How Can I Promote My Business Effectively?

There are two sides to running a successful business. The first is having products or services that people want, and at a price that they're going to pay. That's the area that most entrepreneurs focus on because it's where their skillsets lie.

The second aspect, raising brand awareness and getting your products or services in front of an audience are much more challenging.

All of the industry experience of the first category is useless without focusing on the second. When it comes to making more sales and driving business growth, knowing how to promote your business is vital. The good news is that there are some basic marketing strategies that cover everything from search engine optimization (SEO) to boosting brand awareness. How can I promote my business? Here's what you need to know.

Google My Business

Google isn't the only search engine in the world, but it's the one that most people use when they're looking for products or services or even just information. A Google My Business account is one of the first steps for any small business owner asking how can I promote my business.

You already know that Google is a search engine, but it's also one of the most important business directories in the world. Ideally suited for local businesses, every small business owner should have a Google My Business account set up. Once you have claimed your account, you get some very useful benefits including:

● Google Maps and searches will show your business and location

● It boosts SEO

● You make it easy for customers to leave reviews (boosting your online visibility)

There are other business directories that you will want to have a presence on, but small, local businesses especially need to set up their Google My Business account when looking at how to promote your business online.

Contact Information

One of the first things that a professional digital marketer will do when looking at your business will be to audit your contact information. There needs to be consistency everywhere that your basic company information is listed. Your name, address, and phone number (referred to as your NAPs) are some of the big influencers on your search engine rankings. Everywhere that your contact information is listed needs to be checked so that it is all correct and consistent. It's a good idea to keep a record of where your NAPs are being used so that you can check them regularly. Fail to align your contact information, and your search engine rankings will suffer as a result. This is one of the most basic steps when working out how to promote your business.

Email Marketing

As one of the most important branches of digital marketing, your emails are going to be a high-value resource to small businesses. It's hard to beat email marketing because it is low-cost, boosts brand awareness, and is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies with the highest ROI. Not only do you get a direct line straight into a prospective customer's inbox, but you also get to reinforce your brand awareness.

The goal of email marketing is to always be working hard to get people to subscribe to your communications. This can be done at industry events, local community events, or on your website or social pages as a call to action. Then, make sure that all of your email marketing is of value to those subscribers. Offer deals and create high-value blog posts and press releases that they may be interested in. As you learn more about email marketing, start looking at A/B testing, and always monitor your email analytics to find out what's working and what isn't.

● Top Tip for Email Marketing: Get your team members to include a call to action in their email signatures. This can be separate from your intended focus of the email, which should have its own call to action. Something as basic as an encouragement to call a member of your team (with their contact number included) if prospective customers need more info.

How Can I Promote My Business With Reviews?

Your potential customers will check for reviews before they buy products or services. The modern consumer will check reviews for almost everything that they buy, comparing prices, delivery times, and reviews from other customers.

For small businesses especially, asking for reviews should be a part of your checkout or after-sales process. The more reviews that you get, the more likely it is that potential customers will buy from you.

Even poor reviews can become a valuable digital marketing resource as long as you respond to them in the right way. Your targeted audience will respond to a well-thought-out, brand-consistent reply to a negative review just as much as they will from a long list of positive five-star reviews.

How Can I Promote My Business With Branding?

A well-designed brand identity can work wonders when you're looking at how to promote your business. Once you have established your brand identity and created a brand guidelines document, you will have endless options to consider.

From your social media pages, your email marketing, and right the way through to any physical marketing that you opt for, that branding is the key to being remembered. Brand awareness is one of the most valuable marketing tools at your disposal, and it can be used everywhere that you have a presence.

Members of your team can wear custom made hats with your logo designs and color palettes as decoration, meaning that every customer that they meet will see that branding. At events, fairs, or even when going to pick up supplies, that branding will be with you wherever you go, helping to boost brand reach.

How to Promote My Business with Blog Comments?

This can be a tricky one, but it's very popular among digital marketers. Look for blogs that are related to your niche, and simply start to comment on them. Be professional, and add value to the conversation. By providing value, you not only encourage potential customers to find out more about you, but you may even get asked to do a guest post, which is great for backlinks (and your search engine optimization). This can be a slow process that takes time, so be patient.

Promote Your Business By Doing Competitor Research

The more that you know about your competitors, the better. That's as true for small local businesses as it is for large-scale enterprises. No business can cater to every member of a target audience, and by spotting what your competition is missing, you will be able to fill in the gaps.

The goal should be to produce the best marketing materials in your area and your industry. Whatever your products or services, time spent on competitor research will be time well spent. If your competitors are not using social media effectively, then you have the opportunity to overtake them. If they're ignoring search engine optimization, then you can dominate search engine results pages. If they've dismissed email marketing, then you can take advantage of that.

Hand Out Branded Freebies

If you have a presence at any local or national events, or you have customers visiting a brick-and-mortar premises, then you have lots of promotion options. Handing out branded, custom promotional products means that those prospective customers will be walking away with your branding.

If the promotional product that you're giving away gets regular use, such as a pen or a coffee mug, then that potential customer is going to see your brand logo and slogans very often. That's great for securing a place in their brain so that when they need the products or services that you provide, they will be far more likely to think of you first.

How Can I Promote My Business with Social Media?

No business should be without a social media presence. The problem is that most small business owners set up a Facebook page, make a few posts whenever they have new products or services to showcase and leave it at that. The key to social media marketing is knowing your target audience.

It might be that most of your potential customers aren't on some social platforms, and will be spending their time on TikTok, Twitter, or Instagram, meaning that your Facebook page is largely redundant. The key is to conduct in-depth target audience research and to find out where those prospective customers spend their time online. Then, tailor your social content to reflect those platforms, and remember to engage with every comment.

Use visual media on image-based platforms like Instagram, share blog posts with the relevant hashtags on Twitter. For B2B companies and brands, sites like LinkedIn will be far more valuable than a Facebook page.

So, how can I promote my business? The main thing to remember is that it takes time to develop a robust marketing strategy. Be patient, and your potential customers will be able to find you quickly, develop trust in you enough to spend money on your products or services, and help your business to grow.