Albert Einstein defined insanity as, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  Why doesn’t this apply to your marketing?  In a nutshell, it does.  The current business economy is some of the worst seen in decades.  Now more than ever re-examining marketing strategies and advertising budgets is critical.  The great news is there are a number of areas to consider than take more of a time commitment than a financial one.  Here are just a few suggestions.

With approximately 65% of U.S. companies with websites, the internet is a no-brainer.  If your current website has virtually no traffic, now is the time to review and revamp.  Your website can be the face of your company on the World Wide Web.  Keeping content fresh and relevant is extremely important.  Not allowing the material on your site to stagnate, but creating new timely posts can be a huge improvement.  It definitely doesn’t hurt to revisit your brand and positioning to ensure you are being true to it.  If your company makes claims for being cutting edge, your website better reflect that as well.

Social media is definitely an aspect to investigate.  For only the cost of time, a company Facebook and MySpace page along with a Twitter account can be an untapped resource.  Again, time is the only hold back with these ideas.  Regular interaction with the community and a consistent flow of content will be required.  All three will require time familiarizing yourself with the community to create followers or friends for your page.

Social bookmarking sites like Stumbleupon, Delicious and Mixx to name a few can also be an inexpensive and effective way to get your brand out there.  All sites are free memberships, but don’t plan to simply drop in, post your web link and leave.  Those types of behaviors can get you banned.  Plan on spending some time and again, become part of the community.