For most of us, being a start-up means operating on a shoestring budget. If it’s not enough to fork out costs for your product, website and business set-up fees, you also need to find a way to pay for advertising, point of sale, marketing and PR. The costs of these services can vary greatly, but they are also things you can start small with, test and build upon in time.
I am fortunate in that I am starting my business with a 20-year TV career behind me, which allows me to use some good contacts and skills. And use I have! Here are some of the key things I did to give my brand exposure on a budget.
Get your product to the right people
When I launched The Cut Jewellery, The Logies were on around the same time. I reached out to Sylvia Jeffries and Edwina Bartholomew, two of my favourite newsreaders, and asked them if they wanted to wear my jewellery on the red carpet. Stunning photos were taken of them both, which I posted to social media and flagged the news that they were wearing my designs with the relevant tabloids.
When you have a fashion/jewellery business, it helps if people can see what your designs look like on other people. If you can get some popular personalities or anyone relevant in your space to wear your brand, it is a great way to build credibility. You can leverage that win on your socials and possibly use it for a PR pitch, too, if they are open to it.
Craft your story
People are interested in people, so crafting a good brand story or sharing interesting information about yourself that takes people on a journey to how you got to where you are now is a good way to get your brand out there. Consider:
- Who is your target audience?
- Where are they at in life?
- Is there anything you can share that is relatable and inspirational to that group?
- How does your business fit into their lives?
- What stories can you tell that can tie that in while also relevant to your brand?
Create compelling content
For my social media, newsletter, and PR media plan, it is essential to create compelling content on relevant topics to showcase your business and explain why people want to come to you.
I specialise in lab-grown diamonds, so I make sure I share topics that sell the dream of my pieces and educate on them. For example
- Are lab-grown diamonds as valuable as mined diamonds?
- How to choose a lab-grown diamond
- What to expect at a bespoke engagement ring appointment
- Engagement stories of couples who have a ring designed by the business
All these angles educate on my area of expertise and sell the dream/story around why people are coming to me in the first place, and that is for stunning jewellery and amazing memories.
Get involved in topical conversations.
Getting involved in topical conversations is also a good idea to create affordable buzz around your brand. This year, Emrata repurposed her wedding ring and created her own “divorce ring”. We pitched story ideas into the media around it, put up some polls on social media to see what others think and even dived into some controversial topics such as what to do with your engagement ring if you don’t get married.
It all got tongues wagging, and people engaged with our socials, which is often a good thing.
Leverage organic social media
Social media is powerful. It is a great way to reach your audience and speak to them directly. When you are starting out, leverage organic social media as much as possible. Post once a day, respond to people quickly, and use polls and other tools to get people to interact with you. This is a good way to get people engaged and keep them coming back.
