Ace the know, like, trust factor: How your marketing efforts can get a high return on a low budget

Knowledge is power. The more you know the more powerful your business will be. So, while your competitors may be in panic mode as budgets become smaller, the time is now to remain calm, cool and collected to build your brand, attract new audiences through clever and affordable marketing strategies, and convert them into paying customers.

Your knowledge and thought leadership is a priceless tool showcasing how you help people. With the right strategies, SMEs can leverage marketing efforts without breaking the bank.

Leverage the billion+ monthly active users on social media

More businesses are recognising the power of social media and how large a part it can play in their marketing strategy. As of June 2024, Instagram has two billion monthly active users, Facebook three billion, LinkedIn 350 million, TikTok 1.2 billion, YouTube 2.5 billion and Pinterest 465 million. That’s a lot of people in your target audience to potentially reach every month. With the right strategy and capturing just 1% of those audiences, you probably couldn’t support the influx of clients into your business.

With those statistics in mind, ask yourself, are you using these FREE platforms to your advantage?

Make the most of your social media on a budget using these tips:

1. Pick the platforms for you: Don’t try and be everything to everyone, focus on the social media platforms relevant to your target audience.
2. Create content to educate, inspire or entertain: Humans buy from humans no matter the size of the business.
3. Utilise all mediums: Share a mix of content types, including images, videos, infographics, and articles, to keep your audience engaged as well as leverage the algorithm’s capability.

Your email list is your warm audience

They’re ready to buy from you and want to hear about who you are and what you do, otherwise they wouldn’t have signed up in the first place. Unlike social media which is essentially a cold (but powerful) audience. Consumers are becoming smarter, and we don’t simply give our email addresses to anyone, so when you get them, you need to use them and treat them like gold.

Free to nurture, aside from the platform cost to house your list, your email list should be your go-to and the first to know in announcing new products, developments and knowledge. You can see who has opened it, the % of opens, the number of clicks, and bounce rates allowing you to fine-tune this strategy for maximum impact at minimal cost.

Every email you send should consist of a small story about what’s been happening inside your business as well as a strategic call to action to purchase your product or service. By continually building and leveraging your email list and crafting targeted messages, you can consistently promote what you sell without the need for expensive advertising campaigns.

Easy ways to improve your Search Engine Optimisation…

While maintaining a budget. When it comes to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), knowledge is power. The more your business can demonstrate its knowledge via its website, the higher the relevance score Google will give your website. Google’s relevance score is determined by how relevant your website’s content is to those searching for your zone of genius. The higher your relevance score, the more likely your website will rank on organically on the first page of the search results.

Leverage your SEO using these tips:

1. Write a weekly blog creating high-quality, helpful content answering those common questions people have.
2. Optimise your site for speed by making all your images as small as possible. There are tools you can use for this which don’t compromise its quality. If a page takes too long to load, most visitors will leave.
3. Do keyword research and make sure keywords appear in your words.
4. Understand Google can’t read images, it can only read text, so the more relevant text your website has the better.

With strategic use and consistency across social media, email campaigns, and SEO you can achieve BIG results, helping to create your SME’s “know, like, trust” factor. When your ideal client gets to know you through your consistency across all your marketing touchpoints, they start to like you. The like turns into trust, and the trust will eventually create a sale, when they need what it is you have to offer, you are the number one business at the top of their mind. A beautiful mix with a high return on a low budget.

Hayley Osborne is a serial entrepreneur, marketing consultant and small business growth strategist.

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