by Haris Quintana

Image Credit.

If you are an entrepreneur with a small business, then marketing may seem like an impossible task. There is so much to learn, and it's hard to know where to start. In this blog post, you will know some of the best ways for new entrepreneurs to market their businesses on a budget. These hacks will help you get your business in front of more customers, leading to increased revenue!

Leverage your community

If you're on Facebook, use the "events" function to invite your friends and family. If they have questions about attending or want to know more about what you do, this is an excellent opportunity for them to learn from an event post. They might even be able to hop in at the last minute! 

You can also create groups of people interested in your niche and keep it active so that members will interact with each other and with content that group admins share. And don't forget those LinkedIn connections - if there isn't a good way for them (or others) to connect back through social media efficiently, send out emails inviting specific individuals into your world. 

Leverage all other social media platforms as well (even Snapchat!) to tell your story visually and allow those who are interested more. You might also consider fractional CMO to develop your business

Collaborate

The key to collaborative marketing is finding the right collaborations. First, you'll want to find a company with an audience similar or complementary in size and type to your own business. This article from Entrepreneur offers some great insights on how you can do this: "Find a like-minded partner."

Once you've found someone, make sure their product lines are complementary rather than competitive - it will be much more effective for both of your businesses if they complement each other! Consider aligning promotions, so there is a give and take between the two companies. 

Good collaborations need to benefit both parties involved - don't feel it's a give-away deal for the other company. It will only work out long term if everyone is making money off of this relationship or at least coming away feeling like you gained something from it.

Network

You can never have too many connections in the business world. Reach out to a selection of people who are tangentially related to your niche and ask for an introduction or read more about them on their social media feeds. 

If you do not know anyone, use LinkedIn's search bar and explore until you find someone with shared interests that might be able to provide some advice. Use this time wisely by looking through their profile, reading posts they wrote, following them on Twitter, etc., so when it comes time to contact them, you already feel like old friends!

Ask for Referrals.

Reaching out to your network of friends and acquaintances for referrals is an excellent way to grow your customer base. Through word-of-mouth, you can reach a much wider audience than through online ads or other marketing channels. People are more likely to trust the recommendations from their trusted circle than those popping up on Facebook feeds. Letting people know about your business in person will often be met with enthusiasm and support! 

Offer Coupons

Offering discounts is the easiest way to get people in your door. Offer a coupon on social media or through email, and you'll see an influx of customers coming in for that promotion. The trick here is staying consistent with these offers and pricing them competitively, so they're worth the customer's time compared to similar products being sold around town. This will help establish goodwill among potential new clients and keep current ones coming back for more! 

Offering coupons is a great way to get people in the door and build your customer base. Keep them short, sweet, and simple with discounts for specific products or services that make sense for your business. During slow seasons, offer coupons on social media contests to bring more customers into the store who might not otherwise buy something now but may come back when you're busier again!

Conclusion

As you can see, marketing your small business doesn't have to be expensive. There are many low or no-cost ways to promote and get the word out there about what you do! Use these tips as a starting point for how to market your new startup on a budget, but don't forget that sometimes it's worth investing in some professional help if you're not quite sure where to go next.