In order to survive and grow, your business needs customers. In order to get customers, you need to promote your Business Online. In the good old days, this was a matter of deciding between a flyer, a brochure, a postcard, or an ad in the local newspaper.
But in today’s digital world, the possibilities are endless
So if you are struggling to figure out the best ways to promote your business; or even just what your options are, you are (a) not alone and (b) in the right place.
In this post, I’m going to cover the 30 most effective ways to promote your business, whether you have no budget, a limited budget, or some wiggle room. We’ll go over how to spread the word with respect to
1. Create and verify your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (Google’s term for your Google listing) is what allows your business to show up in Google Maps results, the local section of Google Search results, and also
when someone types in your business name and location—the right-side Knowledge Panel in Search results.
As Google gets better and better at catering its results to the searcher’s location, this free listing should be a top priority.
The key to using your Business Profile to promote your Business Online is to verify ownership of your listing through your free Google My Business account.
2. Get a website
Every business needs a website, no matter how old-fashioned your business or clients may be. Your website is the go-to for current and prospective customers. Even if they find you on social media or Google, they will want to go to your website and, like your Google listing, it serves to promote your business around the clock
3. Implement search engine optimization
It’s one thing for you to promote your business; it’s another thing for Google to promote your business. SEO is a set of practices that align your business with Google’s ranking algorithm.
4. Create a business blog
We just touched on this in the previous strategy, but content is such an important driver of SEO that it really deserves its own category as a promotional strategy.
A blog is not LiveJournal for businesses. Sure, you can create some posts about milestones and events, but a lucrative business blog is one that produces educational content, in your brand voice, around questions and terms your ideal customers are searching in Google.
5. Run Google Ads
While SEO will help you to get to the top of results pages, it is a long-term strategy that can take weeks, even months to start seeing results. For more immediate exposure, and if you have the budget, Google Ads is the way to go. Google Ads ads show up at the very top of search engine results pages, above organic and local listings.
6. Create listings on the major directories
Smaller directory sites pull data from larger ones, which means that by creating listings on the major sites, you’ll also likely begin showing up on smaller directories automatically. Below is a list of the major directories to start with.
All of them are free, but often have paid options for advanced features.
- Google (see tactic #1)
- Yelp
- Applicable niche directories like TripAdvisor, Angie’s List, etc.
- Better Business Bureau
- Glassdoor
- Foursquare (Even though it’s dead as a social platform, its data is used by thousands of platforms.)
- Yellow/White Pages
- Bing
7. Get online customer reviews
We just mentioned collecting reviews, but because reviews are so important for small and local businesses, they deserve their own section.
Word of mouth is one of, perhaps the most, powerful way of promoting your Business Online to the right people.
Testimonials on your own website are great, but reviews on official platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp are even better.
8. Prioritize Facebook
Facebook is the largest social network online and it can be a great way to keep in touch with existing customers and to reach new customers. Promoting your business on Facebook can vary substantially depending upon your industry, but here are some basics:
- Create a Facebook business page with your contact information and a CTA.
- Use Facebook events to promote and maximize attendance to your events.
- Run Facebook live sessions, of tutorials or behind-the-scenes sneak peeks.
9. Upload videos to YouTube
Video marketing is a great way to promote your business, and YouTube lets you do it for free! Promoting your business via YouTube is an effective way to help potential customers or clients connect with your business.
Putting together a quick overview video of your business and then uploading it to YouTube gives you a nice sales tool that you can post on the homepage of your website or circulate in emails to prospective clients.
10. Advertise on YouTube
As with the other paid strategies mentioned in this post, YouTube advertising can be an investment that pays off if it’s done right.
You can advertise on YouTube by creating video ads that play before videos in relevant categories, or through text ads that appear in search results:
11. Engage your audience on Instagram
Despite being one of the more recently launched social media platforms, Instagram is the third most popular platform out there.
With its diverse posting formats (permanent images, short-lived Stories, IGTV series, live sessions, Story Highlights, and more), there exists a variety of ways to use Instagram to engage your audience and promote your business
12. Share on Twitter
Twitter is another free channel that can be used to promote your Business Online —mainly if your audience is comprised of 18-24 year-olds. It tends to require a bit more activity to build an audience, but if you’re consistently active, you can master the platform and experience its benefits
13. Try out TikTok
TikTok was only launched in 2016, but it has already surpassed Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Pinterest in active users. Its ease of use in creating compelling videos with special effects makes it a great video marketing
14. Join online communities
One of the best ways to get a hand up is to offer a hand up to others. Join communities and groups relevant to your business or industry on LinkedIn, Reddit, and Facebook, and offer people good advice and suggestions when they have problems or questions.
15 Invest in social media advertising
Social media advertising is among the most forward-thinking, highly-utilized, and profitable forms of digital advertising today.
More than 3.6 BILLION people use it and it’s constantly evolving to offer ease-of-use and exceptional value for your advertising dollar.
When done right, paid social promotes your Business Online to a highly targeted audience with these advantages:
- Familiarity: meet people on the channels they use most
- Cost-effectiveness: advanced targeting ensures your ads are shown to only the most relevant audience
- Supporting content: your organic posts serve to support your sponsored posts.
- Brand loyalty: attracting more followers to your accounts helps to build community and loyalty around your business.
- Analytics: know what’s working so you can allot your budget accordingly
