Thinking of how to advertise your business through content marketing, video marketing, and social media can help you stay ahead for 2022! Business owners need to harness the changing ways of promoting and attracting attention to remain competitive.
The most significant change has been digital ad spending, which is expected to grow by 12% over the next two years by about 53%.
This means more than half of all advertising budgets have now moved online. The world also needs a lot more focus on social media because COVID-19 will be making our lives much different from what they are currently like.
These are 20 steps of How to advertise your business
People are glued to their screens in today’s digital world and spend much of their time on social media sites. With this in mind, it’s important to understand how to advertise your business on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to reach the right audience and generate results. You can’t just post something and expect results; you have to know how to advertise your business on social media sites.
1. Set up and verify your Google Business Profile.
Your Google Business Profile allows your company to appear in Google Maps results, the local section of Google Search results, and the Knowledge Panel on the right-hand side of Search Results. It’s a free listing that you should prioritize as they improve their ability to tailor their search result to specific locations.
Increasing your number of reviews can also help with this ranking system. The key thing about taking advantage of this service is verifying ownership by creating an account for it with your free My Business Page first.
Hence, you have control over it and can then optimize its settings for more relevant searches on top of increasing review count, which will increase rank too.
2. Create a website
The central element of advertising your business is to create a website. No matter how old-fashioned your company or clients are, every business requires a website. Your website is the first point of contact for current and prospective customers.
Even if they come across you on social media or Google, they’ll want to visit your website, which, like your Google listing, promotes your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
A good business website is not only a promotional tool in and of itself—it tells the story of your company and what it offers, provides contact information, and reflects the personality and distinguishing features of your brand—but it is also critical for measuring and improving the success of your other promotional tactics.
3. Pay Per Click (PPC) (Search Ads)
Make no mistake about it: Google is a marketing machine. It may appear to be providing you with helpful information and tools (Google Docs, Gmail, Calendars, and so on), but it is only doing so to ensure that you see their advertisements. The Google Ads platform generates 85 percent of Google’s revenue.
Google ads have grown in popularity over the last ten years. There were more than 160 billion Google searches per month in 2019.
Google even paid out $2 for each dollar spent on advertising in 2019. One of the best advantages of pay-per-click advertising is that you only ever spend money when a customer clicks on your ad – big or small, companies can benefit from Google’s power at a low price.
Targeting and testing specific markets and running niche campaigns means high buyer interest, making it an excellent marketing strategy for anyone!
4. Advertisements on Social Media
Advertising is the economic engine that powers all social media platforms. Social Media is a powerful tool for how advertising your business.
LinkedIn began offering paid advertisements in 2005, Facebook launched ads in 2007, Twitter added ads in 2010, and Instagram launched ads in 2013. TikTok, the hugely popular social platform, has also included advertising.
The world has grown accustomed to seeing advertisements in its social media feeds. Many people will walk right by them, but they will still notice them, which leads to familiarity.
With the development of tools such as Facebook leads forms, the social media platform has expanded how advertisers can reach their target audience. Social Media is excellent for increasing brand awareness as well as business promotion.
5. Email marketing
When you got an email fifteen years ago, you opened it. In recent years, the likelihood of opening all of your emails has decreased. While email opening rates have fallen significantly over the last ten years, the average opening rate in 2019 remains stable at 22%.
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Depending on your market, sending emails to consumers may still be viable. Email campaigns, when used as part of a larger strategy, can assist in keeping your products and services in the minds of your customers.
6. Press Releases
Public relations is a powerful media tool for generating publicity. With free distribution through trusted news channels, more people will see it and are more likely to engage with it.
It is straightforward to send a press release to your local and regional news outlets whenever your company does something newsworthy. You can use various websites for your press releases, including PRLog and 24/7 Press Release.
7. Use search engine optimization.
SEO is the most crucial element of how to advertise your business. It’s one thing for you to promote your business; quite another for Google. SEO is a set of practices that ensures your company’s ranking algorithm is in sync with Google’s.
However, because this algorithm has evolved to use machine learning and user behavior to produce the most accurate and high-quality results, search engines also mean optimizing for searchers—especially those looking for what you have to offer.
SEO isn’t just one tactic but a collection that works together to boost your ranking. Furthermore, because Google has excellent location-based results, you have just as much chance as big retailers to appear on Google’s first page—without spending a dime!
8. Start a business blog.
A blog is not the same as a live journal for businesses. Sure, you can write about milestones and events. Still, a profitable business blog creates educational content in your brand voice.
It helps you in how to advertise your business, centered on questions and terms that your ideal customers are searching for on Google. We briefly mentioned it in the previous strategy, but it deserves its promotional strategy category, so the content is such a vital SEO driver.
9. Distribute your content
A blog that demonstrates your expertise, approachability, and genuine desire to assist your audience is the ideal promotional tool for a company. So, instead of simply publishing posts, promote them! To help you collect leads, use social media, email newsletters, or even turn them into downloadable guides.
Better yet, if you create content with shareability in mind, your blog posts will most likely be noticed by other credible websites, mentioning and linking back to your site on their site or social media feeds, effectively promoting your business.
