When it comes to where to spend their money, today’s consumers have more choices than ever, so every brand needs a go-to method for attracting new customers. Using freebies to your advantage makes the idea of buying from you nearly irresistible.

Freebies help improve the overall customer experience your brand brings to the table. A great freebie can help ensure your existing and potential customers can’t stop talking about your brand as well.

Finding ways to align your marketing strategies with the idea of offering freebies is the key to discovering how to attract new customers and get ahead. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Offer Free Samples or Trials

According to the Subscription Commerce Conversion Index, around 54 percent of consumers choose to continue a subscription after a free trial expires. Letting your customers try before they buy is one of the most straightforward ways to encourage an eventual purchase.

Free trials can be especially effective when it comes to SaaS marketing. SaaS offerings like software suites and service packages can be complex, so a test run is an efficient way to effectively show customers what they can do. Trials and service samples are also quickly becoming the standard, so they’re important parts of meeting modern consumer expectations.

Successful SaaS brands that use this strategy include Zoom, Slack, and Shopify. Trials are also key marketing tactics for massive names like Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, and many more.

2. Host Giveaways and Contests

Everyone loves the idea of winning something or being singled out to receive something special. Leveraging various digital marketing channels, including your social media profiles, is an ideal way to promote contests, giveaways, and other special events.

Help your promotions stand out by considering what colors attract customers to buy and using examples that align with your brand. Boost engagement by targeting key social networks where contests are especially popular, like Instagram and TikTok.

You can also leverage giveaways to encourage social sharing, audience engagement, and the creation of user-generated content. Use classic emotional marketing tactics and short quotes to maximize participation.

3. Provide Valuable Content for Free

Offering potential customers high-value content for free helps your brand stand out in a couple of different ways. It helps you optimize your customer acquisition channels by attracting qualified leads who are truly interested in what you have to offer.

Sometimes it’s the unexpected value that wins people over. A brand might offer a simple checklist or a niche how-to video and suddenly see a flood of grateful emails or social media mentions—much more than from highly polished whitepapers. There’s something about a small, surprisingly helpful bit of free content that makes folks feel like they’ve “found” something, and not just been marketed to. Of course, what works for one audience might flop with another, so it pays to test and tweak what you’re giving away rather than setting it in stone after the first attempt.

Options that offer deep dives into key topics of interest can also prime potential customers to eventually complete a purchase. For example, ebooks can answer important questions your target audience has about potential solutions to their problems. Webinars can educate your customers and demonstrate ways in which your products solve problems.

Content doesn’t always need to be lengthy or complicated to get the job done. Quick tips, templates, or even just a couple of actionable insights in a blog post can catch people’s attention and make a real difference in your brand perception. People remember brands that’ve helped them solve a pressing need, even in a small way—sometimes that five-minute PDF is what brings them back weeks later, hunting for more.

Consider which types of freemium content would be most useful to your audience, then promote them across your various marketing channels, using catchy lines to attract customers where appropriate. Increase the potential benefit for your brand by offering your content in exchange for personal information like email sign-ups and social media interactions.

Top brands that have succeeded with this tactic include General Electric, Mint, and Apple.

4. Use Premium Offers and Loyalty Programs

Did you know that an amazing 78 percent of consumers are more likely to complete a purchase from a business if it offers a loyalty program?

Loyalty programs and similar incentives help customers feel valued and prioritized, especially when those programs offer key perks they want. Premium offers are another excellent way to boost your top-of-funnel marketing strategy and attract qualified leads.

Consider the following examples for an inside look at how to attract customers:

• Sephora’s Beauty Insider program encourages both sales and customer engagement with incentives like gifts, exclusive experiences, and loyalty discounts.

• Lululemon took its brand reputation through the roof with Lululemon Further, a multi-day event for female athletes that featured each athlete receiving custom-made Lululemon gear.

• Eyewear brand Warby Parker helps give customers the confidence to complete a purchase via incentives like try-before-you-buy programs and charitable donation incentives (e.g., a pair of eyeglasses donated for every purchase).

5. Leverage Referral Programs

Social proof is a powerful way to get your customers’ attention and make them take notice of your brands. Referral programs, testimonials, and positive reviews are ways to do this. Like many solid marketing strategies that incorporate freebies, referral programs carry multiple benefits for brands.

The person on the receiving end of the referral receives both an incentive (such as a discount or special offer) and the reassurance that comes with knowing a trusted loved one endorses the brand. The person sending the referral typically also receives a reward for sending it and ensuring the recipient acts on it. In other words, referral programs are both an effective way to attract new customers and retain existing ones.

Dropbox is an excellent example of a brand that has referral programs down to a science. Both Basic and Plus users have the opportunity to earn free storage benefits by referring friends or colleagues. Recipients also receive free storage after a successful sign-up.

It may sound simple, but this strategy was so successful that Dropbox managed to grow by 3900 percent because of it, and any brand can do the same. Offer people something of value in exchange for a referral—something they really want—and make it super easy for them to complete the process.

Conclusion

Ultimately, successful digital-age marketing is all about making potential customers an offer they can’t refuse, and it’s difficult to say no to something free.

Try some of the strategies featured above, customize them to suit your brand and audience, and see where they take you.

You can support your audience’s buyer’s journey even more effectively when you make interactive content a part of your approach. Find out more about how to create unforgettable content experiences when you access this awesome interactivity resource!

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