Marketing is at the heart of any business, and one cannot overstate its importance. It is an integral element to attract customers, build a loyal customer base, and ensure that a business keeps flourishing. Its significance increases twofold for a startup as it helps boost visibility and establish an individual brand identity. After all, if no one knows about you, they can not buy anything from you, can they? That renders marketing such an essential component of your business endeavor.

If you are a startup owner seeking to grow your business, there are a variety of marketing ideas and tactics you can implement that can bring great results and do not break the bank. So if you are just starting and want to promote your business on a shoestring budget, here are some low-budget, high-impact strategies to market your brand and tell the world about it.

Create a Website

Creating a professional website is an excellent way to make it easy for people to find and connect with you. A highly responsive and attractive website will serve as the main hub for all information related to your brand. It will significantly expand your reach amongst the larger audience, as it could be accessed anywhere at any time and by anyone.

Your website will always be available around the clock to provide in-depth information regarding your brand to potential customers. Customers may engage with a chatbot if they have any queries and get instant answers when you are away. This ease of accessibility along with a friendly user experience can draw them closer to your brand.

Most importantly, having a website will add credibility and professionalism to your business and customers will likely perceive it as more trustworthy.

Leverage the Power of Social Media

According to estimates, there are 4.20 billion active social media users today who use various platforms daily, which equates to more than 53 percent of the total world population. That offers your business an incredible opportunity to build brand awareness, develop customer relationships, and generate sales leads directly within social platforms. Social media is an excellent way to reach and engage a vast swatch of your target audience without having to put in too much effort or resources.

Create business pages on the most popular social media sites, especially Facebook and Instagram, to reach as many people within a short time frame. Create a weekly calendar and regularly come up with engaging blog posts and videos. Run polls, tag people and similar brands by using hashtags to boost visibility. Directly engaging with followers as much as possible will further help present your brand in a good light.

Engage in Email Marketing

Another fruitful and cost-effective marketing tool, email marketing is one of the most reliable ways to get new visitors engaged with your brand and receive a strong return on your investment.

Ask customers for their email id when they visit your store or website. This is a great way to build your email subscriber list and market your products and services directly to potential customers. Make your email communications informative, helpful and professional; something your customers would look forward to receiving and entice them to take the next step.

Launch a Referral Program

A happy army of satisfied customers can do a lot for you to acquire new customers for your brand. Word of mouth referrals is a cheap but powerful way to grow your business, as people are more likely to trust a business when they are referred to it by a friend or family member.

While many customers would be happy to spread the word about your business without any involvement from your side, you can still do your bit to encourage a customer to do so. Offer them incentives like a discount, or even a cash bonus to motivate them to promote your business.

Realize the Importance of Online Reviews

Over 90 percent of customers say that positive online reviews influence their purchasing decisions. You must take proactive steps to build an online reputation by asking your customers to leave feedback and a review whenever they do business with you. Give them small incentives to do so, like a future discount or bonus on their next order if they leave feedback or write a review. Do not forget to thank reviewers who leave excellent feedback or remarks and respond adequately to those with a negative review.

Branding is one of the most pressing challenges facing many small business owners. As they operate on a tight budget, they do not possess the financial resources for expensive marketing campaigns like the big players out there with dedicated marketing departments and millions to spend on a branding campaign.

Fortunately, marketing your small business does not require a huge expenditure as many would think. As demonstrated, the modern digital age provides you with an array of channels to promote and expand your small business without spending a fortune on its promotion.