Running a small business often means working with a limited marketing budget, which can make promoting your company a challenge. However, there are numerous ways to market to your customers without spending a fortune (or even any money at all).

Since you likely don’t have the time to research and pinpoint these free marketing ideas, we’ve compiled a list for you.

This post is packed with free and budget-friendly ways to market your business.

Table of contents

1. Free and fast marketing ideas
2. Free marketing ideas that require a bit more effort
3. Quick marketing ideas that require a little more budget

Free and fast marketing ideas

These strategies are completely free and don’t demand a lot of time or resources, recognizing that time equals money.

1. Set up a free Google My Business account

A Google Business Profile has become one of the most potent free marketing tools, particularly for local enterprises. This essential marketing asset helps your business appear on Google Maps, Google Search’s local section, and the Knowledge Panel on the right side for branded searches.

A Google Business Profile example accessed through Google Maps However, for this listing to rank higher in Google Maps or local results, you must optimize your Business Profile. To optimize it, you need to verify ownership through your Google Business account.

2. Be active and engaging on social media

Increasing engagement on social media and cultivating an online community is a cost-free approach to expanding your small business. It allows you to showcase your brand’s personality and establish trust with your target audience. Create business accounts and actively engage on major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and others. This can be done in your spare minutes. You can:

• Promote your blog content to drive traffic to your website.
• Engage in direct conversations with followers to express your brand’s voice and encourage interaction.
• Conduct polls and seek feedback.
• Transform lengthier content into concise, informative posts that are easily digestible. Regardless of your objective, maintain a consistent and proactive presence on your social media accounts. Focus on consistency, community building, collaboration, and commitment.

For further assistance with free social media marketing, explore these posts:

• 7 Fantastically Free Ways to Promote Your Instagram Account
• 22 Facebook Marketing Tips for Small Businesses on a Budget
• A 3-Step Process to Generating (Free) B2B Leads on LinkedIn

3. Utilize social media tagging for people and brands

Tagging loyal customers, brand enthusiasts, or even neighboring businesses and suppliers on social media can effectively expand your organic reach. This strategy can help you connect with a new audience, grow your following, and potentially attract more customers. You should also motivate your followers to tag your social media handle or business location in their posts. Learn more about user-generated content here.

You can also tag satisfied customers in your posts (with their permission), exposing your business to their network. RELATED: Our 50 Best Marketing Tips in 5 Minutes

4. Leverage the power of hashtags

Another cost-effective marketing strategy to broaden your reach is incorporating hashtags into your social media posts. This applies to Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, as well as Facebook and LinkedIn. While general or trending hashtags can reinforce your brand identity, they shouldn’t be your only focus. More specific hashtags (similar to long-tail keywords) are effective when offering resources or advice. Location-based hashtags are crucial for local businesses, and don’t forget about custom hashtags. Utilize a blend of hashtag types to reach your intended audience.

5. Don’t underestimate LinkedIn

LinkedIn, a powerful social media platform, is often underutilized. Instead of just adding connections, engage with them, share your blog articles and offers, participate in and contribute to forums, and share valuable content from others.

By empowering fellow professionals and educating potential customers, you can strengthen your brand and gain trust and respect within your industry. Encourage your employees to be active on the platform as well. Free guide: The 30 Best Ways to Promote Your Business (With or Without Money)

Free marketing ideas that require a little more effort

While these strategies are still free, they require a bit more time and/or effort. However, the greater the effort, the more effective the strategy and the more sustainable the success.

6. Implement local SEO

One of the best aspects of Google’s algorithm is its focus on delivering the most accurate, high-quality, and relevant content for any given search. It’s not a pay-to-win system, which levels the playing field and enables small businesses to compete with larger ones for top search engine rankings. While local SEO is free, it can be time-consuming, so it’s best to start early and be consistent. The long-term benefits can be substantial. Here are some essential local SEO practices:

• Integrate location-based keywords (e.g., “Portland bakery”) into your main website pages’ titles, headings, and body content.
• List your business in online directories, ensuring consistent information across platforms.
• Create dedicated pages or blog posts for the neighborhoods you serve.

