Marketing itself is free – word of mouth, meeting new people, talking about what you do – there is no inherent cost. But, creating a strong marketing strategy, tools you can use and creative you can hand out does have a cost. And that cost varies greatly depending on who you are, how you plan to market and what audience you are reaching.

Small companies with targeted audiences can get away with smaller marketing budgets because their audience is usually easier to reach in less expensive ways. Whereas a company like Coca Cola wouldn’t survive without a huge marketing budget because their audience is, well, everyone!

So, as the small business owner with a small marketing budget, what tools and techniques can you use to optimize the money you can spend?

1. Brand yourself the right way. Having a strong branding and good marketing pieces to back you up will make everything easier and more successful, which leads to a return on your investment
2. Use twitter, facebook, and your blog. Online marketing is much less expensive than traditional marketing strategies. Using these tools effectively can create conversation which enables your marketing to be more effective.
3. Attend networking events. These events are usually $5-10 to attend, but can generate some serious business. If you combine attending these with a strong social media strategy, you will already have small introductions to many of the attendees.
4. Ask for referrals. Great clients are hard to find, but when you do, make sure you really appreciate them. And, when they are at their happiest after a project, as for them to pass your name along! Free word of mouth from someone else.
5. Sponsorships. Find local events that your ideal audience will be attending and create something memorable as a sponsorship. Give away something that is valuable, but doesn’t have a high out of pocket cost. Time is always a good one…

If you can find ways to use your money more effectively in marketing, you will soon realize you have a larger budget and more to spend on the tools that work.

What other ways can you market on a budget?