As a marketer who works in the shop, I noticed something interesting: If people think of “marketing”, they often imagine these striking Super Bowl commercials or massive Times Square advertising boards.
But marketing is so much more accessible than that.
I saw how companies of all sizes have succeeded with intelligent, budget -friendly marketing strategies. The key to starting the basics is to know the basics.
Here I guide you through some beginner -friendly marketing channels and how to build your first marketing strategy.
Table of contents
Fundamentals of marketing
Successful marketing is not something that is of huge budgets from Gatekept. In fact, some of the most effective marketing strategies I saw did not cost any assets.
Marketing today comprises countless channels and tactics, and I have helped companies find success with the budgets of all sizes.
Pro tip: Before I immersed in a marketing channel, I always advise my customers to start with a clear goal. Regardless of whether it is about strengthening brand awareness or increasing sales if you know that your “why” leads your entire strategy.
Inexpensive marketing channels
If you are just starting with marketing, you should take some cost -effective channels into account here:
Content marketing
The entire premise of Content marketing should provide your audience valuable content. This includes blog posts, videos, podcasts, e-books and more.
In contrast to a popup display, this type of marketing is not disturbing. Of course, it should be organic and helpful.
Pro tip: I always recommend starting with an ingredient that you can cause instead of trying to do everything at once. For example, start with a blog before immersing yourself in video content.
To go one step further, add a registration form for a free test version of your app at the top of each article and give readers the opportunity to convert into customers.
Content marketing is a long-term investment. With patience and the right strategy, however, you can make brand awareness and promote customer relationships without considerable financial burden.
E -mail marketing
E -Mail marketing is relatively affordable compared to other marketing channels.
Many E -Mail service providers offer free plans or graded prices to address various budgets. For example lifting spots E -mail marketing software It’s easy to use, safe and free.
With e -mail marketing you can reach people who have already expressed interest in your company. This brings you into a great position to build relationships, promote your products and share offers.
You can also set up triggers -e emails when someone completes an action, e.g. B. a purchase or download of a supply offer.
Would you like to earn your e -mail list? Take a look at this helpful guide.
Social media marketing
Nowadays, consumers expect brands to have an online presence.
As soon as you are in operation, you can start sharing content. Experiment with different types of content until you have a better idea of ​​what has the greatest traction. Remember that everything is about connection on social media. Therefore, interact with customers, initiate talks and use user -generated content.
In A Marketing trends Report from Localiq found that “Short form videos, such as the Tikok and Instagram rolesIt is great to see that almost 60% of the small companies surveyed are on the train to try them. “
These tactics can help you to promote relationships and build loyalty in your brand without spending a cent.
However, if you decide to operate paid advertisements, social media offers an incredible reach that can achieve immediate results.
Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn offer advanced display goals and enable them to narrow their audience based on demographies, interests and behaviors. With flexible budgeting options you can strategically assign your budget and maximize your ROI.
Online advertising
One of the biggest advantages of online advertising is that it is often cheaper than traditional advertising. Take into account television advertising, from thousands from dollars to costs Even millions.
Now think of an advertisement that runs on social media for 1 US dollar a day and you can see why online advertising is a great option for small companies.
Online advertising includes some areas, including:
- Ads from ads: This includes banner ads, pictures and videos that you can buy on Google ads.
- Pay-per-click: PPC is an advertising model that falls under search engine marketing. These ads will appear in the results of the search engine at the top, and you will only pay if people click.
- Social advertisements: These are advertisements that appear on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. You set a budget and state your target group.
- Remarketing: Your website visitors are identified and you are displayed with content after leaving your website. Think of an email from an e-commerce business that reminds you of your abandoned car.
In contrast to conventional advertising, online ads offer powerful analyzes. You do not have to ask yourself whether an online display is effective because you can pursue metrics such as impressions, click rates, conversion rates and more.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
SEO’s goal is to increase the presence of your website in search engines like Google. While SEO trends come and go, the key principles remain the same:
- Create and publish valuable content on your website
- Add strategically keywords to the content
- Improve the side speed of your website
- Offer the website visitors a great user experience
SEO is a long -term game like content marketing. But if you think 95% of the search traffic In the first page of the search results, it becomes a critical strategy to promote traffic and generate leads.
Create your first marketing strategy
You can imagine one Marketing strategy as a roadmap with which you can optimally use your marketing. Here are the basic principles of a strong marketing strategy:
1. Start with your goals.
Before you can build a marketing strategy, you first have to set clear goals. What does your company want to achieve? Would you like to sharpen the brand awareness? Create leads? Or improve customer loyalty?
Goals offer direction and purpose for your entire marketing company. You also determine the effectiveness of your efforts.
When defining your marketing goals, make sure that you match the business goals.
For example, if your main business goal is to strengthen the brand awareness, your marketing goal could be to reach the X-number of social media followers over the next six months.
Further reading:
2. Know your target group.
Who is your customer? What are your challenges or pain points? Are you insensitive to prospective? Do you buy online?
Knowing that your audience is of crucial importance to build effective marketing strategies. The more you know about your audience, the better you can create convincing messages that react to your interests, needs or preferences.
Your target group will also play a major role in influencing marketing channels that you decide. For example, let’s assume that you sell security devices for homes and your target group is adult homeowners. Based on this information, you can pass on Snapchat where Almost half The user base is under 25.
Further reading:
3. Decide your marketing mix.
In short, marketing is about promoting the right product at the right price and at the right price and at the right price. This is a large order.
To nail this balance, you have to define your marketing mix. Your marketing mix consists of four key components (also referred to as “four PS marketing”): product, price, place and advertising.
product
To say the obvious, your product is the key to your company. However, in order to market it effectively, you need to know what makes it unique. How does your product differ from others on the market? Which “problems” solve it? What are the key features? These questions can help you to formulate a feeling of unique selling.
Price
Land on the Right price for your product can be difficult. Price too high and customers go away. Price too low and they leave money on the table.
A good starting point is to look at your competitors to see how many customers are willing to pay for a similar product. You can also carry out focus groups or surveys to determine the right price.
Location
Where will you sell your product? Ultimately, you have to meet your customers where you are an e-commerce business or a retail location.
Think about where your competitors sell your products and how you differentiate yourself.
Financial support
With which tactics will you reach your target group? And on which channels? This could be an advertising table on a busy street or an advertising email that is sent to the inbox of a person.
The way you apply your product depends on your budget and your target group. For example, if your target group is younger, you could prioritize paid social ads, for example television advertising.
Further reading:
4. Monitor the right KPIs.
Insert a system for persecution and analysis of the results of your marketing efforts. For example, if you carry out an email marketing campaign, you can track open prices, click rates and subscribers. These are known as important performance indicators (KPIS).
Her KPIs serve as benchmarks that reflect their progress on their goals. By persecution, you can precisely determine which strategies work and which improvements are required.
Further reading:
5. Evolve.
The marketing landscape is developing. It was only in the last decade that we saw Tikkok, artificial intelligence and intelligent devices. All of this is a good marketing strategy that is adaptable. Be open to testing new ideas, experimenting with different tactics and adapting your strategy.
Further reading:
Back to you
Although it is frustrating, there is no “one -size pass for all” marketing strategies. What kind of company works may not work for another. That is why experimenting is the key, especially when you are just starting.
Don’t be afraid of testing different marketing channels, tactics and strategies to find what is best swinging with your target group.
Note from the publisher: This article was originally published in June 2023 and has been updated for completeness since then.