One of the most challenging aspects of running a small business is getting the word out. Advertising is simple if you have a nice healthy budget for it. In the first years of opening your own business extra funds are hard to come by. Fortunately, with today’s internet, there are some great ways to market your business for free. With some time and effort, you can be on your way to launching a professional marketing campaign without having to spend a dime. Below you will find 8 great ways to market your business for free.
According to a survey from SearchEngineWatch.com:
71% of customers research and confirm a business’s location before leaving to visit that business for the first time
22% use their smartphone to lookup the location while they’re on the way. I am sure they were stopped at a long red light while doing so.
That’s 93% of customers verifying your location. More importantly, 73% of those customers lose trust in the brand when their online listing shows an inaccurate location.
Given Google reigns supreme in the search engine world, it’s ideal to head there first to establish your business listing and make sure all other Google listings are consistent and correct.
Google My Business is Google’s dashboard for managing your Google properties. Think of it as an interface between you and your local search presence on Google. When managed properly, a well-utilized Google My Business listing allows Google searchers to find you easily and provides them quick access to information they want. With just a touch of a finger or click of a mouse, they can get to your website, see your hours of operation or contact you directly.
If you go the extra mile and upload captivating images and proudly display rave reviews from happy customers on your Google My Business listing, that will show prospective customers you’re an authority in your field.
When you sign up for a free email marketing account with MailChimp, you’re allowed up to 12,000 emails per month and 2,000 subscribers. That’s a lot of subscribers and A LOT OF EMAILS at zero out-of-pocket cost.
Of course, setting up an email marketing campaign takes time and effort. With a little Google research, you could have your email campaign up and running in less than a day. Email marketing is still one of the best ways for your company to stay in touch with its customers and potential customers.
Email marketing is great way for you to offer customers more. You can use your emails to keep customers informed about changes in your particular field, or educate them in your field so they become more knowledge shoppers. When you offer your customers more than your competition, customers will be happier buying from you.
You can list yourself on almost any social media platform, but the problem is, which platforms should you list yourself on? What you need to know is that you should only list yourself on platforms that are necessary. Otherwise your business is in danger of being perceived as spammy.
There are directories that are general and can be applied to any industry. Example of platforms includes Facebook, Google Business, Instagram, and LinkedIn. There are also platforms that are more niche specific, like Trivago and TripAdvisor, etc. If your niche is under eBooks, it wouldn’t make sense for you to list yourself in Trivago.
You should list all the directories that you could use potentially, excluding the general directories. Create a profile with pictures, phone numbers, email addresses, business address, etc. You should regularly check on your account at each directory, and consistently post content to them. You don’t want your social media account to just be a price list and explanations of services.
Remember earlier when I mentioned giving your customers more? On social media is place where giving your customers more is going to keep your company visible. No one logs onto social media to read price lists and product info. As much as social media had been invaded by businesses and advertisements, it is important to remember that these sites are social, they are about connecting and networking. So keep that in mind when creating your posts.
Most of the business owners are not in public, but in today’s digital market all business owners can be. Even after you have your appropriate social media channels set up, there is one more platform you can use. YouTube.
Creating a YouTube video is the perfect way to tell your customers firsthand about your products and services. Enable your customers and potential customers to share in your passion and enthusiasm for your products and services. Allowing your customers to see you builds trust with prospective and current customers.
YouTube is still a free online video service (for now at least). When you upload videos, you can then use your social media accounts and email marketing campaign to alert your followers. You can also throw it up on your website as a resource or blog post and then share on your social media.
Speaking of video... Anyone who has a Facebook account knows about one of its new features: Go Live. So, why don’t we take advantage of it? You can go live and host a video on it. You’d be free to talk about your products, your services, and your company. You can also make connections with your clients real-time, as you can engage by answering their questions. You can see their reactions and hear invaluable feedback straight from them. This more intimate and personal engagement is what customers are looking for in today’s marketplace.
Visitors are more likely to purchase a product from a company they’ve seen on videos. Giving your time and talking with your customers will lead to more sales.
Adding a blog to your company website is another free way to advertise. Writing blogs for your business website is all about finding out the things your customers are interested in and then posting about them. If you have an engaged, interested customer that wants to keep coming to your site, they will be more likely to buy from you.
When posting blogs or content to your website make sure the topics are related to your industry. You want to use your blog to educate, inform and entertain your customer. If you hit all three of these marks it will keep your customers returning to your site. Customers who return tend to spend.
Every little bit helps, right? Think of this suggestion as taking a digital “word of mouth” approach to your online marketing efforts.
If your business hosts, is involved with, or sponsors events, be sure to submit your event information to as many free online community calendars as possible. This is guaranteed to gain you some attention from folks you may not have had an opportunity to capture in any other way.
Believe it or not, some of your peers are actually ready to help you if they can. Sometimes even if you’re their competition. This may surprise you, but fellow entrepreneurs can be extremely helpful and supportive. After all your all in the same boat. Your peers are the only other people who can relate the cold hard truth that running your own business is not as fun and easy as everyone else thinks it is.
A great way to start is Linked In or Facebook. Look for entrepreneur groups that you can join. Become active in the community and not only can you network for help and to grow your business, you may also find some potential customers.