Small business marketing budgets are often limited. Whether you’re starting a new business or looking to grow one you’ve been running for years, it’s important to get the best return on investment (ROI). These tips will help you maximize your small business marketing budget:

1. Identify Your Goals

Your marketing budget should align with your business goals. If you don’t know what you want to achieve or where you want to go, you won’t know when or how much to spend on marketing. Take time to identify what success looks like for your business and make a plan for getting there.

2. Understand Your Audience

It’s easy to overlook the people who are most critical in helping you achieve your goals — your customers and clients. If you don’t know who they are, how can you market effectively? Researching and understanding what motivates this audience is a crucial first step in developing an effective marketing strategy which fits your budget.

3. Set Budget and Performance Expectations

After identifying your goals and audience, it’s important to set realistic budget expectations that align with those goals and create measurable benchmarks for measuring success along the way. Setting budget and performance expectations is important because it helps prevent overspending on ineffective activities while ensuring that all of your efforts are focused on areas that matter most.

4. Prioritize Local Search

Local search is the top online search activity for local businesses and consumers alike. The first step in local search is to make sure your website is optimized for it. Next, make sure your listing information — like phone number and address — is consistent across multiple platforms including Google My Business, Facebook Places, and Yelp so that users can find you easily across multiple channels.

5. Quality Content Builds Brand Credibility

Quality content is an investment that pays off over time — it helps build trust with potential customers and turns them into loyal customers. Make sure your website offers information that educates potential customers about the benefits of working with you. The more helpful your content is, the more likely people are to share it with others online — which can increase your visibility and drive traffic back to your site.

6. Make the Most of Social Media Marketing

Social media is often free or very inexpensive, so any small business owner can take advantage of this powerful tool. Posting regularly on Facebook or Twitter can help increase brand awareness and drive traffic back to your website. However, don’t just post random thoughts or links — make sure they’re related to your business so they’re relevant to potential customers.

7. Leverage Email Marketing

Email newsletters can be powerful tools for keeping your current customers up to date on new products and services or upcoming events related to your business. You can also use email marketing campaigns to attract new customers by offering discounts or other incentives through special offers like free shipping or free gifts with purchase.

8. Consider Networking to Market Your Business

Networking events give you an opportunity to meet new people who share similar interests and could potentially become new customers or clients for your business. They’re also a great way to learn about other businesses in your industry and their strategies for success. Don’t overlook these opportunities because they can be extremely beneficial for all parties involved.

9. Display Social Proof

Potential clients are more likely to trust someone who has many positive reviews from past customers than someone who doesn’t have any reviews at all. Make sure that every page on your website has customer testimonials displayed prominently so that visitors know how great your products or services really are.

10. Don’t Forget Print

Did you know that, according to research from Newsworks, print advertising drives higher levels of brand recall (77%) than digital (46%)? Digital forms of advertising are extremely popular because of their relatively low price point. However, print advertising can have a much better ROI when properly planned and executed.

A small business budget can be used effectively if you think creatively and carefully. With these 10 easy tips, you can maximize your marketing budget and make sure you are spending money on the things that will help grow your business.