10 FREE and EASY Ways to Market Your Business

If you have a business which needs more exposure, but you do not have the budget for advertising or outsourcing your marketing, there’s plenty of small things you can do to expose your brand to more people. Luckily, with so many of your potential customers online – you have a variety of ways to reach them. It is just knowing how to make the most out of online tools which is the tricky part. The following marketing tips are completely free, they just require your time! Let’s get started…

1) Create, verify and optimise a Google My Business account – This is one of the most powerful tools you can use – and it is completely free! Google My Business is what enables your business to show up in the Google Maps results and the ‘local 3 pack’ of the search results. This means that your business may come up at the top of Google to your local customers. Make sure you optimise your Google listing for all of your services, information, opening times etc so that your business appears for all relevant searches.

2) Post original, useful content on relevant social media channels – Most social media platforms are free, and you should think about who your target audience is and which platform they are most likely to be on – and looking for your service or product. Post photos, videos, news, product launches, special offers, reviews etc. It is important to not only post, but to also interact on these platforms. Engage with your followers, follow people or brands who you think you could connect with and build a community around your brand. It is far more valuable to have a small following who trust your brand and interact with your page, rather than a large following who do not engage with your posts.

3) Post on your Google listing – Post new content directly through your Google My Business listing as this contributes to the authority of your listing. Regular posting can not only boost your position in the local 3 pack, but also improve your organic rankings of your website within Google. You can use links within your posts leading people to your website so that people find it easier to reach the information they need.

4) Blog more – Creating informative blogs is a great way of gaining authority within your industry. Educational content (especially optimised for a highly searched keyword term) is likely to rank well in Google and capture traffic from people who are seeking the information you are providing. The more valuable content you provide, the more opportunities for your business to appear on the first page of Google. You could even write guest blogs for other websites. If you are providing a blog for a well-established website, you can benefit from connecting with a new audience and linking to your website and gaining authority from the backlink this provides. This will increase your domain authority and therefore increase your website’s rankings in search engines.

5) List your business in online directories – There are several major online directories where you can register your business details. Not only does this depict your business to more potential clients, but also creates another backlink to your website which will boost its domain authority. Most of them are free, some with additional features with paid plans. Just search ‘online directories’ into Google and get registering!

6) Collect reviews – The most effective way to gain more sales or leads is word-of-mouth. Customers trust the opinions of previous customers. It is great to encourage your happy customers to leave a review – on the channel which is most useful to you. Reviews on Google will likely boost your authority within Google itself, but if your target audience are mainly on Facebook, then a Facebook review can be just as great.

7) Use LinkedIn to network – LinkedIn is the best place to share business achievements, goals, questions, advice etc. As LinkedIn members engage with your posts, they will be advertising your brand for you. You can use LinkedIn to connect with potential customers, business connections and partnerships. Get involved in industry group discussions to promote your business and services.

8) Offer something for free – Everyone loves a freebie! Whether it is as simple as a free consultation, or a buy one get one free, definitely highlight any special offer which gives a customer something for nothing. Gaining this initial interaction because of this special deal is your chance to promote your brand more and seal the deal on what could be a return customer.

9) Promote your website and social media platforms with every email you send – Make sure you put a link to all of your socials and website in your email signature to promote more visitors. This is such an easy way to lead people to view your services and brand in more detail.

10) Build an email list – Make sure you track your customers email addresses and create an email marketing strategy to keep your customers informed of your latest offers and brand news. Email marketing can generate 30 x return on investment! A regular email newsletter can be a great place to share quality content to establish your brand as a helpful source of information for your community of customers. An up-to-date customer email list can have great impact in Facebook advertising, as it enables you to upload your customers as an audience to target advertising to. Or you can target a ‘Lookalike’ audience to target people who have a similar online avatar to your previous customers.

There we have it! 10 things you can do to help market your business which are free. Of course, if you do have a marketing budget (even a small one) – if implemented correctly, can make the world of difference to your brand’s followers, connections and customers. If we can be of any help with marketing your business, please get in touch. We work with a range of businesses offering a range of marketing services including SEO and social media strategy and implementation.