An impressive amount of people chose to open small businesses in 2020. Now, as entrepreneurs enter the new year, many are wondering how to promote and advertise their new businesses.
Your small business marketing plan should include a blend of tactics to reach your target audience at multiple points of contact. The good news is that many of these tactics are free. Here are some of the top ways to promote your small business this year.
Create Business Profiles on Local Listing Services
To advertise your business in 2021, it’s essential to create business listings on Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. If you don’t have profiles on these high-traffic sites, you could be missing out on countless leads.
It takes only a few steps to create business profiles on these local listing services. Google should be your number-one priority since it is the most popular search engine, but you should also make profiles on Yahoo, Bing, and Yelp.
When creating your local business listings, include the following information:
- Business name
- Address
- Phone number
- URL
- Brief description of your business
- Photos of your business
- Email address
On most of these local listing services, the public can leave reviews or ask questions. Check your listing regularly to respond to reviews and answer questions, and to update business information as needed.
Create Social Media Accounts and Plan a Strategy
Small businesses don’t typically have large marketing budgets. That’s why many business owners want to know how to advertise for free. One of the best marketing tactics is to implement a social media strategy for your business. Advertising your business on social media can pay off. In fact, one study found that 44% of Gen Zerswere influenced by Instagram when making a purchasing decision.1 In another study, 60% of people reported that they learn about new products on Instagram.2
You don’t have to have business accounts on all of the social media platforms out there. Choose the platforms your target customers use and make accounts there. You can learn more about how to set up your social media accounts and create a strategy here. Once you create your accounts and social media marketing strategies, try to be consistent in posting and engaging with followers.
Start a Blog
A business blog can do a lot to promote your business. As you write about industry news or educate your audience, you and your brand gain credibility. These blogs can also be shared on social media to increase visibility for your business. Right now, you are reading a blog from our brand, Woligo, and we have a collection of blogs about small businesses, business insurance, and other related topics.
Blogs are also a great way to rank higher on Google and other search engines. If you write a blog article about a popular topic that many people search, and if you generate a lot of web traffic to that article, Google will start seeing your website as more reputable and popular. In turn, they will give your URL more priority when showing its search results.
Getting your blog articles and your website to show up on Google can be tricky, but it can also be a great way to advertise your business online for free.
Optimize Your Company Website for Search Engines
We’ve already talked about how search engines play a role in advertising your small business. You can create business profiles on search engines, and you can also write business blogs to get more eyes on your site. Another strategy is to optimize for search engine optimization (SEO).
SEO is about getting your website to show up on search engines. There are a lot of factors that influence how search engines rank websites,3 but here are some factors that you can easily implement on your site:
- Include keywords in your page title, meta description, headers, and throughout the copy on your site
- Increase your page speed by making photos and videos smaller in size
- Write original, compelling copy that keeps viewers on your site
- Have a simple, user-friendly design that is easy to navigate
SEO isn’t just about getting people on your page — it’s also about keeping them there for a long time. Interesting copy, design, videos, or photos can help do that.
Join a Relevant Online Community and Contribute
A big obstacle for every new business is credibility. When you’re starting out, most people probably don’t know who you are. That means they are much less likely to trust what you are selling. If you can build a name for yourself and your brand, you can gain some credibility and brand awareness.
Joining an online community frequented by your target audience is one way to get your name and your business’ name out there. If you choose this route, make sure you add value to the community you join — don’t just use it to promote your business. Engage in conversations, share your knowledge and expertise, and step in to help when the opportunity presents itself. You can find online communities on:
- Facebook groups
Write a Press Release about Your Launch and Other Business News
No small business marketing strategy is complete without a touch of publicity. Press releases are a simple way to get eyes on your company. They should be used to announce company news, such as your business’ launch, the release of a new product or service, a change in leadership, or a charitable initiative.
Choose from several different sites to distribute your press release. Once you distribute your press release, reporters may pick it up and either publish it or reach out to you to write a piece about your announcement.
Advertising your business online doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars in ad spend. There are simple steps you can take today to gain visibility and convert leads into customers.
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