Once you’ve taken the leap and created your own company the next crucial step is to promote it. This stage might feel a bit intimidating, and you might fear that it will cost you a lot of money. However, there are a lot of free or low-cost but still high-impact options that have a proven success rate.
For a new business, the most important goal is to make people aware that you exist, make your name known, and spread the word about what services or products you offer. But even older companies that have been around for years can benefit from a new promotion plan or by testing out new methods that weren’t available when the company was founded.
Let’s dive into the different ways you can promote your business!
Find your audience
Since there is a big sea of marketing options out there you might feel that you must get on every channel and try every method, but this will only be exhausting to keep up with. It will also be a waste of time and recourses. One of the most important steps to start with is to define your audience and try to figure out their needs. For example, if you want to attract a younger audience you should investigate social media and find ways to promote your business there, think of newer channels like TikTok and Instagram.
Create a website and add a blog
If your company is not already website-based, you should set up a domain. Having a website is the main way to market your business and this is how you control your image and promote your services or products. Thanks to the many options of domain websites out there, like GoDaddy, Wix, and Squarespace, you can create a nice and professional-looking website in no time!
If you have the budget for it, you can hire someone to handle the UX and perfect your website to really accommodate the user journey. Also consider some basic SEO for your content, for example adding relevant keywords and doing some link building, so that you can rank on Google and other search engines.
Another good idea is to add a blog section to your website. This way you can inform your audience about news regarding your company, information that you think your customers will find helpful, and provide tips and advice on the products or services you sell.
Create social media profiles
Social media is used worldwide by both companies and individuals and is a powerful tool to use when you want to reach an audience or spread a message. Setting up a business profile for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn is free and can help you both attract new customers as well as connect with your audience. When choosing what platforms to use, think of what will best suit your company – Instagram is great if you have a visual business and a younger target audience and LinkedIn is ideal if you have a more business-related company, and you want to grow a following and create a contact net.
When setting up social media accounts, make sure to include a good description, a link to your website, a contact number, and have someone overseeing the accounts so that they can answer any questions and comments you get from people.
If you want to amp up the creativity even more and have the necessary means for it, an account on YouTube is a great addition. YouTube is the biggest search engine after Google, and many people respond well to visual elements.
Share your content
The benefit of having many different media channels (website, social media, email) is that you can share your content over different platforms. By creating content that you can share, you can gain more followers and it will get noticed by other credible websites or media channels. This is a way for other websites to mention you which means you can also gain a nice backlink. This equals free promotion of your business.
Consider email marketing
Email marketing is often overlooked when it comes to marketing strategies, but the truth is that it holds many benefits, and it is very cost-effective. With email marketing you have a great opportunity to communicate with your audience, you can, for example, tell them about sales you are having, new services you offer, and remind them about special offers. And you can also tailor your message for every audience group you have.
Another great benefit of email marketing is that you can measure your results. It is possible to see how many people opened the email you sent and how many people clicked the link to your website (always include a CTA with a link to your website in the emails you send out). With features like this, you can keep track of the emails people seem to enjoy.
Reviews and testimonials
Many people leave a good review on your or other websites when they are happy or satisfied with a product or service. This is a great way for you to gain trust and credibility. Many potential buyers will see these reviews and decide to buy what you are selling since they have proof that other people got what they were looking for. These reviews should therefore be highlighted on your website. If a customer leaves a review about your products or service always make sure to thank them.
By interacting with former and new customers you will create a community and a nice atmosphere that will encourage people to come back and make another purchase in the future.
What else?
There are tons of ways to promote your business, we have just listed a few things that you can try. If you have the budget for it, there are also many options that can give you instant results, but it comes with a cost. The most important marketing strategy is to be seen and exist on different channels where you think your main audience will find you. Hope this gave you some tips on how to do that. Good luck!