New and Affordable Ways to Advertise

Medium sized business, which in the past would have found it difficult to compete, are now benefiting immensely from advances in technology that is now redefining how business strategies work. For instance, the advent of the internet and digital printing has reduced the costs of marketing collaterals. Now you can get reduced costs in traditional collaterals because of online or mobile transactions. What used to be a tedious and expensive process with your brochure printer is now an easy process because of advancements in digital printing. Today, you can get cheap brochure printing.

Studies show that the small businesses are thriving because they are taking advantage of technology. Once prohibitively expensive, brochure printers are now offering cheap brochure printing for small to medium enterprises including start ups. These businesses have realized their growth potential that is not fathomable twenty or thirty years ago.

Let us take the case of a local independent grocer. A small brochure printer designed and printed their brochures at home. The cheap brochure printing was delivered in three days. The owners of the shop reckon that the design and printing cost could have been much, much more if not for technology.

Technology is not just revolutionizing how traditional marketing collaterals are developed; it has also expanded and has opened up new advertising possibilities for small businesses. Businesses of all sizes can get more information in the Internet about their customers profile including demographics, habits and interests. These are important information because they can now develop their cheap brochure prints to attract their target audience.

Social networking sites are offering these businesses new ways to get to know their clients. For instance, a business can create a Facebook account and set filters such as age, location, status, etc. to get to their target customers. LinkedIn also has this feature to help businesses weed out those that are not part of their target customers so they can spend their efforts on potential customers.

Social media marketing is increasingly becoming an alternative means to generate buzz at a very low cost way - if not free of charge. Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook are just some of the more popular networking sites for companies of all sizes. Let us take the example of a small fish-and-chips shop which uses Twitter's micro-blogging site to offer special promotions or advertise new products to build a loyal following.

Mobile devices are also seeing an increase in usage since becoming more affordable. Small businesses have not fully explored the potential of smartphones but little do they know that these might be the next big thing. For starters, smartphones offer access to Google maps. Companies can enlist their businesses to show their location if for instance, the customer searches for nearby restaurants or barber shop, etc. Both Twitter and Facebook are both accessible to smartphones. This means that companies can bombard their clients with information on new menus, discounts, sales, etc. wherever they may be.

The payoff for engaging in new and creative ways to advertise can be rewarding. The small pizza shop for instance, may soon realize a 10 percent increase in business without necessarily increasing advertising costs. The small bed and breakfast can increase occupancy by 20% by little advertising cost. And, street food vendors in San Francisco for example have built successful followings using little more than Twitter and Facebook.