Seven simple ways to successfully market your business online for free
The internet provides business owners and marketers with more opportunities than ever before to promote their business without spending a penny. Done well and with a strategic approach to guerrilla marketing, digital marketing for business can more than pay for itself and drive profits instead of being a loss center.
And so with that in mind, today we’re going to take a look at seven simple ways for you to market your business online without having to spend anything other than your time.
Seven Simple ways to marketing online for free
1. Tap into email marketing
Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools that business owners have access to, in part because it’s an owned resource. If Facebook suddenly decides to shut down its servers, you’ll lose your Facebook page. If your email marketing provider shuts down, you’ll be able to take your list elsewhere. It also provides you with a great way to reach out to people directly by sending product launches, news and special offers directly to their inbox.
2. Use search engine optimisation (SEO)
SEO is all about helping search engines to understand the content that’s on your website. There are as many different SEO strategies as there are SEO specialists, but you can do the basics by ensuring that you’re using meta titles and descriptions on your website and that you’re giving all of your images alt descriptions so that algorithms can tell what they’re looking at. If you have time, writing blogs that focus on your niche is a great way to start building the rank on your website. As your business grows, finding the right professionals can then boost what you have already done.
3. Use Meta (Facebook) groups
Facebook groups can be a great help when it comes to promoting your business for a couple of reasons. You can join them as your business page instead of via your personal profile, and there are groups dedicated to pretty much every niche imaginable, from local community groups to those that are dedicated to painting model figurines or understanding tax law. Spend some time taking a look around to find groups that work for you.
4. Work with influencers
Working with influencers isn’t necessarily free because a lot of them will ask you to pay them, but if you look at niches then you’ll be able to find smaller influencers who are more than happy to write a review or to work on a partnership in exchange for a free sample of your product or services. This can be a great way to reach new audiences without having to invest in advertising, and you have the added benefit that influencers tend to have more engaged audiences than most companies.
5. Join directories
Pretty much every niche imaginable has some sort of directory available to it, from Capterra for software to platforms like TripAdvisor that are designed for tourist attractions. Most of these sites allow you to sign up for free, although they often have paid advertising options. Take the opportunity to get some free exposure in front of the people who are most likely to become customers.
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6. Encourage user-generated content (UGC)
UGC is essentially any kind of content that’s created by your followers and customers, instead of by your company. Not only does this save you time and money because you don’t have to create it yourself, but also it’s much more powerful. In fact, UGC posts on social media have a 35% higher engagement rate than branded posts, and over half of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from a brand if they share the content that they created.
7. Launch a blog
As mentioned previously blogs are great for a variety of reasons. They help with search engine optimization because search engines tend to prioritize sites that post a lot of fresh and unique content, and they can also help your customers by providing entertainment or information. You don’t have to be the world’s greatest writer to start blogging, and if you’re struggling for content ideas, a great way to start is by taking your most frequently asked questions and writing blogs to answer them.
Conclusion
Now that you know your options, you’re ready to take what you’ve learned and to filter it into your digital marketing agency business plan, assuming that you want to spend a little extra to bring in some outside help.
Alternatively, there’s no reason why you can’t take on each of these tasks yourself, although you’ll want to make sure that you’ve spent some time identifying your goals so that your digital marketing activity is pushing you in the right direction instead of just stabbing blindly in the dark.
If you do decide that you need a little help, it’s a good idea to find yourself an agency who can do the hard work for you. Luckily for you, we can help with that. Get in touch with us to find out more!
