If you’re a small business or just starting out, it can be challenging to get your name out there amongst the noise of your competition. To get started, you need to develop a marketing plan to make sure you’re talking to the right people t the right time. There are several ways in which you can do this. Some might require a little more investment than others, but if your budget is somewhat restricted in the initial phases, check out these affordable ways to promote your business and gain valuable leads.

Social media

If you’re not already on social media, you certainly need to be. This tremendous resource is a potential goldmine for a small business, as it can help you tap into a targeted selection of people looking for your products and services. Deciding what platform to focus on could be the tricky part, as you need to understand the type of engagement each produces. Once you’ve set up your page, you can now start to advertise to potential customers. Social media advertising is an affordable way to get people looking at your brand, plus you can set budgets to stay on top of costs.

Trade shows and events

If you’re looking to get a little more footfall for your business, and potentially look at both B2B and B2C selling, attending a trade show is a great idea. This gives you the opportunity to promote your products or services within a chosen industry and network with like-minded people to help grow your business. Different events have different setup fees, but once you’ve invested in a trade stand, you can use this time and time again. You’ll have to think about other aspects such as promotional materials and ID cards etc. for staff so check out this website for more information.

Email marketing

This form of marketing is said to be one of the most effective for converting customers. However, the challenging part of this marketing funnel is creating a database of people that want to hear from you. In the early stages of business, it’s essential to get your list started and allow customers to join your community to hear about the latest products and offers etc. Once you’ve begun to build this, regular (but not too regular) emails can be sent to keep your customers engaged and up to date with your brand. There are several software options that have free plans for smaller databases so you can create emails and send for no cost at all.

Search engine optimisation

If you have a website and are struggling to get any hits, you might not have optimised it for the search engines. SEO can be complicated when you get into the technicalities; however, the basics should be mastered to help you get seen when people search for your products or services. There are many resources online that can help you address the main elements of SEO, plus you’ll find plenty of experts that can lend a hand to fit your budget.