This document provides 27 free and low-budget marketing ideas for small businesses. It begins by introducing the challenge small businesses face with limited marketing budgets. It then outlines marketing ideas broken into three categories: free and fast ideas that require little time or resources, free ideas that require more effort, and quick ideas that require a small budget. Specific ideas include creating a Google Business profile, engaging on social media, using hashtags, blogging, forming partnerships, and hosting webinars. The document emphasizes that many effective marketing strategies can be done at low or no cost.

1. +1.866.971.0933 855.967.3787 AdWords Grader Login
The WordStream Blog
Tips & tricks to help you get the most out of your online
adver sing.
Home :Blog
27 Free & Low-Budget Marketing Ideas
for Any Business
Kristen McCormick
Last updated: May 24,2021
Marketing Ideas
Small businessesoften have atightmarketingbudgettoworkwith,which can make promoting
your businessachallenge.The goodnewsis,there are plenty ofwaysfor you tomarket
yourselftoyour customerswithoutspendingany (or much)money.
Nowasabusinessowner,you probably don’thave the time toresearch andidentify these free
marketingideas,sowe’ve taken care ofthatfor you.
In thispost,you'll findaton offree andlow-budgetwaystomarketyour business,broken
down intothree categories:
1.Free andfastmarketingideas
2.Free marketingideasthatrequire abitmore effort
3.Quickmarketingideasthatrequire alittle more budget
Solet’sgetstartedon these marketingstrategiesthatwon'tputadentin your wallet.
Free and fast marketing ideas
These strategiesare 100%free anddon’trequire aton ofresourcesor time (since we know
thattime ismoney).
1. Create a free Google My Business account
For local businessesespecially,aGoogle BusinessProfile hasbecome one ofthe mosteffective
free marketingstrategiesavailable.Thisfree listingallowsyour businesstoshowupon Google
FREE Google Ads
Performance Grader
Find out if you're making
mistakes with Google Ads.
GET GRADED TODAY
Sign up to get our top ps
and tricks weekly!
SIGN ME UP!
RELATED CONTENT
4 Prac cal Ways to Use
AI in Marke ng (& Why
You Need To)
57 Easy & Engaging
August Marke ng Ideas
(With Examples!)
13 Email Marke ng Tips
Your Readers Want You
To Be Following...Now!
5 Steps to a Goal-
Crushing Lead
Genera on Process
58
326
412
FREE Google Ads
Performance Grader
Find out if you're making
mistakes with Google Ads.
Our Solu ons How We Help Pricing Blog
27 Free & Low-Budget Marketing Ideas for Any Business

2. Maps,the local section ofGoogle Search,andthe right-side Knowledge Panel for branded
searches.
An exampleof aGoogleBusinessProfileAccessedfromGoogleMaps
Butin order for your BusinessProfile toshowuphigher on Google Mapsor local results,you
needtooptimize your BusinessProfile,andin order tooptimize it,you needtohave verified
ownershipofit—which isdone through your Google My Businessaccount.
2. Post (and engage) on social media
Increasingsocial mediaengagementandbuildingacommunity online isafree way togrow
your small businesswhile expressingyour brand’spersonality andbuildingtrustwith your
audience.Create businessaccountsandparticipate in the bigsocial mediasites—Facebook,
Instagram,LinkedIn,Twitter,YouTube,andmore.Thisissomethingyou can dowhenever you
have afewminutestospare.
You can:
Promote your blogposts,which drive traffic toyour website.
Directly dialogue with followerstoexpressyour brandvoice andgarner more
engagement.
Run pollsandrequestfeedback.
Take excerptsfromlonger formsofcontentandcreate quickandinformational poststhat
are easier todigest.
Whatever your motivation,make sure you are regularly active andproactive on the social
mediaaccountsyou create.Think:consistency,community,collaboration,andcommitment.
GET GRADED TODAY

