Free Advice: 6 Ways to Market your Business

Here’s a brief introduction to marketing. If you want to grow followership for social media or for your business, there are a variety of strategies and techniques you can use. As you practice these, you can further define what works for your specific situation and make the proper adjustments. This doesn’t represent a full list of strategies but they are most accessible to those who may have funding restraints. Here are they are:

1. Digital Marketing

Social Media Marketing: Utilizing platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to reach and engage with the target audience through posts, ads, and interactions.

Email Marketing: Sending emails to a list of subscribers to promote products, share news, or offer discounts. Have people join your email lists online and in person.

Content Marketing: Creating and sharing valuable content (blogs, videos, infographics) to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Adding keywords into your page or its metadata to increase the ways your content can be found in search engine results pages.

2. Traditional Marketing

Print Advertising: Placing ads in newspapers, magazines, brochures, and flyers. If you work with local organizations like schools or community centers, they may print in their event programs for a lower rate than more popular publications.

Broadcast Advertising: Using television, radio commercials and movie theaters to reach a broad audience. There’s still a significant population of people who listen to ads on local radio as they travel. If you can get connected to your local tv stations, there may be an opportunity to advertise there. Movie theaters also offer opportunities for advertisements before the movie starts, this may offer you an opportunity to target folks in an uncommon way.

Direct Mail: Sending promotional materials directly to consumers’ mailboxes like postcards, coupons or greeting cards. This can be a good opportunity to reach out to your audience during holidays or special occasions. Coming from a small business, this could feel like a very personal touch.

Outdoor Advertising: Billboards, transit ads, and posters in public places. For smaller creators, you could partner with local businesses to have your poster, mural or other ad displayed in their establishment for a defined period of time.

3. Event Marketing

Trade Shows: Vending at conventions, festivals or other events by showcasing products and services. There is typically a vendor registration fee that supports costs the organizers may have for the event. Then you can bring however much stock you can hold at your table/booth or pitch your services to attendees while they are exploring.

Webinars: Hosting online seminars to provide value and promote expertise. This can be about your product or about topics that are of interest to your audience. And with the capabilities of going live and hosting video calls on Zoom and Google Meet, you can interact with the viewers at the same time. This is a prime opportunity to build a sense of community around your brand.

Sponsorships: Partnering with events or organizations to increase brand visibility. Traditionally businesses would pay or provide services and in return get an opportunity to have their logo or name showcased. The event/organization receives financial support and the business gets the exposure to new potential clients. You can also offer sponsorships for your own event.

4. Third Party Marketing

Influencer Marketing: Collaborating with influencers who have a large following on social media to promote products or services through authentic endorsements. These can be paid opportunities or trading the products/services for a review. You get to decide how big of a following that influencer should have to meet your goals. The quality of your following matters more than the quantity and if you have followers that interact with posts, you’ll likely see more results.

Affiliate Marketing: Partnering with other businesses or individuals who promote your products and earn a commission for each sale made through their referral. This can be done many different ways but, ultimately, you get another organization to help sell your product and they will share in the profits. Amazon and Walmart offer affiliate programs to get your products to wider audiences by using their platform.

5. Promotions and Discounts

Sales: Offering sales, special offers, and discount campaigns to attract new customers and retain existing ones. This can also be done when you are looking to promote more sales in a certain period of time like, Black Friday, End of the Year Sales and Holiday events.

Referral Programs: Encouraging existing customers to refer new customers by offering incentives like discounts or free products. Make sure to provide a survey or clear referral link so customers know this is an option.

6. Guerrilla Marketing

Using unconventional and creative strategies to create a memorable impact, often on a low budget. This can include flash mobs, viral videos, or street art. Don’t be afraid to start a new trend in order to blend what you’re comfortable with and what will capture attention.

Which strategy do you think you’ll be using to grow your brand? Is there something else you think others should start doing? Comment below.

And if you’d still like help to solidify your vision, Commencement Brands is here to support. The growth and education of small businesses is important to us as we grow ourselves. Email us at commencementbrands@gmail.com or DM on your favorite social media platform.