Ecommerce PPC / Low Budget Digital Marketing: 4 Tips for Success

Low Budget Digital Marketing: 4 Tips for Success

Andy Thorne
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There’s no doubt that promoting your product or service online is the best way to create profitable growth. However, does it always involve serious investment? We explore four low budget digital marketing activities that build success.

It can be a delicate balancing act. If you’re not careful, the more you spend on marketing, the less profit you make from your sales and your cash flow dries up.

The list of ways to advertise online – and the cost of websites with all the ‘whistles and bells’ – can tip the scales against you. Putting you under huge pressure to generate and convert enough leads, to create sufficient revenue to justify your marketing spend.

Here’s the good news. There are low budget digital marketing opportunities that cost very little or nothing at all! Yet they can grow your sales steadily. Read on for ways to unlock these 4 budget digital marketing practices.

1. Directory Marketing

Ensure your Google My Business is always up to date including opening hours, reviews and images

This is an often underused opportunity, yet it can be an excellent way to raise your online profile at low cost. You basically piggyback on organisations with deep pockets who do their own digital marketing.

Directory Marketing involves tracking down appropriate places for your business and its products to be listed. Some entries will be free, and the paid-for directory entries need to be measured against the likely return on investment.

Examples of Directory Marketing include entries in Google My Business, TripAdvisor, YELL, YELP, 192.com or Freeindex. These well-known sites make it easier for customers to find you. If there is a review element to a directory site, and you can stimulate positive feedback from customers, it’s gold dust!

Does your trade body have a directory of members that increases your internet footprint, or are there local organisations that offer free or low-cost listings on a directory of members?

The trick is to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What sort of directory might they use, to find a business like yours?

2. Social Media

The biggest free marketing platforms are your social media channels, keep them up to date and engaging!

This is probably the perfect tactic for low budget digital marketing, as it’s totally free! If you set up business pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, for example, you can use generic posts to engage with your target customers.

After saying that, social media can be a massive black hole’, where you lose too much time with little return. The key is having an effective social media strategy and the skills to create dynamic content. Take courses to develop better social media skills (or ask Factory Pattern to work with you on a strategy that brings success.)

A great source of tips on Social Media techniques is Google Garage. It covers both beginner and advanced digital marketing.

3. Email Marketing

Engaging customers through email marketing will help build loyalty

With so many sophisticated digital marketing options to choose from, there is a misconception that some of the more traditional methods are now ‘outdated’. This includes email campaigns.

In fact, engaging with potential customers – and building loyalty – using strategic email marketing is both cheap and effective. The cost of tools such as Klaviyo or Mailchimp is relatively low. When you create a robust plan and a set of well-conceived emails, the return on investment could be sizeable.

Make sure your emails are personalised and of genuine value. Such as authentic news, discounts, exclusive access to new website features or products, or other content that adds value to their relationship with you. Emails encouraging a fresh look at abandoned shopping baskets can be effective too.

4. Never underestimate SEO!

SEO is evergrowing and will always be at the forefront of long-term digital marketing success

Including SEO in a list of low-cost digital marketing ideas may seem odd. After all, agencies with advanced SEO skills naturally come with a considerable price tag. However, simple SEO techniques can be self-taught. Or, you could use a knowledgeable local SEO agency (Factory Pattern) to pass on insights and skills that you can use going forwards.

This is another topic that’s the subject of various online webinars and courses, including within Google Garage.

Keep in mind that to generate enough of the right kind of leads, your SEO needs to drill down well on your keywords. It also needs to be consistently reviewed and updated, to create a stable page ranking and a steady flow of enquiries.

Making the most of low budget digital marketing

Successful low budget digital marketing still puts your product or service in front of large audiences, 24 hours a day. However, it relies on having a clear strategy and a firm grasp of what works. Otherwise, you could be wasting your time.

That must include finding ways to measure your digital marketing, so you can keep doing what works.

To build the right skills and strategies to take full advantage of free or low-cost digital marketing opportunities, contact Factory Pattern for a chat.