Which business owner wouldn’t want to boast about their products or services in front of their potential customers and command an online presence? And it seems to be a herculean task to be able to successfully market your online business without burning a hole into your pocket.
Let’s rewind the clock to when there was no internet; small businesses only had a couple of ways to market their products (cheaply) like printing out fliers or sponsoring little local events and now with the advent of the Web, the opportunities are endless, point being, you just need to keep looking for different ways and means to market your business. Some might prove to be expensive, while others are cheap and in that, is the blue moon chance of finding a free was to market your business.
Yes, you heard that right. FREE!
It’s very rare to find anything of value at no cost whatsoever. So, in this blog, we will take you through the ways you can promote your online business for free.
Build a Free Website
The first thing that people do when they want to buy something, is that that they Google it. Then they check the vendors for the product and post that they search for the website of the product. Owning a website validates the authenticity of your product. Now, creating a quality website and hiring a web designer will surely burn a hole in your pocket, but there is a possibility of building your website with free tools like WordPress.com which takes you through an easy-to-use step-by-step process for creating a free and simple website which you can use to promote your business and connect with your audience.
When In Doubt, Start a Blog
A quality blog will help your company connect with your audience directly. It is a time consuming process, so make sure that you frequently update your blog with quality content. This will give your website an approximately 434% better chance of being ranked highly on search engines. An easy way to get started is by registering on platforms like WordPress.com which offer free blogging services. Remember, frequently writing about your business and your industry will grow your website’s credibility and increase traffic and if your blog articles can offer answers to commonly asked questions in your industry, people will start trusting you eventually which will lead to better business prospects.
Register On “Google My Business”
You have to give it to Google for its commanding presence on the Web. Nowadays if people have any query, they just Google it. It’s a no brainer that you have to head there to list your business and make that all of the information provided by you is accurate. This enables your prospective customers to find you more easily with just a touch of a finger or click of a mouse, leading them to your website, verify that you are genuine and then give you a ring. Another important aspect of registering on “Google My Business” is that your credibility increases if you have genuine reviews about your business attracting more and more customers.
Never Underestimate the Power of Social Media
It is free to create business accounts on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Use it wisely and implement it into your marketing plan. Make sure that you regularly feed your social media accounts with quality content to engage your audience and get quality feedback from them about your products or services. Doing this consistently will improve your brands online presence and will surely gain trust amongst your target audience.
Take Advantage of Forums
When people are in doubt or are looking for answers to questions they have a difficult time finding the answer to, websites like Quora and Yahoo answers are the places they go to. So how do you benefit from it? Simple, create an account, start searching for queries specifically to your niche, answer them and sneakily slide a link to your blog, website or even your contact information. A key point to remember here is that the answer needs to be relevant and the link needs to flow with the content. Nobody likes an answer which hard sells their business without imparting relevant information. So go ahead, experiment.
Although these are some of the ways to promote your business for free, it’s always best to thoroughly research about your business and where your audience might be. All you have to do it think out of the box and find creative solutions. While some of these above mentioned method may wield instantaneous results, others may take their time. The key aspect is to be consistent in whichever method you choose, the least that you could do is invest your time(since you’re short on the cash).
If these methods don’t yield the desired results you were expecting, feel free to contact us to bring your business on the first page of leading search engines which in turn will impact your return on investment.
