Every company wants to achieve big returns on their marketing investments even if they are on a shoestring budget. For many small businesses and startups finding creative ways to promote products is absolutely essential. The good news – Budgetary constraints don’t mean that you can’t have a big impact.
This guide takes aim at some low-cost promotion methods, all of which have proven in practice to give high return on investment. Using social media as a platform and freelancers with particular followings in specific local areas (known as “influencers”), it is designed specifically to help you reach your audience without breaking the bank.
Harness the Power of Social Media Marketing
Strategy 1: Use Organic Posts
Use social platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok And LinkedIn for user-generated content. Post behind the scenes videos of your team, and run polls to interact with followers. The most important thing is consistency, but remember that production value often loses out against authentic appearance. A simple video clip by your team explaining the product can often resonate deeply with buyers.
Example
A small candle shop might post a reel showing customers un-boxing their candles or setting up cosy corners at home. It costs nothing. The results? Real customer connections.
Strategy 2: Leverage Stories and Reels
Short, engaging forms such as Instagram Stories or Reels, TikTok videos where you create and upload your own soundtrack, use trendy music and visually attractive images with captions that stress their good points.
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Example
For a new skincare product, make a vine that shows results “before and after.” The caption invites viewer to “Try it risk-free today!”
Strategy 3: Collaborate with Micro-Influencers
While large influencers typically demand high compensation, but micro-influencers (those with 1,000 to 10,000 followers) are usually more affordable and often have tight-knit specialized audiences. Go after influencers in your area or niche and offer them free products in exchange for promotion of your product or a modest fee.
Example
For instance, if you own a sporting goods store, partner with a local sports coach who has 5,000 followers and use their resistance bands in some workout videos.
Create Engaging and Shareable Content
Strategy 4: Start a Blog
A blog can be a powerful source of free traffic from search engines. Write about topics related to your product or industry, give useful tips and include internal links to product pages on your site.
Example
If you sell green household cleaning products, you could use a blog entitled “5 Methods for eco-techniques Spring Clean Your Home,” leading traffic while also faintly introducing your products.
Strategy 5: Produce How-To Videos
Websites like YouTube and Instagram offer free channels for you to post demonstrational or educational videos. Show how your product resolves problems, or simply demonstrates how it fits into everyday life.
Example
In this way, selling ergonomic chairs suitable for tech businesses can produce brief films on “Five Ways to Maximize Productivity by Rearranging Your Desk”, the chair being used alongside.
Strategy 6: Offer Free Guides or Templates
People like to download content. That provides immediate value. Create an easy to follow PDF guide or template that has got something to do with your product. Use an email subscription wall to promote it again and build up the mailing list.
Example
Take a company selling meal prep kits. They might offer a free “Weekly Meal Prep Planner,” which you can download when you sign up for their newsletter.
Develop a Brand-Related Community
Strategy 7: Start a Loyalty Program
Loyalty programs don’t need cutting-edge technology to be successful. A simple scratch-off card system for walk-in stores or a points system for e-commerce sites can encourage repeat business.
Example
Suppose that a bakery were to start offering the “Buy 9 cupcakes, get the 10th free” card from the good old days–that has the effect of keeping locals coming back for more.
Strategy 8: Offer Online Challenges
Challenges create solidarity and excitement, especially when they come with a giveaway attached. Use hashtags to drive shares.
Example
Take the example of Tasita: “Starting out as a brand specializing in sports clothes, we conducted a 30 Days of Sports Style Challenge and invited followers on social media to submit photos of themselves wearing our products. We selected the best picture or two from each day and posted them online for publication.”
Strategy 9: Make Use of Social Media Groups
Start up a Facebook or LinkedIn group where your target market members can get in touch. Offer them special tips, early glimpses and active participation to keep them interested.
Example
Take the example of Tasita: A vegan food brand might run a private group called “Plant-Based Recipes and Tips by [Brand Name]”. As a result, this will turn into a venue for individuals to share delicious vegan recipes that can also feature the use of our product.
Get More Out of E-Mail Marketing
Strategy 10: Making Participating Subscribers
Give something away, like a discount code or downloadable content, to get people to sign up. Then keep their interest by sending them e-mails which tell the story of your product as the answer to their problems.
Example
From a coffee brand might come an email with this subject line, “Meet your new morning routine,” with discounts on their subscription service included in the message.
Strategy 11: Create Time-Limited Offers
In email marketing, FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is a great tactic. Emphasize exclusive discounts or bundles made for only a short time.
Example
A soap brand might send out something like “Ends tonight: 20% off all gift sets” with pictures of the products.
Cross-Boundaries Contacts
Strategy 12: Partner with Local Businesses
By collaborating, you can tap into an existing customer base with no outlay (or little). Offer cross-promotion opportunities between businesses whose audiences overlap.
Example
A craft beer company could team up with a local artisanal pizza place on the offer of “Craft Beer and Pizza Night” packages.
Strategy 13: Farmers’ Markets or Pop-Up Events
Sometimes you can’t beat face-to–face contacts. Take your product down to local farmers ‘ markets, pop-up events or expos to demonstrate it in person.
Example
A hand-made skincare brand might sell at a farmers market, giving away small product samples and business cards to punters.
Strategy 14: Employ Guerilla Marketing Techniques
Cause a scene at unconventional, low-budget marketing stunts that grab people’s attention on public places.
Example
A new bakery might reastablish the name and reputation of its operation by setting up a free “Taste Booth” outside their store to attract foot traffic and leave a lasting impression.
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Strategy 15: Use Referral Programs
Word of mouth is to be reckoned with. Encourage your customers to refer others by rewarding them.
Example
Refer-a-Friend and Get 20% Off Your Next PurchaseThe “Refer a Friend and Get 20% Off Your Next Purchase” campaign can be implemented with equal appeal across both e-commerce sites and physical locations.
Strategy 16: Revive Old Content
Revisit old blog posts, videos and social media to give them new lifeThis reduces work loads while keeping a high flow of fresh information coming in.
Example
An independent travel agent might take something like “The Best Hiking Trails in North America” (from their archives) and then turn it into format for use on Instagram or TikTok carousel videos etc…This is an easy way of creating comparatively unconstrained new material which can be quickly sent out from the time.
Invest Wisely for Big Returns
A successful product isn’t necessarily expensive to promote. With creativity, persistence in keeping shoveling coal on the fire of dead start-ups and if you truly understand your target audience (not only through demographics but also such unmeasurable things as culture) then even from small budgets there will always emerge a long queue waiting just around that corner-shaped door called The Demon Of RoI.
Explore this guide for practical, low-cost marketing ideas tailored for each stage of the product life cycle.
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