3. For more helpwith free social mediamarketing,checkoutthese posts:
7Fantastically Free WaystoPromote Your InstagramAccount
22FacebookMarketingTipsfor Small Businesseson aBudget
A3-StepProcesstoGenerating(Free)B2BLeadson LinkedIn
3. Tag people (and brands) on social media
Taggingyour loyal customers,brandevangelists,or even neighboringcompaniesandvendors
on social mediacan broaden the organic reach ofyour businesstoanewpotential audience,
helpyou growyour following,andpotentially even attain more clients.You shouldalso
encourage your followerstotagyour social mediahandle or businesslocation in their posts.
More aboutuser-generatedcontenthere.
You can also taghappy customersin yourown posts,exposingyourbusinessto that customer’snetwork (providedyou havetheir
permission).
4. Use hashtags!
Another free marketingtactic thatcan broaden your reach istoincorporate hashtagsintoyour
social mediaposts—on Instagram,Twitter,andTikTokfor sure butalsofor Facebookand
LinkedIn.
Broador trendinghashtagscan helpyou reinforce your brandidentity,butthey shouldnotbe
the only hashtagsyou use.More specific hashtags(sortoflike long-tail keywords)are goodfor
when you’re providingresourcesor advice.Location-basedhashtagsare amustifyou’re a
local business.Anddon’tforgetcustomhashtags!Apply amix ofhashtagtypesin your postsso
they can reach the people for whomthey are meant.
5. Don't sleep on LinkedIn
LinkedIn isamajor social mediasite thatisoften under-utilized.Don’tjustaddnetwork
connectionsandsign out;enter intodialogue with the connectionsyou make,share your blog
postsandoffers,join andcontribute toforums,andshare others’quality content.

4. By enablingother professionalstogrowandeducatingyour potential customers,you can build
your brandandearn trustandrespectin your industry.Also,encourage all your employeesto
getactive on the platformtoo!
Free marketing ideas that require a little more
effort
These strategiesare still free,butthey dorequire abitmore ofan investmentoftime and/or
effort.Butthe goodnewsisthatusually,the more effortrequired,the more effective the
strategy andthe more sustainedthe success.
6. Do some local SEO
The bestpartaboutGoogle’salgorithmisthatitisdesignedtoserve upthe mostaccurate,
high-quality,andrelevantcontentfor any given search query.It'snotpay toplay,sothis
levelsthe playingfieldandenablessmall businessestocompete with large competitorsfor
page one real estate.
Local SEOisfree,butitcan take some time,sostartnowandkeepworking;the benefitsover
time can be huge.Here are some local SEOmust-dos:
Addlocation-basedkeywords(think:"Portlandbakery")tothe titles,headings,andbody
contentofyour main website pages.
Getlistedin online directories,makingsure your information isidentical across
platforms.
Publish pagesor blogpostsspecific tothe neighborhoodsyou serve.

5. GoodLocal SEOcan get you on Google’s3-Pack asshown above.
7. Develop an email marke ng plan
Email marketingisagreatway togetnewvisitorsengagedwith your business,aswell as
maintain relationshipswith your existingcustomers.Andthough email marketingisn'tnew,
it'sstill one of—ifnotthe—most reliable waystoachieve astrongreturn on your marketing
investment.Here’showtoensure that:
Putthoughtandcreativity intoyour subjectlines.
Make sure every email hasan offer thatencouragesyour readerstotake anextstep.
Trackyour performance andrun A/Bteststosee whatcopy andoffersresonate with your
list.
Some more easy email marketingideas:
Getnewwebsite visitorstosign upfor your newsletter by offeringabonuscontentpiece
or coupon/discountfor subscribing.
Slowly nurture your subscribersviaemail until they are ready tobecome paying
customers.
Startyour promotional email campaignswith afree email marketingservice like
MailChimp.
8. Create data-rich infographics
Infographicsare insanely powerful asmarketingtools.They’re visual eye candy,easy to
digest,andpeople love toshare them,sothey’re agreatway todrive upreferral traffic and
links.

