How to promote yourself online – while keeping your budget on track
Posted by : Premraj | Posted on : Tuesday, January 2, 2018
DELICIOUS
SU
REDDITWhen you think of online marketing, chances are you envision expensive agencies in the centre of London, the kind of businesses for which blue sky thinking pays top dollar.
But the perception of digital marketing as a preserve for elite companies is inherently flawed, and is why many SME websites look like they were developed in 1995.
It’s entirely possible to invest in effective and engaging web advertising while remaining within a stringent budget.
To show you how, we’ve put together a few of these tips that will help you market yourself online without feeling like you’ve been gouged.
Stay out of London
The lure of London is understandable. It’s where the largest media agencies set up shop and where you’ve probably been told you’ll receive the best possible service.
But unless you’re an international multimedia conglomerate, your company probably doesn’t need to pay mass amounts for the online arm of your business – and you can avoid London entirely.
Look further afield for your online solutions, whether that means hiring a content marketing agency in Scotland or even an agency in mainland Europe.
Look at customer reviews of well-known media agencies to make your selection. You’ll have to get in touch with them to find out how much they charge, but they’ll be uniformly less cost intensive than agencies in London.
Take on some of the burden yourself
If you’re a hardcore technophobe, you’ll probably find the idea of taking on your own online marketing a terrifying prospect.
And indeed, it’s unlikely that you’ll have the time or skill to design an amazing website. But if you need to skimp the pennies, you could contribute in other ways.
Provide your media agency with plenty of content ideas to cut down on your retainer time, write blogposts and ad campaigns yourself for content writers to edit, and provide high quality imagery of your premises so designers don’t have to source them.
These will trim the cost of your online marketing strategy while still ensuring you receive the best possible service.
Avoid fads
What do virtual reality, voice recognition and drones have in common? They’re all being touted as the next big thing by design agencies.
But the next big thing can be, and most likely is, costly – and if it won’t directly help your bottom line, it probably isn’t worth your hard earned cash.
The stalwarts of online marketing are still the most important – content, web design, organic rankings and social media presence.
While it can be tempted to purchase a virtual reality guided tour of your offices, ask yourself how many people will actually use it once the novelty has worn off.
Stick to the standards in online marketing and you won’t have to sell an arm and a leg to attract customers.
Those are our suggestions on how you can enjoy great online marketing within your budget. Got any suggestions of your own? Then let us know in the comments below!
