The ‘whys’ will serve as the foundation of the campaign. They will give you the reason to start and act as a motivation when it’s getting tough.
The ‘hows’ are strategies – they show you the action to perform to achieve a particular goal. However, the action truly starts when you have answers to where to begin. Without a piece of land, it’s impossible to erect a structure even when the architectural drawings and construction procedures are available.
In this article, I will reveal where you can start online marketing campaigns for your business. These places include sites, platforms and media that are available on the world wide web. The most amazing thing is that they are free and easy to use.
Get comfy and read on to see where you can advertise your products or services for free online.
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Google
Do you know that you can advertise your business on Google without paying a dime?
With a Google My Business profile, your business will rank on Google Search engine result pages (SERPs) whenever a researcher within the areas you cover makes a query for a service that you provide.
The platform was created by Google in 2014 as a part of an initiative to assist small businesses to grow and meet more customers within their locality. The GMB profile acts as your business representative on Google, telling researchers your products and services.
Aside from your location that is displayed for everyone to see, having a GMB profile would automatically place your business on Google Maps for people to easily trace your office. You can also add your business blog address for people to visit, know more about your services and read up on your exclusive offers and promotions.
You can see how it works by searching for “restaurants within my area” on Google. The search engine will present you with a list of restaurant profiles that are very close to your location. Isn’t that great?
Your business can also be on the list when you have a business profile. You can register your business by visiting the GMB homepage.
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Social media
Social media platforms can also be leveraged for free!!!
Just as you have personal profiles on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, you can also have profiles and pages for your business on social media platforms.
Nowadays, social media are becoming search engines. Researchers use them to find stores and service businesses within their areas. For that reason, it’s important that small businesses have a presence on social platforms.
With amazing and attractive contents, businesses could make people stop scrolling and spare seconds to see their profile, like, and follow their Facebook page for new posts. By doing this, you’re creating more awareness for your business.
Your social media pages could also act as customer support for your business. People love to relate to business before they make a purchase or hire for a project. Having your portfolio on your page would quicken the bonding and maybe lead to patronage.
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Local business listings
Just like Google, some other big internet platforms also support business listings. You can have your business NAP (name, address, and phone number) on Yahoo and Bing’s business directories for free.
Other free local business directories include Yelp, Yellow pages, LinkedIn, MapQuest, and Super Pages. Most of these platforms started as a business review website, where people come to rate their experience with a business. But now, they are directories where researchers find a reputable company to patronize or handle their projects.
Having your business NAP on all these citation websites will improve your visibility on search engines. Google, in particular, usually collects business data from other directories to rate and rank businesses on SERPs when local searches are made for a business.
For this reason, it’s essential that you maintain the same details on all directories. This will enable search engine algorithms to validate your business and readily recommend your business to researchers by including your company or brand among business citations.
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Free blog
A business could leverage a free blog till the time they have the financial potential to run a website.
A blog is a website with more content and interactive features. Through a blog, a business can showcase their knowledge and expertise in the field and also attract more customers by sharing their portfolio.
The difference between a paid blog and a free blog is the hosting and address. Free blogs always have a domain name that’s identified with the hosting company. Moreover, it offers limited control, ownership, and tools. Therefore, it’s not ideal for businesses to use a free blog.
However, they could use it at the early stages of the startup and later upgrade to a paid hosting. In the meantime, the free blog would act as your online presence and provide visitors with sufficient information about your business and operations.
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Join business forums and communities
The journey is easier when you walk together with people of the same goals. Joining online forums and communities relevant to your business and services will enable you to meet business owners in the same niche. It will also expose you to the things they are doing to attract more customers.
Aside from learning and meeting more people, you can also promote your business on Facebook groups and communities. However, this must be done with caution as most of the forums have rules and regulations guiding posts and advertisements.
The best practice is to contribute to the group by answering questions and giving people advice. Then, you can add a link to your website pointing to an article or content relating to the topic discussed on the Forum.
Conclusion;
Starting a business is not an easy task. One has to be a genius in management. It’s essential that you learn to reduce operating costs and make good and timely decisions.
The five methods above are the ways you can promote your business online for free. They have been tested and proven effective.
Good luck to you on your journey.
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