Opinion: Top digital marketing strategies on zero budget

Predicted to reach almost 1 billion mobile phone users by 2023, the Indian consumer is on the radar of markets of all size and segment across the globe. Digital mediums have provided an unprecedented platform for businesses small and big to market their product and services directly to their targeted group. In order to pin pointedly penetrate the message to the potential consumer, organizations spend a lot on multiple digital platforms. However, there still remains abundance of options for businesses and organizations with limited or no marketing budget. 

 

Zero budget digital marketing strategies provide enterprises with an opportunity to build a deep-rooted presence of their product or service in the market. They should strategically plan the combination of marketing tools applied at every stage based on the performance and insights to further make the efforts more meaningful and result-oriented. Below are the top digital marketing strategies with zero budget involvement that can help organisations establish their digital presence and accelerate business growth. 

 

Search engine optimisation

 

SEO lays the foundation of a holistic marketing ecosystem. Even though it does not yield instantaneous results, creating, implementing and evolving a SEO strategy should be a top priority for all businesses. ‘Search’ is a primary way of generating digital traffic towards your website, making it an essential part of your digital marketing strategy. Greater visibility and higher search rankings than your potential competitor can have a material impact on your ultimate goal. A digital marketer needs to curate best-in-class intent content by keeping the user in mind. This can only be achieved after a comprehensive study of current keyword trends, followed by rigorous competitor analysis.

 

Social media marketing

 

Social media, being a great tool for digital marketing helps reach a wider audience and tap into markets that can provide a greater conversion rate. According to a research, nearly 70% of millennials make purchases online after seeing brand content. Regularly publishing content on social media can help in improving brand engagement and gives exposure to a new group of potential customers. With the introduction of reels and IGTV’s on Instagram and various social media apps such as Clubhouse, Snapchat, Tik Tok helps in increasing engagement that does not require money, all it needs is consistency in posting content. 

 

Content marketing 

 

Content is the king. It stands at the core of branding, positioning and marketing your message to the target group. Drafting and delivering content in multiple formats for several mediums is essential to bypass through the chaos over the internet. Nowadays, artificial intelligence and machine learning tools are being utilised to deliver a personalised message using cookie data of users to build a more effective recall. Limited by budget, organisations and businesses should study algorithms on different digital platforms to leverage it for a wider reach. 

 

Affiliate marketing

 

Emails and newsletters are great ways to communicate with the audience that allows them to stay updated with the latest launches about their favorite products or services. Gaining more knowledge about email marketing and affiliate marketing can help brands grow by signing up for digital marketing courses from prestigious and globally renowned universities. 

 

Digital public relations

 

Often considered a part of SEO, PR on digital news portals helps in increasing brand awareness and developing credibility of the brand among readers. 

 

Generating organic relationships with online publishing platforms helps in increasing the reach of your message by twofold along with generating actionable leads. This can be achieved by creating content rich in data that is of public interest yet favourable to your marketing message. 

 

As the majority of businesses and modes of consumership are shifting online, it has become imperative to stay on top of trends, discover new marketing strategies and hack innovative tactics. It has further led to more people opting for a career or business in the digital marketing industry.

 

Leading platforms offer comprehensive digital marketing programs with a deep-dive into skill sets like SEO, e-mail and affiliate marketing, content marketing, social media management that help learners to develop impactful digital campaigns. With the right industry-relevant training from accomplished faculty, digital marketing can make for an intellectually stimulating and financially rewarding career. 

 

(The author is chief marketing officer, Great Learning.)