You’ve got a myriad of marketing pathways open to you to promote your business – so which should you choose to use? Here are nine techniques to consider to help spread the word about your business…
SMS: No matter what your line of business, your target customer is likely to have their mobile phone to hand. Reach them by sending short, sharp swift SMS messages containing offers or products that will pop up on this device. Marketing is about reaching the right people in the right place with the right message.
The mobile is, increasingly, the right place and companies such as GlobalMessaging show how to tap into this.
Social media: Social media offers a great chance for businesses to interact with customers and show off their personal side, developing a richer – and hopefully more fruitful – relationship. Done properly, social media should bring you a following of brand ambassadors who will help to spread the word for you.
Press releases: Get the media talking about your business with a press release. You need to send it to good contacts on the right publications to have the most effect so it’s worth spending time forging good relationships. Press releases in the modern, web-driven media world need more than a few words. Quotes, photos, videos, graphs, stats and infographics will make eyes light up on newsdesks and help to get your message across with authority and authenticity.
Email: Email marketing can be very effective – it’s certainly quick and cheap. Customers demand a better standard of marketing through email these days – with plenty of spam readily discarded into a digital dustbin – so be creative, use eye-catching subject lines and make your content worth looking at.
Content: Build an audience for your brand by creating quality content that naturally commands an audience. Make sure your content is valuable, relevant and consistent to ensure it does the trick. Google values good quality content so this is vital to popping up on search engine results and, just as with social media, if you do this right you’ll build a good following naturally.
Trade shows: Your employees can be your best ambassadors. Send teams out to trade shows and networking events to help spread the word in your industry. Be creative – send off armed with branded freebies to help make a lasting impression.
Sponsorship: Get your business name associated with sports, charity events or community projects. This not only helps spread goodwill in the local community but, at a base level, offers good exposure for your company name.
Print media: You need to know the habits and tastes of your customers. Often that will involve identifying the sort of print publications they buy and read. If your brand has a strong correlation with the readership of a print newspaper or magazine this can still be a great way to get in front of the eyes of the right people.
Broadcast: Likewise, don’t ignore the power of the traditional broadcast media. Sky has developed technology that makes TV adverts more targeted and personalised than ever before. If a programme or station chimes with your target audience, get your name out there in front of the audience.
This wide collection of techniques shows the broad range of opportunities that exist to market your business – both directly and indirectly. Tap into as many as possible to reach the widest audience.
