Cost of Living Crisis: Affordable Marketing Approaches

Learn about low-cost marketing approaches you can adopt for your business

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It’s been well documented that we’re in a cost of living crisis. It’s a deeply significant worry for businesses across the country, many of which are being squeezed by increased running cost and ripple effects from their supply lines.

As a result, many businesses are looking at ways in which they can cut costs whilst still offering fantastic services to new and existing customers. But does part of this cost cutting have to come at the expense of your marketing? No.

It is important to remember that marketing is a vital part of filling your lead funnel, so it could be crucial to helping your business thrive through this difficult period. Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing too – if they are starting to pull back their spends across digital, it allows an opportunity for you to, not only maintain your presence, but get ahead of them.

There are a whole range of low cost marketing activities you can implement for your business to help ensure your brand is achieving visibility and reaching potential customers, even during this difficult financial time.

Go Get Yourself On Google My Business

Put simply, Google My Business is a bit of a must have when it comes to digital marketing and online presence.

What is it? Well, Google My Business is a free business listing right in the world’s biggest search engine – Google. You have almost certainly seen them before; they often appear in a box to the right hand side within the search results, a bit like an information panel, and can also help your business display within the Google Maps results.

Within your Google business listing, you can feature valuable information about your business, such as its name, contact details, address, opening hours, descriptions, photographs, and much much more.

A well optimised Google business page can be an invaluable tool when it comes to organic visibility, particularly from a local SEO perspective. Be sure to add as much information as you possibly can across your profile, including a well written business description that uses relevant service and location keywords.

As a digital marketing option, it’s low cost, high value and easy to manage, and gives you a great opportunity to increase your chances of being seen online. Plus, being a Google tool, it’s got a pretty handy direct line when it comes to sending positive ranking signals to the big search engine itself. If you’re interested, we have more information about just how important Google My Business is for your marketing strategy in our knowledge hub.

Get Clever With Google Smart Campaigns

For those that have cut spending right down, but still have some marketing budget to put towards their digital efforts and who aren’t perhaps quite so experienced with paid advertising, you may want to consider Google Smart campaigns.

This option is the perfect starting point for businesses looking to dip their toes into pay per click advertising due to its simplicity. Smart campaigns rely quite heavily on the Google algorithm, meaning there is a lot of automation involved in their management, making them pretty cost-effective.

The set up process involves selecting a range of relevant keyword themes, adding your business information, creating your ad messaging for the ad, and choosing a monthly/daily budget. You can also add imagery and a business logo, which are then eligible to display as part of your advertisements when it is triggered to a potential customer.

Smart campaign advertisements are eligible to display across a number of placements in the Google network, which includes the search engine results, Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail, and Google partner websites.

As with all paid advertising, one of the benefits of using Google Smart campaigns is that you can reach new users that go beyond your current organic limitations, meaning you have a better chance of being placed front and centre for a search related to your service or product.

Up Your Social Media Marketing Game

Over the past decade or more, the social media business has grown exponentially and developed into one of the biggest advertising channels in the world. And it’s easy to see why, with figures from August 2022 showing that there are a total of 4.59 billion (yes, billion) social media users worldwide – this is across all platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, etc – a number that is projected to increase up to 5.85 billion by 2027.

So, with those kinds of numbers in mind, it’s definitely a channel you should be utilising as best you can with your very own social media marketing strategy to help build a presence, a following, and a greater awareness of your brand.

Identify the best social media platform for you and your business, and develop a plan of action for promoting your brand effectively, be it via a Facebook marketing strategy, an Instagram promotional campaign, a LinkedIn approach, or other platform.

A strong social media marketing strategy should involve planned and targeted posting across an array of formats and placements on your chosen platform(s), as well as the use of quality creative assets and a mindfulness of any social trends – be it seasonal or viral.

Be Creative With Your Website Content Marketing

When it comes to digital marketing channels, one of the most important is your own website. A well optimised, user-friendly website is absolutely essential when it comes to success online.

There is a well known mantra amongst marketers: content is king. The importance of content on your website cannot be understated; without it, you have nothing.

A well planned content strategy for your site can do wonders for business’ organic visibility. Although this should start with a review and optimisation of your functional pages (things like your core service pages), it is strongly recommended that you build a blog section for your website.

Having a blog is, for any website regardless of size, a vital source of rankings as it provides a creative platform where you can produce and publish content that utilises valuable keywords, addresses trending topics, and offers industry-leading or exclusive insights.

From a content marketing strategy point of view, a blog offers a great space and freedom for you to plan and produce regular and unique creative content related to your business, industry, and service area, helping to position your brand as a trusted resource and thought-leader amongst users.

Looking For Affordable Digital Marketing Services?

Times are tough for businesses, but if you’re interested in continuing your marketing efforts to make sure you can stay ahead of the curve, please feel free to get in touch with The Spark Agency. Alternatively, you can take a look at our selection of affordable digital marketing packages across SEO, PPC, and paid social to help get you off the ground.