Large businesses have big marketing budgets and resources. They can afford costly advertising, premium lead generation, paid social ads, etc., which new businesses cannot.

It’s not a crime to start your marketing on a small budget. What is important is your approach. With the right strategy, you can achieve so much marketing mileage with a little budget in this age of digital marketing.

Apart from a few resources needed to execute your marketing plan, you need little to no money to market your ideal customers online.

While the strategies discussed in this article can help businesses of any size, those on a shoestring budget will gain immensely from it. We will start with the strategies and discuss relevant tips for efficient lean-budget marketing to conclude our discussion.

Below are three simple local business-marketing activities you can implement to reach and convert your target audience.

• Video marketing

Video marketing uses videos to promote and inform your prospects about your offer. It helps increase engagement with your target market and magnetizes them to your message.

Luckily, smartphones these days have superb cameras for recording. You can use your phone to make videos and run targeted ads on Facebook with the videos. You only pay per view for the ads – as little as three cents per view.

How to create videos like pros:

• Do a short video script to guide your performance
• Keep your recording background bright and clear
• Choose a good video editing program or app
• Keep your message simple and to the point
• Prioritize sharp, clear image and audio
• Avoid shaky footage or distractions while shooting the video

Google is your friend! You can Google “how to make videos like a pro” for more insight to create cool and quality videos for your marketing.

• Content marketing

You should own a website and host a blog for an engaging convo with your audience. With your blog in place, create weekly articles, possibly on the same topic as your video to share your views and engage your audience.

Create high-quality blog posts to discuss interesting topics. Learn how to create a blog that gets shares and followers. If you pulled through, you should have your audience coming back to your page from time to time.

How to create blog articles that convert

• Know your audience and create a compelling headline to attract them;
• Use subheadings to break the page into shorter paragraphs;
• Use bullet points for easy reading and understanding;
• Optimize your content for SEO to make it searchable;
• Add a clear call-to-action where necessary to help your audience take action.

It helps to search Google for information on creating high-quality blog posts for your marketing.

One benefit of owning a blog is controlling the content you share. It attracts your target audience and easily converts them into paying customers. 

• List building

You must have heard the saying, “there is money in the list.” Yes, it is true! If you put your list to good use, you should reap huge benefits in ROI. List Building Marketing is about interacting and calling the attention of your target audience (ideal customers) to your offer.

You can build a list comprising quality target audiences with permission to send them marketing content from your video and blog engagement. 

Since your list contains your potential customers, you can plan a targeted email to send them your offer frequently.

Email marketing is huge! According to Statista, about 333.3 billion emails will exchange hands in 2022. The figure continues to grow as long as there are offers to market.

Email marketing ROI offers a $45 return on a $1 spent if put to good use. Take advantage of list building to increase your marketing success for your local marketing on a shoestring budget.

Tips to exponential success when marketing on a shoestring budget

If you allow your local marketing on a shoestring budget to focus on marketing psychology and use it strategically, you can reach new customers and increase sales exponentially.

The saying, “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes accepted as truth,” couldn’t be truer in today’s digital marketing strategies.

Follow these three marketing tips built on human buying psychology to succeed in your marketing with little budget.

• Prioritize local SEO to boost your visibility and discoverability in searches

People search for what they need before meeting the seller. SEO strategy provides an easy way for your audience to find you. There are lots of resources online to create quality SEO content.

• Use Google search to your advantage. I can’t stress that enough!
• Increase your SEO knowledge to know what’s trending and serve your market the hot soup!
• Read “How to Market a Local Business Effectively” for more insight.

• Invest in content marketing to build rapport with your target market

There is no cheaper way to engage your audience than content marketing. You should know your audience and create content that meets their needs.

• Focus on educating your target audience and solving their problems

Every potential buyer has a question they want to be answered. With your SEO knowledge, find trending discussions on sites like Quora, Reddit, Pinterest, and other social communities and create relevant content to connect with your target audience.

• Leverage email marketing

Your list-building effort will pay off if put to use. Don’t just build a list and fold your arms. Use it to engage with your audience.

Send targeted emails to your list according to their buyer persona and buyer journey. When your audience receives a relevant email from you, it increases the open rate and engagement.

Do you need help to market on a shoestring budget?