6. Hiringadesigner tomake you an A+infographic can hityour wallethard,butyou can make
your own on the cheapwith free toolslike Canva, Adobe’sfree vector kits, or our personal
favorite,Visme,thatprovide all the elementsneededtomake aclever,sharable infographic.
Notsure where tostart?CheckoutVisual.ly for inspiration.They have beginner andadvanced
examplesfor you tobrowse through.
Ifyou don'thave any original,proprietary datatouse in an infographic,you can findexisting
dataandbreathe newlife intoit.For governmentdata,checkoutdata.gov or The Census
Bureau.Global statisticscan be foundthrough UNICEF andthe WorldHealth Organization.
Ultimately,you’ll have tofindsource datathatrelatestoyour industry andaudience interests.
Butthere'saton offreely available dataoutthere!
9. Claim free ad promo credits
While massive adcampaignsmay be outofyour budget,there are often discountsandcoupons
floatingaroundfor Facebookor Google Ads.Some webhostingservicesoffer advertising
discountcodesaspartoftheir membershipofferings.Checkandsee ifyoursdoes.Ofcourse,
receivingthe promoiseasy,butyou’ll still wanttobrush upon your PPCskillstogetthe best
resultsandaudience insights.Checkoutthe trainingresourcesin Growth Academy ifyou're
ready tolearn the basics.
For more free advertisingopportunities,headhere.
10. Apply for business awards
Mostindustrieshave businessawardsyou can win,providingyou with an online badge you
can place on your website.Badgeslike these can boostcredibility,andasaresult,increase
sales.Here are some tipson howtomarketan awardandmake the mostofit.
Ifthere aren’tany awardsfor your industry,hostyour own!You’ll getattention fromother
industry businesseswhowanttoapply for your award,which meanseven more connections
andmore possible future collaborations!

7. 11. Feeling brave? Give guerilla marke ng a try
Guerillamarketingemphasizescreativity over budget,andstrategiesare often cheapandeasy
toimplement,especially when localized.Broadcastyour Twitter handle with sidewalkchalk,
use an abandonedstorefrontasacanvasfor streetart,or plaster customstickerson urban
décor thatmakesthose whostroll by looktwice.
There’saton ofroomfor invention here,andyou don’tneedabigbudgettobe successful.
12. Publish great content
Contentmarketing,ifdone with care,isahighly effective tactic thatdoesn'trequire ahuge
budget.Notonly doesthisserve todemonstrate your authority,expertise,andgenuine desire
tobenefityour audience;butalso,Google prioritizeshigh-quality contentthatbestanswers
the questionsitsusersare asking.Soitmakesyour website more visible on Google andbrings
in more free traffic.
Thinkwritingisn'tyour strongpoint?Remember,goodcontenthelpseducate your audience
through simple,easy-to-understandlanguage—notfancy jargon,butrather the termsyour
audience usestoobtain answerstoquestionsrelatedtoyour productsor services.Sodon'ttry
tobe fancy,justshare your expertise!

8. ThisLOCALiQarticleby StephanieHeitman demonstrateshigh-quality content addressingacommon question askedby LOCALiQ
readers.
Andremember,mostthingsthatare secondnature toyou are often foreign toyour customers.
You are the expert!Original,authentic,anduseful contentisthe key here—how-tos,topten
lists,tipcollections,bestpractices,datainsights,thoughtleadershippieces,andthe listgoes
on (some ofthese will be mentionedlater in thispost).
For more helpwith quality contentcreation,checkoutthese 32Free (& AlmostFree)Content
MarketingTools.
13. Start a blog
One greatway tomake contentaregular partofyour marketingeffortsistostartablog.
Small businessesuse bloggingtodrive traffic totheir website,increase user engagement,
improve their online visibility,andstrengthen their overall SEO.It’sacompletely free way to
promote your small businessonline,through talesaboutyour businessanduseful information
your potential clientsare seekingout.
Blogpostsdon’thave tobe longandcomplex—speakin simple terms,targetadifferenttopic
with each post,andincorporate the keywordsyou’re targetingintoeach postin anatural way.

