You just launched a startup and need to get your brand in front of as many people as possible. The problem is you aren’t just competing in your industry, you’re also competing with the millions of other marketing messages that consumers are bombarded with every second of every day. Not only that, your cash-strapped startup doesn’t have the funds to invest heavily into digital marketing. What’s an entrepreneur to do?

Fortunately, my extensive dealings with startups as the owner of an offshore staffing firm has given me special insight into coming up with efficient, cost-effective digital marketing strategies ideal for new companies that need to get in the red for the lowest cost possible.

Without further ado, here are a few affordable (and invaluable) digital marketing tips for startups and small businesses:

1. Focus on mobile.

To get more bang for your buck, consider focusing primarily on mobile campaigns as mobile ads cost less than desktop or tablet ads. You can considerably stretch your budget by setting up mobile campaigns on Facebook and Google, allocating the majority of your funds to ads that run on smartphones with full browsers.

2. Try out Instagram ads.

You no longer need an Instagram account to run ads on the platform, which are managed via Facebook. What’s more, clicks on Instagram ads can lead directly to landing pages or website URLs without filtering through an Instagram profile. And because Facebook has over 600 targeting options—and, again, since Instagram ads run via Facebook—you can target specific groups that perfectly fit your brand’s profile.

3. Do manual placements on Google AdWords.

Google AdWords display network campaigns aren’t the most popular choice for many startups—but they should be. The trick is to only show ads on specific websites, also known as placements, that have been selected with a particular customer profile in mind. AdWords allows for the manual selection of placements, which turns display campaigns into laser-targeted ads.

4. Use bid modifiers on Google AdWords.

Bid modifiers are percentages that you can set up to increase or decrease your bid depending on metrics such location, what device the ad will play on, etc. Instead of just setting up default bids or letting Google choose the bids for you, make your campaign more competitive by using bid modifiers.

5. Try remarketing across different channels.

Typical remarketing involves simply replaying ads on the same platforms consumers already saw them on. For example, if a potential customer clicked on your Google AdWords ad but didn’t convert, you can continue to serve them ads on the same platform—ideally, with a different ad each time. Cross-channel remarketing adds a layer of sophistication by showing ads to users on platforms different from the one they originally viewed them on.

Whether you’re a small business owner or the CEO of a company, you need to ensure that you have the best possible online presence and that you’re taking full advantage of all available digital channels. If this is something your organization can’t do in-house, then consider hiring a digital agency to do it for you. However, if financial considerations limit your ability to hire an agency, you should consider outsourcing your online efforts.

Deployed can help you build your own dedicated digital marketing team, helping you hire offshore online marketing experts at very cost-effective rates.

Interested to know more? Arrange a confidential call or meeting today and I’d be happy to discuss the matter with you further.

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