Advertising your business does not have to be costly. Facebook, Yelp, and Twitter are all great ways to promote your business online. Partnering with local businesses, hosting events or donating to charities are all ways to promote your business and help your community.

These best business marketing strategies draw from a variety of strategies.


1. Reward social media sharing


While it is great to attract new customers, it is equally important to show appreciation to those who have been loyal to your brand for a long time. Your followers sharing your brand on social media can be rewarded with incentives. This will increase their loyalty and give you a boost.


2. Ambassadors for Leverage


A brand ambassador is someone who has made themselves a household name in a community that is related to your brand. Your brand’s credibility and presence in the world will be strengthened by an endorsement from an influential figure. This route is not recommended. However, ensure transparency in your social media influencer campaign.


3. Take a look at the employee perspective


You might be the strongest advocate for your company’s success. Potential customers will be attracted to employees who share positive aspects about the company via their social media accounts.


4. Interactive content is fun!


Interactive content is fun and informative for customers. Your brand’s reach will be further boosted by quizzes or surveys that encourage users share their results via social media.


5. Your customers can see behind the scenes


You can share behind-the scenes videos on your business’s social networks. You could do an interview with one of your employees, take a tour of the manufacturing plant or show your participation at a recent industry event or trade show. Transparency is key to interacting with customers. You can also show your brand’s personality and showcase your team’s expertise, and establish your company’s unique viewpoint within your market.


6. Host a game show


Freebies are a great way to get people’s attention. Giveaways of your product or services can attract people who may not be inclined to spend money on your business. Ask loyal customers to join a contest that allows them to share positive stories online about your brand using a hashtag.


7. Give the brand a face


Your customers may appreciate some background information on the founder of the company. Live videos are a great way to tell the founder’s story and connect with a wider audience.


8. LinkedIn Groups can help you expand your network


LinkedIn’s Groups function is a great way for entrepreneurs to connect with like-minded people and get advice about running their business. It also allows you to access a specific group of people you know who are interested in your product. LinkedIn creates a list with groups that might interest you based on your interaction with the site and your profile.


9. Assist a small-business owner to partner


Seek out other business owners who offer similar products and services to yours and ask if they are open to a cross-promotional partnership. This is a great way to reach out to each other’s clients and promote your business free of charge.


10. Give back


To increase brand awareness and do good for others, partner with a local charity. You can launch a campaign asking customers to share a message on social media and ask them to donate $1. Or you could use your business’s resources for raising awareness about important social issues.


11. Create an eye-catching display


You can draw people to your shopfront with a colorful display or create custom stickers to give to customers. An equally eye-catching and fun way to promote upcoming sales is a chalk mural.


12. Get out on the streets


A vehicle with brightly colored lettering and other designs will make it stand out from the crowd. Vinyl auto wraps can transform your vehicle into an advertisement for your business. Costs for wrapping your car vary depending on the vehicle size and whether you choose a partial or full decal. Sites can be used to search for drivers willing to allow you to advertise on their vehicles.


13. Engage in community


Participating in community events is a win-win for many small businesses. You can promote your brand by donating your products or services to a silent auction, blogging about the volunteer work of your staff at a local soup kitchen, or sponsoring an arts festival in exchange.


14. Organise an event


While it is great to communicate with customers online, sometimes it’s more beneficial to meet them face-to-face. Hosting an event allows you to meet your loyalists and prospects face-to-face and makes a positive impression.


15. Welcoming new neighbors


Your business will be remembered by people who are just starting to move to the area by partnering with realtors, large businesses and moving companies. If they see your storefront when they drive past it, they will likely be more inclined to visit.


16. Use email


Email marketing is a low-cost and easy way to market your brand to your potential customers and customers. Email marketing can be used to update customers, announce product launches, and tease about upcoming events. You must ensure that each email contains value or people will unsubscribe.


17. Start a podcast


Podcast episodes can be a great way to drive people back to your site to see the latest episode. You’ll be a trusted expert in your industry and establish your credibility. You can also consider guesting on other podcasts to discuss the industry.


18. Start a blog


Blogs are similar to podcasts. They allow you to grow a readership, drive traffic to your site regularly, and prove yourself to be an industry thought leader. You need to be consistent. If you don’t have the time or bandwidth to maintain your blog, guest blogging may be an option.


19. Hosting a webinar


Many of the same questions are asked by clients to business owners. These questions can be turned into webinar topics, making you the industry expert. This will strengthen your relationships as well as help to build new ones. With a high-quality camera in every smartphone, it’s easier than ever to create webinars or other video content.


20. Share your voice!


You can brand yourself as an expert in your field by speaking publicly. You get exposure for your company, have the opportunity to network with other attendees, and can capitalize on the event’s marketing efforts.


21. As a media expert source


Journalists often use social media to find experts in their field. These opportunities can be used to promote your business by allowing you to speak freely about your industry.


22. Keep your Yelp Page active


Yelp is often the best place to look for a specific product or service. Make a page about your business that includes contact information, store hours, and website address. Maintain your page current and respond promptly to customer reviews.


23. Sites that focus on specific industries


You can find a variety of industry-specific reviews sites that you could use to help your business. OpenTable, Resy, and Reserve are all available to restaurant owners. Angie’s List is available for those in the health, yard, auto, and home industries. You can be found by people who are specifically searching for your products or services by focusing on a specific industry site.


24. Invest in Facebook advertising at a low cost

Every company should have a Facebook page. Next, Facebook advertising. The Ads Manager tool allows you to tailor your advertising according to your budget and goals. Once your ads have been launched, you will be able to access detailed metrics that show the effectiveness of your campaign. This allows you to make adjustments and improve your efforts.


25. Sell online

For very little money, you can open an account on major e-commerce platforms like Amazon or eBay. It’s just another place where customers can find you brand once you’re established.


26. Try guerrilla marketing


Guerrilla marketing is low-cost marketing that uses creativity and ingenuity to promote products or services within public spaces. Guerrilla marketing strategies are often unique and intended to entertain or help customers. You can use stickers to advertise your business in public places, or create eye-catching displays at your storefront.


27. Distribute business cards


It’s a great way of generating new business. To remind customers to return to your store, you can keep one at the cash register.


28. Utilize SEO best practices


Search engine optimization (or SEO) is a marketing strategy to increase a website’s ranking on search engine result pages. SEO can help your website rank near the top of search engine results pages for customers searching for your company name, terms or products.


29. Mailboxes are your best bet


Direct mail is a great way to advertise old-fashioned. Start by creating well-designed postcards that contain codes for discounts and free trials. You can bridge the gap between digital advertising and physical advertising by creating unique IDs for each postcard.


30. Send press releases


A press release is a written statement that you send to media outlets. It contains information about a specific matter related to your business. Your goal is for media outlets to use the information in your press release to create a news story or broadcast. Send out press releases when you announce a new product, hire a key person, host an event, or make significant business changes.


31. Bulletin board flyers can be used


Do you remember the bulletin board at your college that featured flyers and advertisements? This type of advertising is still viable and can be a great way for you to promote your business in your local community.


32. Branded merchandise is a great idea


Although it’s not a cost-free way to promote your business or product, you can give out T-shirts and keychains with your branding printed on them.


33. Initiate a referral program


Referral programs are a way to encourage your existing customers to spread the word about you business. Referring new customers to your business could result in a discount or free merchandise, and you may also gain more business.



This article was originally published on Fundera, a subsidiary to NerdWallet.