stmHave you been searching for ways to advertise your business online? Search no more. This article features all you need to know about online advertisement for your business brand. Stay tuned!
It can be difficult to generate leads for your small business but not impossible, you might not be financially buoyant to run online ads like the top companies in your industry. However, there are ways you can still generate leads and boost your marketing game without spending a dime.
Ways To Advertise Your Business Online
Here are some marketing tactics you can employ to assist your small business to grow tremendously and generate leads that may turn into strong and dedicated clients.
Take Advantage of Social Media
Many small businesses disregard social media marketing forgetting the fact that more than half of the Earth’s population use social, according to research, about 4.70 billion people on earth are on social media and people spend an average time of 2h 29m on social media daily.
This has made social media have a huge potential to grow your business from the bottom. People normally inspect brand’s social media page before having anything to do with such brand, this is because the page will give them closure on what they’re going into.
You can start by choosing a social media your target audience use more (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), create a page and start posting relevant contents. When people find out that your post is not just blatant advertisements, you’ll start getting organic followers which may someday turn to customers.
Strengthen Your SEO
Just because you do not have the resources to run online ads doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to rank higher in search results, the higher the rank in search results, the easier it is to create awareness. And the best way to rank higher is through your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
There are a lot of ways you can strengthen your SEO online, but we’ll focus on two SEO tactics to help you create awareness for your business brand easily.
Local SEO
Local SEO is a marketing tactics that assist local businesses to become more visible in local search results on Google. Any business that serves a geographic area or has a physical location can benefit from Local SEO.
According to a 2014 Google report;
- 80% of customers use search engines to find local information
- The tendency for people to purchase your products after a local search is high, compared to those who conduct a non-local search.
You can improve your Local SEO by listing and claiming your business on some platforms like; Apple Maps Connect, Google My Business and Bing Places for business.
These tools are completely free, they help small and large businesses manage their online presence across their respective search engines and maps.
When you register on any of these platforms and add your company’s details, potential customers can easily get directions to your phsyical location, find your working hours, contact information, website and lots more.
Just by searching your service with the phrase “near me” your business will be more likely to pop up in the search result.
Traditional SEO
Traditional SEO is sometimes referred to as Organic or National SEO, this SEO simply involves increasing the quantity and quality of organic traffic to a website.
Organic traffic refers to free contents (i.e contents that are not paid for) showing up on SERPs, while quality traffic indicates the visitors searching for what you offer them.
Using Meta descriptions to write short notes to users informing them on what your page is all about, writing alternate texts for images, conducting keyword searches and including a clickable phone number on your contact page in Traditional SEO can greatly improve your visibility online.
Start Email Marketing
Email marketing is a marketing technique whereby you send a commercial message, usually to a group of people via email. In terms of Return on Investment (ROI), the email marketing strategy outperforms every other type of marketing technique.
People prefer using email marketing to boost and advertise their business online because it is exceptionally affordable and highly customizable.
Email marketing generally involves using email to send advertisements, request business or solicit sales or donations.
Email marketing techniques normally seek to achieve one or more of the three goals; to build loyalty, trust or brand awareness.
Email marketing can be achieved through different types of emails:
Transactional Emails
Transactional email is an email sent to an individual based on the individual’s action with a particular company. These emails are normally sent to follow up on a commercial transaction or specific action performed by the individual.
Transactional email creates the opportunity for businesses to introduce or extend the email relationship with subscribers or customers; to cross-sell or up-sell products and services; or to anticipate and answer questions.
Direct Emails
Direct emails are normally sent to customers or prospective customers to promote your business. This email generally includes messages that offer new products to your customers or tell them about the new deal or promotion that your company is running.
Companies normally collect a list of customers’ or prospects’ email addresses to send direct messages about their promotions or deal, or they rent a list of email addresses from service companies.
Join Online Forums and Communities
Online forums are where people meet to exchange ideas, choose a suitable forum and participate in discussions concerning business. Meet prospective customers and introduce them to your products and services. However, do not forget to adhere to the rules of the forum by promoting your company in appropriate contexts.
Some examples of platforms where you can find dedicated channels or groups related to small businesses are; Facebook, Discord, Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, Flying Solo, etc.
Build A Business Blog
A business blog is an effective tool to build credibility and brand awareness. Although, they sometimes take longer to produce results than other marketing strategies. When you have a business blog specific to your industry, you have a higher chance for search engines to display you on result pages.
Final Words
The most effective way to advertise your business is through word-of-mouth. Word of mouth refers to the action businesses take to get consumers to talk about their products and services with other consumers.
Word of mouth also ensures that the consumer’s interest in your company’s product or services is reflected in their daily dialogue.
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