Whether you’re a business neophyte or entrepreneurial savant, chances are you can benefit from some affordable and even costless marketing tips that are proven to bolster your user-base and make your product stick out.
Rule #1 The best things in life are free:
Freemium business models (whereby a service or product is provided gratis) are helpful in attracting an increased number of consumers. People are primed to take advantage of a good ol’ freebie and one of the cheapest ways to distribute your product or service is to implement Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS is suitable for products which translate online such as software, entertainment and communication. Marginal costs are reduced to almost nothing when companies licence their product on a subscription basis, hosted by the cloud and coordinated by an Application Service Provider (ASP). Skype, Spotify and Dropbox are prolific and demonstrate how companies can succeed using freemium. Complimentary access to a product is an effective way to seduce users, of which a small percentage are predicted to become long-term premium clientele. For those companies vexed by fixed costs such as buildings and equipment – but still want to implement freemium – online businesses such as Groupon can affordably attract a variety of potential clients by distributing online discounts for your company’s goods and services. By using freemium, you can also reduce IT support costs by outsourcing maintenance and troubleshooting to the SaaS provider.
Rule #2 Grassroots campaigns:
As your user base slowly begins to swell, Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite suggests executing small-scale, low cost, yet exciting, locally-driven campaigns as a means to connect and rally additional clients.
Hootsuite found success in setting up shop at specific industry events such as SXSW and used kooky, yet cost-efficient ways to stand out from the masses, “We transformed a Ford E-450 shuttle bus into possibly the world’s biggest owl, in honour of our mascot—mounting a pair of giant eyes above the windshield and affixing enormous plastic wings on the sides.”
Holmes admitted that while the tactic reeked of cheese, it was incredibly effective at gaining exposure, “the conference’s highest profile attendees were clamouring to get on board and party with us. And investors whom I didn’t even know were inquiring about the company.”
Making a spectacle and having a bit of a laugh is a no-frills way to get your audience to pay attention and subsequently get your message out there!
Don’t forget to celebrate the success of the event and follow up those new connections by posting photographs and tagging the attendees on your company’s Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter feeds.
Rule #3 Shhh, stop talking.
Did you hear me? A little hush please.
Every Tom, Sarah and Jerry are using whichever social networking means possible in a bid to snowball their follower numbers. It’s all well and good to look like the most popular kid in the Twitter playground but if you really want to differentiate yourself, it’s time to listen up.
Tara Hunt, social digital leader at MSLGROUP explains how your social media plan should consist of a 75% listening and 25% talking breakdown ti increase the opportunity to actively connect with potential clients.
“You should be listening for your brand mention and to what people are saying about you, your competitors, their brand mentions and what people are saying about them.”
By listening, you’re able to foresee potential trends and topics of chatter which is a vital tool to help you stay ahead of the pack. “Recognise incredible opportunities for your brand to jump into the conversation naturally and shine such as Oreo’s ‘Dunk in the dark’ and Arby’s Pharrell Williams hat joke,” explains Hunt.
Adopting a ‘pay it forward’ philosophy allows you to cultivate bona fide ties with users and influencers in your sphere. Nourish those connections before hitting them up for favours.
By devoting three-quarters of your time listening to social chit-chat you are then able to implement your intuition for news and trends to become far more influential when you do make noise.
Rule #4 Know your audience
In the article, The Key to Marketing in the Social Era: Understanding Digital Culture Hunt explains that quarterly results are forever looming but it’s important not to be a sucker for shortsightedness nor a slave to the masses. Appealing to the lowest common denominator is an idle marketing tool, in fact, more than ever because your audience is striving for individual recognition on various digital platforms. Your brand should be an extension of what your audience stands for, so get to know them! It is the information your audience shares which should underpin your engagement with them and your long-term term objective.
Rule #5 Liar, Liar, pants on fire
Typically, exorbitant marketing exercises lack inspiration and make eyeballs roll. Lacklustre campaigns instil the audience with feelings of betrayal by blatantly dismissing the fact they’re out for commercial gain.
Naming and shaming got a whole lot easier thanks to social media so don’t abuse the trust you’ve built with your followers. Geek journalist, Shane Snow admits “the holy grail of marketing is, of course, to make advertising that people enjoy so much that they’d seek it out on their own.”
Own your actions and be transparent with your intentions, people really will respect you more. Snow uses the example of the recent film 22 Jump Street “What makes [this film] one of the most hilarious movies I’ve seen lately is that the characters mock the fact that it’s a sequel throughout the film.”
