Low-Cost Marketing Solutions for the Modern Day Girl Boss

There's never been a better era to be a woman in business. The National Association of Women Business Owners reports that there are over 11.6 million women-owned businesses in the United States. Women-owned businesses have grown five times the national average since 2007, with the upward trend likely to continue.

But while starting a business might be the dream, women entrepreneurs also have to face the reality of keeping their companies afloat. A lot of this hinges on the right kind of marketing. Marketing is the backbone of a company's sustainability — it's the only way you can keep new customers interested and old customers coming back. However, marketing doesn't always have to be expensive or complicated. Here are a few low-cost marketing tools that every girl boss should know.

Social Media

Social media has quickly risen to overtake other, more established marketing techniques over the past decade. It's not hard to see why: social media use has permeated nearly every aspect of our lives. It's now become a low cost hub through which companies can reach out to new customers and engage returning ones without the need for big budgets.

Business.com claims that social media marketing is essential for women in business, as it can help women establish their brands, connect with customers, and provide customer service and advertising. While effective social media marketing is fairly simple, it can take a bit of work. However, the returns are absolutely worth it, and it just might end up being the cornerstone of your marketing strategy.

Local Events

If there's one thing women entrepreneurs can take advantage of, it's engaging with local communities. Setting up local events is a great way to socialize and engage with new customers, while establishing goodwill for your brand. We've written about How to Use an Event to Grow Your Brand before, highlighting the steps you need to undertake to ensure a successful event.

While preparations and the event proper are obviously important, you should make sure you're ready to follow up on the leads and connections you established. This post-event work is equally necessary, and ensures that you're building a relationship with customers that will last.

Direct Mail 

Another tool you can add to your marketing arsenal is direct mail marketing. While direct mail may require a bit of effort and investment, the returns on a campaign are worth it. It has some of the lowest costs-per-lead among all modern marketing techniques, for one. You can also get as creative as you want with your materials, which can help you maximize impact.

Triadex Services state that you should look into direct mail marketing if you work in a big decision industry, the restaurant industry, or in service industries. While these industries can often make the biggest impact with direct mail, however, it's still a useful tool for any small business looking to make a splash.

Video Marketing

Finally, another tool that women entrepreneurs can learn to make use of is video marketing. Video has quickly made its mark in the past few years, pulling in better engagement stats than most digital marketing techniques. It can keep customers engaged and interested for minutes at a time, and is more likely to be shared and spread around.

Not sure how to approach starting your own video marketing campaign? Marketing consultant Robert W. Bly has put together a short list of tips that you can use to get started. You don't even need to invest in fancy equipment. Just make sure your video materials are clear, straightforward, and easy to understand, and you're on your way to some great results.