Let’s be frank! Digital marketing is a new game for many new business owners. It is possible to find implementing some of the tactics discussed here a bit challenging. Not to worry, SwingPointMedia has got your back!

SwingPointMedia focuses on helping local businesses succeed in their marketing by strategically creating content that attracts and filters out your ideal customers from the crowds.

With SwingPointMedia, your company can easily become a household name by being front and center in your neighborhood.

SwingPointMedia is a marketing company focused on using content marketing, such as written articles, video and podcasts, to attract their customers ideal audiences. This approach has proven to attract higher quality customers while simultaneously reducing the sales cycle by as much as 70%.
SwingPointMedia serves local businesses in Southern California and can be reached by calling 760-422-5176.
You are invited to also attend a free weekly presentation, providing you the tools and strategy to roll out your own content marketing program for your company, or see exactly what SwingPointMedia does for its clients to achieve success. It can be viewed live on SwingPointMedia’s YouTube channel, Wednesdays at 11 am pst.

Only one time, in the decades I have been on this planet, has someone told me, “No, I don’t want to grow my business, I have enough customers”.
This is for the rest of us.
The ones who have a local business and want to know how to grow their customers and sales, this message is for you.

Disclaimer:
What I am sharing in this message is relevant at the time it was presented, July 1, 2021. I suspect as things change, some of the items might change…so please keep this in mind and know that updates will happen as needed.

The Power of Using Live Video for Business

1. Live video streaming grew by 93% in 2019, with an average viewing time of 26.4 minutes per session. (Streaming Media, 2019) Imagine the growth impact since the pandemic!
2. Live videos hold viewers attention 10-20x longer than pre-recorded on-demand content. (Forrester, 2017)
3. Access to exclusive coverage/content is the reason why 26% of viewers tune into live streams. (GWI Consumer Trends Report 2019)
4. About 80% of marketing professionals say video content is becoming more important in the business world. (4CInsights, 2019)
5. Live video boosts engagement by twice as much for influencer marketing. (RhythmOne, 2018)

But wait there is more.

Live Video on Influencing People to Buy

1. Nearly ¾ of millennials report that videos are helpful when they are comparing products while online shopping. (Tech Jury, 2020)
2. 60% of marketers say a benefit of live video is getting real-time audience feedback. (Go-Globe, 2017)
3. 82% of viewers say they prefer seeing a live video stream rather than a branded social post. (Tech Jury 2020)
4. And…80% of people would rather watch a live video from a brand than read their blog. (Tech Jury 202)
5. 67% of live video viewers are more likely to buy a ticket to a concert or event after watching a live video of that event or a similar one. (Amp.Live, 2017

But did it impact the bottom line?

Companies that use video features grow revenues 49% faster than non-video users. (Wordstream, 2020)

So, my goal was to share data without bias about livestreaming.  It is here to stay and quite frankly we have become more likely to watch a live event on our phone, like a conference or concert, than to actually get on a plane and be there.

I want to now step away from brands and how they use and leverage live video streaming and bring it down to a local business level. And as I do, give you ideas of how you can begin leveraging this powerful
tool, that you could literally begin today, using only your phone and a descent internet connection and experience growth.

The growth comes in many forms.

It can come in clarity.  Meaning you can begin doing livestreaming, and be pretty sure about your brand and product, and in a short period of time, your brand and the same message become more focused and refined.

This is important because even offline, some businesses truly struggle with the question, “Tell me what you do, or offer?”

It can create growth in awareness.

Because at a local level so few businesses utilize the power of live video, you, your company and what it does, can begin to become known quickly and with little or no capital investment.

You company begins to have a brand in your local market.  This is important so that when someone asks, “Hey do you know a good…” (fill in the blank), and you are present on live streaming events on a regular basis, your name and business goes into this blank. (Is that the phone ringing?)

The next is audience growth.

This is one that so many people fail to appreciate.  The people who watch your live stream, while its live or after you are done, are now able to be marketed or advertised to.

A simple strategy we use for our clients, is after the live stream is over, we will then run an ad using the same live video. And again, anyone who watched the video, we can market to them up to 365 days from the day they watched it.

