4 Low-cost ways to promote your business

In a world where we’re all connected to the internet constantly, business promotion should be easy. There are more ways than ever for potential customers to find your company. You can run ads for mass appeal, sit back, and then wait for the customers to run to you.

It doesn’t always worth like that, though. In fact, it could be argued that the internet is the problem rather than the solution. Sure, it’s easier to promote your business nowadays– but that also means it’s easier for other businesses to promote themselves. As a result of all these companies swimming along in cyberspace and competing for attention, capturing a potential customer base is still a time-consuming task. You’ve got more competition than ever.

So, if your promotional attempts are in need of some fine-tuning, why not try one of the methods below to help you stand out?

Related: check out my Crash Course PR & Free Publicity. 

4 Low-cost ways to promote your business online or offline

IDEA: Run A Giveaway

There are two options for running a giveaway. The first is to partner with a social media influencer. Influencers are accustomed to coordinating giveaways, so this is definitely a good approach if you’re unsure about what to expect. You will have to compensate the influencer for their time, but it could be worth it if you need the benefit of their experience.

If you’d rather go it alone, running a giveaway on social media might be your best bet. This is simple to orchestrate, and can help get you more likes on Facebook or followers on Twitter– always beneficial for a business’ online presence.

IDEA: Attend A Trade Show

To really stand out among the very literal crowd, you have to ensure that your trade show displays are as good as they can be. You want to be informative, noticeable, and colorful– all at the same time. You have to have a method devised to guarantee you keep attention on your exhibit and catch the eye of any idle passers-by.

It’s also a good idea to sit down with your employees and brainstorm a strategy for the event regarding what you want the show to achieve for your business, then work backwards from there to establish how you’re going to go about getting those results.

IDEA: Distribute Flyers

Many promotional methods these days are online, but there’s still something to be said for old-fashioned local promotion. Hire a casual worker to distribute flyers in affluent neighborhoods; it helps if you emphasize you’re a local business on these flyers.

Distributing flyers is relatively inexpensive compared to other methods of promotion, so a leafleting campaign won’t put too big of a dent in your overall business profits.

IDEA: Sponsor An Event

Sponsoring an event is a great method of promotion as your logo will be featured prominently in the event advertising. You could sponsor a local neighborhood initiative such as a library, or think big and sponsor a large sporting event. The choice will largely come down to budget, so if money is tight, start small and then work your way into the big leagues.

When you find an idea that works for you, your business will finally be able to stand out in an ever-more crowded pond.

My favorite PR + promotion tools:

• Convertkit to schedule and automate my press releases (www.convertkit.com)
• Planoly to schedule Instagram photos, stories and ‘beautify’ my feed (www.planoly.com)
• Tailwind to dominate Pinterest automatically by scheduling pins to reach over 5 million Pinners, with a small following (www.tailwind.com)
• Grammarly: free spell check that works really well. Proofread your promo articles. (www.grammarly.com)

Read more about PR, free publicity and promoting your business:

• Master the Media: press coverage now, my online course on PR
• 40 ways to promote your content and business online for free
• Free email course: A Media Kit That Sells to pitch to press and sponsor and become a professional blogger. 
• How to use Convertkit as a PR tool to automate the heck out of your PR strategy
• 8 reasons to fall in love with Free Publicity as your #1 business promotion tool
• Thought you should know this: common PR myths that are NOT true