I highly recommend offering your audience free resources if you want to market on a budget.
It could be a free E-book or simple worksheet that will give valuable information away.
Potential customer downloading helps you build email lists, develop customer relationships, and increase sales. They also showcase your knowledge in your area of expertise and help build trust in your audience.
At Outside ideas, we have a wealth of free resources in our knowledge bank, covering everything from business strategy to goal setting to business-life balance.
3. Social Media
Social media was one of the greatest gifts given to marketers.
You can reach millions of people and get them to buy your product at the touch of a button.
The truth of the matter, however, is that just because you use social media doesn’t mean you’re good at social media marketing.
This leaves you with two options:
- Hire an expert to do the work for you.
- Invest in (free or paid) online courses that help you learn social media marketing.
Whatever the case, we strongly recommend you put your business on social media but use it consistently. You must show up. Please don’t just stop when things get busy; you’ll start from the beginning again. If you need help managing this through busy periods, there are loads of social media scheduling tools, some of which are free for a certain amount or for periods of time.
Outside ideas are power users of LinkedIn, and we are raving fans of these LinkedIn users ;
Take your time to visit their profiles. Free advertising never felt so good.
4. Networking
There are so many wonderful success stories about networking and for a good reason. Networking gives you a cost-effective way of getting noticed by a supportive group of business owners. This is super high value; it hits the marketing on a budget brief spot on.
There are many networking groups available, and you can find what suits you best. A good networking group is fun, friendly, collaborative, and informative.
Networking shouldn’t feel like a chore or another boring meeting on your calendar. It should be something that you look forward to. Because when you look forward to it, you’ll easily benefit from it.
If you’d like to try our group Networking in… use the code FRIENDOfOi.
5. Warm Calling
When you have your foot in the door, it’s easier for a potential customer to listen to you.
That’s where warm calling comes into play.
Warm calling is contacting a prospect by phone with someone you have a connection with. That connection may have come through a referral, a customer contact, or someone you’ve built a relationship with before the call.
In today’s age, there’s no need to cold call anymore. With the advent of social media, it’s never been easier to build relationships and get noticed.
Warm calling is typically more efficient and effective than cold calling, where a prospective customer is solicited by someone with whom they have had no previous interaction.
You must remember that the purpose of a warm call is to set up an appointment. Selling should take place during your appointment, not in a brief phone call. Otherwise, that will make your potential new client feel that you’re being too pushy and will give out the ‘marketing on a budget’ vibe.
Numerous courses and videos are available on how to make a successful warm call. If you’re not well-practised with warm calling, we suggest researching what to include in your script so that you can be confident and assertive.
6. Handwritten Mail
Handwritten messages get a lot more attention than printed notes and letters.
Statistically, handwritten envelopes get open rates of up to 98%, while only 42% of recipients either read or scan the printed direct mail they receive.
Why? Because handwritten notes are different. No one does them anymore, and they’re more personable.
When you receive handwritten mail, you’re more likely to think it was specially crafted for you, which draws you to it.
So take advantage of this in your marketing. It might take more time, but it’s affordable and can get you the results you’ve been looking for.
7. Webinars & Workshops
As we said, people are drawn to value.
If you can identify one problem that some of your potential customers face and offer solutions in a webinar or workshop.
Conducting webinars or workshops has many benefits. They help you demonstrate your skills and abilities, communicate with your target audience, move your leads down the sales funnel, and increase the expertise of customers already using your product.
We regularly run free lunch and learn sessions. They are short and don’t require too much prep. Most recently, we held a workshop called Perfect Your Pitch, where we discussed how to create an elevator pitch that gets you noticed.
Our Alliance member Victoria Wright of thelivingherb.com is a pro at this! She constantly holds webinars on valuable health-related topics through science and nature.
8. Strategic Partnerships
“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together.”
Partnerships can help you supercharge your business!
And lead to A LOT of success. To identify a great partner, you need to find someone with the same target audience as you but who is in a different business from yours. This might be a slow-burn strategy, but it will pay dividends if you’ve got your partner right.
For example, if you’re looking to build your digital marketing portfolio, one viable opportunity is to reach out to a B2B business looking for those services.
As you help them with digital marketing, they can introduce you to businesses possibly looking for those services.
A famous example of a strategic partnership is that between Starbucks and Spotify.
Starbucks created a coffee shop experience with the help of music to create an ambience.
Together, they wanted to create a “music ecosystem” that would allow artists to easily access Starbucks consumers and vice versa, allowing Starbucks to access Spotify’s discography.
It’s all about symbiotic relationships. A business where you help one another and each of you gains from it. Doing so will allow you to increase awareness, increase sales, and build your brand credibility.
9. Develop a Referral Strategy
Word of mouth is the oldest form of marketing; in today’s world, it is completely UNDERRATED!
Referrals are a great way to generate business and are perfect for marketing on a budget. It’s a snowball effect. When one person believes in your business and spreads the word about it, you end up with thousands of loyal customers.
Dave Plunkett from the Collaboration Junkie has three takeaway pointers to get more referrals:
- Ask for the referrals (at the right time).
- Make it easy
- Say thank you (and in the right way).
Watch the Networking in … talk on YouTube – Dave Plunkett at the Collaboration Junkie.
Dave also has workshops on referrals.
10. Public Relations (PR)
PR is another important facet you should leverage, which is great for marketing on a budget. Why?
It’s affordable and can help spread the word about you and your brand.
Maybe you can partner with a charity and work together. The benefit would be that more people find out about your brand, and at the same time, you’re involved in a worthy cause.
This year, for example, Outside ideas partnered with Green Machine Computers in their tech amnesty to donate as many laptops and tablets as possible to the children who needed them to continue their education. We were able to create PR pieces on the back of the partnership, which were published in several online publications.
Summing Up Marketing on a Budget
From viral challenges to handwritten notes, there are tons of opportunities to promote your business, even when marketing on a budget. We hope you’ve found this post helpful and can start to implement a few of these ideas.
You don’t have to implement all of them at once. It is better to take one or two ideas, test them, and measure the results over a month or two. Once you’ve got some data, ditch the less successful one and try two more.
Over time, you’ll get to a point where you have multiple marketing strategies at once and be confident in what works for your business.
So, which of our ten ways to get marketing on a budget will you try first?
- Networking
- Lumpy Mail
- Lead Magnets and Downloadables
- Social Media
- Warm Calling
- Handwritten Mail
- Webinars and Workshops
- Strategic Partnerships
- A Referrals Strategy
- Public Relations
If you’d like some help putting these marketing on a budget tips into practice, we’re only a phone call away.
Get in touch, and let’s get your marketing strategy up and running.