Promoting your business isn’t as hard and costly as you may think after looking at what agencies offer you. Of course, it will demand a lot of dedication from you, but you may promote your business totally for free if you know what to do and how to do it. There are all kinds of opportunities existing on the Internet. The main issue is to figure out how to use them. Let’s see what ways you have to start promoting your business right now to gain fame and success.
Local listing services
Small businesses have always relied on word of mouth. Nowadays, when our communities grew bigger, and it becomes harder to pass the information from person to person, the local Internet communities substitute lots of small talk about new places to visit. Try to add your business to Google Maps, filling a small registration form, and verifying it in a few days. Try Yahoo! Local or Microsoft Bing, they are still popular in some regions. Search for your local services; maybe there is something much more popular than Google Maps in your country or even in your city. Also, read Instazood review to find out more ways to promote your company on your social media.
Local social networks are also a great help in promoting your business. There are many district, town, or city groups where people are discussing new businesses that have opened nearby. If your business is specialized (e.g., for parents, for older people) or you are a member of some community (a veteran, a disabled person, etc.), you may ask for support in the corresponding group, and they may promote what you do out of solidarity. It may give you a great starting boost and help you promote your business further.
General social media
Social media are great not only for local groups. General promotion is working efficiently there because they are places where people spend lots of time nowadays. Start a challenge with your production as prizes, follow the businesses you can become partners with, grow your audience with vivid content – it will all work for your popularity, and make your brand recognizable.
Use different platforms simultaneously. Sometimes they differ significantly, and you’ll have to create much more content to cover them all (for example, high-quality photos for Instagram, texts for Facebook, eye-catching slogans for Twitter and video for YouTube), but it is worth it.
Different social media cover different audiences of varying ages, preferences, and statuses. So, if you aren’t totally sure that your target audience uses only this or that social media, broaden your promotion campaign and see where you get the biggest feedback to focus on this particular social media later.
Blogging
Blogging is an efficient way to show the story of your success to the world. A blog is like an open diary that allows people to see the other side of your work. Not always glossy and polished, but amazingly alive. A blog is a way to show some insides to your audience – people are always interested in seeing how their goods are made.
A blog may also show the way to this or that decision in your business: introducing the new product or, on the contrary, stopping producing it. People always want to know the thinking process behind business decisions. It gives them a reason and also may serve as a coaching book, showing them the “dos and dont’s” of running a business. There is a good saying that people buy not an item but the magic and the story behind it. A blog is a good way to create the magic and the story, the brand’s own mythology that will fascinate both your faithful fans and freshly interested customers.
But starting a blog demands keeping it always alive. A dead blog is the saddest thing on the Internet, especially if its the first articles were thrilling and informative. Think of your blog like your pet plant: you should water it regularly to keep it blossoming and reaping the fruits of your success and new leads. It is much harder to revive an abandoned blog than to write at least a short note weekly.
Some of the ways above demand consistent work, some may boost your business almost instantly, but they all are totally free. You just need to create the plan of using it and support them with the goods of the highest quality. Promotion campaigns tap onto people’s curiosity, then it’s your job to win their trust. Combine these two approaches, and you’ll get your devoted customers very soon!
