If you own a start-up business, you may be hesitant to invest money into online marketing. After all, it may not seem as essential as stock and wages – but in reality it is just as important if you want your business to grow.
And most UK businesses are starting to realise this; research has found that British businesses have been steadily increasing their marketing spending over the last decade. In fact, the marketing industry is now worth over 300 billion!
But don’t worry about having to fork out loads of cash; marketing doesn’t need to be expensive. There are lots of free and affordable marketing options that are well suited to start-up businesses.
Here are five useful marketing tips for your start-up business.
1. Marketing Tips For Your Start-Up Business: Tag Brands And People On Your Social Media Posts
Whenever you post on social media, ask yourself “is there someone I can tag in this?” Loyal customers, brand ambassadors and similar companies can all help to broaden your social media reach, especially if the tagged person/company reposts your image on their story.
You can also encourage your customers to post your products online by giving your Instagram and Facebook username with your products. Alternatively you can set up a photo booth area in your actual store, and then add a sign asking customers to take pictures and tag you online.
2. Arrange Industry Collabs
You can also team up with business that are similar to yours (of course you should avoid direct competition) to work together. For instance, if you sell homemade jam, you could team up with a baker to provide a luxury selection box. This means that both businesses will be introduced to a new audience with similar interests. Just make sure to set clear collaboration rules so that both businesses can profit equally!
3. Run A Social Media Giveaway
You can also boost your online following by hosting a social media giveaway. This marketing strategy is ideal for a start-up business, as it doesn’t require much spending; just choose one of your most popular products, and offer it as the prize. Set clear rules that help your growth; for instance, you could ask users to tag five friends to enter the competition. You could also ask them to post your image on their story, which means your post could potentially be seen by hundreds of their own followers.
4. Create A Good Customer Referral Program
Customer referral programs really work. A recent study found that over 80% of customers are more likely to buy a product if it is recommended to them by their family or friends, so create a referral link and start offering discounts to members who use it. This is a great way to boost sales, and it also encourages previous customers to buy again (to use their new discount code).
5. Don’t Forget About LinkedIn
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are currently the most popular advertising platforms, but LinkedIn is very useful too. It is a great platform for B2B businesses, so if you mostly sell to other businesses you may want to consider becoming more active on LinkedIn. Start by adding connections, and then start conversations with them, start posting blogs and start commenting on forums. This can significantly boost your B2B online sales if you are consistent.
