Promoting your business can cost you a lot. There’s so much to do, so many things to manage, and so many other things to attend to.
But what if you don’t have the budget to start promoting your business on a large scale yet? What if you’re a small business that’s just starting? Does this mean you have no opportunities to promote your business?
Not exactly.
There are tons of ways on how you can promote your business for free. All you need is a little elbow grease, determination, consistency, and the knowledge to use all the right channels.
Let’s find out how!
- Create a Google My Business Account
This is one of the best free ways to promote your business online.
Google My Business allows your business to be featured in Google Maps. Whenever people would look for your business, it allows you to show them exactly where you are. Along with your location, your contact details are also indicated.
Having a Google My Business account can be one of the best investments you make. Statistics show that 64% of consumers find contact details of a local business through Google My Business.
You can include photos of your business in Google My Business. If you’re a restaurant or a spa, for example, it’ll give your customers a sneak peek of what you can offer. You can also include a rating and commenting feature where previous customers and clients can share their thoughts about you.
Finally, make sure that you have verified ownership of your profile. You can do this through your Google My Business account. This helps you gain trust from users who see your business because they’ll know you’re a real and legitimate business.
Optimizing your business profile may not bring you instant results. But it’s good to know that this is a good long-term investment that brings organic traffic to your website.
- Optimize Your Website for Local SEO
When it comes to local SEO, it’s comforting to know that the playing field is evened out. Larger businesses that have more budget for advertising are also on the same playing field as any other business. This means that your business has the same chance as any other business to be seen and heard.
It all boils down to who can produce the most helpful, accurate, relevant, and high-quality content for users.
When optimizing for local SEO, always take into consideration geo-specific keywords. Include these keywords in your titles, headings, and your main content. This will help users nearby find your business easily.
Statistics show that 88% of consumer local business searches on mobile devices get either a call or a visit within the next 24 hrs. This makes local SEO a worthwhile investment in promoting your business for free.
Be careful in inserting too many keywords, though. Keyword spamming is a harmful habit that Google frowns upon. You might even end up getting demoted because of it. Make sure that your keywords are used in context and only when it’s relevant.
- Promote Your Business in All Your Communications
Communication is constant in any business. It’s one of the main skills that any business should be good at if it wants to thrive and grow. Be it with clients, customers, partners, suppliers, employees, communication has to be effective.
Communication can even be more powerful when accompanied by materials that help you get the message across. Including your branding in the materials that you use for communication can help you advertise your business.
These include materials like business cards, company folders, company envelopes, letterheads, etc. It’s a subtle way of reminding the person you’re talking to who you are as a business.
Take, for example, when you’re sending out reports and official documents to other businesses for a partnership. It would be a smart move to send these documents in a customized report cover that has your logo and your corporate identity.
It’s a sneaky but effective way of promoting your business. When the people you interact with see your report cover, they’re reminded of who you are. This helps you leave an impression, so make it a good one.
- Maximize the Use of Social Media
Social media can also be one of the most effective ways to promote your business. It’s free to sign up, and the market is too big to let it pass by.
Having a presence on different social media platforms builds trust in your audience. Since everything is on the internet now, they’ll know you’re a legitimate business if they can find you online. They’ll also get to know who you are through your content and the tone of your posts. Finally, your content can spread quickly if you post it on social media.
There are tons of social media platforms that you can utilize for your business. Be that as it may, only choose to focus on the ones that can benefit your business the most. If you try to establish a presence in all of them, you might be spreading yourself too thin. This will only lead to wasting your time, energy, and resources.
- Post Content on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is usually only used when people are looking for jobs. As for other businesses, they use it to look for suppliers. But what most businesses don’t understand is that LinkedIn can be a powerful tool in promoting your business.
LinkedIn is full of professionals and businesses who are focused on creating connections and relationships. You can promote your business by joining conversations, contributing to forums, and sharing your quality content.
If businesses and professionals find value in the content you produce, they’ll get to know more of your business. Through the consistent publication of quality content, they’ll get to know your business as a reliable source of information.
In the long run, they’ll begin to see your business as an authority in the industry. This becomes an invaluable asset in promoting your business among professionals and other businesses.
- Utilize Email Marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to promote your business without spending too much. Studies show that for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you’ll get $42 as ROI. That’s 4200% of ROI.
In creating an email for your customers, make sure that your subject lines are interesting enough so people will open them. It’s also important to make sure that your CTAs are easy to spot and can be accessed easily.
Make sure you provide them with content that will nurture them until they’re ready to make a purchase or take action. You can also offer them promotions, discounts, and coupons. The key is to become consistent, relevant, and timely.
There are tons of free programs that you can utilize for your email marketing campaigns. Despite them being free, they’re very effective in getting the job done.
- Start Your Own Blog
Having your own blog is a great way to drive more traffic to your website. You can do this through SEO and optimizing your content for it.
This means you’ll be targeting keywords that your target audience will be searching for. These keywords don’t have to be only about your business. It can also be about topics that are connected to your business and industry. The more high-quality content you release, the more people will get to discover your blog and your business.
Starting your own blog is also a great way to establish your authority in the industry. The website of your business will become their go-to website for their questions.
Key Takeaway
Promoting your business doesn’t have to be expensive. There are tons of ways to do it online for free and cheap ways to do it in face-to-face interactions. As a recap, here are the inexpensive ways to promote your business:
- Create a Google My Business Account
- Optimize for Local SEO
- Promote Your Business in All Your Communications
- Maximize the Use of Social Media
- Post Content in LinkedIn
- Utilize Email Marketing
- Start Your Own Blog
Each of the stated ways above has its advantages and disadvantages. It may be overwhelming to apply all of them at the same time, so choose which one will benefit you the most first. After mastering that, you can move on to the next ones.
Good luck with promoting your business!