In an ideal world, who wouldn’t want to have unlimited funding available to promote their products and services? After all, there’s approximately 7 billion people in the world. But, in the realistic business world where many upstarts (and even those who’ve been in business for awhile) may find themselves financially challenged, one must be strategically creative in how they go about marketing on a budget for maximum benefit. Here are a few ideas that may help when you have minimal to no additional funds for marketing yourself:
1. Utilizing social media/social sites. Every week, there seems to be another social media platform that can be used for exposure. While Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn continue to be among the front runners, social outlets such as Pinterest, Blab, Instagram and Periscope are quickly being recognized as useful and effective forms of reaching potential clients and supporters around the globe. The best part-all of these platforms are absolutely free.
2. Partner/Collaborate. There are two types of people to partner/collaborate with-those within your field and those completely opposite of it. Both will allow you to have a meeting of the minds to share ideas and be exposed to new audiences. Remember, even those who share similar skills will likely have their own niche, which is also true for you. And, those who operate in a completely different field may be connected to those that are in need of your services and vise versa.
3. Ask for help. Think about those who may have tangible resources that you could borrow or have donated to you for your particular business. Tangible resources could be anything from cash to office space and supplies. Consider those who you admire who may be able to offer some advice. You never know who may be willing to help if you don’t take a leap of faith and just ask.