Are you a small business owner struggling with marketing? Do you want to market your business on a small monthly budget? These days it is definitely possible to market your business for less
 than the cost of a meal at a 4-star hotel.

Knowing the right information and proven marketing hacks can be useful for any startup on a tight or non-existent budget. Strategic and consistent marketing efforts can bring you good results in a matter of weeks. Even with only $100 dollars allocated to your marketing budget per month, you can grow your small business. Here’s how to get started:

1. Use social media wisely.

Use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for your business and use these platforms wisely. For example, test sponsored posts on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. This will boost the exposure of your content
 across social media networks; and the targeting capabilities are robust.

Meanwhile, many social networks also offers some free bucks if you are registering for the first time. You can use social media management tools like Buffer and Hootsuite to manage all of your social media accounts in one place.

Social Media Management, Average Cost: $0-10 per month

2. Talk to the press.

Today any startup founder and small business owner can get featured on targeted media outlets. The best way to start is with HARO, an acronym for Help a Reporter Out. HARO provides journalists with a robust database of sources for upcoming stories and daily opportunities for sources (i.e. you) to secure valuable media coverage.

You can set up a free account and respond to journalist and
 reporter queries for upcoming stories and in return land features on leading media outlets. This helps you build credibility and gets the word out about your business. It also gives you a backlink to your website if you are chosen. It is one of the best ways to get media exposure at no-cost.

Pitch Media Outlets with HARO, Average Cost: $0

3. Offer freebies.

Everybody loves freebies. The idea behind freebies is to lure customers in and increase sales by giving away something for free. You can offer your prospects a free
 ebook, free guide, a free trial, etc. The only cost is what you incur on the back-end to create it, which can be labor hours at max for many small businesses. Prospects are likely to use it because it is offered for free. Make it count and develop a lead page with a lead ten form to get them into your sales funnel convert those prospects to
 buying customers.

Create In-House Freebies, Average Cost: $0

4. Do market research.

Before you spend money on marketing conduct market research about your potential customers. Who are your ideal buyers? What problem are they trying to solve? What do they
 want?

By doing some research about it you will be able to spend your limited marketing budget more strategically. You will also need to understand
 competitors. Analyze websites, track social media, and track backlinks with with complementary Ahrefs research tools.

SEO Research Tools, Ahrefs: Cost: $0

5. Start blogging.

Writing about your niche on your company blog (@mydomain.com) can help attract visitors to your website. You can create content (e.g., How To guides, checklists, comparisons, case studies, etc.).

A well-written blog will bring in site traffic and build links that help you improve your searching engine rankings. Make sure your blog is hosted on your own domain (not Blogger, or myname.wordpress.com). You’ll want to build equity for your own domain instead of a third-party, to avoid duplicate work down the road. Identify and design the right content strategy for the area of your customer journey and sales funnel that needs it most.

Blogging, Average Cost: $0

6. Buy Facebook ads.

Facebook advertising can drive lots of traffic. Gaining traffic is relatively easy, but you should focus more on conversions. If you are looking for a platform that
 can drive high quality and relevant traffic, then Facebook as a cost-effective social media marketing option. With Facebook Ads you can reach to an audience
 that shows interest in your offer. However, your ad campaign will only be effective if your landing page is optimized for user experience.

Facebook Advertising, Average Cost: $0-90 per month (Variable)

This article has been edited and condensed.


Gaurav Kanabar is the Founder and CEO of Alphanso Tech, an India based IT Consulting company that provides software solutions. Connect with @alphansotech on Twitter.

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