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Tips to continue marketing on a shoestring budget

As many business owners are experiencing, the COVID-19 pandemic has created serious financial difficulties for entrepreneurs. Small businesses especially are faced with cutting their budgets so they can continue to operate.

During a financial crisis, a company’s marketing budget is often one of the first areas to face cuts, but halting marketing entirely is a dangerous move! Instead, try these tips for marketing on a tight budget.

1. Create video content from home

Video is becoming a popular marketing tool, which is fantastic because it doesn’t have to be expensive! All you need is a smart phone or computer with a camera and some time to film yourself. Create a video series that can be posted on your website or social media feeds (and don’t be afraid to show your face – customers are curious and love to see the personality behind your business operations!).

Depending on your business, you can post helpful tips for clients, or show some “behind the scenes” footage of how your company operates during COVID-19. For example, hairdressers could show clients how to cut their hair at home (or better yet, how not to cut it!). Personal trainers could show videos that break down different home exercises. Dog groomers can show how to clip pets’ nails or brush their coat.

If you have an Instagram account for your business, posting your videos as “Stories” and saving them to a “Highlight Reel” is an effective way to showcase all your best video content; including tips, tricks, behind the scenes footage and company updates. If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to reach out to our marketing team here.

2. Host an online course

With people staying home and trying to stay entertained, many are looking for ways to keep their minds active. Hosting an online class is a great way to keep your business top of mind for customers, to market yourself, and even to continue earning money. Develop a course or class that solves your customers’ problems during COVID-19 and advertise it on your website and on social media. It’s up to you if you charge people to attend the course or if you offer it for free.

Think of the obstacles your clients face while they can’t access you, and create a course to help them address that issue. For example, many people are looking for ways to keep their meals interesting with limited opportunities to shop. Restaurants or chefs could offer a class (or classes) on how to create fun meals with pantry staples, or even mixing fancy cocktails!

3. Keep your social media going

Your social media marketing is often free or inexpensive and it maintains brand awareness for you – especially because many people have a lot more spare time to spend on social media. Make sure you continue your social media posting, even if you are just sharing links to COVID-related resources or informative articles that your audience will appreciate.

Develop your social media plan and/or budget to see if there are ways to reach a wider audience without spending a lot of money. For example, Facebook have a range of “Boosting” and “Sponsored Ad” options where you can select your budget – starting from just a few dollars per day. Please get in touch with our marketing team if you need any assistance with this.

4. Divert money if you can

You may have budgeted this year to spend marketing money at trade shows or networking events that will not happen. Instead, why not put that money in your digital marketing budget. Rather than having your marketing money spread out, focus on one or two areas that will get you higher return on investment. For example, this might include search engine optimization, website updates or social media.

Final thoughts

We understand it might be tempting to halt your marketing efforts to save money right now, however we strongly advise against this to avoid the risk of having fewer customers when the pandemic is over. Instead, maximize your budget by diverting money into one or two focused areas. Finding ways to engage your customers through videos, online classes and social media will also ensure you’re ready to go when the social distancing is over.

Get in touch with The CloudSitters

We offer a range of different digital and social marketing services for small businesses owners to develop their online presence, especially given the current climate. We can customise our services to target the areas and platforms that should work most effectively for your business. Whether you need assistance managing social profiles, reporting on digital performance or mapping out your marketing plan, we can tailor a solution for you.

Get in touch with the friendly team here, or submit a form below.