Is it possible to advertise for free or on the cheap? It turns out you don’t need a massive marketing budget to boost your business profits. The key to success is to ensure you have a clear goal and target audience. Once you know what you want to achieve and who you’re selling to, there are plenty of low-cost marketing and advertising techniques that will help you achieve your goals without breaking the bank.
Kick-starting your free online advertising – get your website in order
There are four main ways to advertise your business for free, or at least on the cheap:
- Take advantage of social media – Free to set up, the likes of Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok offer vital exposure to your target audience on a daily basis.
- Get creative with content marketing – Regularly publishing and contributing to online content – both on your site and third party sites – will boost your business’s credibility and help with SEO.
- Grab some free media coverage – Use PR techniques to generate media coverage for your business from press releases to celebrity endorsements.
- Hustle, hustle, hustle – Never miss an opportunity to promote your business wherever you are. That includes everything from printing business cards and vehicle advertising to getting out there and drumming up business at events.
We’ll go into these in more detail later on. But first, before you begin marketing your business, you need to make sure your digital channels are in a position to capitalise on the expected traffic from your marketing activity. For example, there’s no point promoting a website that reads poorly or is slow to load; or signposting to social channels that are rarely updated.
Tips for setting up a website
Most businesses are expected to have some form of online presence. Usually, that means having a website. As well as being a place to sell your products and services, your website adds that all-important credibility to your business and acts as a basecamp for customers seeking further information.
Keep it simple
If your goal is to provide information and encourage enquiries, your website doesn’t have to be complex (and expensive). Sometimes the more straightforward you can be, the easier it is for customers to understand your product/service and get in touch.
For example, if you’re a builder, a website with an ‘About’, ‘Services’, ‘Price List’, ‘Testimonials’ and ‘Contact’ section is all you need. Customers need to know who you are, what you offer, rough prices, reviews of your work and how to get in touch. Address the customers’ needs straight away and you’re likely to get more enquiries.
Focus on being user-friendly
It might seem obvious but some websites fall into the trap of trying to be too clever and end up getting the basics wrong.
Ensure your website is responsive to mobiles and iPads. Make getting in touch super easy. Ever get frustrated when you tap on a phone number and it doesn’t launch a call? Or click on an address on a ‘Contact’ page and it doesn’t launch in Google Maps? Your web builder should be able to implement this fairly easily.
Upsell to existing customers
One of the most important pages on a website is the page that appears once the customer has made a purchase.
The ‘Thank You’ page is an opportunity to promote similar products or unique discount codes so customers shop with you again. Promote a ‘Recommend a Friend’ discount so you can capture another email address for your database.
Submit your website to relevant directories
Once your website is up-to-scratch, submit it to any relevant directories. This is particularly important if you’re in an industry where customers are looking for reasons to trust you e.g. a tradesperson.
Directories such as Checkatrade and MyBuilder will be the first port of call for many customers. If you run a restaurant, hotel or attraction, monitor sites such as TripAdvisor and ensure any unhappy customers are visibly addressed on the platform.
2025: the year you became a marketing guru
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