Graphic Design
- Build a better brand experience for customers.
- Improve prospective customer engagement levels.
- Help prospective customers become loyal brand followers.
- Engage in a dual conversation between your past, present, and future customers.
- Turn leads into profitable sales.
6 Steps to Grow Your Brand on a Budget
When you’re first starting out in business, you likely don’t have unlimited means. You need to market your business if you’re interested in growing your brand, but you have to pinch your pennies in the process.
That’s not impossible. In fact, there are lots of ways to grow your brand on a budget. Scroll below to the most cost-effective ways to increase brand awareness without blowing your budget.
1. Get to Know Your Target Personas
Who does your business serve? What qualities do those people possess?
A buyer persona is a fictionalized biography of your ideal customer. It describes that person’s goals, habits, struggles, problems, demographics, and other details so you can more effectively market to them.
Imagine how you would describe a character from your favorite television show. Where does he work? What are the main sources of conflict in his life? How does he spend his time? How much money does he make? Where does he live?
Answering all of these questions will help you get to know your ideal customer more intimately. Consequently, every piece of content or copy you write will speak directly to that person.
For instance, if your target customer is a young single mother with a full-time job and a small apartment or house, you would approach content differently than if you were targeting a middle-aged family man with kids in college and a low-stress job. You have to think like your customers if you want your products to appeal to them.
2. Develop Your Unique Brand Voice
A brand voice defines how you sound to other people. It makes you memorable and recognizable.
Your voice should resemble the way you’d talk to a friend or family member. Are you naturally funny? Do you tell lots of stories? Can you express complex ideas in easy-to-understand ways?
In other words, go with your strengths. Amplify them in your writing and speaking so you come across as relatable and genuine.
3. Build a Consistent Social Media Presence
You might have heard that social media is the new blog. I don’t quite agree with that — there are lots of benefits of blogging — but I don’t discount the benefits of social media, either.
Lots of your customers and prospects hang out on social media. They catch up with friends, participate in memes, and scroll for inspiration.
Start by choosing the best social platforms for your business. Do lots of your prospects hang on on Twitter? Do they congregate on Facebook? Are they sharing photos on Instagram?
Then start building up your presence on those platforms. Follow influential people in your industry, engage with people who discuss your niche, and make your profile as professional as possible.
4. Start a Blog — And Keep It Updated
Blogging isn’t dead. Not even close.
Blog posts attract readers who might become customers.
Content marketing should serve as the cornerstone of your branding process. It’s what demonstrates to the world who you are and why you’re in business.
It’s also a great way to show off your knowledge and skills.
Start a blog today if you haven’t already. More importantly, keep it updated. Lots of entrepreneurs start blogs, then ignore them for weeks, months, or even years.
If someone stumbles across your blog and discovers that you haven’t posted in six months, what might they think? They could assume that you’re no longer in business, for one.
And then you lose a customer.
Blogging is essential for business professionals, so don’t just start a blog — keep it updated. Share news about your business, start a blog series to introduce a new online course, or share little-known tips with your audience.
5. Devote Yourself to Customer Service
Customer service matters in every industry. When you don’t offer great customer service, you lose customers. It’s that simple.
Your brand should revolve around how you treat customers. Demonstrate that you’re willing to answer questions, resolve complaints, and share your knowledge with the rest of the world.
Have you ever had a bad customer service experience? Did you consider never patronizing that business again?
Maybe you decided to boycott it entirely. That’s not what you want from your customers.
6. Partner With Other Business Professionals
Think back to your high school days. You might remember that relationships and associations often solidified your place in the social hierarchy.
If you made a single friend in the “popular” crowd, you were in. Other people treated you with more reverence.
It works like that in business, too. If people see that you’re associated with another strong brand, your brand becomes stronger as a result.
That’s why companies often post the names or logos of their customers on their websites. It’s a form of social proof.
You can do that with your business. Partner with other professionals who have more customers or stronger brands than your own. Find ways to help those professionals.