From Facebook ads and newsletters to PR and traditional print, there are plenty of ways to promote small businesses. But which one is the best for you?
Media relations
Otherwise known as PR, media relations is just about getting articles about your business and you in publications and on websites. Maybe you’ve won a new contract, launched a new service or product, achieved record results, or appointed new people. It might also be that something quirky has occurred within the business or you might have reached a certain milestone, such as a particular anniversary, or you have sold a massive number of items.
Social media
Social media plays a very critical role in marketing the business if it is used as effectively as possible, and the opportunity to engage and reach with such a vast audience is, of course, not to be missed.
Social media also presents a fantastic way to connect with different people who already engage with your particular brand and introduce the business to people who have yet to properly discover you.
Digital advertising
Targeting specific kinds of audiences, executing strategies that are data-led, and delivering measurable results are all only a few of the benefits you can expect from marketing your business through digital advertising methods. The main advertising channels digitally are paid social and PPC (pay per click). Digital advertising can be an absolute minefield, but it is completely accountable and transparent.
Press advertising
To be as effective as possible in newspapers and magazines, your advertising needs to be both bold and big. If the advertisement doesn’t really stop someone in their track and force them to notice you, then it will have been a wasted financial pursuit. The text, images and headline that are used are crucial since the focus should be on attracting the attention of a consumer in a loud and obvious way.
Direct mail
Back in the era of pre-digital confabulation, direct mail had earned the nickname of ‘junk mail’! There wouldn’t be a day that went by without a pile of leaflets and letters shovelling their way through the copious undergrowth of cornucopia-esque litter. Direct mail can be extremely effective if you are using good quality data, sending content that is relevant to a given recipient, and making sure your mailer piques interest by standing firmly out and featuring a much incorporated intriguing message.
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
SEO has been established as one of the most key practises to market a business online. It has become absolutely essential for most companies to have a truly well-optimised website that is crucial for SEO best practise. In order for web pages to show up for the properly relevant search terms or certain keywords in search engines such as Google, they will need to be properly optimised across three different areas: technical, off-page, and on-page.
Email marketing
The key to the generation of great is to be able to communicate as clearly as possible and in a truly timely manner to a given target audience. Email marketing is fantastic for creating the kind of short-term urgency that is required and adding incremental streams of revenue as part of a wider approach.
Link Directories are Gloucester’s leading local independent directory, linking local businesses with the local community. We publish 3 local directories – Abbey-Link, Hucclecote Link and Tuffley Link – and distribute to 16,000 homes over a 2-month period. If you would like more information about how we can help you advertise your local business to your target market, take a look at our website www.thelinkdirectories.co.uk or give us a call on 01452 621496 – we’d be happy to help!
