Small businesses often have a tight marketing budget to work with, which can make promoting your business very tricky. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to market your business without much or even any money.
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Create A Free Google My Business Account
For local businesses, a Google Business Profile has become one of the most effective free marketing strategies there is. This allows your business to show up on Google Maps, the local section of Google Search, and the right-side Knowledge Panel for branded searches.
In order for your Business Profile to show up higher on Google Maps or local results, you need to optimize it. To do this, you need to have verified ownership of it which is done through your Google My Business account.
Post And Engage On Social Media
Increasing social media engagement and building a community online is a free way to grow your business while expressing your brand’s personality and building audience trust at the same time. Create accounts for your business and take part in sites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and more. You can do this whenever you have a few minutes to spare.
You can:
- Promote your blog posts, which will drive traffic to your site
- Talk to your followers to express your brand voice and create more engagement
- Run polls and ask for feedback
- Take excerpts from longer content and make quick, informational posts that are easier to digest
- Advertise on video with OTT marketing (what is OTT?)
Whatever your motivation, make sure you are active and proactive on the accounts that you create. Be consistent, create community, collaborate, and be committed.
Develop An Email Marketing Plan
Email marketing is a great way to get new visitors to engage with you as well as maintain relationships with your existing customers. Email marketing isn’t new, but it’s still one of the most reliable ways to achieve a strong return on your marketing investment.
To do that, you should:
- Put thought and creativity into your subject lines
- Make sure every email has an offer that encourages your readers to take the next step
- Track your performance and run A/B tests to see what copy and offers resonate with your list
Try some more easy email marketing ideas:
- Get new website visitors to sign up for your newsletter by offering a bonus content piece or coupon/discount for subscribing
- Nurture your subscribers via email until they are ready to become paying customers
- Start your promotional email campaigns with a free email marketing service
Host Classes and Events
Plan an event or a class, then print out some flyers and post them on community bulletin boards in the local library, coffee shop, college, and adult education center. Most community bulletin boards don’t allow businesses to advertise, but they will usually let you post a flyer that promotes an educational event or a class.
If you can’t host an event, attend local events that would benefit your business. You never know where you might meet your next business partner or customer.