As a startup, funds are limited. You must weigh each investment of time and resources with the potential return. Small businesses are always looking for easy ways to market their products inexpensively. Now that businesses are turning to internet-only sales due to the current Pandemic, promoting your business online has become more critical than ever.
Below are 5 FREE ways to promote your business online:
1 – Social Media
Social media is a great way to build relationships in your community and to build brand recognition. Facebook is a great place to build out your business page, start a group around a shared interest or cause and run ads (you will have to pay for advertising) to advertise current offers or to build your email marketing list. Twitter can be a good way to get quick updates and daily offers into the hands of potential clients. LinkedIn, both your page and your company page, can be another way to build your authority in your industry and promote your company as an expert in your respective field. Instagram is great for beautiful product photos just remember to think about laying everything out in a square. Pinterest can be good for content people want to come back to easily, like recipes, templates, how-to guides.
2 – Blogs
A blog helps your company in a couple of ways. It draws more people to your website where they might look at other things like the services you offer, and it is a great way to connect with your consumers directly. The most important thing about blogging is frequency.
3 – Online communities
There are many online communities that you can join. Look for one that you can give REAL VALUE to! This isn’t about actively promoting your business. this is about building your brand reputation and forming relationships. There will be opportunities to passively promote your business by putting a link in your signature or mentioning it only when the context is appropriate. Remember to give more than you take!
4 – Video
YouTube is a video platform great for creating promotional videos, products in use videos, FAQs, and repairs. Videos are also great content for social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. Short, easy to consume content that teaches the viewer something and is pertinent to your product or service seems to work best. TikTok is a great video platform for reaching younger audiences.
5 – Update your Listing
Make sure you set up your free Google My Business account. It helps your business be found quicker on Google searches and in Google Maps. Yahoo! also has a business database called Yahoo! Local that is free. Bing is similar, and both are certainly worth the few minutes it takes to set them up.