One thing is true about all businesses and organizations: they need to market themselves in order to be successful. Unfortunately, most people get caught in a cycle of needing to market in order to bring in business but not having the money to pay for marketing until the business is already there. On top of that, if you can’t afford to hire someone, and you don’t have a lot of marketing experience, it can be a real challenge to figure out what to do first. Here are five very effective things that you can do on the cheap (or for free):
- Have a good website. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but it has to exist and it has to not be frustrating to use. One of the many things COVID has taught us is that you need a way to interact with your customers if you can’t do so in person. Additionally, more and more people don’t want to do business with a company they can’t check out online first.
When building your site, the most important thing you can do is put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers. Anticipate what they’re trying to find and make it easy. Read these previous posts to learn more about how to start, what not to do, and how to optimize for search without paying for it. - Have a Blog. I get a lot of pushback on this one because people think a blog is just one more thing they have to promote. But this is only true if the blog itself is your business. If you have a different business, a blog is a great promotional tool because it allows you to show off how much you know about your area of expertise. It gives your customers a chance to see that you know what you’re doing and it provides value to people searching the web for answers. Oftentimes, these same people will remember you when they need your services. You don’t need a ton of people to read your blog. You only need your customers to see it and feel good about trusting you.
- Leverage your connections. Ask people for reviews and incentivize referrals with discounts. According to financesonline.com, over 90% of people read reviews before deciding to buy products and a whopping 76% of online shoppers in the Unites Stated are unlikely to purchase from someone without any ratings. Meanwhile, according to invespcro.com, 82% of small business owners say that referrals are their number one source of new business, and an average small business gets 60% of its customers through referrals. Though much has changed in the age of social media, it really is still about who you know.
- Take advantage of the free advertising wonderland that is social media, but be strategic and intentional to get the most benefit. Really think about where your customers are and how to reach them. Make sure to post and interact with other people’s posts regularly, but stay in keeping with your brand and keep your content high quality. Tag people and companies in your posts and use hashtags to maximize engagement. Don’t make “going viral” your goal (see this post). Instead, use social media as part of your overall marketing plan.
- Create a free Google My Business Account here. This is really easy to do and it allows you to control the first thing people see when they google your business. The verification process takes a little bit of time, but it’s worth the wait.
Substance and Style 