Whether you’re a startup or you’ve been in business a while, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on effective marketing to get extraordinary results. Below are some creative branding ideas that reaped extraordinary results for the business owners that submitted them. I hope you find these to be inspiring.
Leverage your expertise
Getting in front of a group of people is much more effective than meeting one client at a time. Consider opportunities like speaking to a local organization or contributing to a publication to share your story and expertise. You may even negotiate a trade for an ad or banner to further highlight your business.
Can’t invite a client to lunch?
A mortgage broker wanted to speak with potential clients over lunch, but simply couldn’t meet with each of them. Her solution was to buy a lot of people lunch and make her point with creative marketing.
She bought small gift bags that matched her company logo, filled them with bottled water, granola bar, string cheese, crackers, and a small apple. She stapled her business card to the bags and included a personalized note. She delivered these to new companies and the strategy worked well. (Each lunch cost under $3.)
Specialized interns
Hiring interns to handle specific tasks like public relations and social media will reap substantial rewards for your business. Interns can handle everything from writing press releases to contacting the media. They will help gain followers, interact with them, start discussions and more. You’ll also find partners, affiliates and customers using social media.
Flash mob
Few businesses try this fun attention grabber as a marketing strategy. Flash mobs require both logistical planning and promotional considerations, and done well, are memorable, provide community fun, highlight the causes or businesses involved, and can draw people into your business.
Group conversations
Leverage a LinkedIn (or any) group conversation that lends itself to your expertise. A web developer was in the group, and someone asked everyone to list their websites. The web developer was able to review each website and, if the site wasn’t mobile, connected tp the individual and offered their services. This resulted in new business.
Sponsor
Getting involved with local events can help get your brand in front of an audience. Sponsoring an event helps build affinity and awareness among attendees who appreciate being able to go to a discounted or free event thanks to sponsor underwriting. Not everyone will become a customer and measuring ROI can be quite difficult. However, sponsorships are popular for a reason, and work well when effectively implemented.
Copy the masters
Watch to see who is creating great content, and follow their lead. Examine the ‘best’ & biggest businesses.
Take a close look at clickbait sites like Upworthy and Buzzfeed that get a ton of shares. Their audience and content will be different from yours, but they serve as an excellent study in how to improve your marketing strategy. Also, keep tabs on competitors’ social profiles.
Need help brainstorming great marketing ideas? Call us at 321-698-1550.