One of the most difficult things to figure out when you open a new business, is how to market yourself in order to grow quickly and earn a profit sooner. Opening a business isn’t an easy task, although it may seem like it initially. It’s so much more than creating a product or service that people want. You have to find a way to reach out to new audiences and get people excited about you, and willing to invest their money into your product or services. It’s a daunting task for anyone, and especially so for someone who is new to owning a business.
Start with social
Social media is an incredible tool to help you scale the growth of your business. You don’t need to be an expert in any certain social media platform to get started. At the bare minimum, you should have an Instagram and facebook page. A twitter account is helpful to help people get in contact with you in a more immediate and casual way, if you want to open a twitter account as well. The basics of social media, is to try to post about your products/business frequently. A few times a week at a minimum, but posting every single day is a great way to connect with more people more quickly.
Get your business in front of new faces
You want everyone to know about you. There are a few ways to get your business and products in front of new people. One great way is to attend trade shows, business marketplaces, and popup shops. Face to face interactions is an amazing opportunity to humanize your business, and let people know why are passionate about what you do.
Influencer marketing
Along the same lines with getting your business in front of new faces, is influencer marketing. An influencer is someone who has a large following on a social media platform, whether that’s instagram, twitter, or youtube. Like any type of marketing, influencer marketing isn’t free, but it’s quickly become one of the most effective ways to create brand recognition and get your products in front of tens of thousands of people, as well as growing your own social media following.
Facebook and Instagram ads
This one is a no brainer, and it’s not something you haven’t considered before. It’s an inexpensive way to market to new people. The best way to get as much momentum with these ads as possible is to get to know your market and demographic, and set your own target demographics. You know your customer base better than anyone else. If you’re targeting to everyone, you’re targeting to no one.
Release coupons
People love saving a bit of money. So if they see a sale or coupon, they are more likely to purchase something with you than if they didn’t see anything. Getting coupons for your items on sites like Groupon is a great way to reach new audiences, even if you are giving away your services for much less than what you normally would.
Put a sticker on your car
You don’t want an obnoxious ad on your car, but having something with the name of your company is never a bad idea. At the very least, you create brand recognition, and people will recognize your name when they see you on Instagram a few days later.
Email marketing
Growing an email list can be a difficult task. Everyone wants one, but not everyone has one. One of the easiest ways to grow your email list, is to have a popup on your site, encouraging visitors to join your email list. You can offer an incentive to them, like a 10% coupon if they join your email list. Having this list means that you can send out emails letting your customers know when there are new products or services, sales, and just to remind them of your existence.
Join local business groups
Getting in contact with people in the same community as you is a great way to connect and get to know what the market is like in your area. It will help you gain insights, as well as grow your marketing knowledge. Share ideas, bounce thoughts off of each other, and you’ll be surprised at the new opportunities that present themselves to you. Connect with other people in your niche, and connect with businesses who are not. You can help each other out, whether that’s by doing events together or just skill swapping.