If you are a new business owner, congratulations! although a scary time, it can also be a very exciting time for you. Now that you have set up your business, it’s time to think about how to get the word out there about your business. Take a look at my 7 tips below to help you on your way to promoting your business to a new audience. I have tried to include different ways if you are short on time or on a budget.
Marketing/advertising
You may have covered all aspects of your new business that is essential to start such as business premises, staff, accounts, branding and a website but have you thought about how you can get customers through your door or to your website? This is where marketing and advertising come in. You will need to tell people that your new venture has arrived or nobody will know you exist.
Website – If you don’t have a website, this is a must. It’s one of the best ways for people to find your business. If you have a website then that’s great but you need to think about driving traffic to your website, this is where SEO comes in. Think about what your website goals are, is it for customers to purchase something? or is it for them to call you to make an appointment?, maybe you want them to purchase a course or join your membership. Either way, you need people to find your website first. A carefully planned website strategy will help draw new customers in and keep them there browsing, to hopefully make a purchase.
Email Marketing – I cannot stress enough how important it is to build an email list from the start! It’s one of the best ways to build and nurture a relationship. You can send emails to your list regarding promotions, news, tips, helpful information or just to make conversation. To get more people signed up to your email list, make sure you have something on your website to entice them to sign up such as a lead magnet offering free information like an ebook or PDF. Or you could over 10% off their order if they sign up to your mailing list.
Social Media – is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business. Research who your target audience is and sign up for the social media platform(s) that would best suit your business; Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin etc. Once you have chosen what platforms you would like to be on, it’s time to think about creating a strategy. That strategy should include your goals, branding, content pillars, what to post, when to post and tools to help you create content. If you are unsure of how to create a strategy, please contact me at justine@metachick.co.uk and I can help with this.
Networking – Now that we are finally allowed to mix with people after a very tough few years, find out where your local networking event is held and go along to a meeting. Remember to take along plenty of business cards to hand out and get talking to different people. Build up business relationships with people and they will soon spread the word about how fantastic you are (hopefully). Word of mouth is one of the best forms of marketing and it’s always good to put a face to a name.
Exhibitions/Events – There will be many exhibitions/events that will be happening throughout the year. Speak to your local Chamber of Commerce to see if they may know of anything, meet the buyer events are also good to attend. LinkedIn is also a good resource for finding out about them too. If you don’t have the budget to exhibit then go along as a visitor and again remember to take business cards with you.
Promotional material – Depending on your budget you may also want to promote your business through the local newspaper, magazine or even a leaflet drop. Print advertising is still a great way to get your business seen by potential customers.
Guest Speaker – If you are confident and love the idea of public speaking then why not volunteer to speak at an event? You may have to do this for free but it’s a great way to promote your business to a lot of people at once. Make sure that you stick around to the end to speak to those that attended the event. Promote your social media channels during the event to get new followers.
Workshops – If you are an expert in a particular area and you think your customers could benefit from some training then set up a workshop for people to come along to. For a small fee, you could pass on your expertise to other businesses in need of your help.
I understand that you won’t be able to do all of these at once due to budget and time but pick out one or two at a time and spend time learning about each one. You should soon see the benefits.
Social Media is my area of expertise, and I would be happy to help you to get started with your social media to bring in leads and sales without the overwhelm. Please email me at justine@metachick.co.uk.