Effective local SEO can land you on Google’s 3-Pack as illustrated above.

7. Craft an email marketing plan

Email marketing is highly effective in engaging new visitors with your business and nurturing relationships with existing customers. Despite being a well-established method, it remains one of the most reliable ways, if not the most reliable, to achieve a significant return on your marketing investment. Here’s how to ensure success:

• Create compelling and creative subject lines.
• Include a call to action in every email to encourage readers to take the next step.
• Monitor your performance and conduct A/B tests to determine which copy and offers resonate with your audience.

Additional simple email marketing ideas:

• Offer a bonus content piece or a coupon/discount for subscribing to your newsletter to encourage sign-ups from new website visitors.
• Gradually nurture your subscribers through email until they are ready to convert into paying customers.
• Begin your promotional email campaigns with a free email marketing service like MailChimp.

8. Design informative infographics

Infographics are incredibly powerful marketing assets. They are visually appealing, easy to understand, and highly shareable, making them excellent for driving referral traffic and links. While hiring a designer for a top-notch infographic can be costly, you can create your own on a budget using free tools like Canva, Adobe’s free vector kits, or our favorite, Visme. These tools provide all the necessary elements for a compelling and shareable infographic. Need inspiration? Explore Visual.ly for beginner and advanced examples.

If you lack original, proprietary data for your infographic, you can repurpose existing data. For government data, visit data.gov or The Census Bureau. Access global statistics through UNICEF and the World Health Organization.. Ultimately, aim for data relevant to your industry and audience’s interests. There’s a wealth of freely available data to explore.

9. Take advantage of free ad promo credits

While large-scale ad campaigns may not fit your budget, discounts and coupons for Facebook or Google Ads are often available. Some web hosting services offer advertising discount codes as part of their packages. Check if yours does. While obtaining the promo is easy, it’s essential to brush up on your PPC skills to maximize results and gain audience insights. Explore the training resources in Growth Academy to learn the basics. For additional free advertising opportunities, head to here.

10. Apply for business awards

Most industries have business awards you can strive for, providing you with an online badge to display on your website. Such badges enhance credibility, potentially leading to increased sales. Here are some tips on how to market an award and maximizing its impact.

If your industry lacks specific awards, consider creating your own! This will attract other businesses in your field to apply, fostering connections and potential collaborations.

11. Embrace your bold side with guerilla marketing

Guerilla marketing prioritizes creativity over budget, often involving low-cost and easy-to-implement strategies, especially at a local level. Promote your Twitter handle using sidewalk chalk, transform an abandoned storefront into street art, or display custom stickers on urban elements to grab the attention of passersby.

This approach offers ample room for innovation, and you don’t need a massive budget to succeed. RELATED: 85 Profitable Small Business Ideas Worth Trying

12. Publish exceptional content

Content marketing, when executed effectively, is a highly impactful tactic that doesn’t require a large budget. It not only showcases your expertise, authority, and genuine desire to benefit your audience but also aligns with Google’s preference for high-quality content that answers users’ questions. This improves your website’s visibility on Google and attracts more organic traffic. If writing isn’t your forte, remember that effective content educates your audience using clear and straightforward language. Avoid jargon and instead employ terms your audience uses to seek answers related to your products or services. Share your knowledge authentically.

This post on how to get on Google’s 3-pack exemplifies quality content. Key points to keep in mind:

• What may seem obvious to you is often unfamiliar to your customers. You possess the expertise! Original, authentic, and valuable content is crucial. This includes how-to guides, top 10 lists, tip collections, best practices, data insights, thought leadership pieces, and more (some of which are covered later in this post).
• Consider your technical SEO. If you’re producing content at scale, a content delivery network (CDN) might be beneficial for maintaining fast website loading speeds. Some CDNs are independent services, while others are integrated into CMS platforms. For instance, HubSpot offers a free built-in CDN with its CMS.
• For further assistance with quality content creation, check out these 32 Free (& Almost Free) Content Marketing Tools.