9. For more helpwith bloggingandSEO,checkoutthese resources:
BlogSEOTipsfor Non-SEOs:3ThingsBloggersForgettoDo
WhatIsSEOContent?AGuide toCreatingContentfor SEO
HowToIncrease BlogTraffic:5Easy StepstoStardom
14. Form industry partnerships
Teamupwith abusinessrelatedtoyour industry (butnotadirectcompetitor)for ajoint
project.Thiscan be done locally andoffline through some kindofspecial event,or online
(which couldstill be locally)with awebinar or promotional giveaway.
Partneringwith another businessmeanstwice asmuch notice andexposure toawhole new
audience relatedtoyour niche.
Industry partnershipsare agreatmarketingtactic because they allowsmall businessowners
accesstomarketingknow-how,technology,andcustomer basesthatthey couldnothave
achievedon their own.You needtoputcareful thoughtandeffortin ifyou wanttoforma
profitable partnership.Clarify expectations,engage with andvetdifferentbusinesses,assess
howyou can worktogether,andhave several conversationsbefore makingthingsofficial.
15. Post helpful videos
Videoisahighly popular mediumfor consumers,andwhile itcan costyou alottogeta
professional videoproducedanduploadedtoYouTube,you don’thave tohire aprofessional.
DIYvideomarketingiseasy with today’spersonal devicesandsocial mediaappslike
Instagram,Facebook,andTikTok.

10. Videosare especially greatfor demonstratinghowtocomplete atask,like foldingafittedsheet
or installingagarbage disposal.Butvideomarketingworksin pretty much every industry.To
strike thatvital connection with your audience,you can create:
Instructional videosandhow-tos
Productdemos
Behind-the-scenescoverage ofwhatit'slike toworkatyour business
Interviewswith your staff or industry experts
Slideshowswith imagesandcaptions
Addabrandingmessage or personal message,whichever isappropriate.Be transparent.Finish
with astrongcall toaction (e.g.Call ustosetupan appointment!or Place your birthday cake
order today!),andthen distribute the videoon your website,YouTube andother videohosting
sites,social mediachannels,andeven in emails.
16. Turn employees into brand ambassadors
For many small businesses,wordofmouth isan importantmarketingstrategy toboostsales.
Research showsthatcustomersare more likely tobuy aproductor service ifthey gettoknow
aboutitfromstrangers;soimagine the effectoffriendor family referrals.
By treatingyour employeeswell andencouragingthemtobecome brandambassadors,you
can tapintothe incredible potential oftheir networks.Your employeeshave genuine interest
in your business,sowhy notleverage their voicesandsocial networkstoreach outtoalarger
audience?
Thinkabouthostingan exclusive discountsale like a“friendsandfamily”promotion every
nowandthen.Learn howtouse Facebookfor your business—create an event,invite
employees,andaskyour employeestoshare itwith their personal andprofessional contacts.
Encourage themtoshare the statusandtagpeople toincrease the reach ofyour event.
17. Recycle your old content
Make the mostofthe workyou've already done.Ifyou have acontenthit,repurpose itfor
other channels!Turn asuccessful webinar intoavideotutorial.Transformagroupofrelated
blogpostsor other contentfromyour site intoan ebookthatyou can promote through site
popupsor your email marketingprogram.

