If you are considering starting a company then there are a few things that you can do to make yourself known without having to spend a lot of money. The initial expense of starting up a company can be the main deterrent to becoming a business owner. The risk factor of whether it’s even going to take off can be scary to. However, in order to minimize your expenditure in the beginning here are a few tricks for getting your name out there without having to pay for advertising in the very beginning.
Social Media Marketing Strategy
Having a strong social media marketing strategy is important to letting people know that you exist. Almost everyone is on social media now so really use it to your advantage. Trying to get involved with search engine optimization will be expensive and difficult so you’ll want to stay away from that for now, although when the time comes, it can be very helpful. Start up a simple website and then open up an Instagram, Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn and any other social media outlet you can think of and link them all together under your business name. Then, link them to your website. The more than you post on your social media, the more notice that you’ll get from other places. The point is just to let people know that you exist; this is your social media marketing strategy. Once people know that you are out there and what you offer, the next time that they need your product or service, they’ll remember you because of seeing you pop up on their feeds so often. Be careful not to spam though or people may just un-follow you.
Personal Touch Strategy
There’s no better marketing strategy than a face to face interaction. It’s better than a social media marketing strategy or sometimes even having high rankings on search engine results pages. Being able to strike up a conversations and find out what their needs are before revealing that you can actually meet those needs in a great way to build a good reputation. Become a frequent customer at places that could use what you offer or could be a good contact. For example, if you want to make and sell weapons holsters, get in good with the firearms specialists at various stores. They come into contact with hundreds of people weekly that could use a holster. Or if you write and self publish children’s books, become friendly with the staff at the library, maybe they’ll read them at the children’s weekly story times.
Word of Mouth Strategy
Your first few customers will likely be your friends and family that want to support you. Use this to your advantage and ask them to refer you to their friends and co workers. There’s no better referral than a recommendation by someone who has used the product. You could offer incentives for word of mouth referrals such as the person you refer and the person doing the referring will both receive 10% off or something like that. Continue to offer this as you start building a customer base in order to encourage your customers to go out and bring more people to you. Everyone loves a discount so it’s a great way to get people talking about you, which is really the goal anyway. Not everyone is going to buy from you immediately after they hear about you but the more good reviews they hear and a better reputation you build, the more likely they’ll be to come and visit at some point soon.
Paper Strategy
Flyers, business cards and brochures are not completely obsolete and don’t have to be expensive. If you design your own flyer or card, you can have it printed for less than $50. Putting them on car windshields is a great way to get your company brand and name in people’s heads even if they just throw the flyer away. Most people will pull the flyer of their windshield, glance at it and throw it on the passenger seat. You’ll need to design something that catches people’s attention so much so that they they stop driving, they’ll pick up the flyer again and check it out more closely.