13. Start a blog

Blogging is an effective way to integrate content creation into your regular marketing efforts. Small businesses leverage blogging to drive website traffic, enhance user engagement, increase online visibility, and boost their overall SEO. It’s a completely free method to promote your business online by sharing stories about your company and valuable information your target audience seeks. Blog posts don’t have to be lengthy or complicated. Use simple language, focus on a different topic in each post, and naturally incorporate relevant keywords.

For additional guidance on blogging and SEO, explore these resources:

• Blog SEO Tips for Non-SEOs: 3 Things Bloggers Forget to Do
• What Is SEO Content? A Guide to Creating Content for SEO
• How To Increase Blog Traffic: 5 Easy Steps to Stardom

14. Establish industry partnerships

Collaborate with a business in your industry (excluding direct competitors) on a joint project. This can be done locally and offline through a special event or online (potentially still locally) through a webinar or promotional giveaway. Partnering with another business doubles your reach and exposes you to a new audience within your niche. Industry partnerships are a valuable marketing tactic, providing small business owners access to marketing expertise, technology, and customer bases they might not achieve independently. Forming successful a profitable partnership requires careful planning and effort. Define clear expectations, engage with and vet potential partners, assess collaboration opportunities, and have thorough discussions before formalizing the partnership.

15. Create and share helpful videos

Video is a highly engaging medium for consumers. While professional video production and YouTube uploads can be expensive, it’s not necessary to hire professionals. DIY video marketing is accessible using personal devices and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Videos are particularly effective for demonstrating tasks, such as folding a fitted sheet or installing a garbage disposal. However, video marketing works well in almost every industry. To connect with your audience effectively, consider creating:

• Instructional videos and how-to guides
• Product demonstrations
• Behind-the-scenes glimpses into your company culture
• Interviews with staff or industry experts
• Slideshows with images and captions Incorporate a branding message or personal touch, prioritize transparency, and conclude with a strong call to action (e.g., “Contact us to schedule an appointment!” or “Order your birthday cake today!”). Distribute the video on your website, YouTube and other video hosting platforms, social media channels, and even in emails.

16. Empower employees to become brand ambassadors

Word of mouth is a powerful marketing strategy for boosting sales, particularly for small businesses. Research indicates that customers are more inclined to purchase a product or service based on recommendations from strangers. Imagine the impact of referrals from friends and family. By fostering a positive work environment and encouraging employees to become brand ambassadors, you can tap into the vast potential of their networks. Your employees have a genuine interest in your business, so leverage their voices and social media presence to reach a wider audience. Consider hosting exclusive discount sales, such as “friends and family” promotions, periodically. Learn how to use Facebook for your business—organize an event, invite employees, and ask them to share it with their personal and professional networks. Encourage them to share updates and tag others to expand the event’s reach.

17. Repurpose your existing content

Maximize the value of your previous work. If you have successful content, repurpose it for other channels. Transform a popular webinar into a video tutorial or compile related blog posts and website content into an ebook that you can promote through website popups or your email marketing campaigns.

Don’t hesitate to repackage and re-promote your older content. Many people might have missed it initially, making it fresh and engaging for a significant portion of your audience.

Practically free marketing ideas

While these strategies don’t require a substantial advertising budget, you’ll likely need to invest some resources, such as platform subscriptions or event tickets.

18. Organize classes and events

Plan an event or class, print flyers, and distribute them on community bulletin boards (libraries, coffee shops, local colleges, and adult education centers). While most community bulletin boards prohibit business advertisements, they generally welcome flyers promoting educational events or classes. If hosting an event isn’t feasible, attend relevant local events that could benefit your business. You never know where you’ll find your next customer or business partner.

19. Conduct informative webinars

If reaching a potential audience in person isn’t ideal, consider hosting a webinar. Webinars offer a free way to promote your business and provide valuable information to prospective customers.

Platforms like Webex and GoToMeeting simplify webinar broadcasting. Promote your webinar on social media or through an email newsletter one to two weeks in advance. Include reminders to registrants to minimize no-shows.

20. Participate in industry/networking events

Attending trade shows and industry conferences is a strategic way to to market your small business. These events gather professionals from various sectors seeking innovative marketing strategies. They also provide networking opportunities with like-minded individuals and potential B2B contacts. Additionally, these events often feature specialized seminars to enhance your sales, social media, advertising, and other contemporary marketing skills.

21. Organize social media contests or giveaways

Running contests or giveaways on social media is a clever and effective marketing strategy that requires minimal resources. While you might need to provide a prize or offer a free product or service, the participation and potential leads generated make it worthwhile. On a tight budget? You don’t need extravagant prizes to attract participants. High-quality water bottles or stylish backpacks can be enticing enough. Numerous different social media contest types exist, but the key is to require participants to like, follow, or tag your business or someone else on your post. This increases your brand visibility and introduces potential customers to your offerings.

22. Conduct in-store business card drawings

Place a fishbowl at your business with a sign inviting visitors to drop their business cards for a chance to win a prize, such as a free (socially distanced, if applicable) lunch for their office in the case of a restaurant. By the end of the month, you’ll have a collection of business cards. While only one person can win, you can still utilize the remaining cards. Collect email addresses and inform participants that while they didn’t win this time, they can join your mailing list to stay informed about future giveaways and special offers.

23. Implement a customer referral program

Reward existing customers for referring new customers with a free product, a free month of service, or another incentive. Word-of-mouth marketing is incredibly powerful, and referrals from satisfied customers are invaluable. Explore these ideas to generate more referrals from your existing customer base.

Here are some additional referral marketing stats to highlight the effectiveness of this budget-friendly marketing approach:

• 74% of consumers consider word-of-mouth the primary factor influencing their purchasing decisions.
• Referred customers are four times more likely to make a purchase.
• 77% of consumers are more likely to try a new product based on recommendations from friends or family.
• Referral marketing statistics show that referred customers have a 37% higher retention rate.

24. Participate in local events and contests

Engage with your local community by participating in annual celebrations, weekly farmers markets, or other contests organized by your city or town. This provides valuable market research opportunities. Consider setting up a table or booth, sponsoring the event, or donating a product or service as a raffle or contest prize. It’s a cost-effective way to raise awareness for your business.

25. Invest in high-quality business cards

Get yourself some eye-catching business cards and distribute them generously. Every handshake should be accompanied by a business card. Increasing brand visibility, even through a quick glance at a business card, is always beneficial.

26. Utilize car magnets for company vehicles

Transform your company car into a mobile billboard by applying a magnetic sign. It’s a simple way to promote your brand throughout the city (while adhering to traffic regulations, of course). Bumper stickers and window decals also serve this purpose and are generally inexpensive.

27. Explore Facebook advertising

Even with a limited advertising budget, running Facebook ads might be feasible. The cost per click for Facebook advertising can be quite low.

Here are some resources to guide you in launching your first Facebook ad campaign, tailored to different business types:

• Facebook Ecommerce: The Complete Beginner’s Guide
• Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Ads for Entrepreneurs
• Beginner’s Guide to B2B Facebook Advertising

Recap of free and low-budget marketing ideas for small businesses

Here’s a summary of all 27 free and low-budget ideas to promote your business:

1. Google My Business optimization
2. Social media posting and engagement
3. Social media tagging
4. Hashtag utilization
5. Local SEO implementation
6. Email marketing
7. Infographic creation
8. Leveraging free ad promo credits
9. Applying for business awards
10. Guerilla marketing tactics
11. Content marketing
12. Blogging
13. Establishing industry partnerships
14. Video marketing
15. Empowering brand ambassadors
16. LinkedIn marketing
17. Organizing classes and events
18. Hosting webinars
19. Attending industry networking events
20. Running social media contests and giveaways
21. Conducting in-store business card drawings
22. Implementing customer referral programs
23. Participating in local events and contests
24. Utilizing high-quality business cards
25. Leveraging car magnets for company vehicles
26. Repurposing existing content
27. Exploring Facebook advertising What are your favorite budget-friendly marketing tactics that we might have missed? Share what works effectively for your business without breaking the bank.