Marketing on a Budget
By Xavier Rubira
A team comprised of diverse skill sets is valuable. Having dedicated team-members focus on specific problem areas will free up everyone’s time and allow others to work on their own areas.
The INFLECTION POINT report by Sembra Media discusses how content-driven teams miss out on business opportunities because their teams lack anyone who is devoted to marketing. The report states, “Many complain they don’t have the money to hire sales staff, but the ones who do are reaping the benefits (INFLECTION POINT pg.39).” Marketing on a budget can be difficult, but it is not impossible.
If you’re short on resources, then teaming up with other brands and creating events can attract a lot of attention, and alleviate the burden of working on a small team. Connecting yourself with other brands is a great way to network and connect your audiences together when it comes to social media followings.
Another way to market yourself is by promoting user referrals and creating a rating system after the product has been used. This can help generate positive feedback and foster a great public image. This is faster than just relying on consumers to actively write a review.
Social media is a phenomenal way to do budget marketing. Platforms, like Reddit offer many free ways to market yourself. For business on the rise, or about to release a product, a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA), is a free way to engage with your audience and give them immediate feedback on any questions they have.
Moreover, there is also YouTube, a powerful way to create an advertisement without paying for a time-slot. And you don’t need tons of expensive equipment to film an advert. It could actually help the brand if the quality isn't professional-grade, to add a level of novelty that may be charming, depending on the product.
Finally, instead of hiring an unrelatable marketing guru, have students’ market to students. Hiring college students as brand ambassadors is an affordable way to reach a younger audience faster. A brand ambassador spreads the company’s message, in numerous ways whether by going classroom to classroom and talking for a few minutes, or connecting the brand to school extracurriculars, clubs, and Greek-life.
For my team’s product, a marketing campaign would be very beneficial. Although we do not have large sums of money, nor backers to support us, we can use these affordable and simple tactics for our app and generate a similar effect. This shows that even the smallest of business can make something happen with enough planning.
These are just a few ways to alleviate the concerns of marketing campaigns. It is very important to spread the word about your product, because no matter how great, or revolutionary it is, if no one has heard about it, it isn't going anywhere.
