Advertising and marketing your brand does not have to be only on Google, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media outlets – however no one is recommending not to have a presence on those profiles. Getting your startup off the ground by just being on social media probably isn’t enough. As Seth Godin says – you’ve got to be remarkable, so here are just a few cheap and unique marketing ideas.
Be remarkable!
Clothing – create caps, shirts or anything else that’ll get your ideal users to spread the word for you, by wearing your logo and info. There is even a blog dedicated to startup apparel.
Coffee Cups – coffee is everywhere and it is everyday. Start a giveaway for coffee cups with a link to your site or app.
Door-hangers – It is cheesy, and we won’t try arguing that it isn’t. Still, it is cheap to print out a few hundred of these and hang them wherever your users may be. Go through your local town, campus, business center and give out attractive door-hangers.
Stickers – If GoPro has stickers, then your startup is not above creating a sticker that can be slapped on our laptops or on the car bumper.
Vehicle advertising – It always gets my attention, but I don’t always check what it is after I’m done driving. The lessons – do advertise on vehicles, and leave a catchphrase that gives people an insight as to what you do (hint: a logo is not enough).
Place business cards in strategic areas – Who are all of your marketing efforts chasing? Find out where they are in your local area and place a huge pile of business cards in a spot that’ll ensure that people see it – but don’t litter. If you want to take it a step further, add images of your business cards in different places to your Instagram account.
Community action – Who doesn’t like to see a business giving back to the community? Sponsor a small volunteering event to get your hashtag rolling on Twitter, and expose your brand new positive PR.
Graffiti (chalk) – Don’t break the law, just pick up some colored chalk and go scribble some beautiful graphics on the sidewalk all over the city. All PR is good PR (that is debatable).
Create a Meme Video:
Teach at a workshop – Just like writing a guest post on an authority website, teaching a workshop is a fun, easy, and cheap marketing idea to get more attention, and hopefully more users.
Marketing is a contest for people’s attention – Seth Godin
Will you win that contest?
