Want To Have Marketing Without Overspending?

3 Less Known Marketing Strategies Local Businesses Can Profit From Without Losing an Arm or a Leg

Every business has its expenses.  If you want to make money, you have to spend money.  That’s no reason why the cost should be too high, though. The internet provides with plenty of ways to cut costs in running a business.  One of the biggest is in marketing. With a little bit of knowledge, you can use your website as an inexpensive marketing tool as well as a storefront.  The trick is making sure people see you.

The Old Ways Are Dead

In ye old days before the internet, getting word out meant you had to buy ad-space.  A billboard could catch traveler’s eyes while directing them to your store. TV ads would alert viewers to your products and services.  Radio stations could give a quick commercial for whatever you wanted to sell. All of these cost money and pretty much all of them have gone by the wayside.

At first, businesses tried to advertise on the internet the same way they do in the real world: with ads.  Banners, pop-ups, video ads, whatever form advertising took before developed an internet equivalent. The only problem was that advertisers overdid it.  The sheer excess of pop-ups and flashy banner ads got between browsers and what they wanted – their content – so ads became an annoyance they grew to hate.  These days, unless you’re very careful and your ads are carefully targeted, you’re more likely to annoy people than engage them. So, what are you supposed to do?  Let us tell you!

1.  Online Reviews

The most effective advertising was will always be word-of-mouth.  A flashy commercial or a punchy ad might spark curiosity, but a recommendation from a friend or family member is always more trusted.  Before the internet, word-of-mouth advertising could be difficult and always limited to the size of your circle of friends, but now the existence of online reviews makes it the most effective form of advertisement available.

According to the Spiegel Research Center, online reviews produce up to five times more sales than ads.  This is especially true for new products and services that don’t have high brand recognition, or those that are more expensive and risky.  A good review from a customer is far more convincing than any ad could ever be.

The best part is that it’s not limited to who you know. Consumers that don’t know your customers can find your business because of the online reviews left. 

 Thanks to low-cost automation tools like SoTellUs, asking for reviews is easier than ever.  If you can get your customers to give you your email address, you can send automated reminders to them.  Letting them know how important reviews are to you and catching them at a convenient time to leave a review is the most important step to getting those reviews going and clever automation helps you save hours per month in follow up. We’ve seen the right strategy and automation increase reviews over 4x.

2.  A Good Website Will Save Thousands of Dollars

These days, just about everybody has a website.  If you’re running a local business, it’s pretty indispensable.  Few people go anywhere to shop without first checking them out online.  While just about every business has a Facebook page and some social media presence, it’s not enough.  If you don’t have a website to act as the central hub of your content and the landing point for new customers, you’re going to find it really hard to do business.  A website provides a place for customers to check you out before they have to drive to your location. The convenience makes it more appealing than driving around town looking for something.

More than that, though, a professional looking website sends a message to your customers that you’re keeping pace with the times, that you’re concerned about their time, and that you care about what you do.  A well-made website sends a great first impression to your customers. It does all of that without needing to spend thousands of dollars on expensive ad campaigns and tv/radio commercials that few people bother watching anymore anyway.

3.  Blogging Brings It Home

Despite “blog” sounding like some kind of gelatinous monster that lives on the bottom of the river, a company blog is a super effective tool for marketing and SEO.  For starters, it allows you to add new content to your website on a regular basis without needing to constantly redesign it and mess up the layout. Google really likes it when you do that.

It also provides all kinds of new opportunities.  Got a sale up going? Blog about it! Got new products you want people to know about?  Blog about it! Got something to say about the business, or just want to let your customers know you appreciate them?  Blog about it! Your customers can subscribe to your blog and get notification when you post a new blog, so they’ll always be kept up to date on what’s going on with your business.  It’s way more effective than any paid ad ever could be.

We Are Here To Help!

Here at Atlas Internet Marketing, this is our specialty.  We keep ourselves up to date on the most recent information about effective online marketing so we can help bring that to our customers.  With elegant, modern website designs, blog content writers, and our knowledge of social media marketing, we can help you come up with effective marketing solutions without breaking bank.  Want to see how we can help you save money on marketing? Get in touch with us to schedule a free consultation.  You’ll be glad you did.