5 Ways to Market Your Business Online on a (Nonexistent) Budget
By Brenda Cargin
Guest Contributor
People who are building a business, brand, or product-following online are looking to accomplish two key goals:
- earn a few basic tricks that will help expand their personal following
- do it for free
If that describes you, you’ve come to the right place! I have worked almost exclusively with nonprofit organizations, meaning I’ve learned how to pinch pennies and market on a tight (and sometimes nonexistent) budget.
I’m excited to share five tips I’ve learned for how to get seen (and remembered) online.
1. Hashtag… you’re It
I get it. Including hashtags at the end of Instagram posts looks clunky, distracting, and like an obvious marketing ploy. And integrating hashtags within a post #like #this harkens back to when we first discovered what a hashtag was.
But hey, we still use them for a reason – they work.
To avoid the unattractive list of tags at the end of your captions, try a hashtag cloud. Create a list of hashtags relevant to your style, brand, vibe, etc. and save the list as a note on your phone. Every time you post, copy and paste in your pre-drafted hashtag cloud as a comment underneath the post.
This way, your content will show up in relevant hashtag searches without ruining the aesthetic of your carefully crafted post. Hashtag clouds are ideal for Instagram, but they can be easily adapted for other platforms (if you’d like to know how, feel free to ask in a comment below!)
2. Where you lead, I will follow (-for-follow)
A great way to get noticed is to notice others.
- Follow accounts similar to your interests and tastes and oftentimes, these users will follow back.
- When you comment on other people’s posts, their followers will notice you and may decide to follow you.
Not only will you grow your audience, but you’ll also be able to track how other accounts within your interest groups are marketing and posting, which is an excellent way to stay on top of the trends within particular groups.
3. I really really really really really like you
LIKE. EVERYTHING. Similar to the follow-for-follow tactic above, like-for-like is a simple way to gain traction.
Likes are free, so pull an Oprah and give them to everyone. YOU GET A LIKE, YOU GIVE A LIKE, EVERYBODY GETS A LIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!
The users you follow and favorite might check out your account, follow you, and maybe even give you some love back.
4. You’re really pretty
Post high-quality content. You don’t need to invest in a fancy camera; most smartphones these days have impressive camera quality.
Make sure it’s clear, uses adequate lighting, and that the image’s focal point is properly featured.
Download a few editing apps (my favorites are A Color Story and VSCO) and use them sparingly and carefully.
5. Grab a protractor; find your angle
- What sets you apart?
- What will draw your audience to you?
- How will you fit yourself into your interest- or branding group while still being distinct?
Do some introspection, find your angle, cherish it, and then let everyone know.
These tips are obviously not the end-all, be-all of social media marketing, but they have certainly worked for me, both personally and professionally. And, best of all, THEY’RE FREE, so go try them out and let me know what worked best for you!
Today’s freebie
Even if you haven’t yet created a financial budget for your online marketing, you definitely need a time budget! Build your strategy the right way the first time with our FREE social media action plan.
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A great way to get noticed is to notice others
How to market your business on a tight budget
Create a list of hashtags relevant to brand and save them as a note on your phone
About our guest columnist
Brenda Cargin is a freelance digital and social media consultant. She specializes in social media marketing and content creation for nonprofit organizations.
Brenda lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and enjoys writing, photography, and traveling.
This article was originally published on Brenda’s blog, EveryShadeOfNeutral.com. Reprinted with permission from the author.
Contributer : Blogging Bistro
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