How do you get the word out about your business without spending a fortune? Good question! That’s the million dollar question, now isn’t it?
It’s not that difficult. What you have to do is look beyond conventional advertising and marketing. Traditionally, you’ll want to run an ad campaign online, in print, on television, and on the radio. These are all effective mediums and if you have the budget should not be overlooked. You’ll even want to have an agency or personal sales representative to help you purchase all of your media advertising.
But that type of promotion is, dare I say, obvious. What you need is ideas on how to get the word out to either (A) supplement your existing ad campaign, or (B) substitute for an ad campaign due to a lack of budget.
Without a fortune to spend, you can still spend a small amount and get a high number of “impressions.” If you’re already familiar with marketing, you’ll know the term “impressions” as a major buzz word. Impressions refer to what they sound like they refer to: the number of times a person encounters your brand. “Brand” is another term used, not meaning the name of your brand, but meaning the combination of the name of your brand, your slogan, your work ethic, and your overall company image. That is your brand.
In order to be sure that you get the impressions you need thereby yielding considerable results from your marketing efforts, you must think outside of the box. Before you jump, be prepared. Establish a solid brand. Make it memorable. Have a good logo. Use great fonts and colors, and words that will reach out and grab your prospective demographic. Make sure to stir emotion (even laughter is an emotion) and make sure the benefit of your products or services is crystal clear! Without that, you can advertise until you’re blue in the face and you won’t see as good of results (if any).
Once your solid brand is created, it’s time to get that brand out there in any way possible. The best way to start is to buy and give away inexpensive items with your brand affixed visibly to said items. Examples include: pens, coffee mugs, koozies, regular cups or glasses, hats, t shirts, and so on.
Now, you’re probably thinking that t shirts and hats are your favorite option of the ones mentioned because they would theoretically result in the most frequent and most effective impressions, since these are mobile items, so to speak. What you need to keep in mind, though, is that there is a disadvantage to apparel items. Unless your brand, logo, etc. are so cool and exciting that people will be proud to wear apparel boasting your business, you could be wasting money by focusing too much on apparel items. People don’t want to be a walking advertisement for no particular reason—but they will if they like what they’re wearing.
Remember that small usable items (like pens, notepads, koozies, etc.) will be seen by people on a continuous basis, too, albeit in a slightly more discreet manner. This works well, especially around an office. Try giving away usable items like pens to local offices. These items will be usable for a longer period of time than apparel items as well, since they do not wear out as quickly and do not fall out of vogue as easily.
When was the last time someone picked up an ink pen and said, “I can’t use this—it’s not cool anymore.” Maybe young children, but they are not your target demo anyway! Right? (“Target demo” is short for the marketing term “target demographic,” meaning a group of people having the characteristics such as gender, age, and so on that will make them more likely to be in the market for your products or services in the first place.)
With all of that said, apparel items like hats and t shirts can be cool if you make them cool. Think of something really unique, or even pay an artist to design something that people will enjoy wearing. Alternatively, you could use really clever humor to get people’s attention. Have a friend or family member who is known for their infectious sense of humor come up with some catch phrases or something. Throw in some clipart like arrows, or slogans that start on the front of the shirt and end on the back, for example. Do what gets people’s attention.
These are just a few ideas, but remember that conventional advertising is by no means the only effective way to establish your company in your area. These unconventional ideas can go a long way. Finally, before you make a large investment in any one item, try a moderate number of multiple items to see which one(s) seem to be working best, giving you the most ROI (return on investment).
If you are interested in learning about and discussing social services and social services agency management, please visit SocialServicesAgencyManagement.com where you will also learn about the new ecological model of excellence.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.LeadershipVillage.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
