When you are starting up a new business every penny must be pinched until it is pried from your fingers. How much money you put into marketing or advertising is a decision that can either make or break you with that first few months. Ultimately the trick to getting the most out of your advertising is let your demographic do it for you.
Buying billboard space or paying for advertising on a bus bench will only allow your brand to be displayed to people that pass by. People see these things but they don’t engage with them; they seldom talk about them unless there is a particularly striking image or phrase on the sign. Then they will have a look at it and move on. It’s not that ad space is not an effective method to get a business off the ground or on a new level. It’s just that it so overdone and outdated that people automatically put it in the back of their brains when they see it.
For a young business the goals should be to put your brand on mediums that will allow the customers to interact with them on a daily basis. The idea is to develop marketing plans that has the capability of becoming a self-sustaining entity.
Social Media
We are in the digital age. This digital age involves 84% of American adults going online at least once a day to find information, send tweets, post selfies, and throw imaginary cows at each other.
Due to the fact that a large population of a business’ target demographic spends vast amount of time on Facebook, Twitter, and other social outlets, companies would benefit from using social platforms. As an added benefit, the use of social media is completely free, although officially advertising through some social media platforms does cost money. Here are a few advantages of social media:
- Connect with customers in real time.
- Post about contests and advertisements.
- Share relevant information that might interest chosen demographic.
- Conduct demographic analysis by looking at what ideal customer is talking about.
Business Websites
A website costs a small sum to build and maintain, but it can allow a business to reach anyone who has access to the internet. Nowadays you will seldom find a successful business that doesn’t have its own website. Many college students that want to start their own business usually have their site up and running while they are still working from their garage or dorm room. Here are a few advantages of a business website:
- Thought leadership. A well-thought out blog can give you authority in your niche.
- A website can negate the need to spend funds on ads or commercials.
- Community Interaction. Small or large business, a well compiled blog can be an area where your customers can ask questions, receive answers, and of course, be drawn into eventually purchasing a product from a business.
Branded Merchandise
Our peers such as our friends, family, and acquaintances are the ones that have the best marketing effect on us. Consequently, if we see them sporting a logo or using a branded object we associate that with them, a welcoming presence that might be worth something. Here are two of the most effective but modest merchandise marketing methods that will continually reach new people and get your brand or business name out here:
- T-shirts and other clothing apparel. For every T-Shirt you send out for someone to wear, think of the hundreds of people that see that every day its worn. When these items are displayed on the right people in the right demographic, it makes their peers more likely to receive it in a positive light.
- Small but useful items. Dropping a handful of custom pens in a library or a business office is one of the greatest guerrilla marketing techniques I’ve seen. Getting people to use an item with your business name on it is a clever way of getting their attention.
In today’s world marketing is just as important as having an efficient product. It is important to constantly find new and effective ways to reach desired customers at minimum expense. Branded merchandise, websites, and social media are only three potential options.
