Social
media have completely changed the face of marketing in recent times. In the
olden days, marketing needed hordes of cash to be spent on advertisements to be
shown on television, spoken on radio and to display on prominent places in the
city as sign boards or sponsoring local events.
Not anymore. There are more
effective ways to promote your brand online (the easiest, best way to sell
products and make money) for free. If you are new to business, do you want to
know in this article on “how to promote your business online in free? Do not
worry; you have come to the right place. In this blog, you will be given
valuable points on the subject and the perfect places to look to promote your
business.
You do
not need to spend a dime, but kindly read the article patiently:
1.
Use International Local Listing
Services
Having your
business listed with Google Places can make the name more effortlessly
searched as it can be easily found on Google Maps. It just involves a simple
way of filling the form, get the business verified via the confirmation process
that is done with a snail mail or phone call. The other two listing services
are Yahoo Local and Microsoft's Bing. Would you believe if all the three listings are freely available without any cost? There are also other online places where you can promote your own online content for free. However, in some websites, you need to post just the URL while most require a different style of approach.Your business gets lodged in the data banks of these websites, and they showcase the URL when a specific category is searched on the internet.
· So Much
· MapQuest
· eLocal
· Manta
2. Power of Social Media
In recent times,
social media has moved from being a simple platform for exposure to a necessary
investment for any business, small or big. The best way to give exposure to
your business via Facebook page is to have ads as well as offers. How about
having a direct channel on Twitter and
involve in networking on Linkedin at the personal or
professional level? The other social media platforms which are most used to promote the business online free of charges are -
- Google+
- Yelp
- youtube
- Yahoo Answers (You can put your URL when you answer the questions)
3. Social Bookmarking
There are also other ways by which you can draw focus on
your business. By submitting links to main pages and also the products or
individual pages, images and posts, the content is circulated to the audience
base of the platforms thus driving traffic to the website. Some of these social
media platforms are -
4. Websites
Although
you need to have a website to have an online presence, half a decade ago,
launching and designing a website used to be a cumbersome task. Not so at the
present time of 2017. There are numerous companies such as Wix through which you can register
and easily design a website for yourself. They have the best advanced tools,
templates and other features, even if you are a novice with no coding or design
skills, you can make an excellent online presence for yourself. The next phase
is also important – guide the users to increase website traffic.
5. Blogging
One of the best methods to preserve your online identity, you can interact with loyal customers directly via comments and answers. However, you have to keep the content always updated in the blog or it will lose its worth. It is better if the name of the blog is in connivance with your business product or service. You should also have registered with a perfect domain registration provider who offers the best services.6. Importance of YouTube/Flickr
You can give the best promotion by uploading a video about your product or service in youtube. However, with 3 million videos loaded every second, you have to really ensure that the content is up to the mark or above. In case of Flickr, you can compress all the images required for the business, and then provide a link to the website.7. Search Engine Optimization
Agreed, content is the key and search engine optimization can also burn tracks in the way of success. However, its power can never be underestimated in this fast paced world. You can easily read articles on the internet about SEO and make your website feature on search engines.8. Press releases
A new product, a new service or a new award – never forget to have a press release. They are excellent media tools to generate curiosity among the public and they are also free. Some of the websites you can use are 24/7 Press Release and PRLog.9. Online Community
You can join a forum concerning your business, regularly post your comments or ask questions and answer queries. Kindly note, the words used should be in tandem with the community. You may take some time to build a rapport and once done, you can passively promote the product or service by mentioning only at appropriate times.
10. Other Options
You should make the website work
for your business. A signup box placed at a relevant position can be used to
capture the customer’s name and email. You can use their email to advertise or
give information about a new product or service. You can also announce benefits
to your clients. The website should also be mobile responsive.