When navigating the landscape of digital marketing as a small business owner it can overwhelming and difficult to know where to start.
For small businesses and start-ups looking to grow, budget is heavy consideration, but fear not! There are a huge amount of free tools out there that can help in the execution of your marketing strategy. From graphic design to email marketing, here are a few of our favourites;
CapCut is a video editing software that became a stalwart for creators back in 2023. With easy to use templates and themes, CapCut allows you to use video clips from your camera roll to create content for your TikTok’s and reels. This kind of organic media can go a long way towards increasing awareness of your brand and by jumping on platform trends like viral audio or hashtags, you can increase engagement too!
There’s a free version of CapCut that works with smartphones, but larger businesses with multiple channels might consider the paid plan which includes 3 social media accounts and 500GB of storage for $25 per month.
Despite the current political conversations surrounding Meta, it’s another must-have when it comes to marketing your small business, at least for now. There are a few exceptions, like for example, if you’re running a B2B or SaaS business when platforms like LinkedIn and X might offer a better opportunity to meet your audience where they are. Meta includes the platforms Instagram and Facebook which most people either know about or have been using for years.
It’s completely free to set up a Facebook page or Instagram profile for your business and you can link the two together so that crossposting to stories is an option. Posting images, carousels, reels and stories on your profile can be done from your phone or desktop and both platforms also have the ability to run paid advertising campaigns should you wish. It’s worth noting though, that having a strong organic social media presence is important for developing brand trust before forging ahead with paid advertising. Researching which platform your audience is most likely to be using is also a must. Consider your ideal audience demographic, their age and gender, plus the nature of your product. For example, Snapchat is more popular with a younger demographic, whereas Facebook leans towards an older audience.
Don’t have the knack for design? Introducing, Canva, your new best friend. This website has evolved a lot over the last few years and we can guarantee you’ll be hard-pressed to find a marketer that hasn’t made use of it at some point in their career.
Basically, canva is a graphic design tool for people who aren’t graphic designers. It certainly doesn’t make the need for a skilled Graphic Designer disappear, but it allows people with more basic image editing skills to create fun, engaging and brand appropriate content without breaking the bank. A basic Canva membership is free but if you’re looking to access some of the locked features you’ll need Canva Pro or Canva Teams.
At this point, everyone is at least aware of TikTok. But, what some are unaware of is the platform’s power over pop culture and e-commerce trends. Starting out as an app where people would learn dances or lip sync to songs, TikTok is now an extremely powerful tool for content creators, small businesses and large brands alike. With it being completely free to start a TikTok account and begin posting, the creation of the content can be time consuming. What’s more, the sheer amount of content the platform suggests posting to grow your brand is three to five videos a day—not always easy without dedicated marketing help. However, if you have the time to create and post engaging content, there are no limits to what TikTok can do for your business.
Again, audience should always be a consideration when deciding which platforms to advertise on, and of course, some features of TikTok are paid, like using TikTok shops and running paid campaigns. Unpolished, off-the-cuff content is often what performs best on the platform, meaning there’s no reason to be spending thousands on photographers/videographers. You can do it all yourself!
While social platforms tend to have their own analytics/insights platforms, Google Analytics is also a must for any small businesses who want to understand what actually works when it comes to attaining new customers, leads or enquiries. Google Analytics tracks the traffic and users on your website, the amount, how they got to your site (For example, did they perform a Google search, find you on Instagram or through a marketing email?), the revenue generated from each acquisition channel and the amount of time they actually spent on your site.
There are a lot of things we can learn from Google Analytics, not least, the best method’s of customer acquisition and any pain points on your site that are deterring people from engaging with your business further.
Learning how to use Google Analytics can be daunting, but there are a number of free courses provided by Google to help grow your digital marketing skills. If you’re low on time, Google Analytics set-up and optimisation is something we can help with. Check out our services page.
Email marketing software
A market that is pretty oversaturated at the moment is that of Email Marketing Softwares. The good news for you, is that there are a number to choose from. The bad news is…that there are a number to choose from. On a budget and with the best features available in the free plan, Mailchimp is our choice for the best option. With a maximum of 500 contacts, Mailchimp’s free plan is perfect for small businesses looking to grow.
Email marketing is the oldest digital marketing channel but it’s also still the most effective. Looking to increase purchases? Increase traffic to your site? Improve your brand awareness and recognition? Email marketing is an easy and effective way to reach people online.