Why is this important?
Imagine you did a live video, and you are a landscaping company. And in your live video you are demonstrating how to install a new digital controller for your watering system. This new controller allows you to control it from your smartphone.
During the live video, you are showing your viewers, step by step, how to install it and hook it up, how it works and all the bells and whistles.
For fun let’s say 100 people are viewing you doing this.
Do you think someone who watches you do this live, might be a potential customer to have you install one of these new devices for them at their residence?
After the live is done, you could send an offer only to those folks who saw the demo video you did live. You can send them a special offer to buy. Do you think you might make some sales from this?
And then, what if you took the video, after you are done, and ran a paid ad using the same process? Meaning, now after all the new viewers are done watching, an offer to purchase is presented to them?
It’s not uncommon to get 1,000 or more viewers from the paid ad. Often we see this number even higher, and it varies from industry to industry.
Just by sheer “at-bats” or opportunities alone, the odds of growing sales from your live and post live videos can be extremely high…presenting to many, live, but only doing it once, and making many sales.

Will it work for other businesses?
You could literally take this same process, and replace landscaper with pool service, HVAC company, Auto Mechanic…it’s endless.
So, will it work for other businesses? It absolutely will.

Live Video Recap

I call it YouTube University. Anytime I am stumped or want to learn more about something, where do I go? YouTube. And like Google Search, I type in the problem I need solved and boom, several video answers are returned.
Your “post live” videos could live on this same platform, YouTube U. And they could keep building your brand and your revenues indefinitely, while being the answer for someone searching.
We have videos that we made years ago, and because the answer is still relevant today, they keep getting viewed and keep sending us potential new traffic and customers.

Should you do live video? This is no longer the real question. The question now, is when should I begin?
The answer is simple, 5-4-3-2-1…LIVE (hint: now would be a good time)

Bonus: Where to begin
The biggest turn off to your audience is going live and telling them how great you are…don’t do that!
Instead, answer this question:
What problems do your ideal customers face that your product or services solve?
These are the live videos you should be doing. Potential customers don’t really care about how many trucks or locations you have…its simpler than that, we want to know “What’s in it for me?” and “Can you solve my problem?”
If you can create videos that add value to an ideal customers’ search, then you are well on your way to growing your audience and your sales, using live videos.

What are the Best Ways to Build an Audience with Content?

SwingPointMedia is a marketing company focused on using content marketing, such as written articles, video and podcasts, to attract their customers ideal audiences. This approach has proven to attract higher quality customers while simultaneously reducing the sales cycle by as much as 70%.
SwingPointMedia serves local businesses in Southern California and can be reached by calling 760-422-5176.
You are invited to also attend a free weekly presentation, providing you the tools and strategy to roll out your own content marketing program for your company, or see exactly what SwingPointMedia does for its clients to achieve success. It can be viewed live on SwingPointMedia’s YouTube channel, at 11 am pst.

The Power of Solution Based Content

Often a question that comes up is “Why should I create content like blogs and videos?”

The answer from the marketing mind point of view is quite simple. It has to do with the True Power of Solution Based Content.

When a business or entrepreneur creates solution-based content that is valuable, it creates a natural chain reaction that can lead to sales, referrals, and brand building. This serves the business as it becomes a resource for answers to questions in the community.

Solution Based Content Chain of Events

As I mentioned, a “chain-reaction” begins to take place as you provide valuable content that helps your ideal customers.

This is very different from creating content that focuses on how big you are as a business, how long you’ve been doing what you do, or even the awards you may have won.  The type of content which I spoke about in detail in another article is solution based, and not “me” based.

When you as the entrepreneur or business owner create in-depth and complete answers your customers need solving, you move from a salesy person or business, to a guide or resource…one your customers can potentially trust.

I say “potentially” only because if it’s their first exposure to you, it’s a “know-like, then trust” type of relationship building that takes place.

So, back to the chain of events.

There is a formula that is much like 1+1.  It always equals 2.  If you create and distribute solution-based content that solves the problems your ideal customers are struggling with, you will create awareness.

The awareness comes from the search engines. Once the article has been posted to your site, there is an increased probability it will be served up as a search result when someone types the question your article solves, into Google search bar.

Awareness turns into traffic with solution based content

As more people are shown your content as a potential solution, depending on where it ranks in the Search (more clicks when you’re on search page one, and more as you are near the top), the more clicks or traffic to your article or website will occur.

This is the Power of Solution Based Content.  Because each time you show up in search, or when someone clicks on your result as their choice and visits your website, it could result in sales. And the cost of this click?

