Many small businesses only have a low budget when it comes to advertising, and that can limit them when it comes to reaching a broad audience. It is far from impossible, but it takes a lot more consideration about how you can spend that money for the biggest benefit and most exposure.
In the days before the internet, businesses would place advertisements in the phone book or take out an ad in the local newspaper, alongside billboards, posters and flyers put through mailboxes. Now, digital content is king, and even the smallest of businesses are generally aware of the importance of having a visible presence online, and excelling at search engine optimization (SEO) to rank highly on Google.
However, a small business selling to a local market needs to be doing everything that they can to attract local customers, and this involves different methods of advertising. Here, we explore a few ways in which you can do this without spending too much money.
Car Wraps and Decals
The chances are you use a vehicle of some sort. You drive to business meetings and events, and even to do tasks entirely unrelated to your jobs, such as school drop-offs and pickups, hobbies and grocery shopping. Why not take advantage of this, and use vinyl on your car to advertise your business? Pop on your name, logo and contact details and straight away you have a valuable marketing tool. Buying commercially produced vinyl can be expensive, so why not look into purchasing your own equipment – vinylcuttingmachineguide best vinyl cutting machine is an excellent resource for finding the best one for your needs.
Social Media
Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, are a handy tool for marketing. They allow you to reach a vast range of people on a very low budget. Targeted ads mean you can hone in on your target demographic, and you can also post adverts in the local community or buying and selling groups.
Get involved with community events
One great way of getting your business name known in the area that you live or trade in is by getting involved with events and local causes. Why not see if you can sponsor the local kids’ soccer team or a project at the school? If you are in a rural or coastal area, organize a litter pick. In most cases, if you help out a cause, they often have an opportunity for your name to be printed somewhere so people can see it. Not only will you be doing something good for the local area, but people will recognize it and be more likely to buy from you or use your services.
Traditional print advertising
While most advertising is now focused online, you should not ignore the effectiveness of traditional print advertising.
Many local newspapers and magazines offer a variety of advertising formats – from box ads and inserts to small business features and interviews. These can be really useful as this form of advertising allows you to go into more detail about what you are offering and gives people the chance to get to know the face behind the business, which is important if you want to work on a hyper-local basis.
