Multichannel marketing for free: 7 ways
Multi-channel marketing is even free. We took a look at the marketing tools commonly used by businesses and look at 7 ways you can do it, even for free. And even generate virality if you get it right.
Online, the best content, stories and videos spread like wildfire and become a phenomenon.
Multi-channel marketing for free means using channels, tools and tactics without spending a single euro on paid advertising.
Below we present 7 ways to market your business in a multichannel way for free, without an advertising budget.
1. Search engine optimised website and blogging
The first tip for free visibility is content marketing, blogging and generally optimising your website for search engines. Free, or organic, traffic to a search engine optimised site is typically the highest quality traffic of all.
When you produce content that interests information seekers, and outperform your competitors in search engine rankings, you have already started your journey to the top of the search engine rankings.
Having your own domain, with a good search engine optimised name helps. However, there are many reasons why a website may not rank in search engines. If you’re already producing content but your site isn’t ranking in search engines, read our blog post on 7 common reasons why your site isn’t ranking.
2. Social media and algorithm-aware content
Surely it comes as no surprise? While many businesses and entrepreneurs today have to resort to paid advertising on social media channels, the smart ones can do it for free.
The key is engaging content and understanding algorithms. Every social media channel relies heavily on algorithms, meaning social channels such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok recommend appropriate content for each user on an individual basis. Even your own social media feeds are tailored experiences of content you might like.
This is backed up by various targeting data: if you have liked or commented a lot on dog videos, you are likely to see more dog videos in the future.
Use this information to promote your business. Build your social media content by researching what kind of content works and what doesn’t. Try to get lots of interactions from your desired audiences, such as likes, comments, shares, to recommend your content to others. Typically, high quality, funny, entertaining and insightful content will get your content spread for free.
For musicians, for example, TikTok is a vital tool to act as a springboard for the release of new music.
Especially on video-based channels such as TikTok, YouTube (especially YouTube Shorts), and Instagram and Facebook Reels, the first few seconds of a video are often vital. If you can’t get the viewer to stick to the screen and watch your video all the way through, the algorithm may not easily recommend your videos, and your video’s popularity will plummet.
The best viral videos have lifted people, businesses, products and services to millions of eyeballs – and for free.
Photo: Social media is a great way to find new customers in many sectors. Recommended by algorithms, content can spread to audiences of up to millions without a single euro of advertising.
3. Put your local service on the Google map with your Google Business profile
Do you own a hair salon, restaurant or even a car service? Highlight your business to local customers on Google Maps and in Google search results with a Google Business Profile. It’s free to set up and will get your business listed on the world’s most popular map service.
Tip: ask your customers for reviews, as Google tends to highlight businesses and service providers with the highest ratings on Google Maps. However, avoid speculating on reviews and make sure they are from the right people and from your real customers.
4. Affiliate programmes or affiliate marketing
Are you an online retailer selling physical products online? Or are you selling software licences for a monthly fee? You should take advantage of affiliate programmes for promotion. Encourage others to add a link to your products or services and offer them a reward for the sales they generate.
The simplest way is to create a discount code that not only gives the subscriber a discount, but also lets you know who the order came from. You can then credit the reward to your affiliate as payment. Affiliate marketing is already a huge area of business in many sectors – why not try it for yourself?
PS. Did you know that as a XetNET customer you can create your own affiliate link via our Customer Portal pages? We will pay 30% commission on the total amount of your first order to your customer account, which you can use to subscribe to our services.
5. Media coverage to raise your profile in the media you deserve
Have you launched a new product or service? Or set up a new business, in a new location? The media are likely to be interested – so it’s a good idea to consider media coverage. The simplest way to create and send a media release is by email.
There are paid services that can help you reach a wider audience more quickly and easily, but the simplest way is to find the editorial contact details yourself, such as email addresses of the media in your sector or region to whom you are sending the information.
Earned media is literally earned media, i.e. completely free of charge. You don’t buy an ad in a magazine or online publication, you get the media interested in you and your business with news or a topic that interests people.
At its best, media coverage can help you create stunning growth stories that act as springboards to success. In media communication, it is worth remembering what media readers/viewers are interested in: they are often interested in people, growth stories, success, new Finnish innovations, positive news, etc. The media are not interested in advertising and sales letters, so media releases should not be advertising.
When you call the editor of a local newspaper, don’t ask him/her to advertise you/your company, but think about what kind of story the editor would like to tell his/her readers.
Photo: Earned media reaches large audiences. You can improve your chances of getting into specialist publications in your field with an interesting and engaging message to your readers.
6. Collect your email list (and remember the GDPR)
One of the most valuable ways to promote and market is email marketing. Start collecting email lists early on in your business and you’ll soon have an even more valuable list of people to market to.
However, avoid spamming and oversubscribing. For example, offer good tips and ideas via email to build not only your own brand and image as an expert in your field, but you can also offer a range of special offers via email in a targeted way. This will show that you care about your existing, long-standing customers, as well as those who have given you their email address in exchange for, say, a downloadable guide.
Remember the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Always collect email addresses with permission. Don’t buy cold lists because they are not very effective. It is worth noting that various newsletter and email services may be subject to charges, depending on the size of your email list.
For example, the email marketing tool MailChimp offers a free version to get you started easily.
7. Organise webinars and online events
Whether you are involved in B2C or B2B, a webinar is a very easy way to share your expertise. Host a free webinar or online event online to share tips, share your expertise and add to your email list with webinars and online events. You can also market to them later after the webinar.
Webinars are a great way to get to know you and your business, as they offer a low threshold to approach you. Webinars are easy to register for and, at their best, they provide an interactive channel and an opportunity for people to ask questions that are on their minds. Answer these questions during the webinar and ta-daa: it will be easier for a customer to approach and buy from you afterwards or in the future if you managed to charm a potential customer.
For an easy and simple landing page for marketing a webinar, you can build one with WebbiVelho, for example. WebbiVelho is a completely free website builder for our web hosting customers.
There’s no reason why you can’t also organise a paid webinar/webinar training: so see this as a new revenue opportunity too.
A summary of the free options for multi-channel marketing
As you can easily see above, there are many different ways to promote your business and to market in a multichannel way and most importantly: for free. Above, we considered the most popular of the free means, namely organic search traffic, mapping services, social media channels and algorithms, traditional media, existing email lists and how to grow them, and marketing and sales engines built through new partnerships.
Of course, many of these measures take time and effort, some require you to pay a commission (e.g. affiliate marketing), but at their best, the above-mentioned efficiencies have created incredible success stories without spending a single euro on paid advertising.