Sometimes On: A marketing approach for minimal budgets

Let’s get real, not all micro or small businesses can afford an Always On strategy. Let me take it back a step so that we’re all on the same page.

There are 2 main approaches to Digital Marketing are:

• Always On: As the term implies, it means that you always investing, throughout the year. This also means that the organisation has a larger budget and focus on maximising reach and impact.
• Sometime On: This approach involves focusing your budget on specific periods or campaigns. This is often used by businesses with limited budget and want to target their efforts to specific times of year and events or even days of the week.

Businesses that need to adopt a Sometimes On approach to digital marketing can still enjoy growth and achieve their marketing goals while maximising limited resources. Here are some key strategies to ensure your success:

1. Identify Key Periods: Have a look at your last years business calendar and the current year. When planning, keep in mind seasonality, products launches, promotions or industry events. Prioritise your budget to these periods to maximise budget and create additional buzz.
2. Leverage Free or Low-Cost Tools: Utilise free or low-cost digital marketing tools. There are options available for emails, websites (this one is built using the free option- for now), social media scheduling tools, Google Ads and basic analytics.
3. Focus on Organic Growth: Dedicate time and effort to building a strong organic presence on social media and search engines. Create high quality content (free options here as well) on social media and search engines to attract organic traffic.
4. Utilise Influencer Marketing: You don’t have to use the big names. Partner with micro-influencers in your niche who have a loyal following. Collaborate on content creation or product endorsements to reach a targeted audience without the high cost of traditional advertising.
5. Track and Measure: You can track basic metrics like engagement, web traffic and conversion rates without any fancy data analysis tools. Use this information to identify what’s working and adjust future campaign activity to do more of what works.
6. Consider Strategic Collaborations: Partner with complementary businesses or organisations to cross-promote products or services. This can help you both reacher a wider audience without incurring significant costs.
7. User Generated Content: This is a powerful one. Encourage your customer to share their experiences and feedback by creating campaigns encouraging them to do so. When consumers see other happy consumers they want in on that happiness too.
8. Leverage Email Marketing: Use this to nurture customer relationships. Create an opted-in base of email addresses and send out regular communication on special offers.
9. Optimise Local SEO: If your business serves a local audience, optimise your website and online presence for local search. This can help attract customers in your area without the need for expensive nationwide campaigns. We will be talking about SEO soon if you’re unsure about what I’m referring to.
10. Engage with Your Community: Participate in forums, online groups that are relevant to your industry and community groups.

Remember, being effective does not only mean spending large amounts of money.