Promoting Your Business from the Start
Whether you are a startup business or improve your engagement and create more leads, you need to use a range of effective marketing strategies to promote your business. These days, “effective” means getting your product or service in front of the “right” people and the “right” times. It also means the power of the internet to increase brand awareness.
This article will find out everything you need to know about promoting your business from the start. It deals with listing your business in online and offline directories and implementing small business SEO strategies to increase customer engagement and generate new leads. Read on to find out more.
Maximize Search Engines
If you aren’t using Google to promote your business these days, you’re missing out. Around 46% of Google searches are for local businesses. So if you aren’t listed or don’t have an effective SEO strategy, your local competitors will soak up the revenue.
The first thing you should do is register your business on Google My Business. This is the Googles version of business listing, but it ensures that your business popped up when someone searched for your services in the area.
Make a Winning Website
Most businesses today have a website already, but some don’t. The ones that don’t might serve older clients or have an established presence in the market and deem a website unnecessary. Others might bypass a website in favor of apps or local promotion.
Whether you’re a small brand, a startup, or a major local business that’s been around for years, you need a website to focalize your business and serve your customers in the best possible way. A business website is the best way to advertise, educate, and connect with customers.
Implement SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization, which you need if you want to appear at the top of the search results page when someone searches for your product or service. Since the Google algorithm uses machine learning, your optimization is linked to your customer’s searches.
So how can you win the race to the top of the search results and create more leads than ever before? The answer is by providing quality and relevant content and integrating keywords and backlinks that give the search engine confidence in your business.
Use Promotional Products
All this talk of search engines and new-fangled promotional tactics might have your head spinning, but don’t worry, conventional advertising still has its place and works effectively to grow your brand and land more customers.
Think of lanyards, printed cards, badges, pins, and banners at your local market stall. These are excellent ways to bring your brand offline and into the real world. It’s best to combine online and offline promotion to connect up in people’s minds.
Create Business Content
SEO is one of the leading ways to promote your business today, and it’s very effective. However, it’s not enough to create a few blog posts with some keywords and expect new customers to come rolling in – you need to create effective business content.
This means that you shouldn’t use your business blog as a live journal primarily. It’s fine to promote events and offer updates, but what you really need to provide is strong educational content about your industry using your unique brand voice.
Create Digital Ads
Most local businesses have some form of advertising budget, which would be somewhat wasted if some or most of it didn’t go to search engine advertising. So while SEO practices are essential to implement, they are more of a long-term strategy – you need faster results.
You can zip to the top of the search engine results using google ads. Log in and start creating the type of ad you want. You can put in specific demographic and customer information to help them reach the right audience. Choose between pay-per-click, banner ads, and retargeting.
Use Major Directories
Don’t get distracted by all the modern digital practices and forget about god old business directories. Actually, these have also moved with the times and can be found on major websites. As well as being an excellent source for customer information they can help with your search engine ranking.
Business directories are a hub for customers and clients looking for your services; they work like Google My Business but are more well-established. However, it is not uncommon for businesses registered on a directory to appear first in search engine results.
Promote Customer Reviews
The best way to promote your business is through word of mouth; someone has an excellent experience with you and tells a friend – this is exactly how online reviews work but on a much larger scale. Review sites are also audited to prevent spam, so people trust them.
Always promote your business using testimonials where possible, but review sites can’t be overlooked. The best review sites around today are Google, Facebook, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. Encourage your customers to leave positive reviews and engage with unfavorable ones.
Engage social media
Social media is a powerful promotional tool for businesses of any size. Social media is no longer a platform for friends, family, and travelers; it’s become a central hub of commercial enterprise as well. Businesses can sell, promote, and communicate with their target audiences.
Social media sites like Facebook have made this easier for businesses by mirroring Google advertising and targeting demographics. But, remember, don’t be overly promotional on social media, as it simply doesn’t work.
Makes engaging videos
Online advertising has moved on, even since last year. The advent of more video-focused social media sites and more internet-savvy users means that video is the next best thing to promote your business. Moreover, video has a heap of advantages.
Firstly, video content can be broken down into written content or snippets on different platforms. Video is also more passive than the written word and, therefore, more engaging. So start looking for video marketing ideas that are brand-focused.
