5 Simple Ways To Promote Your Business On A Budget
Whether you are a new business or you have been trying to grow your business for a while you are always on the lookout for new tips on how to promote your business on a budget. Let’s face it in order to survive and grow, your business needs customers. That being said the only way to get customers is to promote your business. I am all about business growth here so if you are finding it difficult to figure out the best ways to promote your business on a budget then look no further. Help is on the way. In this post, I will share a few effective ways to promote your business with minimal or no cost. So let’s get started.
Utilize Blogging As a Marketing Strategy
If you are not utilizing blogging as a marketing strategy for your business you are missing out on a huge opportunity. When you promote your business by blogging you bring new clients to your virtual doorstep. The truth is that when you have an informative and educational blog on your website you help new customers become better acquainted with your brand and the services or products you offer. Some examples of good blog post types are any of the following; How-tos and instructional posts, a list of strategies or helpful resources, an Industry Interview, a product review, or a thought leadership post.
It’s important to mention that if you want your blog to get noticed on google you will need to have a basic understanding of SEO basics because blogging and SEO go hand in hand. The term SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it’s basically the process of customizing your website content with keywords in order to stand out and rank favorably by search engines like Google. So when you answer questions and terms that your ideal customers are searching for on Google it recognizes that content as relevant keywords that users are searching for. Once you have a good grasp on SEO basics you can start publishing and promoting content your audience is searching for online.
2. Post, Connect and Contribute On Social Media
Hopefully, you have already set up business accounts for a few of the most popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. If you haven’t already, make this a TOP priority on your to-do list. Why? Because social media is free and your customers and prospects are already there waiting to hear from you.
My recommendation is that you commit to one or two platforms and become an expert at managing them. Do your research and pick the platform that you find works best with the services or products you are selling and the people you want to sell to. Also, don’t underestimate how difficult it is to try to build a following on multiple social media platforms at once. Once you choose your platforms, you can start promoting your business by doing some of the following:
• Consider doing live streams
•Share relatable stories
• Show behind-the-scenes sneak peeks
• Share tutorials
• Create a contest
• Give something useful away for free
Remember to stay active and committed and that consistency is key. Focus on sharing great content and your social media platforms will be a success.
3. Join and Attend Business Networking Groups
Whether you go in person or online, joining a small business network group is a must. I know all too well that when you are running a small business (especially when you are first starting off) you may find it hard to step away from your to-do list and venture off to meet new people. However, making connections with other entrepreneurs is an important key to entrepreneurial growth. When you actively participate in small business groups you get the opportunity to share common challenges, gain and share small business knowledge, serve your community, and organically promote your business. Here are a few best practices you can utilize when your network;
Look for networking events of professional groups that meet online or in person, professional meetups, social media groups, the Chamber of Commerce, Business Network International, Industry-specific associations, etc.
Become actively involved in 2 or 3 of these groups. That will give you more opportunity to meet possible prospects.
Set a goal of going to one networking meeting a month.
If the meeting is in person remember to bring business cards and hand them out or if meeting online invite those to connect with you on your social media business pages.
Focus on building relationships rather than pitching your products and services. Ask what the people you speak with do, and really listen to them.
Send follow-up notes or emails to the best prospects.
Meeting people and making connections through networking is one of the best ways you can promote your business. Once you start Investing the time, be patient, and apply these best practices networking tips and you will reap the benefits.
4.Use Email Marketing
Email marketing is a marketing strategy that uses email to develop relationships with prospects and customers for the main purpose of promoting products or services. It also allows a business to keep their customers informed, deliver updates, conduct surveys, and drive revenue. There are a lot of business owners that don’t realize how important a good email marketing strategy can be to their business. Don’t be one of them. Not only is it inexpensive but it’s also an excellent strategy to use to promote your business. What better way to promote your products or services than by sending a personal, purposeful, and targeted email to someone who has already agreed to receive email messages from you.
To get started you will need to sign up for an email service that allows you to send an email newsletter and/or promotional offers to customers and prospects for your business. You can sign up with some of the most popular email marketing services like MailChimp, Convert Kit, & Flowdesk Also if you have a Squarespace website you can use their email marketing services for an additional fee. Choose one that works best for you. Then before you start promoting your business through email. consider these few things;
Get Permission: Be sure you ask for permission to send an email before putting any person's email name on your list.
Provide Good Content: Like a free ebook, tip-sheet on a how-to related to your business.
Write Great Email Subject Lines: Get creative with your email subject line to ensure click-through.
Enable Your Auto Responder: so customers know what’s next and that you received their response.
The fact of the matter is that with a little effort and a small budget you can accomplish a lot with email marketing and if you’re doing business your customers are using email and you should be too!
5. Host Free Webinars
Another great way to promote your business is to host a webinar online teaching your customers all about your product or services and how it can benefit them. It’s been said that the first step in making a sale is education. When you offer a free webinar educating people about the different ways your service or products can help them and make their lives easier it helps you qualify and generate new leads. Hosting a webinar is easier than you think and it allows your business to showcase its expertise on a topic, display your industry knowledge, abilities, skills, or products to many people all at once. Not only that people are more likely to engage with your business because webinars help you put a face to your brand, which helps your audience connect with you on a more human and personal level. There are some things you need to consider when deciding to host a webinar:
Final Thoughts
No matter what method you choose to promote your business the most important thing is to just promote it. Someone from KB Marketing Agency said it like this, “Ignoring online marketing is like opening a business but not telling anyone.” I think we can all agree on that. So what are some simple ways that you are promoting your business and how has is it been going? I would love to hear about it in the comments.
