3 Budget-Friendly Marketing Strategies for 2023

Here’s something I took to heart in 2022 (AKA the year I came back from parental leave and became a full-time working mom).

With so many priorities in my life and only 24 hours a day to accomplish them, I had to get smarter about the way I was balancing my job, my family life, my side projects, and my need for some solitude in between it all or else I was going to burn out. 

I started thinking about how I could put in a little less grind and get back a little peace of mind. Where did I need to show up with my passion in full force? Where could I let that pursuit of perfection slide a bit?  

If you’re in the small business world, you probably already know that deciding where to make cuts and where to double-down on your investments is an art form. 

I’m here to tell you that 2023 is the year your marketing budget deserves to become a better, faster, stronger version of itself.  

In this case, “better, faster, stronger” aren’t just the catchy lyrics of French electro-pop duo Daft Punk—it’s a mantra for small businesses marketing in an economy that feels a little unsteady on its feet. (Raise your hand if, like me, you’ve been studying egg prices like you’re prepping for a test.)

While I’m no economist with a crystal ball, I do have great visibility into all the ways you can run impressive marketing and advertising campaigns with Chronogram Media—even (nay, especially) while being mindful of your budget.

For this month’s post, I’ve got three budget-friendly ways you can market your small business in 2023. Read on to get the full list. 

1. Boost Your Online Presence

When consumers start to watch their dollars more closely, they become very picky about where those dollars are going. 

  • They spend more time hemming, hawing, and doing research before making a purchase. And guess where they spend a lot of that research time? That’s right: online. 
  • They Google your business name to find out your hours and location. 
  • They check out your website to get a better feel for your products and services before ever stepping foot in your shop.
  • They search your Instagram or Facebook feeds for photos of what your physical location feels like and to gauge whether what you offer is actually worth their time and money. 

If all they see is a dead-end website or social channel with no recent content, you could lose potential customers to a competitor that offers more information online. 

So what do you need to do?

1. Make sure you’ve claimed your Google My Business listing.

Your My Business listing has all the important contact info that customers need to quickly and easily find your physical location, website, hours, phone number, etc. And since it’s synced up with Google’s reviews system, people can easily see all those glowing reviews that further boost their confidence in your business.

2. Update your website.

Refresh your online inventory or add examples of recent projects you’ve worked on. Build out your About page and tell people the history of your business and what makes you stand out. And be sure to use plenty of photos that bring your business to life. 

Chronogram Media Tip: We work with our clients to design websites, too! If your website is in need of an overhaul, reach out to our team to find out more.

3. Make sure your social channels are active.

Don’t feel bad if your business is not currently active on social media. Today is a great day to turn that around! First, decide which channels are likely to be used by your ideal customers. (Hint: Facebook skews a bit older, Instagram is more the Millennial set, and TikTok is for the whipper-snappers.)

Then, make an easy goal of posting once a week—think photos of new products, staff bios, short videos that offer online users a peek inside your world. Before you know it, you’ll start reaping the benefits of your community in the form of more followers and engaging comments on your posts.

Chronogram Media Tip: If you know that social media is a steep learning curve for your business or you need to reach a bigger audience outside of your own followers, we can create social media posts and month-long social media campaigns for you that can achieve your goals on a budget.

2. Buy an Advertising Package that Blends Print and Digital.

As a media company that’s been in the biz of developing advertising campaigns for our clients for 30 years, we know that your advertising budget changes from year to year and season to season. That’s the cyclical nature of business! 

When you’re watching your pennies, it can be really tempting to pare down your marketing and advertising spend to reach a specific budget number—and miss out on important channels to reach your customers in the process. 

We’re the first to admit that we love our print magazines, but even we know that your business can’t live on print advertising alone! 

That’s why our team of expert media reps takes a strategic eye toward your budget, and recommends a balanced blend of print and digital advertising. Our goal is to help you reach the most new customers possible in all the places we know they’ll be. 

If you pay attention to your email inbox, you’ll see opportunities come through from us all the time that smartly pair print and digital placements so you get the most bang for your buck.

Think combinations of the following: 

If I do say so myself, our curated packages are a budget-minded marketer’s best friend. They’re chock-full of valuable placements and save you both money and effort over time.

3. Get Smart About Search Engine Optimization.

This goes back to number one, but deserves its own time in the spotlight. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a tool you can use to increase the quantity and quality of traffic to your website. 

Traffic to your website, or other online properties, is directly related to how well those sites rank in search engine results. And appearing higher on the list of Google’s results is a surefire way to get more customers. 

Here are three easy ways you can improve your business’s SEO strategy: 

  1. Make sure your website contains the keywords and keyword phrases that you want to rank for in search results.

    Own a house-cleaning business in the Hudson Valley that specializes in eco-friendly practices? “Eco-friendly Hudson Valley house cleaner” is a great keyword-driven phrase that you can use throughout your website to help Google point customers in your direction. 

    2. Purchase an advertisement that appears in the top of Google’s search results for your desired keyword phrase.

    Just by appearing at the top of the search results, you’ll increase the likelihood that people visit your website. This is especially helpful if your business is new and needs the boost in web traffic or if you want to ensure your established business always turns up in search results.

    Chronogram Media Tip: Don’t know where you’d start creating an impactful ad for Google’s results? Ask us about our Search Engine Marketing services.

    3. Commission an original sponsored article that profiles your business from a publisher like Chronogram Media.

    Every time new content is published about your business online, Google rewrites the map that it uses to send traffic to your website. Our custome sponsored articles are optimized for your business’s keywords so they show up in search results. By working with our team to create a custom article, you can reinforce your brand’s messaging and help your website rank higher for your desired keywords.

    Chronogram Media Tip: Sponsored content that is relevant about your business regardless of time of year (aka “evergreen”) is incredibly powerful. Because it’s always useful to customers, it will help generate search traffic to your website months or even years after the article is first published.

With all these tools at your disposal (and Chronogram Media on your side), 2023 is definitely going to be the year that your marketing gets better, faster, and stronger.

Ready to learn more about how our team can create a campaign customized to your small business’s budget? Reach out to our sales team at [email protected] to start the conversation.

Want more marketing tips just for small businesses in the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and Berkshires? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, The Art of Business!

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