In the world of online marketing, content creation and social media, it can be difficult to reach your target audience when they are being advertised to by a seemingly countless number of other competitors. While there are some tried and true tactics that involve large marketing budgets and hours upon hours of dedicated interaction, the truth is that marketing does not have to be as complicated or costly as many would lead you to believe. Especially helpful if you are a start-up or new brand, a few simple techniques can go a long way toward attracting new customers to your brand. Below, we will discuss four ways in which you can accomplish this without breaking the bank or exhausting yourself.

Make a Personal Appeal

When you first begin a new business or a new outreach program, you will want to leave lasting impressions upon first-time or potential customers. Cookie-cutter emails do not do the trick – instead, try to get to know these individuals via social media and email in order to make a personalized appeal to each person. Whether you wish to thank them for a recent purchase or encourage potential followers to make a purchase, you can do so in a way that appeals to the person’s sensibilities and interests. Some common ways to do this include pinging your blog via email or seeing what they enjoy on social media and likewise making an appeal using this information.

Follow Your Competitors’ Progress

If you have competition, then you will want to see what is working for them and where they are receiving the most attention. There are a number of websites out there that can help you track where each competitor has been mentioned (Fresh Web Explorer is one of these sites), which can help give you leads as to where you should reach out for additional customers and brand awareness. Once you have determined the locations where said mentions have occurred, you can then use this information to expand your reach. You can also track your own brand’s mentions using the same software, which may prove to be valuable as well.

Use Comments to Your Advantage

So many people have used comment marketing as a way to reach new customers, but many do this poorly. If you can incorporate your brand into a thoughtful, detailed comment on a relevant blog or social media hub, then you can gain traction in this regard and attract a wave of new business. If you focus too much on solely pinging your blog or website, then others will see through this and you will be likely to gain nothing from the attempt. If you can be cunning and provide value when mentioning your business, then bloggers and readers alike will be more receptive to your approach.

Provide Real Value

One popular way to increase exposure, gain viral reach and draw in new customers is through the use of quality content that is free and accessible. Many brands and businesses will publish how-tos, infographics and other utilities that can demonstrate a certain technique or product’s functionality. If you are attempting to convince a potential customer that your business cares and is proactive, then you will want to first provide something of real value to the consumer as a way of demonstrating that.