5 Low-Cost Marketing Ideas (Infographic)

Marketing budget during a crisis: to pay or not to pay. That is the question. 

Marketing spent may be cut mainly because you don’t understand why you use certain marketing tools. In this article, we’ll break down the top 5 low budget marketing ideas and list the reasons to use them (especially during a recession). 

Bonus: In the end, you’ll find an infographic summarizing the top inexpensive marketing ideas. The infographic contains some interesting facts and statistics we don’t cover in the post. 

Let’s go 🚀

Top 5 low-cost marketing ideas we’ll talk about:

1. User-generated content
2. Email marketing
3. Repurposing old content
4. Webinars
5. Teaming up with other companies

1. Incorporate a user-generated content strategy

Why: get earned media for free

Stories with branded Instagram filters, TikTok challenges, customer reviews on Twitter — these are just some examples of user-generated content (UGC). This content can be entertaining, informative, questionable, but the key idea is that it works. Would you rather trust your friend’s post about a brand than seeing an ad from exactly the same brand?

The best part? It’s a massive promotion and brand exposure that requires little resources from you. Isn’t it what we all need right now?

For example, Ray-Ban’s Reindeerized IG filter is a fun way to interact with the brand. 

2. Use email marketing

Why: keep them informed

A couple of days ago I converted my canceled flights to CashPoints. All it took were a couple of personalized newsletters. 

Email marketing is an essential communication tool today. Keep your clients in the loop by sending your recent updates, special offers, or any important announcements on how you handle the crisis. 

Kill two birds with one stone: use email as an internal communication tool as well. Creating a newsletter won’t take long and, as a result, you’ll reduce the number of calls from worried clients and countless questions on your team chats. 

When compared to gained results, investing in email marketing definitely pays off. As soon as the crisis is over, you can continue using newsletters for generating leads, driving more sales and reaping other benefits of an email marketing tool.

Learn more about how big brands do email marketing:

 

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3. Repurpose old content

Why: drive traffic

Are you among one of these industries with shrinking website traffic? 

Driving steady traffic to your site is not something that happens overnight. Turning a popular guide into a blog post can increase the number of your website visitors with little effort. That’s why repurposing your old content is the most efficient use of your resources right now. 

Here’s what you can do:

• Turn old brochures or guides into an SEO-friendly blog article and vice versa
• Visualize top performing articles in a new infographic 
• Draft a newsletter based on your top social media post
• Talk about your top blog posts in a podcast. (We talked about how to get started with podcasts earlier)
• Host a webinar on any evergreen topic you’ve covered before (more details on webinars later in this post)

4. Host webinars

Why: generate leads

Webinars are a sure-fire way to generate qualified leads. People who allocated one hour to watch your broadcast today are likely to become your loyal clients tomorrow.

Webinars are not for me — might pop up in your head first. Think outside the box and you’ll end up with at least a few webinar ideas. Here are some of them:

• Step-by-step tutorials
• Inspirational sessions
• Case study webinars
• Workshops
• Customer training

For example, take a look at our educational webinar on email marketing:

 

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5. Team up with other companies

Why: reach a larger audience and build a positive reputation

Apple and Google have recently teamed up to use smartphones to track coronavirus spread. (Source)

You can hardly find a media which has not yet talked about the rare cooperation. 

What can we learn from these tech giants? Firstly, today competition blurs and businesses are ready to support each other. Secondly, companies acting responsibly increase media and social media traction. Also, partnering with other brands is a great way to reach a relevant audience that may have not considered your brand before. 

You don’t need to have huge budgets for partnerships that make a difference. Small bakeries can team up with local restaurants to deliver lunches to hospitals. Marketing agencies can co-host a webinar. You name it. 

Yes, that’s a slippery slope. In an attempt to help for the sake of gaining visibility, you will ruin your brand reputation. Fake help initiatives are easy to spot, so team up only if you have kind intentions. 

Infographic: 5 low-cost marketing ideas

Infographic sources:

1. Stackla: Bridging the Gap: Consumer & Marketing Perspectives on Content in the Digital Age (Report)
2. Marketing Charts: Youth Expect to Use Email More in the Future
3. Backlinko: 21 Actionable SEO Techniques For 2020
4. Nola: With bars closed, New Orleans gets creative to support bartenders, raise its own spirits