When operating your business online, especially when it comes to a passion project or side business you’ve been wanting to try for a while, eyes on your product or service is key. There are so many options for paid advertising, which are great avenues, but there are also ways to promote your business, get new fans and increase profits without having to shell out big money. Try these tactics or try them in conjunction with an advertising plan to build your business.
Contests
Everyone loves winning and everyone loves free stuff. Hold a contest for followers through social media accounts to attract people to enter and make sure to require people to tag a friend or two as part of the entry. You’ll get new eyes and potentially new followers easily. You could also have different ways of entering, from sharing on different social media platforms to having a creative aspect to the contest to incite some excitement. People will definitely jump on board for the chance of being a winner.
Brand Ambassadors
You want people who are not only excited about your business and product, but also will shout it from the rooftops. That glowing review speaks volumes to potential clients. You can offer free product in exchange for them showcasing your stuff through their pages. You want to make sure they are passionate about your work and not just looking for free stuff. While you are still spending money to advertise, think of it as a more personal target than just blindly selling out into the void of paid advertising. People really respect a personal review or experience and will be intrigued when they see someone excited about a product or business.
Testimonies and Word of Mouth
Have a great review or customer comment? Share it! The internet can be such a judgmental place, seeing something positive is always refreshing. You’ll be showing the world that other people are interested in your business and they should be too.
Find Friends
Trying to advertise and get your business up and running can be an uphill battle. Find people in a complementary business and work together to gain more exposure. Then you’ll develop a tribe of people who can help cross promote and can be a great sounding board for ideas. You can run contests together to promote to each other’s followers and fans giving both more advertising. The sky is the limit with finding new eyeballs.
Persistence Pays
It’s hard to admit, but with advertising in the online arena, it sometimes does come down to quantity over quality. You want to be promoting early and often. You can sit there and create the most flawless picture or caption that sells your business in the perfect way, but the average person will miss out on it. Definitely take care and consideration because you don’t want to suffer your brand image, but it’s a message to not stress over every little detail, it’s more important to get the word out to as many people as possible.
Try some of these tips to watch your business grow without breaking the bank. They are good ideas to get the ball rolling until you can rely more on paid advertising to do the heavy lifting for you. Use your own personal touch to reach more people.
