21. Be visible in your local media.
Write a press release targeting your local media. Start by making a list of journalists, bloggers and writers in your local papers, magazines, radio stations and find out who reports on local human interest stories. Get some ideas from the post “How to Get Press Coverage for Your Business” and “Be Visible in Your Local Media”
22. Work for free.
If you are just starting up, one option to market your business is to work for free. Doing so offers you the opportunity to gain more experience, improve your business, and learn the ins and outs of the business including dealing with clients. More importantly, doing work even for free will help you create your portfolio, provide opportunity to solicit testimonials, and even ask for referrals. Your customers may be impressed with you enough that they will be your biggest advocate and help spread the word about you and your business.
23. Do free public talks.
Create opportunities for people to learn what you do. Share tips, tricks and your knowledge as those things can be pretty viral.You can contact various chamber of commerce organizations as well as some local business groups and offer to come and speak on various topics relating to your business.
24. Use videos to market your business.
Create video tutorials and post them on your website and in Youtube. Or use videos to present your products, educate your customers, or show to potential buyers how your products work. A perfect marketing video should be gripping, convincing and it should look like a wonderful piece of infotainment. Well produced web videos can drive a lot of traffic which in turn build customers, brand loyalty and ultimately delivers sales.
25. Use podcasting to market your business.
As MP3 adoption climbs and the number of broadband users increase, podcasting is expected to remain strong in the next few years. . Podcasting is the concept of producing various types of media (e.g. video, audio) that get downloaded from the internet, often via RSS feeds. It has become a useful tool for sharing your message, promoting your business inexpensively and generating traffic. It also allows you to build a list of subscribers and listeners for your website. Record podcasts, post them on your website, and submit them to iTunes to enable you to reach a wider audience. Read 7 Reasons to Add Podcasting to Your Business Marketing Mix.
26. Present yourself as an expert.
There are a lot of opportunities for getting the word out of your business if you have the opportunity to talk about your expertise. Public speaking is an excellent opportunity to present your expertise to an interested audience. Partner with a local association or grassroots groups and present seminars. To entice attendance, offer something of value.
27. Consider using social publishing.
Social publishing, such as Scribd.com and SlideShare.net, is essentially the sharing of documents, manuscripts and presentations. Social publishing sites are a perfect venue for establishing your expertise and reputation as a thought leader in your space. They are also useful for keeping your content viral. Check out the article “Adding Social Publishing to Your Social Media Marketing Mix”
28. Think coupons.
Coupons can be an effective tool to build awareness of your business. It can be useful in reaching new markets and new customers in the hopes of generating repeat business from them and getting upsells. However, it is important to look at your financial picture and crunch the numbers and level of discount that you can really afford. Read the lessons learned by a small business owner on using coupons in the article “GroupOn: Small Business Lessons on Coupon Advertising” .
29. Always look for opportunities to cross promote.
Find businesses that compliment (but do not compete) and team up with them. Swap packets of business cards and brochures and show them in each others’ place of businesses. Cross promote through bundled services, such as a special discount for customers who buy from you and your partner.
30. Use car decals to advertise your business.
Turn your cars into a walking advertising billboard for your business. Just be sure to check with your local zoning laws regarding “business” vehicles, especially if the entire car is wrapped with the name and information about your business. For strict residential neighborhoods, just consider a magnetic sign that you can post at the side of your car when you are about to leave and remove as soon as you park your car in the house.
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