Most brands don’t have enough funds to spend on online advertisement. The situation is more practical when dealing with startups. The best way forward is to look for online advertising opportunities that will cost you nothing.
The good thing with most of these business strategies is that they are effective. Being free does not imply that the strategies are less effective. The internet has unlimited opportunities for people who would like to promote their brand. Here are some tips on how to promote business online.
1. List the 3 Big Local Listing Services
When you register your brand with Google Places, you will find it more easily on internet searches, and it will show up on Google Maps. What you need to do is fill out the register and form. From here, the search engine can verify your business via their confirmation process.
This can either be done through a snail mail or phone call. Besides, Yahoo has a big database that is referred to as Yahoo! Local. It is free and worth the few minutes it will take you to set up. Bing from Microsoft also has a similar service that is easy to sign up.
2. Embrace Social Media
Social media is not just a tool that will help you to gain exposure. All businesses need to make a lot of investment in these platforms. You can tie in offers and ads on your Facebook page, whatsapp and have a direct channel with your clients on Twitter. When you network on LinkedIn both on a company level and personal level, it will help your Startup significantly.
3. Start a Blog
Apart from helping your brand get its name out through your followers, the blog allows you to connect with followers directly. One of the primary keys of blogging is updating your stream more frequently. However, it is meaningless to have an abandoned and dormant blog.
4. Set up a Multimedia on Flickr and YouTube
YouTube is a free channel for distributing your creative promotional videos. However, you cannot succeed unless you publish content that people would like to view. Therefore, you need the content that is relevant to your business.
There is no way a simplified ad is going to work for your brand. Flick also gives you a single place to compile all your business photos. It supports linking back to your website.
5. SEO Your Company Website
We cannot underestimate the power of search engine optimization in this Googling world. Go through the SEO tips to understand how you can optimize your website.
6. Press Releases
Remember to produce a press release each moment your business does something that is worthy going into news. Some folks can pick it up from there. Press release is a powerful tool that can help you to generate publicity.
It can be more beneficial if you get a free distribution of this media. Some of the websites that you can use for press release are 24/7 Press and PRLog.
7. Contribute to a Relevant Online Community
Each industry has various online communities that you can contribute towards. Signing up to a forum and posting once in a while can help you promote business online. Contribute actively and build a rapport within the community.
Putting a link in your signature will help you to promote your business passively. However, mention your brand only when the context is appropriate.