As a small business, you may not necessarily have an expansive marketing budget. In fact, the word “shoestring” might sometimes come into play as far as funds available for promoting your business online. There are however ways to get creative, think outside the box and market your company to a wider audience, even without the extensive resources that some larger firms have. Below are fifteen ways that you can more effectively promote your business online.
1. Display ads get seen
These are the billboards for this generation. Most are targeted at specific users and/or demographics. The point is, if done right, they pop up frequently and do have an impact in terms of influencing a user.
2. Make sure your social is up to par
The things that you post on Facebook and Instagram, for example, are perhaps among the most effective ways available for you to reach your audience. They’re already on those platforms, and so you may as well take advantage of this, enabling users to interact with your promotions and ads.
3. Respond to your reviews
This is a critical one. If you come across a negative review you most definitely want to address it. However, the key is to do so tactfully and with forethought. Don’t simply react out of anger—cool down and write a thoughtful response.
4. Upgrade your online presence
When was the last time you updated your website? Is the content old? Has anything been refreshed in the past year or so? These are all questions you should be asking and then take action and upgrade!
5. Use videos
What better way to show off your company than through a few video clips. YouTube is the number two search engine behind Google. Of course, you want to have some informative and engaging videos to help promote your business.
6. Be accessible
While we’re not talking about being around 24/7, we are saying that the more available you are to customers, the more likely they’ll be to be a repeat customer. There are live chat features that enable you to interact with users even after hours.
7. Mind the metrics
Sales are not necessarily the only means you have of gauging the effectiveness of your online presence. Keeping track of those metrics is critical as far as understanding how you’re performing and what may need adjusting.
8. Ask questions
If something isn’t performing optimally, if you’re uncertain as to how audiences are responding to a certain campaign, then absolutely ask questions. Why throw money at something that isn’t effective. You want to gauge the success, find the weaknesses and proceed accordingly. But without asking the right questions you simply won’t be able to do this.
9. Think about subject lines
Email marketing certainly is an important part of promoting your online business. So how do you get noticed in what are generally crowded inboxes? This is where intriguing subject lines come into play. Get creative here!
10. Be more visual
While posts and articles are always a good idea, you also want to ensure that whatever you do put online has visual flair to it. People are naturally drawn to bright colors and interesting images. Keep it visually appealing.
11. Retargeting
People online tend to be window shoppers—that is, they’ll visit and then go to another site. By instituting a retargeting campaign, you keep yourself in front of them and thus fresh in their memory.
12. A new logo
As is this case with updating your site, maybe you need to refresh even a bit more—like your logo. A rebrand might be in order as you move toward a more robust online promotion plan.
13. Optimize your website
So how do you get to the top of the search engine list? This is where you might think about bringing in an SEO expert to help your company get ranked higher. People almost always go to Google first. If you don’t show up until page 9 or 10 odds are they’ll dismiss your business.
14. Always be adjusting
Between customer feedback, analytics, and sales, you can gauge how well your strategies are working. Something may have a huge impact, while something else falls flat. You need to be flexible and open-minded as far as your online marketing tactics go.
15. Experiment
Hand in hand with the adjustments you may need to make is this idea of experimentation. Many companies A/B test certain promotions. You might also experiment with such things as the colors on your site, the voice/style of your content, your approach to social media. Don’t be afraid to try new things!
Need Funding to Promote your Business?
This list is by no means exhaustive. You might start with one or two of these strategies and then build out from there. First Union can help get you the money needed to implement a dynamic new online marketing strategy. Call 863-825-5624 or click here to speak with our funding specialist today to find a business loan that best fits your company's needs!