Online marketing and word of mouth remain cost-effective for businesses.
A business owner may have a hard time believing that she can advertise for free. In the end, there are always certain costs for all types of marketing, especially in regard to content, but some advertising methods are very cheap or cost-free if businesses already have access to the right channels and the necessary marketing materials. Some of these techniques are traditional, but most focus on online opportunities where one of the greatest costs is Internet access, a utility most businesses already pay for.
E-Zines
E-zines are short online magazines and newsletters that are distributed to customers through email. E-zines are cost-free only if the business already creates physical newsletters that it sends to customers. In fact, companies can often save money by switching to an online format for their marketing newsletters instead of sticking to hard copy possibilities.
Downloads
In an online environment, companies can also offer free downloads for their customers. This works well if the company has a strong and artistic brand that they can give away as wallpaper and screensavers. There is some content creation involved in this, but if the business has had a graphic designer create their branding, then the costs of moving some templates into a downloadable form the company can give away is often negligible.
Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is one of the older advertising techniques, and remains free and effective. Word of mouth refers to customers telling other consumers about their experience with the company and recommending services or products. Companies must impress customers with excellent value and customer service to generate good word of mouth, but the spread itself is free for the business.
Social Networking
Social networking is a complex form of advertising that is still being advanced. On one hand, most social networks are free to join, and some are very easy to use. A talented business owner can update Twitter statuses, link to contacts on LinkedIn, create blogs for the business website and add posts to other online forums that help subtly promote the business -- all at very little time and cost. However, companies may need to hire someone to generate the content for social networking projects.
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