Free Marketing? Here’s How to Do It!

Part of marketing is balancing your budget. That means figuring out what to spend, where to spend it, and checking your ROI. Wouldn’t it be nice to get some free marketing? Let’s talk about some of the best ways to market your business without spending a single dime! 

Is There Such Thing as Free Marketing?

You might be thinking, “there’s no such thing as free.” That might be true. But spending time and spending money aren’t necessarily the same thing. You have to spend time on marketing to get people to pay attention to your content. You don’t necessarily have to spend money. 

At the same time, the most important metric is the return on your investment–whether it be money or time. If you can get folks to pay attention to you and buy from you, and do it all without spending a dime of your marketing budget, wouldn’t that be a big win?

From social media to email marketing to word of mouth, there are numerous examples of free marketing. But are they always effective?

Is Marketing For Free Effective?

Take a look at social media marketing. While you can build and maintain a robust profile on myriad channels without spending money, is it effective? Without spending, you’ll have a hard time getting the impressions–and engagement–you’re looking for. 

On the other hand, throwing money at social media marketing isn’t always effective either. Remember, your customers have a better chance of winning the lottery than you do of converting a customer from a social media banner ad. 

The effectiveness of free marketing is largely dependent on what you hope to achieve out of your marketing efforts. Are you looking to boost awareness or are you trying to get more conversions? 

For the former, both social media and Google My Business are effective, free ways to boost your digital visibility–especially since the latter is an integral SEO component. If you know what your audience is looking for and you actively promote your content organically, you can get a ton of eyes on your content without spending a penny. 

If you want more conversions, email marketing is a great free way to turn prospects into leads. With the right conversion series, you can get your audience interested in your content and even build a robust email list all for free! 

Best Free Marketing Strategies

SEO: Let’s not forget about search engine optimization. There’s no reason you need to spend any money on your SEO strategy. If you consistently publish high-value content, the search engines will take care of the rest for you.  

Email Marketing: There’s a reason email marketing is so widely used. It’s because the ROI is comparable! No other digital marketing tools allow you to send personalized messages en masse to your most interested customers. 

Social Media: While there are both paid and free options for social media, you can be successful with your content marketing strategy without spending any money. From customer contests to organic, viral content, free marketing on social media has been proven effective time and time again. 

Google Analytics: Data-based marketing is the most effective form of marketing. What better way to leverage data into more effective content than through Google Analytics? Like social media, there are both paid and free options, but the latter will still give you access to important keywords, metrics, and so much more. 

Word of Mouth: It doesn’t cost anything to get customers to refer your business to others. If your content and experience are buzz-worthy, people won’t be able to help themselves! The more you create a buzz-worthy experience, the more your audience will want to share it!