Don’t have deep pockets to spend on marketing your business? Perhaps you’re just starting out and you aren’t sure where to begin? Not to worry – there are plenty of tactics you can use to promote and market your business without breaking the bank. From online to offline, we’ve outlined five marketing tips that can help you market your business:
Website
If you have a small business, one of the first things you should consider, if you haven’t already, is increasing your online presence. When investigating the idea of a website, pooling together a list of goals for your site can help you build a platform that suits your needs. Do you want to increase the number of phone calls your business gets? Perhaps you want to streamline the ordering process with online orders; whatever your goals may be, take the time to create a plan before building your site.
There are many options available for website development, including companies and organizations that will provide hosting, web design and graphic design, as well as email addresses. For more information on website building, contact us. If you already have a website for your business, somethings you can do to help increase your visibility is providing fresh and original content to users.</p>
Blogs
Blogging is a great way to provide informative content relative to your business that can be shared via social media. Adding to your blog on a consistent basis can also help increase your website’s ability to be found on search engines.
If you’re not interested in the commitment of having your own blog, consider guest blogging. You can contribute to relevant blogs with useful knowledge that showcases your understanding of a product, service, or industry. By adding an author bio to your guest blog post, it encourages people to visit your website.
Social Media
The idea of managing social media accounts can be intimidating. If you aren’t on social media, consider starting one social media platform and branch out from there. Popular social media sites include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+. Social media allows you to engage with your customers, as well as potential customers for no cost.
If you want to engage with business professionals, try LinkedIn, where you can share content, join groups and participate in discussions. If you want to showcase the products you create, Pinterest and Instagram are great sites that allow you to upload images and link back to your website. Facebook is a great place to focus on customer service as many customers will use Facebook as a channel for questions and inquires. Finally, Twitter allows you to share news, promotions and engage with followers in 140 characters or less. All social media channels are great for branding and getting your business on the radar of social users. Contact us for more information on creating and maintaining a social presence for your business.
Many social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, offer advertising that allow you to target your key demographics, grow your reach, as well as get your content in front of those who don’t like or follow your account.
Partnerships
Have you considered teaming up with a business related to your industry (that isn’t a direct competitor, of course) for a joint collaboration? This can be done both online and offline through special events, webinars, or giveaways. Partnering with another business will give you twice as much notice and can introduce your brand to a new audience related to your specialty.
Local Contests and Events
It doesn’t have to cost you a lot of time or money to market your small business. Another great way to gain some awareness in your community is participating in local contests and events. Consider donating products or services as part of a prize, or sponsor a small competition. You might also want to look into exhibiting at a fair where you can showcase your products while giving away balloons, tote bags, or other inexpensive products with your branding on it.