Tech is gold they say but not all tech companies are equal. While some companies have thousands of dollars in marketing budget, most tech companies have little to no budget for marketing - so you need to get creative.

Fortunately, there's a world of uncommon, cost-effective strategies to reach your target audience without breaking the bank. It might not get you hundreds of thousands of users in a few months but it will definitely get you a few thousand customers that could hopefully generate enough income to re-invest in acquiring more users - If your product is good and solves a genuine problem.

Let's dive into how you can create an advertising strategy that delivers the biggest bang for your buck.

1. Identify Your "Perfect" Customer

Of course this is number one. Before you spend a single Naira, pinpoint your ideal customer. Understanding them deeply will make all your advertising efforts more efficient. Consider these questions:

• Who are they?: Age, gender, location, occupation, and income bracket.

• What pain points do they have?: What problems could your tech product solve?

• Where do they hang out online?: Which social platforms are they on? Do they read specific blogs or follow certain influencers?

2. Utilize Into Niche Newsletters

Newsletters are a powerful way to connect directly with engaged audiences who are interested in specific topics. Here's how to use them wisely:

• Identifying the Right Newsletters: Seek newsletters that align with your tech product. For example, a fintech app should explore newsletters discussing finance, startups, or mobile banking.

• Evaluate their reach and engagement: How many subscribers do they have? Check for open rates and interaction (comments, shares).

• Opt for sponsorships or curated mentions: Consider sponsoring a newsletter issue or paying to have your product briefly mentioned among other relevant solutions. These can be more budget-friendly than traditional banner ads.

• Track Results: Monitor conversions and engagement from your newsletter advertising to optimize your choices over time.

We know that finding the right newsletters with the right budget and audience size can be tough, that’s why we built Creatuuls to connect advertisers to newsletters across every business niche. On Creatuuls, businesses can also see a newsletter metrics like subscriber numbers, open rates and click-through rates which make it easy to estimate the results from your campaign and helps you track your campaign transparently. Learn more about how Creatuuls can help by emailing us at: hello@creatuuls.com

3. Explore User-Generated Content (UGC)

UGC is like "social proof" on steroids. Getting people to share their real experiences with your product offers powerful marketing that costs you nothing! Here's how to encourage UGC:

• Competitions and giveaways: Run a contest where users share their experience with your tech for a chance to win a prize.

• Testimonials and reviews: Make it easy for customers to submit reviews on your website, social media pages, and even third-party sites.

• Social media campaigns: Create a branded hashtag for users to share their stories and photos using your product.

• Feature UGC prominently: Repurpose the best UGC on your website, in email campaigns, and even adapt it into short video ads.

4. Build Strategic Partnerships

Forming partnerships with complementary businesses can exponentially expand your reach. Think about:

• Influencer collaborations: Identify micro-influencers in the tech space with engaged followers. Offer them free access to your product or an affiliate program in exchange for honest reviews and recommendations.

• Co-marketing campaigns: Team up with a business that serves your target audience but doesn't directly compete. You could run joint webinars, do bundle offers, or guest post on each other's blogs.

• Tech communities: Partner with tech incubators or innovation hubs. Offering demos or workshops through these channels brings you in front of a tech-savvy audience.

5. "Newsjack" Your Way to the Spotlight

Newsjacking is the art of injecting your brand into trending news stories in a relevant (and respectful!) way. It can score you considerable free visibility. Here's how to do it right:

• Monitor the news: Set up Google alerts for keywords related to your industry and tech trends in Nigeria.

• Be creative and timely: When a relevant story breaks, think how you can tie it to your product as a solution or offer an insightful commentary.

• Use social media: Share your take on the news with your brand's hashtag and tag relevant journalists or news outlets.

6. Become a Master of Content Repurposing

Creating high-quality content takes effort. Maximize the value of each piece you produce by repurposing it cleverly:

• Blog posts to podcasts: Expand your reach by turning a well-written article into an audio podcast episode or a short video explainer.

• Infographics from data: If you have research insights, visualize them in an eye-catching infographic for sharing on social media or via newsletters.

• Webinar to snackable content: Break down a long webinar into shorter video clips, quote cards, or even a written summary blog post.

7. Don’t Sleep on SEO

SEO is Your Friend. Optimize your website and content for search engines (SEO) to gain organic visibility long-term.

Have you explored any one or more of these strategies?