Notes

How Guerrilla Advertising Can Build Business Without Breaking the Bank
If you're like most small businesses, there's never enough time or money. Particularly when it comes to advertising. You know you have to advertise to build business, but it's hard to market when money is tight.

That is where guerrilla advertising comes in. Guerrilla advertising (sometimes referred to as "guerrilla marketing") is approximately using the resources you have at your disposal to build business. They are things that may be a little off the beaten path of mainstream advertising, however they still prove highly effective if done properly.

Flyers
Whether you want tell customers about a sale or other dressing up event, or just want to let people know about you, flyers are easy and relatively effective if you are trying to advertise on the cheap. When you have a computer and usage of clip art or photos, then you can certainly probably put together a specialist looking flyer. Some do's: 1) Include an irresistible offer, when possible. 2) Use a catchy headline and visual. 3) Keep your copy short and to-the-point. 4) Remember your address and phone number!

Some places it might seem about putting your flyers include
- Cars in parking lots

- Coffee shops

- Windows of local businesses (like grocery stores)

- College bulletin boards

- Library bulletin boards

- Apartment buildings

- Office buildings

- Fold, tape, and send to your mailing list

Think about paying a college or high school student to distribute your flyers at busy gatherings like Farmers' Markets, sports, etc., or even to take them door-to-door. Make sure you check the legalities in your area concerning the above, and always ask permission before you post or distribute flyers.

Vehicle Advertising
Go to your local sign shop and also have your logo, contact number and/or website made into a decal and stick it in your vehicle window. Viola! Marketing on more info ! In fact, have several printed up and have family and friends to take into account putting them on the vehicles as well.

Social Media
I am monitoring this trend for months now, and for the reason that time, it has spread like wildfire. And from everything I've seen and everything I've read, the trend will continue. There are lots of of these sites on the market, but my favorites are Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace. These social communities let you set up "house," invite your friends over, and meet plenty of new people who could have exactly the same interests as you, or may be potential customers. You shouldn't be shy about touting your services and products!

Website
Everyone is on the net. Seriously, everyone. (Okay, not your Great Aunt Edna.) So these days, it's almost confirmed that you should have a website. Your potential customers want to be able to take a closer look at your company at their convenience. And it's a perfect chance of you to let your customers see you at your very best. It is a win/win. And surprisingly, it's relatively cheap and easy to put a straightforward website up. There are many wonderful serves that not merely provide web hosting services, but templates which you can use. Depending on your service or product, you can either put up a simple info web site, or one which lets your customers can purchase from you directly.

Sports Team Sponsorships
Does your son or daughter play in an activity, or have you any idea a child would you? Or are you currently simply interested in getting the name in front of a huge selection of proud parents every week? Sports team sponsorships are fairly cheap & most of the time you get to put your logo on all of the jerseys.

Online Video Marketing
YouTube, TubeMogul, et al
Did you know YouTube now represents over 12 percent of web traffic? Actually, many marketing experts are recommending their clients add this kind of tool within their marketing mix because of all of the free traffic it can generate. Also it costs nothing to post!

What should you post? Consider performing a 3-5 minute informational video about your product or service, or perhaps a video testimonial from satisfied customers. "How-to" videos can even be incredibly successful. Does your goods and services lend itself to an instructional how-to? If you're an accountant, think about "how to" maximize your tax deductions? A florist..."how exactly to" make your flowers last longer. The options are endless! Your video does not have to be Oscar-caliber, but make sure it looks professional. Another idea for YouTube...should you choose commercials, post the commercials!

Dedicated NEWS RELEASE Campaign
Honestly, just about anyone can write a news release. It costs close to nothing to create and send out pr announcements, and the benefits can be huge.

First thing to accomplish is make a list of media contacts and addresses. These are individuals you'll send the releases to. Unless you know the place to start on this, call your local media (newspapers, publications, magazines, radio and television stations) as well as the trade publications in your industry and have who receives press releases. Update this list regularly. Next, determine that you'll send X number of press releases out monthly and stick to it! Don't just await the big stuff...create happenings if you want to. A few of the things you should send pr announcements out for include:

- Awards

- Grand openings, sales, events, etc.

- Conference attendance

- Seminars

- New equipment

- New employees

The list can go on and on! The idea here's to keep your company up front as much as possible.

T-shirts
Put your logo on t-shirts and put them on everywhere it is possible to. Encourage employees, family and friends to do the same.

Banners
Banners are fairly inexpensive. Next time you've got a sale or other dressing up event, have a banner made and display it proudly and prominently on your building, or in the front near to the street.

Referral Bonus
Offer your current customers a "referral" bonus (a discount on your product or service perhaps) when they refer you to definitely you. One of the effective ways is to have some cards (business card size) printed up with your logo, address and contact number, plus a blank line for the current customer to print his/her name. Give your best customers several of these and ask them to hand them out to friends and family. Once you get one returned, send your customer a postcard (or an email) thanking them for the referral and reminding them ahead directly into claim their discount (or free whatever).

Guerilla advertising takes a little more effort and work on your part, however the results can be really worth it. Instead of the scatter-shot that lots of of the traditional media outlets offer you, going guerrilla forces you to become more creative in targeting those customers that you can reach with the budget you have.

Donna Williams may be the founder and creator of BusinessBurrito.com - a website dedicated to helping small businesses grow with their maximum potential. She actually is also a 25-year advertising / marketing executive, creative director, writer, and producer. Together, Donna and her husband currently own and co-own five smaller businesses. To learn more about Donna and read more of her articles, visit her website at

http://www.businessburrito.com

� Copyright 2008, Donna Williams, BusinessBurrito.com. All rights reserved.
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