Previously, you had to pay to advertise your business. Today we have a wider range of free marketing strategies available to us.
While we focus more on online than offline strategies, this article goes beyond internet marketing. This is for any entrepreneur wanting to market their business.
Here are some ways you can promote your business for free:
Create Your Social Media Brand Profiles
Your first task is to get your brand on the major social media websites.
One of the pillars of online reputation management is owning your brand. Your best results will come from the big websites like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. You may find that someone has already claimed your ideal handle so this could require some creativity.
Whatever your social media plans, you must own them.
Engage Through Social Media
Once you claim your real estate on the social networks, think about how you might use the platforms to build interest in your brand. You can invest effectively in social media marketing without it costing you anything other than your time and effort.
There are many ways to engage on social media. One of the easiest is to curate content you discover, and share it to your audience. You can also get involved in online groups, for example at LinkedIn, and in Q & A discussions, on forums like Quora, to further engage people.
It’s largely free, so use social media marketing as much as you can. This has the potential to build your brand and establish you as a leader in your field.
Start Blogging and Promoting
Blogging is a great way to support your marketing objectives. It allows you to frame the conversation around your key topics.
Many people blog. Do it in a way that will makes you stand out. Think about your keywords and most important topics and start from there.
Don’t just crank out a bunch of short pithy blog posts with little added value. Make sure you dig into each topic. Longer, meaty posts generate more interest, links and rankings than a series of short articles.
Now that you have your social media presence, you have a great vehicle to promote your content. Promotion is a huge part of the success with blogging, so build it into your process from the start.
Optimize Your On-Page Elements for SEO
For any content you are generating, and for standard web pages outlining your offering, you must get on-page optimization right.
If you’re not yet comfortable optimizing, ask us to help you.
Optimizing your website will make a huge difference to your prospects finding you online.
Create or Claim Your Google MyBusiness Page
It is free to claim or create a Google MyBusiness page for any business. There is a verification process, but it costs nothing.
This establishes your business on Google, and provides a profile. It allows your prospects to find your business location on Google Maps over time. All this is free.
You can also investigate Bing and Yahoo Local directories. They are also free and offer similar benefits on the second and third most popular search engines.
Earn Guest Posting Opportunities
Developing the thought leadership and content thinking, guest posting is a great way to establish your brand on websites that your target audience uses. It is also a great way to earn links to your website, and referral traffic.
Once you are established, these opportunities come to you. In the beginning, you will need to put in the effort it takes to find and implement these opportunities. Again, time and effort are the only investment you will need to make in creating these guest posting opportunities to promote your business.
Speak At Local Networking Events
Find networking groups who hold educational meetings for your target audience, and approach them.
The organizers will often be delighted to hear from another potential presenter for their group. Remember that many of these people manage the groups in their own time, so saving them time and effort will beneficial to them.
While your goal is to establish your credentials as professional in your market, you will also occasionally generate leads at these events. Bring your business cards and make sure to include all of your contact info (i.e. social media) in your materials.
Donate Business Services to Charities
When you think about charitable donations, don’t just think that your credit card is required to make a difference. In most cases, your time is worth more than your money.
You and/or your company can donate time in many ways. Think about donating training to a local group. Or maybe you can help manage a charity event. Help clean up after a natural disaster. Create a nonprofit that raises money for an area important to your industry. There are many options; be creative about your charitable giving.
You can also donate a percentage of your markup to a charity. That could help create incremental business, without taking money from your.
Request Reviews from Customers
Do you ask customers for reviews after they buy? If not, you are missing an opportunity.
Some will ignore the request, but why not ask? You will be surprised just how effective a happy customer’s review can be. Also most happy customers will be more than willing to refer prospects.
Compose and Distribute Press Releases
Press releases, while they have changed dramatically, are still worth creating and distributing. You can easily write a release yourself using standard templates.
Use free PR posting sites, post to your your website and social media, and try emailing to targeted members of the local press. This is another one of those totally free marketing strategies.
List on High Authority Niche Sites and Local Directories
Post your company information to directories and reap the benefits from links and referral traffic. Look for niche and local business directories, that relate to your area of expertise and to your local market. Choose directories that review submissions manually as part of the approval process.
Partner With Other Businesses for Referrals and Joint Projects
A very effective tactic is to partner with businesses in related, but non-overlapping markets.
You can refer customers and prospects to each other. Or, you might want to collaborate on pitches and projects.
Consider how you can work with other businesses to grow together. This works, so give it a try.
Summary
Marketing can cost a lot of money, but there are many free marketing strategies to get your business on the map. Try some of these strategies, and get your prospects finding you without breaking the bank.