It doesn’t matter how great you or your product or service is if you can’t sell it. Learn marketing here.

WHAT’S FRESH?

✅ LEARN YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Self-Promotion vs. Paid Ads: How to Make a Positive Return

Marketing is always a hot-topic because it’s a moneymaker and takes 1:1 sales to their maximum level. As a small business, you can save money (not time) by focusing on promoting yourself across social media and becoming a social networking butterfly. If that’s not your thing, paid ads doesn’t require you to do Tiktok videos or build a YouTube channel. The whole idea behind creating a positive return, whether through self-promotion or paid ads is getting more back than you put in. With paid ads, in particular, the goal is putting money in and getting more money out. That’s ROI. An important marketing metric. The better you know who you’re selling to, the better you know how to sell to them—What value their looking for, what problem they have that you need to solve. How to talk to them is important. Speaking to their needs, their benefits, and how you’re the best solution. If you do the deep research & know the strategies that fit your audience, whether its self-promotion or paid ads, you then know how to reach them for a return, and with paid ads, it can be far greater than all other investments. Business is sales. Marketing & Sales are the dynamic duo to grow. To be good at it, you need a growth mindset and desire to learn.

How do you attract customers?

First you have to know who you want to attract. Who’s your ideal customer? Then go where they go. Where do they hangout: Facebook Groups, Coffee Shops, Commerce Events, Reddit, YouTube, Radio (yep, a channel most people don’t think of in 2023), on influencer pages, Pinterest, marketplaces. Position yourself there as the best solution by addressing the value and benefits they desire. Solve the problem they need to solve. This may mean ads on META (the Facebook & Instagram marketing mecca) or Google Ads (the Godfather). It may also mean attending local events or running an Online Reputation Management campaign to boost your online reviews. You may need to build or improve your website if you haven’t implemented on-page and technical SEO—Search Engine Optimization—to grow organically. The biggest thing to remember is that, in most cases, it’s easier to keep a customer than it is to gain a new customer. Customer experience is important for more than 5-star reviews and referrals, more than excellent marketing practice, it keeps us human and people seek human connection.

How can I promote my business with no money?

There are plenty of options, but they all take hard work, time, and loads of effort. If you are consistent and implement best practices, you can promote your business with no money using organic social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization, networking, Google Business Profile optimization, online reputation management, content marketing (like blogs, podcasts, or videos), Public Relations (reach out to your local news journalists, publish press releases, find guest-blogging opportunities, collaborate), and branding.

✅ DO SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)

Show All