6 ways to drive more traffic to your site on a constrained budget

It’s all well and good that established, larger companies founded years ago have absurdly high marketing budgets, and get to spend thousands of dollars (or more) on their campaigns and tests. But what about the rest of us? 

Start-ups and small businesses have to be savvy, with low or no budgets. They have to learn successful and strategic marketing tactics that drive more organic traffic to their sites, plus encourage sales. And though this can be done by any business, only those that stay dedicated to these practices will succeed.

Digital marketing can feel like an uphill battle when you have a limited budget, but not to worry, because we are sharing six marketing best practices that you have the power to do, and that will bring in more traffic to your site — without spending a dime

1) Create a social media content plan & posting schedule — and stick with it!

Social media expands your digital visibility, and businesses can no longer afford to ignore it. 

First, choose which social channels have the best audience for your brand, and be present there. Don’t feel like you have to be everywhere. Develop a content plan (weekly/monthly content topics) so that you aren’t winging your posts everyday, and use a scheduling tool to reduce the amount of work it takes to post regularly to these channels.

2) Practice cross-channel posting to generate more awareness around your content.

To raise awareness and create more interest around your social posts and communications, establish a multi-channel marketing plan. 

Let’s say you have a customer survey to send and want to drive responses. The most effective way to spread the word about the survey would be to post it (and pin it) to all of your active social channels, as well as send it out through email and embed it somewhere within your website. 

It’s worth the effort! Over time, reaching people in multiple and different places online spreads your brand awareness.

3) Produce leads from your social media by continuously engaging with your prospects and fans.

Utilize your social media to discover new leads by interacting with groups, influencers, followers and prospects in general. This means commenting, liking and sharing when it feels right to you. The options are endless in your social channels, but relevant reactions are what matters most.

Consider joining Facebook groups or Twitter lists that relate to your business. Once you’re a part of these you can post relevant or helpful materials (without pitching a sale and getting yourself kicked out) that drive interest around your brand and what you have to offer. Find new leads this way!

4) Grow your reputation and gain credibility by responding in your digital community.

Have you noticed that we naturally pay more attention to the brands that feel the most human? 

If a business only posts about their promotions, your brain thinks “they want my money.” On the other hand, when you see them responding to people online or giving advice, you instead think “they want to help me.” Now which thought would you be more inclined to buy from?

Don’t forget to spend time weekly on community management, which is a fancy way to say monitor and respond in your communities. The more you reach out and offer assistance, the more human your brand becomes and the more likely they are to buy from you!

5) Keep up with your leads using interactive engagement tools.

Engagement tools allow you to reach out to existing and potential customers and provide them with actionable ways to interact with your business.

Offers, events, surveys, and polls are just a few examples of key customer engagements that all marketers should be comfortable with.

• Offers:  What do you sell and when you should tell prospects about it? Do you have something new to promote? Do you want to sell a combination of products or services? Do you have some kind of offer if people buy more frequently from you?

• Events:  Surprisingly, you don’t have to hold an actual event with party favors. Events could be related to an offer, or could be a speaker or activity you run online.

If all marketers use these, then think about how you can make your brand stand out. Consider all the different ways you communicate, from traditional “I have this to sell you” to “I have this to teach, entertain and learn with you.”

6) Provide a value for your audience, always!

Every audience will respond differently. Meaning that a particular strategy that worked for one brand, might not for yours — even if they sell the same thing! Are you trying to reach specific kinds of customers? Then speak to them.

It’s hard to do everything at once. Are you more interested in growing sales during each visit? Or repeat customers? Think about what rewards you give them, from discounts to sharing experiences publicly, if that’s welcomed.

Continue to test new content marketing strategies such as webinars, blogs, informational vs entertaining posts, etc., until you find your best fit. How you communicate makes a difference!

Make sure you provide a reason for them to come back to your business specifically, based on a unique benefit you can offer them.

When you’re just starting up your business, keep in mind that you’re not alone. There are plenty of entrepreneurs and businesses who don’t have big budgets to spend on their marketing yet! This hopefully gives you a better understanding of what you can do to successfully market your business, on a budget.