When companies are on a budget, marketing teams must come up with creative ways to promote a brand. This may include everything from keeping the message short and sweet to using original content to appeal to the company's customer base. There is never just one way to compose a strategy to get the message across when working with constraints.
Since marketers have many avenues to promote a brand, the possibilities are endless and acts as a chance to show creativity at its best. Here, 14 members of Forbes Communications Council share tips on how promoting a brand can still be effective while on a budget.
Forbes Communications Council members gives tips on how to make a marketing campaign on a budget.
Photos Courtesy Of The Individual Members1. Base The Campaign On The Customer's Needs
Content is not very expensive and in time gets better and keeps bringing results. It needs to be done according to a strategy, which can be built only on a deep understanding of clients' needs. In a nutshell, talk to your clients, get the key findings and build a solid content strategy to match specific pain points and steps along the buying journey. It’s a great opportunity for thought leadership. - Cosmin Patlageanu, YAROOMS
2. Cater To The Audience That's Listening
Identify the narrowest audience that has the highest potential to convert and work your way out from this core circle as budget and time allows. There's lots of ways to engage an audience which means a customer has plenty of choice in what gets their attention. Cater to the paying individual (not the hit-or-miss masses) as much as possible. - Zachary Hardison, Questline Digital
3. Keep It Short And Simple
There’s no magic bullet that gets everyone to open an email. The subject line is imperative and the first thing people read. This should be short and to the point related to what your audience wants to hear. This is key. It’s easy to default to what you want to say but you have to focus on what the consumer wants to hear and in a way that stands out. - Mickey McClay Wilson, Freeman
4. Adopt An Aggressive Approach
Utilize a gorilla-type marketing strategy. This means getting aggressive to ensure you have the right targets in order to create personalized outreach across multiple channels. This approach will drive higher engagement with the right contacts, which will increase the chances of engagement with prospective customers. - Kimberley Drobny, Theatro
Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
5. Get Closer To Your Customer Base
With every marketing campaign, it is about knowing your audience. Take a closer look and define additional personas within your existing customer base such as your most loyal customers, highest spending customers, highest referral customers, etc. If you have a true understanding of these customer segments, you can develop high impact tactics that resonate more effectively. - Meg Ugenti, Focus USA
6. Stand Out From Big Budget Marketers
Show me a marketer who relies on big budgets to succeed and I’ll show you a bad marketer. (Hint: It’s them). The crux of incredible marketing campaigns begins with standout insight. Say something of value to the audience that they can use – you will grab their attention. Do it repeatedly and Bob’s your uncle. In addition, intentionally build a connection with influential voices, not money, and they’ll help. - Ryan George, Docupace
7. Create A Working Strategy
Diagnostics begets strategy, and strategy begets tactics. It is important not to confuse them or to chase tactical ideas in isolation. Once the diagnostics and strategy work is done you will have your target segments, positioning, objectives and budget. Only then can you make tactical decisions. This is the marketing process. Beware guesswork and shortcuts! - Aarron Spinley, SPINLEY.CO
8. Use Your Creativity
Change your perspective. Constraints breed creativity! Some of the best, most creative work I've seen has been done on a tiny budget. - Heather Young, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST)
9. Take Notes Of Audience Conversations
Conduct an audience audit to identify the most impactful conversations and channels so that the spend is focused on return on investment driven performance, and allows room for testing and iteration. - Tara Naughton, MikeWorldWide
10. Start Making Customer Stories
Tell your customer stories by making them the hero. Video interview them on Zoom, and then edit it into short and sweet snippets highlighting where they're winning and how your brand has helped them achieve their goals. Share those stories on social media, send to the sales team to share with prospects, and send to customer success teams to share with other customers. This is low budget but high impact. - Holly Tate, Leadr
11. Remember That Timing Is Everything
Marketing strategy should include more time in the planning before you move to tactics. That would include understanding your target buyer. Where do they go for information along the buyer cycle, such as where do they go to get educated on a pain point, who they reach out to develop a short list, and then what the "one true thing" is that will resonate. Focus your limited budget there. - Michelle Bank, Nuspire
12. Start Using Every Social Platform You Can
Utilize social platforms but forget company pages. The only traction you get on social with company pages is when you pay. Instead, pick a group of your most "colorful" staff and build a campaign around their personalities with human interest angles on their profiles, and let them drag your brand along with them. - Andrew Martin, Asia Online Publishing Group
13. Make Original Content For Viewers
Social marketing in 2022 is all about creating authentic and entertaining content through short-form video. This new era provides brands with the unique opportunity to create lo-fi, low-cost videos on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. These videos can be leveraged to share new brand campaigns or products that capture the attention of your audience with minimal impact on your budget. - Kate Kenner Archibald, Dash Hudson
14. Use Email Or Social Media Marketing
For a first step, I suggest either email or social media marketing (or both). Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing when done correctly, and it’s not expensive to start with do it yourself email marketing platforms. Social media accounts are also free to create and use, making it an ideal marketing start for any company on a budget. - Asad Kausar, Dabaran
