Advertising is integral to promotion. Having the best goods is futile if no one is aware of what you are selling.
But advertising doesn’t come cheap.
Companies budget huge funds for the sole aim of putting their products out there. Money spent on advertising isn’t a waste – they generate profit for the advertisers. So, what’s the fate of small businesses who don’t have a dollar to spare for advertising? Their little resources are barely enough to cater to the needs of operations.
Did you know that there are ways you could advertise your business for free? Here are four of those ways:
- Offer freebees
Ears tickle at the mention of freebees. No matter how much customers can afford for shopping, the idea of getting a freebee worth just a penny, creates excitement.
Freebees are great to get customers talking about your business. There’s the urge to tell friends and family about what they were given for free. However, there’s no guarantee that they will go into details about your business. So, what do you do?
Ensure that your freebees are branded. Let your brand name, logo and other vital information of your business be written on them. That way, your business is exposed to every eye that comes in contact with the item(s). And if it served your customer well, you can be rest assured that they’ll be willing to put in a word or two in convincing whoever shows interest, to patronize you.
- Use your car as a mobile billboard
With the rise of outdoor advertising, mobile marketing has become a trend. Gone are the days when advertising on the traditional mass media was the only way for business promotion. Several unconventional advertising methods have sprung up in tune with the mobile society. Advertising now takes place on the go.
As a small business owner, your target market should be people in your immediate environment. Put your business in their faces, and give them something to talk about. Mobile car billboard is a good way to do that. Don’t you have a car of your own? You probably have friends or family members who do, and are willing to allow you paste removable stickers with your business details on their car. These stickers can easily be removed without causing damage to the car. If you have a car of your own, you might want to go all out with full body painting. You literally make an impression wherever you go with all eyes on your business.
- Shout it loud on social media
It’s no longer news that opportunities abound on social media. Everyone knows this, but not many truly understand how to tap into these opportunities. As an entrepreneur, social media has to mean more than a platform for interacting with friends and family. There’s a market for your business, the onus is on you to do the selling.
Let everyone on your timeline know about your business by posting pictures of your products and/or services. Desist from lifting pictures of other people’s products; you could be called out for breaching copyright.
Don’t just post things because everyone else is posting. Aim for tangible results. Post things about your business to your target audience, people who can easily access you for patronage.
Join online groups or pages of your community. Don’t constitute nuisance by regularly posting about your business, especially when such groups aren’t business based. Make meaningful contributions that will impact the lives of members of the group positively, and then chip in posts about your business at intervals.
There are community online business groups, designated for promoting SMEs. Join them as well, and share your business with fellow entrepreneurs in your community. Freely interact with people by sharing ideas. Over time, you’ll build a network of people who can either patronize you or recommend you to prospects.
- List your business on Google my business
Google is giving small businesses the opportunity to get discovered. But many businesses are either not aware of this or aren’t interested in grabbing this opportunity.
We live in a society where people are quick to search online for a business that offers the product or service they are looking for in their location. By simply registering at Google My Business, your business pops up when someone in your area searches for your kind of business.
Google understands that small businesses can’t compete favorably with the big ones. The idea is to help small businesses gain local credibility by providing consumers with the business nearest to them in that niche, regardless of its size. They don’t have to go through the hassles of traveling long distances to have their needs met.
Spreading the word about your business is counterproductive if your products aren’t good enough. Put your house in order before inviting people over, otherwise, they will have unpleasant stories to tell about you. When you advertise your business for free, you can channel your resources into growing and scaling it.
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay