Part 1. Please use in text citations that are based in the United States and are websites. Needs to be at least 150 words. This is a discussion response.
There are a world of possibilities for marketing opportunities on a budget, especially when one gets creative. Having a solid bootstrap marketing strategy is important because it helps your business get off of its feet in the early stages when growth and exposure is both the most crucial and the most difficult to obtain. Here are some ideas that struck me as particularly helpful for my situation, in order of most to least potent.
- Social Media: This is by far the most overwhelming powerful tool in an entrepreneur’s pocket for its extreme versatility. It provides an avenue to interact with customers, showcase progress, link to new developments, and stir up excitement. There is also the rare chance something you do goes viral, in which case you just received a boost of attention in the millions for free. The cost of running and managing a social media presence can be as much as hundreds of dollars (to generate graphics and videos) to as little as just time (Gregory, 2022).
- Website SEO: Websites like mine have similar capabilities as social media, without the added critical chance for going viral. One of its best uses is to house links and information that one can’t give in other scenarios. Optimization in search engines is key for the next two ideas to have follow-up. This can cost as low as $40 a month (Patel, 2021).
- Generate Word-of-Mouth: The oldest, most tried-and-true method of advertising is also one of the most potent. People tend to trust if a family member or friend recommends them something over an advertisement or reviewer. Additionally, the advertisement itself is free. The costs are paid forward, with making a product and maintaining a business worth word-of-mouth advertising.
- Conventions & Interviews: Many people are curious about how to write their own book or make their own video game. Capitalizing on this interest by participating in interviews or convention panels can help greatly boost awareness of your product and brand. Of course, this comes with the same cost structure as Word-of-Mouth advertising.
- Low-Prize Contest: Ideas are incredibly valuable, and the average person is more creative than they give themselves credit for, especially with an incentive. There are some series in our catalog that permit themselves to more incongruent episodes with plotlines that could be chosen from a competition. Similarly, games and shows often have characters with unique personalities, design, and backstory. Both plotlines and characters can be submitted as part of a contest in exchange for appropriate amounts of money. Starting off with a fairly small audience, this amount would be in the $10-$50 range, but could easily increase into the hundreds (Gregory, 2022).
- Merch Giveaways: Good fashion appeals to many people. Having quality merchandise and hosting a giveaway of it could increase attention and curiosity in our media. Merch giveaways have built up a rather unsavory reputation among social media, however, as many times less moral influencers have used it as a way to increase followers without offering any reward. The price of ordering the merch to one’s house would cost no more than $40 total (Gregory, 2022).
- Email List: These can keep loyal and interested customers engaged, as well as spur on word-of-mouth advertising among them, but this isn’t very potent for the average consumer, as many folks get enough emails as is. This could cost around $50 monthly (Patel, 2021).
REFERENCES
Gregory, A. (2022, November 30). Bootstrap Marketing Techniques for Small Business Owners. The Balance. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://www.thebalancemoney.com/promoting-business…
Patel, N. (2021, August 28). 25 Tools for Bootstrapped Companies. Neil Patel. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://neilpatel.com/blog/bootstrapped-tools/
Part 2. Please use in text citations that are based in the United States and are websites. Needs to be at least 150 words. This is a discussion response.
According to (Scarborough & Cornwall, 2018, p. 338), “the bootstrap marketing strategy is defined as an unconventional, low-cost, creative marketing strategy designed to give small companies an edge over their larger, richer, more powerful rivals.” Money is not always the answer. A boost strap marketing campaign’s success depends on creativity, ingenuity, and understanding customers’ buying habits. Investing in creative marketing efforts, it raises the profile of the company and its products.
Planning. A vital part of any marketer’s job is planning.
- Online Advertising – Online advertising allows you to find, reach, and engage people who are likely to be interested in your business without spending money on an overly broad audience. Online advertising offers granular audience information so you can focus your efforts effectively.
- Social Media – social media allows marketers to connect and engage potential customers where they are on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and even some of the younger platforms like TikTok.
- Email Marketing – Email marketing is a form that can make the customers on your email list aware of new products, discounts, and other services.
- Display Advertising Tools – Display ads have the potential to significantly improve your brand awareness thanks to their eye-catching visual format.
- Customer Relationship Management – CRM helps businesses build a relationship with their customers that, in turn, creates loyalty and customer retention.
- Event Marketing – Companies use event marketing to promote themselves to a highly relevant audience. Industry events are often a great opportunity to meet business decision-makers.
- SEO (search engine optimization) tools – SEO is crucial because it makes your website more visible, which means more traffic and opportunities to convert prospects into customers.
References
Scarborough, N. M., & Cornwall, J. R. (2018). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management. Pearson.