Running a successful business definitely isn’t for the faint-hearted. As a business owner, you have to constantly juggle responsibilities ranging from marketing and customer service to accounting.
It may come as no surprise that one of the most overlooked roles of a business owner is promotion. If you want your business to grow and thrive, promoting your business is essential, as it connects you with your target audience and gives you a one-up on competitors.
If you’re a business owner with no idea where to start with business promotion, this guide is for you.
Why is it important to promote your own business?
Without business promotion, how can you expect anyone to know about your products or service? Promotion is what will get your business seen, listened to, and remembered, helping you build a sustainable stream of customers or service users.
When done right, effective business promotion can:
- Build brand awareness and visibility
- Generate new leads
- Attract new customers
- Help you stand out from competitors
- Keep you in the mind of customers
- Nurture brand credibility and trust
Thankfully, there are many traditional and creative ways to approach business promotion strategies, ranging from free to paid routes to suit your needs and budget.
I’m a business owner, but why do I find it hard to promote my business?
This feeling is completely natural. It’s common for business promotion to fall to the bottom of a business owner’s list, especially since there are many other direct profit-making tasks that seem to bring more immediate benefit.
However, business promotion is all about the long-game, and this is incredibly important to keep in mind.
You may also feel a bit self-conscious about promoting your own business, and this is also a common feeling. You may feel like…
- You don’t know what to highlight
- You’re not sure which channels to promote your business on
- You don’t know how to ensure your business reaches the right audience
- You don’t want to seem too pushy or full-on
- You don’t have any time to promote your business
If any of these feelings are relevant to you, then you’re definitely not alone. The key is in finding a promotion method that aligns with how you want to work, your values, and your target audience.
How to promote your business as a business owner
Today, we’ll be looking at paid and free business promotion strategies. One isn’t automatically better or more effective than the other — it completely depends on your business, your goals, and how much time and effort you are willing to invest.
The best paid ways to promote your business
When you invest in paid promotion, you can potentially reach a wider audience faster. And even then, it doesn’t have to cost a lot! Here are a few smart ways to spend your marketing budget with paid business promotion:
1. Leaflet distribution
One of the most direct and targeted ways to promote your business, especially if you have a local target audience, is via leaflet distribution.
At Essex Leaflet Angel, we deliver up to 10,000 leaflets per week. Our leaflet droppers will ensure that your leaflets are distributed to the highest standard, and we always conduct our drops in dry weather to ensure your thoughtful leaflet design and copy is never wasted.
We’re also more than happy to advise you on the best postcodes to target for your business type and also do our best to strategically avoid cross-over with any of your competitors.
Our leaflet distribution services in Essex start from just £45 per 1000 leaflets, or £40 per 1000 leaflets for orders over 8000.
2. Social media advertisements
The most popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, allow businesses to run highly targeted advertising campaigns.
These platforms even offer advertising tools that allow you to reach specific genders, ages, and locations, starting with a small daily spend which you are always in control of.
Assign some advertising credit and boost one of your posts (ideally one that showcases your business, what you do, and what you can offer customers) and monitor the results. You’ll even be able to see how many link clicks you get to your product or service, and you’ll be surprised at how much reach a few pounds can get you on social media!
3. Google ads
Google Ads is a great paid promotion platform for service-based businesses.
It’s a pay-per-click promotion model, which means you’ll only pay if someone clicks on your ad. These paid adverts allow you to appear at the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) when someone is actively looking for the service you offer.
Our best tip would be to make sure to match your ad copy to a high-performing website landing page. For example, if you’re promoting your social media marketing services, don’t get your ad to send users to one of last year’s blogs on marketing trends. Link it to your ‘Services’ or ‘About Us’ page instead.
Also make sure to monitor and track conversions (such as calls, enquiries, bookings, or purchases) to assess whether your promotion strategy is working well, and adapt your budget as needed.
The best free ways to promote your business
Working on a tight budget? That’s okay. There are many successful businesses out there that don’t have a paid business promotion strategy, and get by just fine with free methods. Here are some tried-and-tested methods to start with:
1. Encourage reviews
Word of mouth is a powerful thing for businesses. Encourage your customers or service users to leave a review either on Google, Facebook, or Trustpilot, and you can even use their words as testimonials to boost brand trust and authority to future customers.
2. Give your Google Business Profile a refresh
If you have a Google Business Profile, make sure that your business is listed with correct and up-to-date info. Include as much useful information as possible, such as contact details, FAQs, and photos. This is free to do and can help you appear in local searches.
3. Be active on social media
Social media is one of the best free marketing tools for businesses. If your business is suited to social media, create a profile and start sharing content about your industry, business, and day-to-day operations. You don’t need to post every day to be successful, but having an online presence can help build trust.
4. Try networking
While it may sound a bit old school, networking groups are very much still a thing! Whether you join an in-person networking group or try your hand at online networking via LinkedIn, these groups and platforms can help you spread the word about your business and its offering.
You may also make a few handy connections, which is always a bonus when you’re a busy business owner!
Promote your business with confidence with Essex Leaflet Angel
Promoting your business will always be worth the time and effort — even if you start off small.
If you’d like to start exploring the options available to you, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Essex Leaflet Angel today. We can help get you started with a reliable, local leaflet distribution campaign at an affordable price.