Does this question seem absurd to you? Do you feel, in the era where nothing gets done for free, how would you get digital marketing done on zero dollar budget? Well, it is possible, no matter how absurd it seems. However, it might not cost you dollars, but it might cost you time because you need to plan well in advance about how to market yourself/your company. Zero dollar budget allows you to inject deep-rooted trust of existing customers and potential customers into your product/service.
Here are some of the state-of-the-art as well as traditional methods with which you can get digital marketing done on a zero-dollar budget:
1. Age-old meet and greet:
In many countries, people are now getting back into businesses, working from the office, and traveling since vaccination campaigns have become successful and more than 75% of people are vaccinated. Hence, many business meetups and conferences are being organized for people having a startup to join. Make sure to find the free ones and attend.
Points to bear in mind while you attend such conferences:
- You may have to offer some feedback on the meet in the form of a blog or something, which I think is pretty much doable.
- Now you must be thinking that it’s not digital marketing but networking. What is networking? Another name for marketing. Talking from personal experience, when you meet people and share with them your business card, they are most likely to look you up on social media if they find you attractive. Connect with them as a person rather than a business person, and you’ll have yourself a loyal customer for life. See digital marketing with zero dollar budget made easy.
- If you are an introvert, gather the courage and walk up to someone. Now make a clumsy comment. Those are the best conversation starters. If they do not entertain you, do not feel offended, simply laugh it off and move to the next one.
2. Social Media Cross Marketing:
If you keep promoting your brand on the social platform, you might turn off your customers, and it might look selfish. Make sure to go for cross-marketing with people who aren’t your rivals but the influencers of your product. For example: If you own a line of beauty products, make sure to contact influencers who are into beauty products. Give a shot to the ones who are trying to establish themselves. And not the ones who have already been in the market for long. This way, you shall be able to promote someone trying to make a career choice for themselves, and your brand shall get promoted. Also, word of mouth has a powerful effect, so the ones you pay to market your product might not have genuine followers, but the ones who are starting might have loyal family members and friends who are willing to buy the product they are promoting.
3. Events:
There are various public events and conferences organized. Attend those and market your product. I have seen many authors attending open mic events and talking about the books they have written. And they have come so far as to the events were exclusively organized to promote their books. The journey you shall be on to promote your products might be long but cost-effective. One of the options for you is to host a webinar. It wouldn’t cost you a penny.
4. Videos:
People earn a lot from making videos, but the cost of producing videos might not be accessible. Hence borrow the camera with a tripod from a friend willing to lend it to you. Now you might have to record the audio separately but do not worry. There are lots of free software which might give you a trial for free. Use those trial offers and make a video that carries an appeal. In case you don’t mind spending a little, some top digital marketing marketing companies out there will help you develop videos within the required budget.
Points to bear while developing videos:
- Decide what you wish to do and how you shall carry it out! It is necessary to plan at least ten videos and schedule them at the proper time interval. You do not want to post one video at the break of a week and another next month.
- However, do not plan too much in advance because you might need to walk with the trend, and if another war might break out between, say between China and Taiwan, you might need to change a few things, which might become costly.
5. Blogging:
How can you mention digital marketing and forget about blogging? Blogging about your brand does miracles. Suppose you write and publish two blogs every week, the chance of people remembering you and your brand increases by 150%. Make sure to write something about your brands, products, services, and yourself from time to time, but the critical ingredient is humor. It connects everyone, so instead of writing serious articles, do use humor often for even non–potential people to click. Plan your blogs well in advance so that you do not have to think about content every time you open your Microsoft word. Before you start writing a blog, kindly don’t think twice about investing inconsistent branding. It will build people’s trust in you.
Points to bear in mind while building your blog
- Do feature and promote other bloggers, too, provided they post a blog about you. Again cross-marketing works like a charm, and it saves you money. It’s a win-win.
- Mailing your blogs regularly to people might seem slower at first regarding response rate, but it surely will increase your social media reach and website reach if you are regular. I had subscribed to something a year ago, and for a year, I didn’t even notice that my inbox was filled with that brand’s mails every week, regularly, without fail. I took notice of that after a year, and now I wait for their emails. So this can work for you. All you need is patience.
6. Create a LinkedIn group:
Free digital marketing is done for your brand if you create a LinkedIn group and post helpful content. In the era of Facebook and Instagram, only those people use LinkedIn who seriously want to get their work done. Hence, if you get a bunch of go-getters like you and work with them to build your brand, no one will stop you from becoming successful.
Points to bear in mind while forming LinkedIn group:
- It will help you keep up your zero dollar budget, so; you do not limit yourself to LinkedIn. Please take it to Quora, Reddit, and so on. If nothing else, you shall meet like-minded people who are struggling just like you to market your business successfully. Thus, you might get a successful collaboration out of this.
- When you are starting and are on a tight budget, get your hands on anything and everything accessible and can promote your brand.
7. Respond:
No matter what, take out an hour of your busy schedule and respond to the people who wish to connect with you, like your fans or loyal customers. If you are building your brand, then choose five to seven brands on whose content your comment regularly. People will take notice of your activities and keep tabs on what you are doing. Lead by an example and don’t just sit back and post your content. Show people, it is necessary to like, comment, share and subscribe regularly to whatever you believe. Learn social media marketing trends and apply them. Don’t just be satisfied with selecting your content; engage with them and show that they have won your heart. This way, your brand will win their hearts.
8. Claim your hashtag:
Make sure to float your brand’s hashtag in the market. Put it everywhere because now every social media platform encourages using the hashtag, so post it whenever you get the chance to promote your brand. When you claim your hashtag, you encourage others to use your hashtag too and that is how digital marketing agencies help their clients in customer acquisition. The rule to making your hashtag is, don’t just make it about your brand because then not many people will be able to use that hashtag. Make two to three generalized hashtags and one for your brand name. That way, more and more people will be able to use your hashtags.
9. Run a contest and build a referral program:
These options may seem futile to a few people, but they might work for your brand. It is better to use the techniques and fail than never to use them and stay curious about whether those might work. Run a contest and give them your products or discount coupons in return. You do not have to spend a penny on anything, and you’ll be able to gain a loyal set of followers. Believe in your brand, and you’ll encourage others to believe in it too.
To wrap it up, in the year 2022 (finally, we can say this is the year of post-pandemic), you have the benefit of more people being active on social media platforms. Hence, you can promote your brand with a zero dollar budget if you are willing to invest time. Research is the key and seeing what works best for you. So get that extrovert in you out in the open and use them to build your brand. Now, audience, it is your turn to tell us that we are amazingly mind-blowing and how our tips bewitched your customers.
