Advertising is not a necessity when it comes to getting the name of your business out to the public.
Being proactive in your marketing approach can be much more cost-effective than paying for advertising.
1. Directly target your audience
Serendipity plays too great a role in advertising- you can never be sure of your audience and it can literally be a hit and miss. On the other hand, online quotes websites work almost like matchmakers, bringing together businesses that need work and customers that need jobs done.
A recent survey of over 700 businesses using quotes website ServiceSeeking.com.au showed that they made an average of $20.19 for every $1 they spent in membership fees to use the site. Why target an audience that might not actually need your product or service, when you can contact and send quotes to customers that are actively looking for a business like yours?
2. Build new relationships through content creation
Advertising might be able to get a viewer’s attention, but actually maintaining a relationship with the audience is more important. Proactively creating new content on a regular scheduled basis on social media platforms can help establish a community with a strong relationship to your brand.
Keep the text light and concise, and use multimedia wherever possible. A block of text might be skimmed or skipped entirely by a viewer, but a snappy picture with a quick tagline could do the trick. Online citizens have attention spans as low as a second- most web users will look at a page for only a moment before deciding whether or not to read on. Make that moment count so that they’ll keep reading- and even better, return later to read more.
3. SEO through blogging
Being top of the search rankings when relevant keywords are searched can be far more effective than advertising. Rather than paying for pay-per-click ads on Google search, ensure that your website is as high on the ranking as possible by running a relevant blog.
Getting a good PageRank is not an instantaneous process though, but by running a blog that provides information-hungry viewers with fresh, interesting information that is both a mix of original and external links, you can quickly establish an online presence. When the time is right and viewership is high, start promoting social media sharing, extending your reach as much as possible. The more others link you, the better your website’s position in the search ranking.
4. Apps and smartphone compatibility
Be proactive in your approach with apps and smartphones. If you want to create an app for your business, ensure that it allows access to news, handy tips, troubleshooting and contact capabilities. Don’t try to make an app that is simply a reworked version of your website. You’re better off ensuring that your site is compatible with all smartphones, tablets, etc.
