Five Elements to Enhance Your Marketing for Less than $1

Quickly imagine yourself operating your business in 1999. You have a great product and mission. Your distributors are pushing your barrels as best as they can but they want more from you in terms of marketing.

In 1999 marketing — even on a base level — was expensive and the return may not be immediate.

Fast forward to 2024 and marketing is one of the simplest and cheapest it’s ever been. However, so many businesses, both small and large, pass on many free — or cheap — marketing opportunities.

Many years ago when I was hired as an Assistant Editor, my first thought brought to the company table was to establish a Facebook Page. In today’s environment that’s what we’d call a “duh” moment, but back in the 2000s, companies kicked off the decade without the option and by the end were late to the game if they didn’t create their own Page.

Now, anytime I get an idea for a business I first search for any and all competitors. In terms of our brewery, I also looked into new business permit filings to see who else might have a similar vision.

Following that search, if I deem my opportunity viable, I look for an easy website domain immediately followed by securing my Facebook and Instagram Pages. I do all of this before a logo or business plan may be established.

So many times I’ve transitioned from one business idea to another simply because I felt the market search on Google was too saturated. However, much like I did with Brewer Magazine, once I saw the niche I secured the Facebook Page.

Why was this so important?

In every single business, you will have Sales & Marketing. In almost all reading you never really find standing alone: Sales or Marketing. They are aligned for a reason and partnered for life.

Back in the brewing business of 1999, the company might secure a website domain, but possibly not until much later. If you can recall, we didn’t have the Internet in the palm of our hands until much later. Even the daily usage of Google and YouTube wasn’t part of the business diet.

Now social media platforms are the first stop of any beginning business. I would even argue that you should secure a social landing spot before your domain — but, you’re probably going to do both in the same sitting regardless.

For Abettor Brewing, otherwise known as our Test Kitchen, I secured the Facebook Page well before I secured the domain, doing so in February of 2017. The business didn’t open until April, 2019 — more than two years later.

By the time Abettor Brewing opened its doors, we had more than 3,000 “Likes” from local citizens following our journey. When we hit “Post” for the opening date in 2019 we had an exorbitant amount of shares and likes in addition to immediate phone calls from local journalists.

Every element I’ve mentioned minus the domain is completely free. A domain on GoDaddy will cost you less than $5 a year typically.

I’m sure most of you already have all three of these, but are you utilizing them properly? Here are some quick tips we utilize that I think you should be too:

• Set a Posting Schedule: Brewer Magazine and Abettor Brewing both post on Facebook and Instagram twice daily. Over the years we’ve adjusted the post times to stay relevant to the Facebook algorithm, but the twice a day has been consistent.
• Make the Time: Do social media posts take time and creativity? Of course, but everything in business does. The only thing this costs your company is time — whether it’s your time or an employee’s time.
• Do Not Boost Posts: I 98% believe in not boosting posts. I 100% believe that the algorithm will adjust based on your boosted posts as the company knows you’ll pay for views. While it feels slimy, as a business owner I truly get their motive.
• Pay for Ads: Do not break the bank on Facebook and Instagram advertising. However, you should get into some “pay to play” to help your Page exposure. I spend $1 per day on Facebook ads. I never spend more and I never spend less. I will set up a Facebook advert (as they call it) and leave it until I no longer see traction. It will run continuously for all of the time costing me $1 per day. Additionally, I never put an end date or “budget”. Set your advert for $1 and sit back for some slow growth.
• Be Consistent: In the beginning, having consistent colors and phrasing for your posts will feel arduous but the magic is in the consistency. Even if you post once daily, be consistent with that schedule. Don’t skip days and even make posts on days you are closed. Look at this medium as an ongoing conversation with your customer, not a daily task.