The advent of the internet has, like in many other fields of life, revolutionized the idea of marketing as well. The scope of the virtual world that the internet creates is so emphatic that none can really afford to miss its blessings while striving for a global audience. The Internet gives the most marginal of businessmen on this planet an opportunity to compete with the best. Its massive power to penetrate can work in favor of any hard-working and honest entrepreneur who otherwise may have monetary and other public-relation challenges.
Making use of the internet smartly is an essential skill. There could be a temptation of overusing the medium in a zeal to make your business thrive and such an attempt could backfire. There are several ways of using the internet for the purpose of promoting your business and those can be through creating websites, writing blogs, making videos on YouTube, engaging with followers in a constructive way, etc. But the biggest advantage that the internet offers is that you can absolutely promote your business through it for free. If only you can apply your senses smartly and tactically, the online medium can do wonders to your business venture over time.
There are many ways to promote your business online without any monetary investment. We list seven of them that are easy to do and guarantees a good return:
Make it a habit to post your stuff on Facebook:
Internet users do two things the most: Going to search engines and surfing Facebook. The social media giant is an extremely popular platform and since it’s a free gathering place for a countless number of human beings, what can offer you a better place to promote your business and product? It is more worth it to use Facebook to the optimum level than explore several other social media platforms. If you can be smart in promoting your business on Facebook without making it look bluntly promotional, you do have a big potential to gain from the free medium. Update your business page on Facebook daily and engage people with interesting stuff so that they do not forget you in the crowd.
Speak to experts on Twitter:
If exploring Facebook enables you to promote your business, a presence on Twitter can help you learn your own work better. How? Make an account on the microblogging site and follow people who are genuine experts in your field. Twitter is not for everyone but if you can use it in the right manner, it can be tremendously helpful. Follow the words and actions that industry experts are spreading and undertaking and also with users and customers if you find them. Engage with people through replies and retweets and as you yourself grow, start exchanging ideas. In this way, Twitter can indirectly make you equipped to promote your venture and it comes at no cost. In his work ‘Tweet Naked’, online marketing expert and CEO of Fuel Online Scott Levy has given critical information that businessmen/women require to make a social media strategy that can boost their brand. Speaking on retweeting as a way to brand-building, Levy has said in a piece in Entrepreneur: “Retweeting is one marvelous way to utilize existing content to build your following and grow your brand. This is where you pick up on a message from another source that you feel your followers will be interested in seeing and send it out there.”
Start a blog:
Do you have good writing skills? A little bit of sense of humor? If yes, do not waste time befriending the internet. If you have a habit of writing a diary daily, it is even better. Just penning a new blog through which you can speak on your business and product for your potential customers to follow you more regularly. The good part of a blog is that you do not have to be a certified professional or business writer to become a blogger but yet can throw a lot of light on your venture, absolutely free. Be honest in your approach and about the limitations you have as a beginner and the efforts that you are putting in to make your offering better. If your words can serve as a bridge between you and your customer, then be confident that you have made a great beginning. Back your words with pictures and videos and seek feedback and inputs on your viewpoints expressed in the blogs. That will better your prospects as a businessman or woman.
Make and market a website:
When you have become a blogger, why not create a website exclusively dedicated to your business. There are many free website-creating programs available on the internet and you can create one with the customization of your liking. A website makes your business more credible (than if you have only a free social media page) and pulls more people. Through a website, you can market and sell your products through strong public-relations exercises and other innovative ideas like data-driven illustrations and animations. Let the website be the focal point around which your business revolves. Ensure people subscribe to your website and have the opportunity to send feedback. You can make your website with the help of WordPress, Wix, Squarespace.com, etc., and link it with all the social media platforms where you are present. Keep the website less clumsy and update it regularly.
Write a free report:
If you can write a free report on topics of your liking, you must do it in order to boost your own business. How? Free reports are available for free digital download on your website or landing pages and they are a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. These reports give an impression to the customers that you are serious about your work and hold an authentic opinion that can be trusted. As you go on cementing your reputation, you get more opportunities from people to give free information and that paves the way for the betterment of your own business because your authentic free reports push people to buy your product out of gratitude. Ensure that your free reports have a solid offering. Link your free reports with people’s email addresses so that they create your customer base while urging you to read your free reports. It’s a self-serving move taken with the help of the internet.
Make use of user-generated content:
This is another effective way to utilize the internet for promoting your business. User-generated content is the content that is created by your business’s loyal customers. They produce this content just out of selfless love for the product and service that you offer them. They share their pleasant experiences with others like relatives and friends, generally through social media. Even if it looks self-promoting, still there is no harm in encouraging it for the sake of your own business. Highlight the best posts that come every week on your own social media pages and can even start a system of rewarding those customers whose names feature in your list.
Do video marketing:
If blogging is about walking, a video is about running. You must have seen the way videos have multiplied in different fields of marketing in recent years and you should also become a member of that community fast. Set up a YouTube channel and make simple video blogs or vlogs. These videos do not have to be like those perfect films on screens but simple and precise creations to convey your idea about your business to people. If you can produce content that has the potential to be shared and marketed on a big scale, you will win half the war and that too without spending a single penny. Plant your videos on your website and promote them on your social media channels.
