When it comes to promoting your business, you don’t have to go completely wild to be successful. Flash mobs and viral marketing campaigns might look great but in the long term, they aren’t as successful as solid, intelligent branding and promotion. Here are five tips that will help you promote your business successfully.
Create A Great Website
First, create a website that’s user-friendly. When you’re networking, you will probably end up handing out business cards, and on those cards, you should have your website address. It’s a great way to promote your business and an easy way for people to learn about what you do. Having a stylish site is great, but if people can’t find the menu and links and they can’t contact you easily, chances are they will probably just give up. Make it easy for people to talk to you, and steer away from using business-speak. Explain what you do in concise, clear language so that people are interested and want to read more.
What About Social Media?
Social media is the perfect way to easily communicate with people without them having to pick up their phone and call or email you. A lot of times, people will choose to tweet you or to send you Facebook messages with thoughts about what you do and ideas for sales and collaborations. They may also send praise and criticisms or mention problems they’re having with your business through social media.
This means you need to be active on your social media accounts. Check your accounts at least once a day so you can provide great customer service, responding to people quickly. Make sure your company voice suits what you do; hitting on a combination of being chatty and professional is the best way to do it. It’s also important to be polite at all times. If people do have a complaint about what you do, it may be painful and feel personal, but you need to remember to treat their concerns professionally. Social media scandals can break a company easily, just from the way you replied to a Tweet or post. Remember social media is a public forum and all eyes are on you.
Work On Your Brand
Having a cohesive brand is crucial to ensuring people remember your business and what it is you do. Hire a graphic designer to create a clean, professional logo that will look good on your website, social media, and business cards. If you aren’t a writer, hire a copywriter to write the copy for your website so you know it’s clear and well done. If you have a physical premise or store, make sure you have good signage that will attract people. Pavement signs are a great idea if you’re on a busy road and people often walk past without noticing you. Check out these designs at Event Display or Fast Signs to get some creative ideas.
Guest Blogging
A great way to get your name and your thoughts out there is through guest blogging. Most companies have a blog section on their website, so why not get in contact and offer to write a guest blog about your area of expertise? Not only will you be able to produce a great article informing people of what you do, but you will usually also be able to add a link to your website. People will be able to go to your website to see the products and service you offer. It’s a great way of promoting your brand but also of promoting yourself. You can demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of your sector of the industry in a way that will intrigue people and entice them into finding more about who you are. Just make sure that you get someone to proofread the blog for you. It’s harder than you might expect to pick up on your own mistakes!
Start Networking
Networking is vital when it comes to getting a small business off the ground. Keep an eye out for networking events you can attend. You might be able to find new customers there or even new investors who may want to be part of what you do.
Talk to people and you’ll be able to figure out what you can do for each other, whether it’s collaborating to produce limited edition products, doing guest blogs or vlogs on each other’s site, or simply working with one another to provide great prices and deals. Make sure you’re personable at all times. Networking can feel like a lot of pressure, but keep a smile on your face and keep asking people questions and you’ll be the most popular person in the room.
These ways to promote your company are both easy and cost-effective – what could go wrong? Figure out a strategy that works for you and your business and get started today. Here’s to YOUR success.
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Leadership and Life Coach. She is the Chairwoman and CEO of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where they help you up-level your skills so you can up-level your income. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides one-on-one and group coaching, organizational training, and personality assessments. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
