Small businesses just can’t compete with giant corporations when it comes to marketing dollars. Companies like CVS can afford a marketing campaign that flops, and products like Oreo don’t need advertising for brand awareness at all anymore. But companies operating on a local or small scale rely on every dollar in their marketing budget stretching as far as possible. Many don’t have thousands to spend on a risky paid ads campaign.

The good news is that a low marketing budget doesn’t have to mean certain doom for your business.

There are many opportunities to boost your business affordably (or for free) and scale to a point where your budget can stretch further. Here are three marketing strategies you can use online and in person to increase brand awareness and sales.

Organic Social Campaigns

Word of mouth is often still king for small businesses, and a great tactic is to get those conversations started yourself on social media platforms. Of course, the trade-off here is that while you aren’t spending extra money, you will be spending extra time and effort to find results, especially if you don’t already have active social media profiles.

Before starting this strategy, ask yourself which social media platforms your target market is spending their time on – you wouldn’t want to spend hours sending out tweets when your audience is hanging out on LinkedIn.

What organic social campaigns boil down to is posting content to get your audience engaged and warmed up and then pitching them your offer. The exact details will differ from business to business, but a huge thing to remember is that you aren’t posting sales pitch after sales pitch. Post content that will educate, entertain, and inspire your audience when it comes to your product or service first.

Try posts like:

Behind the scenes

How does your product/service facilitate a transformation they are seeking

FAQ about your product/service

Interesting ways people use your product or

Secondary benefits people get from your service

Expand your audience by joining local or related Facebook groups and joining in the conversation there while sending friend requests out. Don’t pepper these groups with your promotions (unless prompted) or immediately start sending your new friends cold pitches—that’s likely to work against you.

Networking Events

Local networking events have long been the bread and butter of local connections. Thanks to social media, they are now available virtually through virtual summits and digital coffee chats. The basis of networking (as well as the rest of these low-cost marketing campaigns) is making great connections so that others will refer their friends and family to your business. It’s also great for collaboration opportunities with complementary businesses.

For networking in person, you will want to look for low-cost groups or offer free visits. Another option is your local chamber meet-ups. One thing to remember here is that you may have to deal with some drama that can come with a close-knit group.

So, dust off your business cards and practice your elevator pitch- it’s time to rub some elbows!

Speaking Engagements

There’s no better way to show off your stuff and set yourself up as an expert in your industry than by taking on speaking engagements. This comes with a couple of requirements- sometimes you may have to pay to speak (such as an opportunity to talk to someone else’s existing audience), and you obviously need to have something to speak about. We recommend having a 20-minute signature speech in your back pocket so that you can show speaking hosts what you bring to the table so that you are comfortable when delivering.

Make sure your speech isn’t just one long sales pitch. Instead, talk about a problem your audience is dealing with and how they can solve it. This may be teaching them how to solve a minor problem related to your industry or showing them aspects that they would never have thought of before. The main point is to deliver value.

Bonus Option – Referral Incentives

If you already have a loyal customer base, offer them discounts on future products or services for any referral they send that makes a purchase. What you can offer will depend on your costs- obviously, don’t offer a discount or reward that will cancel out the referral purchase. But if your business often has return customers or obvious upsells, that referral may lead to even more purchases down the road.

Whether you’re just starting or working with a lean marketing budget, these affordable strategies can help build some great foundations that can continue to bring in business long after you have moved to more expensive tactics. All three are essential moves to build an audience that knows, likes, and trusts you.

Need affordable help to build your business, check out our guide to leveraging freelancers.