5 free and low-budget marketing ideas for your business or not-for-profit.

Start marketing your small business or not-for-profit today, with these impact-boosting marketing strategies that won’t break the bank.

Marketing can be an overwhelming task, especially for small businesses and not-for-profits (NFPs) with limited budgets. Traditional marketing tactics for these organisations are often out of reach. Fortunately, there are low-cost marketing options that can help you promote your organisation without breaking the bank. Here are some of the best.

Publish great content: 

If you've got a way with words or a flair for design, get content marketing! Content marketing is about creating content that's informative, entertaining, and engaging while showcasing what you do to your target customers. By publishing blog posts, videos, infographics, and other types of content on your website and social media channels, you can educate your audience about your products and services, industry trends, and other relevant topics, establish your organisation as a thought leader and build audience trust.

Content marketing can be an effective low-cost option because it only requires time and effort, rather than a large budget. And unlike traditional advertising channels, which tend to have a short lifespan, content marketing can have long-term value. Your content can continue to attract and engage potential customers long after it was created, leading to a higher return on investment over time.

Leverage social media:

Social media platforms allow you to have a conversation with your audience, create a buzz around your brand, and share relatable content that will connect people and build a community around your business. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn offer free and low-cost advertising options that small businesses and NFPs can use to promote their products and services.

These platforms have massive user bases, allowing organisations and groups to reach a large audience without spending a lot of money. Their advanced targeting and retargeting capabilities allow you to reach your ideal customers by specifying demographics, locations, interests and behaviours, and offer different options from sponsored posts to display ads. This helps you to create highly targeted and relevant ads that are more likely to be clicked on and convert to sales. Plus, the beauty of social media advertising is that you set your own budget and get detailed analytics, so you can control costs, track success and maximise your return on investment.

Use email marketing to nurture leads and customers:

Don't underestimate the power of a well-crafted (non-spammy) email. Email marketing is a fast, effective way to reach your target audience directly. It involves sending regular newsletters, promotional emails, and other types of content to your list of email subscribers. By keeping your subscribers informed about your latest products or services, industry news, and special promotions, you can keep your brand top of mind and encourage repeat business.

Email marketing can be cost-effective because it only requires an email list and a tool to manage and send emails. It doesn't require the production or distribution costs associated with other forms of advertising, such as printing or postage. It’s much faster too! Targeted messages can be delivered to your audience in a fraction of the time it takes to send a letter! According to a recent document published by the New Zealand Marketing Association, email marketing has an average open rate of 22.4% in Asia-Pacific, and 21.5% globally; and remains a powerful marketing tool for New Zealand organisations.

Make it easier for Google to find you:

This one's a bit more technical, but not out of reach! SEO is about optimising your website’s content and structure in order to improve your search engine rankings and get more organic traffic to your site. Think of it as playing hide and seek with Google and other search engines. By optimising your website, you can make it easier for Google to find you and show you off to potential customers. And who knows, maybe you'll even make it to first-page search results! This can be done by using relevant keywords, optimising your website’s content and structure, and building high-quality backlinks from other sites.

SEO is a long-term exercise that requires time, effort and patience, rather than a large budget. A paid search strategy compliments and supports SEO and vice-versa, but by committing to a long-term SEO strategy alone, you can strengthen your online presence, increase your website traffic, and drive more conversions over time.

Create sticky customers who tell their friends about you:

And finally, we have referral marketing - a fancy way of saying "word of mouth." Happy customers are your best advocates, so why not reward them for spreading the word? You could even create a fun referral programme that offers incentives or rewards for customers who spread the word about your business. To this day, word of mouth is still hands down one of the most effective marketing channels (sometimes more than most marketers would like to admit!) because people are more likely to trust recommendations from friends and family than traditional advertising. Wouldn’t you? Referral marketing leverages that.

So there it is. Achieving your marketing goals can be done without blowing your budget. By focusing on creating valuable content, engaging with your audience on social media, leveraging email marketing, optimising your website for search engines, and encouraging referrals, you can build a strong brand that attracts more customers, and grow your business.

That said, there’s no one size fits all approach when it comes to marketing because every organisation is unique. Your marketing tactics and how you choose to deliver them will depend on the size and goals of your organisation, your target audience, your location and your budget. Consumer behaviour and preferences constantly evolve too, so what worked well in the past may not necessarily work as well today. A successful marketing strategy needs to be flexible and adaptable.

If you’re feeling stuck with your marketing strategy or not sure how to get the most from your budget, get in touch today. Let’s get started on boosting your impact!