Getting free publicity for your business can help you promote and expand your business. Whether you’re a start-up or an established business, one of your key objectives is trying to get prospective customers to like and trust your brand enough to give your products or services a try.
One of the main and sure fire ways to do this is through advertising. But at times advertising can be pricy and is not always perceived as dependable by consumers.
Your next best bet is free publicity! Which is invaluable in getting your marketing message and brand promise out.
Below we discuss 4 tactics to get your content in front of your target audience for free.
1. Write press releases
Both online and offline (physical) newspapers and magazines are content-hungry. It has been said that most publications get more than 50% of their content from sources other than their own journalists, this is a huge opportunity for local entrepreneurs to increase their footprint in their industry.
Publications are always looking for something newsworthy that is of value to their readership. If you’ve got what they want, they will publish it.
So, look for the newsworthy angles in your products or services. Your article won’t get published if it is a pure product punt. And, if you persist with product punts you’ll be blacklisted, and all your work will go into ‘file 13’.
2. Social Media
This is a no-brainer. Your target audience is sitting on social media waiting to consume relevant information that is useful to them. Social media platforms are great places to promote your product or service for free. You can create a page or profile for your business and engage with your followers by posting updates and offering special promotions.
Aim to have a presence on the most popular platforms, viz. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. But also, don’t have your finger in too many pies. Choose which ones are best for you, based on where your audience is.
3. Content Marketing
You may have heard the expression that ‘content is king’. Well, it is if you want to position your company as the go-to expert in your industry.
We suggest that you add your blog to your existing website. So, every time you write a blog post, you get more content on your website. The search engines then rank you higher because you are a ‘resource’ site that is giving a better reader experience.
The rule of thumb is to write posts of at least 250 – 600 words. And, posting once a week due to the usual time constraints experienced by entrepreneurs, does suffice. Once you’ve written a post, be sure to share it with your followers on all your social media platforms. You can also get more eyeballs on your work by including social sharing buttons on your blog posts so that your readers can easily share your articles with others too.
Be sure to also expand your content toolkit by creating videos, infographics and even podcasts.
4. Networking events
Ok, so these aren’t totally free because you normally have to buy a meal or a drink or two – but, it’s close enough.
Your job is to expose your company to as many people as possible. Networking is a low-cost way to do this. The more people you meet with, the more you can share your company’s story.
Attend local events and networking opportunities to connect with other businesses and individuals in your industry. By building relationships, you can expand your network and potentially get free publicity through word-of-mouth.
What tactics will you be employing for your business?
For more information on how to get free publicity for your business, visit our website www.seedacademy.co.za