Tips for effective marketing with |a limited budget

When I first started Piggipo, an application for managing credit cards and budgets, marketing funds were scarce. This is how we managed.
The three main factors we had to consider were money, manpower, and time. With limited amounts of each, we started off allocating 95 per cent to online media and 5 per cent to offline events. 
Offline events allowed us to communicate with, see, and meet real potential customers, but they were time-consuming and expensive, and required a lot of personnel. This is why we put more effort into online media channels, which were cheaper, were less time-consuming, and could be done by ourselves.
At the very early stage, we believed one way to survive was to maximise the potential of free media. The first website that comes to mind for everyone searching for something with real, honest reviews is Pantip.com, the most famous Web board and with the widest range of user-generated content in Thailand. 
The review we wrote and posted on Pantip created buzz, and organic downloads began flowing in. Users then started to re-post, comment, or share to their friends, spreading the word into a wider range. 
Tech influencers on Facebook pages are also a huge part of attracting organic downloads. We asked each influencer directly to share our Pantip review on their pages, and in this way, content was directed to our target tech-savvy customers.
In parallel to this, we tried paid media like Facebook Ads, which brought in several new downloads in a short period. 
What we learned from all this was that for products like ours that involve credit cards, trust doesn't come easy. People tended to download the app, but failed to link it with their credit card or become a regular user. In other words, retention rates were low and we were getting low-quality users. When things involve money, more effort is needed to acquire users.
For Piggipo to grow, we have learned that paid acquisitions are not sustainable and what we need are organic downloads.
We learned from having our story on Pantip that blogs help a lot with SEO (search-engine optimisation). People are beginning to find us in searches more easily. 
As I am a graduate in journalism, my expertise was writing, and producing content was my thing. We started a blog on our website about tips people might not know about money. Some were successful, some less popular. But the successful ones were shared all over and our name was being spread around in a wide range of community.
Our next step is to turn this into a community. People like to hear from other real people. We are contacting real users all over Thailand, to be our micro influencers, interviewing them on their experiences using our product. These articles will be published on our blog and shared among their friends and families. 
As mentioned above, it is hard to build trust among customers for financial-technology start-ups, but once they get to see real users they are able to relate and believe in the product more. We hope to get quality users, with a higher retention rate.
Marketing is essential, especially for start-ups. You need to grow fast, and the only way you can be considered to be growing fast is exponential traction. Customer acquisition is the key. Know your customers: There is no set template for marketing, each product has its own approach. The best way is to know your product and know your customers very well. Target the right people, hit the right spot, and you're on your way. 

Sirathorn Thampunthu is chief marketing officer and co-founder of Piggipo, dtac Accelerate batch 2.