Marketing on a Budget

I wanted to follow up on my post last month and focus on “getting creative.”  Recently I became a real estate agent after investing for almost 2 years and wanted to do something different to get eyeballs in front of my business.  After recently losing my job 2 months ago and wanting to shoestring my budget I decided to utilize 2 white pieces of cardboard and a sharpie.  The goal was to go “viral” via $20, a whole lot of hashtags, and teach the marketing gurus a thing or two.  In doing so I was able to learn a whole lot about myself, my business, and the gurus.

• I learned I can be different and not care about trying new marketing techniques that are out of my comfort zone (previously my major focus was in PPC/SEM).
• It worked.  I had one of the Top Review companies reach out to me saying they loved what I did, and I caught their CEO and marketing team’s attention.
• People won’t talk to you unless you go out of your way.  Simply put, open your mouth, good things tend to happen.  You may even make a new friend or business contact.

I have since gotten thousands of views to my various business websites focused on real estate in Tampa Bay and my lifestyle brand NoMondays Lifestyle.  All on $20…so don’t get too comfortable with those comfy $2 ROIs or great CPAs and big marketing budgets.  My returns will put those to shame and it’s already paying dividends with leads to acquire $1 million worth of real estate.  So, as I like to say, dare to be different and get creative with your marketing initiatives.

So what marketing initiatives are you using lately?  Who’s managing your programs?  Do you have time to do it yourself, have a team you trust, or simply want to offload it to a professional?  These are all questions you need to ask yourself and figure out the best situation for your business.  Are you where your customers are?  You may think you know where your ideal customers are or simply use the “sexy” social media accounts like Facebook/Instagram, but awareness is what keeps your lights on.

Provide high quality content and utilize ALL of the platforms, even ones you have never heard of.  Did you know Reddit is one of the most engaged platforms out there?  I didn’t until 8 months ago.  Imagine a perfect world where you can prospect for new customers without utilizing advertising dollars.  This is possible in today’s world and I’ve proved it over the last month growing my engagement and followers 4x.  So go out and find a professional or a team to utilize new resources.  Below are some to think about and why.

• Reddit: Great content & engagement platform.  Don’t be Salesy here, be fun & unique.
• Instagram: Surpassing Facebook in engagement & content.  The new sexier platform & it is kicking Snapchats butt.
• Snapchat: If you have a younger demographic you target.  Some cool targeting features that allow you to sell products or raise awareness of your services.
• YouTube: Content is King.  Google is pushing this hard and I am seeing much of YouTube populating the top of the SEO rankings due to Google’s continuous push to provide consumers with relevant content providers.

Hope this helps and happy hunting! Don’t be afraid to try something new.

Your path to business success.