It’s the unavoidable catch 22. Finances are tight so the last thing you want to do is spend more, but people still need to know about your products and services. The secret to surviving any budget crisis is not to stop spending altogether, but to spend smarter. Find new ways to communicate with your audience and your campaign will pay for itself. We’ve pulled together a few tips that will stretch your imagination, not your budget.
Join the digital revolution…
Online advertising is the most accountable medium available. Once you’ve got a great campaign idea, replicate it across the formats that are most relevant to your consumers and use the marketing intelligence it provides to build your brand.
Poke, Blog and Tweet…
Make use of the vast array of social media platforms to get your message across. Create your own Facebook page, start your own tweets on Twitter or run a regular blog to tell people about your brand. It’s a quick and easy way to get free publicity.
Location, location, location…
If you do go down the digital route, make sure your ads are being seen by the right people, in the best location. Online technology allows us to track user’s movements right down to the last click, so use this information to tighten your targeting.
It’s good to share…
See if you can find any complementary companies or organisations that you could team up with to book advertising space and share campaign messages. It could halve your budget and double your profile.
Be a pillar of the community…
Get involved in pro-bono work, write a piece for the local paper or sponsor your local football team. Positive word-of-mouth is one of the simplest ways to raise your profile regionally.
Don’t kill the radio star
Booking a 30 second spot on a local radio channel can be a relatively inexpensive way of reaching a specific audience. Offer to be interviewed on a hot topic and see if you can negotiate down the rate further.
If you don’t schmooze, you lose…
Networking with other local businesses can give you ideas on how to move forward and help you to understand where your weaknesses and strengths are. Setting up collaborations can also strengthen your business offering.
Choose your agency wisely…
A good advertising agency understands that their success is based on yours.
So they’ll go the extra mile to make things happen for you, making sure you choose the most effective channels to make your budget go further.
