Whether you’re a small business owner or simply a clever entrepreneur, you can help save the money your organisation spends on marketing and promotion by bringing the techniques in-house.

The marketing activities that you opt for don’t have to be costly and expensive. In fact, taking a small amount of time to research techniques that may be beneficial to your company can help to get the best possible return on your investment of time.

Depending on the tactics you use and the resources you optimise, you could even be in with a chance of spending nothing at all!

Here’s how to promote your business on a small financial budget, and ensuring that you’re in with the best possible chances of receiving an increase in sales, engagement and brand awareness:

1. Introduce your business in the local area

By setting up your business in good stance in your local area, you can gain support from locals and help your brand create meaningful relationships that you could later turn into sales. Getting your company listed on a search engine can be an excellent basis for making this happen.

When a customer looking for the services that you can provide searches for something in their local area, a business listing can help to show the essential information that they will need to find you. Telephone numbers, addresses and even company names should be optimised to grab their attention over a competitors’.

Search engines like Google and Bing offer free business listings, and Yahoo offers a more in-depth service that comes with a fee. Whichever service you opt for; it makes it easier for your brand to convert searchers into buyers.

2. Run an online competition

If raising awareness surrounding your brand is important to your business, running a competition can help to achieve the benefits that brand awareness offers.

A competition run through social media alone has the power to bring new customers flooding through your doors as a result of social sharing. If an entry to the competition can be gained through ‘liking’ or ‘sharing’ the page, it spawns a web of people that could possibly place an order with you if they need your services.

This kind of strategy also builds trust, especially when it comes down to choosing a winner. Proving that you’ve chosen a winner through a fair and unbiased method helps both current and prospective customers to believe that you’re a reputable business and can be trusted.

3. Optimise your office equipment to create professional hand-outs

The chances are that your business owns some kind of office equipment. Printers, fax machines and even scanners can be used to create your own promotional material to leave a great first impression on people around you.

Think of the last time that you were speaking to somebody and discussing your business. Having back-up promotional materials like business cards and catalogues that can be dispersed in your community provides potential customers with something to view. Visual aids can be extremely beneficial to your business and put your name in front of people looking for your services.

4. Create your own content

Whatever industry you’re working in; you’re expected to be a leading figure and be on-hand with all of the information you could ever think of regarding your products.

Creating your own online content in the form of a company blog assures your customers that you know what you’re talking about, which again influences the amount of trust they have in your brand. This technique also provides your website with SEO benefits, which in turn can allow your company to be in better stance when it comes to search engine rankings.

As you can see, there are a variety of marketing techniques that can be used to promote your business and increase the awareness surrounding your brand. Trying each method and noting which work best for you is the best way to get optimal results!

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