10. Create listings in significant directories.
Smaller directory sites pull data from larger ones, so if you create listings on the major sites, you’ll almost certainly start showing up on smaller directories. To begin, here is a list of the major directories. They are all free, but many have paid options for advanced features.
- Google (as seen in tactic #1).
- Yelp
- Facebook Relevant niche directories such as TripAdvisor, Angie’s List, etc.
- BBB (Better Business Bureau)
- Glassdoor
- Foursquare (Although it is no longer active as a social platform, its data is used by thousands of other platforms.)
- Pages in Yellow/White
- Bing
Creating a business listing varies from platform to platform, but the process is usually pretty simple. You’ll usually start by filling out a form with basic information about your business and then confirm the information by email. Then, you can start actively managing the listing by updating it with new information as it changes.
11. Improve your listings
Making a listing is one thing; it’s quite another to optimize it. Filling out every field in your profiles, including photos and reviews, can help you increase the appeal of your business and rank higher in searches.
It’s also critical that the information in all of your listings matches the news on your website. It’s also essential that the information in all of your listings corresponds to the report on your website. Inconsistencies can cause Google to doubt its credibility.
Finally, monitor your listing and correct any inaccuracies that may occur when listings are auto-populated.
12. Obtain online customer feedback
We already mentioned gathering reviews, but they deserve their section because they are crucial for small and local businesses.
Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to promote your business to the right people. Reviews on official platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Yelp are even better than testimonials on your website.
13. Maintain a record of reviews and respond to them.
Because many online directories allow anyone to add a listing, even if you didn’t list your business, it could still be there, accumulating reviews. Claim your listings wherever possible, and keep a close eye on these sites.
This enables you to respond to reviews, yet another excellent way to promote your company. Not only can you resolve (and even reverse) negative reviews, but your response to reviews (both positive and negative) can reveal your brand’s values and give prospective customers an idea of what it’s like to do business with you.
14. Prioritize Facebook
Facebook is the most popular social network on the internet, and it can be an excellent way to stay in touch with existing customers while also reaching out to new ones. Promoting your business on Facebook can vary greatly depending on your industry, but here are some general guidelines:
- Create a Facebook business page that includes your contact information and a call to action.
- Make use of Facebook events to promote and increase attendance at your events.
- Organize Facebook live sessions for tutorials or behind-the-scenes peeks.
This social media platform has over 2 billion monthly active users, so it’s no wonder that businesses use it for marketing their products and services. On Facebook, there are different ad formats that you can choose from based on your business goals.
For example, if you’re targeting new customers, Facebook ads are a great option since they’re affordable and have a high click-through rate.
If you’re trying to grow your email subscriber list, Facebook ads are also a great option since they allow you to collect emails from interested consumers.
15. Use LinkedIn to connect and contribute.
LinkedIn is more than just a place to post your online resume; it’s also a place to participate in group discussions, connect with potential customers, form new partnerships, and do general online networking.
Potential customers can conduct research on you or your company before doing business with you to learn how many employees you have and more about the company’s personnel.
You can also indirectly promote your company on LinkedIn by participating in group discussions and providing links to relevant content on your website.
16. Post videos on YouTube
Video marketing is an excellent way to promote your company, and YouTube allows you to do so for free! Promoting your business on YouTube is an effective way to connect with potential customers or clients.
Making a quick overview video of your company using youtube video editor and then uploading it to YouTube gives you an excellent sales tool that you can post on the homepage of your website or send to prospective clients in emails.
17. Promote on YouTube
Like the other paid strategies mentioned in this post, YouTube advertising can be an investment that pays off if done correctly.
You can advertise on YouTube by making video ads that play before videos in relevant categories or placing text ads in search results.
18. Use Instagram to interact with your audience.
Instagram is the most popular social media platform, despite being one of the more recently launched platforms. There are numerous ways to use Instagram to engage your audience and promote your business, thanks to its diverse posting formats (permanent images, short-lived Stories, IGTV series, live sessions, Story Highlights, and more). You may:
- To increase your reach, use hashtags to promote your sales and deals.
- To generate positive buzz, hold contests with a free or discounted product/service (and obtain a list of leads to reach out to).
- To distinguish yourself as a go-to resource, provide advice and tutorials.
It is a great way to show off your brand and tell people what your business is all about. The more engagement you get on your Instagram posts, the better.
You can increase engagement on your Instagram posts by asking questions, posting poll options, or starting a discussion on a topic relevant to your business.
19. Tweet about it
Twitter is yet another free online marketing channel where you can promote your company, mainly if your target audience is between the ages of 18 and 24.
It takes a little more effort to build an audience, but if you’re consistent in your efforts, you’ll be able to master the platform and reap its benefits.
20. Take a look at Pinterest.
While Pinterest is primarily used to share photos, your photos can be linked back to your website, creating an opportunity to promote your company and drive more traffic to your website.
Pinterest is beneficial for e-commerce businesses to reach a female audience (Pinterest users are heavily skewed towards the female demographic). If this describes you, you should think about joining the Pinterest network.
Conclusion
Whatever your budget, there are many options for promoting your business. Implementing the strategies in this article will undoubtedly pay off, mainly if you review and revise your plan regularly. Follow these 20 steps for how to advertise your business.
