Marketing your business has never been more exciting, enjoyable or pocket friendly than it is now.
Thanks to the internet, we have hundreds of tools to help us create smart graphics, videos, content and even automate sharing. A foolproof promotion and marketing plan is going to be your golden ticket to a healthy bankroll.
So what can you do right now to start promoting your business on a bootstrap?
Blog
Assuming you have a business website, this is your portal of visibility. People who want to see your products or services are going to come here. Or at least, they will if you are also producing regular niche content that provides value and interest to your audience.
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There are a few ways that traffic will flow to your website:
- Organic
- Paid
Focusing on organic traffic here because that is free, and all it takes is some effort.
Creating regular content that is valuable to your audience gives search engines that you are updated and relevant. The most often you post, the most they have to crawl. And, since you will create a content plan that covers your niche as proficiently as possible, you will see an increase in organic traffic in a few months.
Get familiar with SEO best practices, but in the end – writing for readers, not search engines, is more beneficial.
Social Media
Social media can work when you are sleeping if you take a few moments each month to set it up.
Although there are many free social media tools, usually, the paid ones offer more comprehensive tools.
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Here are eight tools that you can compare to see which fits your needs best:
- Buffer – complete social media package, automated sharing, teams, analytics.
- Buzzsumo – making research accessible and giving you insight into sharing and using your content (great for influencer marketing).
- Missinglettr – long term drip feed campaigns or short two week boosts. Easy to use, creative and pocket friendly.
- Hootsuite is one of the most popular tools, social media courses, social media platform integration, and a social media calendar.
- Sumo – Useful traffic tool to help you improve your strategy based on data.
- AdEspresso – improves the A/B testing experience and gives a real-time analysis of your ads – big bonus is creating ads for Instagram, Google and Facebook in one place.
- Sprout Social – social media management made easy, perfect for speaking to your audience on social and tracking campaign success.
- Mention – allows you to see the conversation about you, your brand and your competitors too.
Local
One of the most powerful things you can do is to connect with your local area.
Here are five quick ways to maximize your local advertising:
- Claim or create your Google My Business page
- Stock up on glossy paper and printer toner and print flyers for local distribution
- Go to local networking events, exchange business cards and always follow up
- Get in touch with a local charity, and see how you can collaborate
- Sponsor, or help out at any local family fun days
Local area support is something that can be invaluable for small businesses.
Email List
Your email list is a direct line to your hot leads. Your email marketing list should focus on your business, and there are a few methods you can use to increase your list at speed.
- Launch a competition that requires a newsletter sign-up
- Install an email list builder on your website
- Use a popup subscribe box; they have a proven track record for increasing sign-ups
- Keep your best content behind an email sign-up
- Add an email subscription link to your email signature
- Encourage people who have signed up to share it, and give them something in return, like an eBook
UGC
If you are lucky enough to have user-generated content, take it and use it. Use the glowing reviews on your social media posts, add them to your flyers, and engage with them.
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Potential buyers are more likely to go ahead and buy based on the good reviews of others.
60% of customers are more likely to buy from a site with a UGC presence (Annexcloud).
Promoting your business has never been as straightforward or as affordable as it is now – provided you use the right tools.