11. Never be afraidtomash-upandre-promote your oldcontent–chancesare there will be aton
ofpeople whonever even sawyour oldstuff,soit’ll be afresh,100%newcontentpiece for a
large segmentofyour audience.
Practically free marketing ideas
These strategiesdon’trequire abigadvertisingbudget,butyou will likely needtoputsome
resourcesintothem—such asby subscribingtoaplatformor purchasingticketstoevents.
18. Host classes and events
Plan an eventor classtohost,then printoutflyersandpostthemon community bulletin
boards(libraries,coffee shops,local collegesandadultedcenters).While mostcommunity
bulletin boardswon’tletyou postbusinessadvertisements,they’re often more than happy to
postaflyer promotingan educational eventor class.
Ifyou can’thostan event,attendany local eventsthatyou can findthatmightbenefityour
business.You never knowwhere you will findyour nextcustomer or businesspartner!
19. Run informa ve webinars
Ifreachingapotential audience in person doesn’tsoundlike your ideaofagoodmarketing
idea,you can alwayshostawebinar.Webinarsare afree way topromote your businessby
providinghelpful information topotential interestedcustomers.
Webinar platformssuch asWebex andGoToMeetingallowyou tobroadcastyour webinar with
justafewbutton clicks.Make sure topromote your webinar on social mediaor through an
email newsletter one totwoweeksbefore the eventandinclude reminderstoregistrantsso
thatthey don’tmissit.
20. A end industry/networking events
Attendingtrade showsandindustry conferencesisasmartway totake your small businessto
the nextlevel.These eventsbringtogether businessmindsfromall industrieswhowanttofind
newmarketingstrategiestogrowtheir business.It’salsoaway tonetworkwith like-minded
people anddevelopnewB2Bcontacts.In addition,these eventshave exclusive seminars

12. designedtosharpen your skillsin sales,social media,advertisingandother contemporary
waysofpromotingyour small business.
21. Host a social media contest or giveaway
Runningasocial mediacontestor giveaway isasmartandeffective marketingstrategy
requiringminimal resources.You may needtocough upsome dough for aprize,or offer a
productservice atnocharge,butthe number ofparticipantsandnewpotential leadsyou get
will be well worth the price.Really tighton budget?You don’ttechnically needasuper
expensive prize togetparticipants.Even acouple high-endwater bottlesor fancy backpacks
mightbe enough ofadrawfor some users.
There are anumber ofdifferentsocial mediacontesttypesoutthere,butthe main ideaisto
require registrantstolike,follow,or tagyour business,or tagsomeone else on your post,toget
your name outthere andintroduce potential clientstoyour services.
22. Do an in-store business card drawing
Putafishbowl atyour place ofbusinesswith asign invitingvisitorstodroptheir businesscards
in for achance towin somethingfromyou.For example,arestaurantmightoffer afree
(socially distanced,ifapplicable)lunch for the whole office.
Atthe endofthe month you’ve collectedaton ofbusinesscards,andwhile you can only have
one winner,there’snoreason those other businesscardshave togotowaste.Use the email
addressesprovidedtoletusersknowthatwhile they haven’twon thistime,they are more
than welcome tojoin your mailinglist,which will notify themoffuture giveawaysandspecial
offers.
23. Set up a customer referral program
Offer existingcustomersafree product,free month ofservice,or some other rewardfor
referringnewcustomers.Remember,word-of-mouth ispowerful stuff,andcustomers
referredby other customersare sofriendstellingfriendsaboutyour businessisincredibly
valuable.Here are some ideasfor gettingmore referralsfromyour existingcustomersand
clients.

13. Some more referral marketingstatsin case you’re notconvincedofthe value ofthislow-
budgetmarketingtactic:
74%ofconsumersconsider wordofmouth the primary factor behindtheir purchasing
decisions.
Customersreferredby afriendare four timesmore likely tobuy.
77%ofconsumersare more likely tobuy anewproductiftheir friendsor family
recommendit.
Accordingtoreferral marketingstatistics,referredcustomershave a37%higher
customer retention rate.
24. Join in on local events or contests
Ifthe town or city in which you are locatedhostsannual celebrations,weekly farmers
markets,or other contests,make itapointtoattendthese eventstogettoknowyour local
audience.Thisisthe bestformofmarketresearch.Ifapplicable,setupatable or booth atthe
event,become asponsor,or donate aproductor service ofyoursasaraffle or contestprize.It's
alow-costway toraise awarenessofyour business.
25. Get some awesome business cards
Getyourselfsome snazzy businesscards,then give themtoevery person you lay eyeson.Every
handshake shouldcome with abusinesscard.The more people whofindoutaboutyour
business,the better –even ifit’sjustaquickglance atabusinesscard.
26. Put magnets on the company car
Stickamagnetic sign on your company car andvoila,you have abrandawarenesscampaign
on wheels,spreadingthe worldall over town (justbe sure toobey traffic laws).Bumper
stickersandwindowdecalsalsoworkfor thismethod,andthey are generally notexpensive to
getmade.
27. Run a Facebook campaign
Ifyou only have atiny advertisingbudget,itmightstill be enough torun some Facebookads!
The costper clickfor Facebookadvertisingcan be very low.

