Are you working on next year’s marketing budget? Do you have remaining budget for this year?  Are you all set, but second-guessing your allocations? If you answered yes to any of these questions, keep reading. I’ve uncovered five budget-conscious marketing tips that may make you a digital marketing megastar.

1. Spend any remaining budget wisely. You may be tempted to blow your unspent dollars on an expensive last-minute print advertisement. Instead of a single ad, invest in the future. Consider asking Checkerboard to help you launch an integrated marketing campaign. This marketing approach uses earned, shared, owned and paid channels to share your story. Best of all, you’ll have content that you can use throughout the year. Now that’s smart spending.

Read what integrated marketing did for this Minnesota business.

2. Take advantage of end-of-year sales.  In addition to the close-out pricing on sweaters, televisions and perfume, you can find bargains on marketing services and products this time of year. To find them, check out each of your vendors’ websites. You can also check out Retailmenot.com for online coupon codes for retail stores that carry marketing supplies.

3.Be mobile the money-wise way. More people are viewing websites on their mobile devices than ever before. It now accounts for 65 percent of digital media time while desktop use is dropping. Mobile e-commerce is also skyrocketing – many working moms love the convenience of shopping on their phones – so businesses of all sizes need to be ready. But how? Checkerboard’s budget-conscious clients use responsive web design (RWD) to ensure their websites work well on every device. RWD uses a single set of code so there’s no need to build separate (and costly) pages for mobile, tablet and desktop use.

4. Re-evaluate where you’re spending your dollars. You may not have to spend more money to get more leads. You just need to get in front of the right eyes. Traditional direct mail can be a budget buster. Consider investing in highly targeted digital advertising. This economical way to reach consumers is growing in popularity. In fact, social media advertising worldwide has doubled over the past two years. Checkerboard’s social media pros can help you grab the benefits of digital advertising now while it’s still reasonably priced.

5. Work smarter, not harder.  If you’ve been doing all of your marketing by yourself, partner with Media Relations Agency for a few key tasks. Not only can it save you time and energy, you’ll benefit from their experience and objective viewpoint. Plus, you’ll have access to a whole team of talent from writers to designers to videographers. Few small businesses can afford to retain such a diverse group of creative experts. So instead of struggling to keep up with your social media and e-newsletters, outsource it to the professionals. You’ll find the value in working with an agency more than offsets their fees.