As a small business owner, it is essential you know how to promote your brand effectively. According to research, the most challenging thing that small businesses face during their marketing efforts is the lack of budget.
Except you have huge capital and are ready to invest lots of money into trial and error, you’ll probably want to know how to promote your brand in the most powerful ways possible with little or no budget.
Without much ado, here are the most effective ways to promote your brand online.
Table of Contents
1. Create a Website
Create a website if you don’t have one. Your website needs to be attractive, have a great design, and should be easily navigated. Create useful and educational content so that people will get to know who you are and what you can offer. This way, you lure customers to your site.
2. Focus on SEO
In order for your site to rank on search engines, you need to focus on SEO (search engine optimization). People won’t notice who you are or your brand on search engines except you focus on SEO.
Find the right keywords to use and ensure you optimized all your content before publishing. By so doing, you create brand awareness.
3. Run a Referral Program
Running a referral program is a great way of promoting your brand. People will gladly spread the word of your service or product when they know they will get something in return.
For example, Dropbox used this method to grow its brand. They gave users 500 MB of extra storage space for every referral.
You too can use a smart referral program to get lots of prospects as well as grow your brand.
4. Buy Ad Space on other websites via the YAIOA Platform
Another effective way you can promote your brand is by buying ad space on other websites. You can easily do that via the YAIOA (Your all in one account) platform.
YAIOA has a subscription service that website owners and bloggers use to sell their ad spaces and as an advertiser looking for means to advertise his business, subscribing to buy ad space on this platform won’t be a bad idea.
It is a safe, straightforward and reliable method of letting others know about your product or service.
All you need to do is to create an account as a client on YAIOA, log in to your dashboard and subscribe to buy ad space.
Before subscribing to buy ad space on YAIOA, you, first of all, need to fund your account and you can do that via PayPal, PayStack or direct bank deposit.
After funding your account, click on subscription on the left sidebar and search for vendors (bloggers or website owners) selling ad space in your location and budget and subscribe to a plan.
The vendor will immediately be notified about your subscription and will contact you for your ad banner which he will place on his site and run for the time it was subscribed for.
When you subscribe, you will also get a delivery code (the number that will be exchanged at the end of the subscription) and will exchange it with the vendor to end your subscription only then he (the vendor) can withdraw his funds (because the money is escrowed).
5. Guest Post
Guest posting is also a great way for you to let others know that you exist. Create high-quality, valuable, impressive, and educational content and share on other niche blogs.
Sharing this content on these blogs will expose to a larger audience. This way more people will get to know about you and might come to your site and become regular customers.
Guest posting is free on some blogs while others will need you to pay a certain amount before posting. However, it is still a powerful way to let others know about your brand.
6. Embrace Social Media
Billions of people use different social media platforms on a daily basis this makes it a great place to promote your brand.
Create a business page on the most popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn and consistently post valuable and engaging content. You can even create ads.
You can even run a social media contest in which contestants will submit an image or video, and other users will vote for their favorites.
These contestants will share the links with friends and relatives to get more votes thus building your brand awareness.
Don’t try to use all the social media sites at once. Look for a site where your target audience is base and focus on that site. For example, if you have a B2B or B2C business LinkedIn or Twitter is the ideal place to promote your brand.
If you are into fashion, restaurant, and hotel business then Instagram, and Pinterest is the platform to use.
I’m not saying you should totally abandon the other social platforms but focus on the one that will work best for you.
7. Influencer Marketing
Another way to boost your brand awareness is influencer marketing. Search for influencers in your niche and partner with them so that they can promote your brand. So many businesses are using this method to gain potential customers.
Some influencers would want you to pay money before they can promote your brand while others might just as a free product or a cheaper amount. In all, influencer marketing is an excellent way to let people know your brand and what you offer.
8. Infographics
What better way to lure people than to display fascinating market data in a colorful and bright way. Infographics are a bright and colorful way of advertising your brand.
They easily get the attention of people and easily shared thus making them great for promoting a brand. Infographics are a content powerhouse, why don’t you give it a try.
9. Podcasts
If you are a proud owner of a business, that offers a niche product or service, it’s important you start a podcast. Starting a podcast in your niche is a great way of building your brand as well as developing a relationship with others in your industry.
Of course it might be difficult to get the attention you want at the beginning but don’t give up, keep on trying till you succeed.
10. Car Wraps
Another way of promoting your business is by getting a car wrapped. Car wraps are customized designs that cover your entire car (except the windows and mirrors).
You can wrap your car or the company’s car and anywhere it is driven, people will become more familiar with your brand.
This is a powerful way to let people know about your brand, all you have to do is to sit in the car and drive around.
11. Give away something for free
People love free stuff, so give something tangible because customers feel more valued and incentivized when they get complimentary gifts. So get ready to build brand awareness and connect with potential customers by offering gifts (once in a while).
You don’t have to spend much to provide these gift items to your customers. You can create eBooks and tell them to download for free or give out pens, fridge magnets, key chains, and small journals.
12. Networking
Networking events like trade shows, company parties, etc are a great way of increasing brand awareness. It will allow you to mingle with other people as well as introduce you to potential customers and clients who are there to know more about different and new businesses.
Don’t just go to these events with the sole aim of promoting yourself but instead learn from success stories and connect with people on a personal level.
13. Remarketing Campaigns
Increasing your brand awareness wouldn’t be complete without remarketing. In fact, most businesses are placing their ads on the internet on their websites and other websites just to get the exposure they need.
It’s essential for potential customers to see your brand advertised, as this will create a feeling of authority and trust. Remarketing campaigns helps boost your conversion rate.
14. Help others
Provide your target audience with relevant information. Educate them via online webinars, podcasts, a free-of-charge class, or host an event that people can attend to learn one thing or another.
Also, help your customers by showing excellent customer service skills, and have a FAQ page, where they can easily find the information they need on your website rather than going to your competitors.
Conclusion
There you have it, the 14 most effective ways to advertise your brand. I’m certain by now you must have learned how to promote your brand effectively even on a limited budget. Give them a try to see positive results.