14. Here are some resourcestohelpyou getstartedwith your firstFacebookadcampaign,
dependingon whattype ofbusinessyou're running:
FacebookEcommerce:The Complete Beginner'sGuide
Beginner'sGuide toFacebookAdsfor Entrepreneurs
Beginner'sGuide toB2BFacebookAdvertising
Free and low-budget small business marke ng ideas [summary]
Here are all 27free andlow-budgetideastomarketyour small business:
1.Google My Businessoptimization
2.Social mediapostingandengaging
3.Social mediatagging
4.Hashtags
5.Local SEO
6.Email marketing
7.Infographics
8.Free adpromocredits
9.Businessawards
10.Guerillamarketing
11.Contentmarketing
12.Blogging
13.Industry partnerships
14.Videomarketing
15.Brandambassadors
16.LinkedIn marketing
17.Classesandevents
18.Webinars
19.Industry networkingevents
20.Social mediacontests/giveaways
21.In-store businesscarddrawings
22.Customer referral programs
23.Local eventsor contests
24.Awesome businesscards
25.Car magnetsfor the company car
26.Contentrecycling

15. Any favorite low-budgetmarketingtacticswe missed?Whatworksfor your businesswithout
breakingthe bank?
Kristen McCormick
Kristen isthe Senior ManagingEditor atWordStream,where she
helps businessestomake sense oftheir online marketingand
advertising.She specializesin local SEO,copywriting,and
conversion optimization,andshe findslife tobe exponentially
more delightful on abicycle.

19 Comments WordStream.com 🔒 Disqus' Privacy Policy Login

1
t Tweet f Share Sort by Best
LOG IN WITH
OR SIGN UP WITH DISQUS
Name
Join the discussion…
?
Kristen • a month ago
• Reply •
Radio!
Most radio does not break the bank. Ask for a low-cost sponsorship or promotion.
△ ▽
dsun1971 • 2 months ago
• Reply •
Great info for the up-and-coming and the seasoned pro looking for a refresh. Thank you
△ ▽
WordStream • 2 months ago
• Reply •
Mod > dsun1971
Sure thing!
△ ▽
Codeaxia • 3 months ago
• Reply •
thanks
△ ▽
WordStream • 3 months ago
• Reply •
Mod > Codeaxia
any time!
1 △ ▽
Fadi Hamadi • 3 months ago
• Reply •
Thank you for an amazing and very informative article. it helped me a lot :)
△ ▽
WordStream • 3 months ago
• Reply •
Mod > Fadi Hamadi
We love hearing that!
△ ▽
WordStream.com Comment Policy
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Recommend
 3
Share ›
Share ›
Share ›
Share ›
Share ›
Share ›
Share ›
27. Facebook ads
Create and Sell individual EZDeals Pages 1 business at Time
Extra templates Social media covers
matching templates Prospecting & Sales Tools
“Ultra High Converting”
Daily Deals Pages For Local Businesses
(In Under 60 Seconds!)
Without Clickfunnels, Landing Page Tools, Design Skills Or Coding!
Ready To Become A Deals Page Superhero For Local Biz Owners?
Watch This To See how...