FREE.  It’s referred to as organic traffic.  In other words, the search engine is not charging you to show up as an answer to your ideal customer’s search query.

Is being “organic” important?

I want to give you one quick and simple example of how powerful creating solution based content can really be.

We create content for our clients based on what we’ve been discussing. We do this for most of our clients once a week.

I want to use one example from an HVAC company.  The article was:

Why is My Hot Water Heater Making Knocking Sounds?

This appeared as the # 1 organic search term as well as what is referred to as a snippet. This is a short answer Google creates from the article in an attempt to solve their customer’s search query, without them leaving the search.

SwingPointMedia is a marketing company focused on using content marketing, such as written articles, video and podcasts, to attract their customers ideal audiences. This approach has proven to attract higher quality customers while simultaneously reducing the sales cycle by as much as 70%.
SwingPointMedia serves local businesses in Southern California and can be reached by calling 760-422-5176.
You are invited to also attend a free weekly presentation, providing you the tools and strategy to roll out your own content marketing program for your company, or see exactly what SwingPointMedia does for its clients to achieve success. It can be viewed live on SwingPointMedia’s YouTube channel, at 11 am pst.

This single article over the past 3 months has generated 1,614 clicks to our client’s website, specifically to this article.

The value, or savings experienced by our client was this: 

If they were to pay for this keyword phrase it would range from a low of $16 per click to a high of $25 per click.

For our example, let’s use the $16.  This means that when someone clicks this article or search results, my client would have to pay $16 each time.

Taking the number of clicks they received, which was 1,614 and multiply it by the low of $16, it would add up to $25, 824. (1,614 clicks x $16/click)

This amount, $25,824, would be the amount paid to Google for this traffic.  This is called paid traffic.

Paid vs Organic

For our client to determine if paid traffic was worth it, they would have to track exactly how many sales came from these clicks, then determine the profit margin of each water heater sold, and finally, determine how many water heaters they needed to sell to get a return on their ad spend.

Because the traffic was free, the ROI was unfairly high…why? Because the only true cost was the original article.  To create the article, post it and distribute it, our client paid less than $500.

A long way from $25,824 bucks!

But Wait. It Gets Better

Great Content = Awareness

Awareness = Traffic

Traffic = Opportunity

Opportunity?  Yes, opportunity to convert this highly targeted traffic into sales!

This is a step many businesses or marketers will overlook.

When this traffic has arrived at your site and they are beginning to see that you’re providing solid answers to their question, the ones they need answered to make an informed decision, we are increasing the value of their experience.

User Experience with Solution based content

We want to enhance their User Experience. What do I mean by User Experience?

Specifically, what I am referring to are “call to actions” or” CTAs”.

A CTA can be to click on the banner on your blog sidebar to get more information, or it could be a coupon for a special “Hot Water Heater Installation Season Savings Discount”.

In other words, now that you have traffic, you can now offer to sell them something, or even further their awareness.

This furthering of awareness could be the fact that until they came to your website because of your solution-based piece of content, they had no idea you even existed.

No really.

Going back to our case study, this client has over 500 other licensed contractors in his area. So, for you or me to know all of them, is nearly impossible.  But when they show up in the search as #1, we will begin to notice the client by name and location once we finish reading the article.

The CTAs help make your website traffic “aware” of who you are…and begin helping you associate “answers” and “helpful” to “Your Company.”

It becomes a powerful mental process…think of black swish?  Who do you think of?

Can Creating Solution Based Content be Powerful?  No doubt. In closing though, I want to stress, the opposite is also true.

When a company or entrepreneur creates bad content it creates no awareness, no traffic, and no sales.

Bad content today is content that I refer to as “chest beating” content.  As customers, we do not want to hear about how great you are. We only want to know, “can you solve my problem or answer my question?”

Your goal should be to make great content. Because in our example, we provided you the traffic from the past 3 months. Yet this article has been live for over a year, and they have had a new “solution-based” article and video posted every week (not all getting #1 positions, but mostly all on the first page), answering the questions our customers need answered on their way to making a decision.

If you’re not sure where to begin, or if you’ve been making content that’s not getting results, we invite you to look on this page for the FREE 5 Day Workshop – Turning Clicks into Customers.

How to Grow Your Customers and Sales Using Live Video