Recently set up a business? Congrats! It’s a daunting undertaking but I’m pretty sure it’ll be more than fruitful for you.
When I set up as a Huddersfield copywriter some eight years ago now, I never imagined that I’d be as busy as I am. Or as happy.
Working for yourself, when you work at it, can be hugely rewarding and a great way to spend your days. After all, when you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life - or so the saying goes.
So, you’ve set up a small business online, but how do you go about marketing it to the masses? Below, I share some top tips that worked for me…
Get to Grips with Social Media
Whether you like it or not, social media is big news - and it can also mean big things for your business. So, even if social networking isn’t for you on a personal level, make it work for your company by getting to grips with all the different platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram) and carving out an engaged audience online.
Do some research to see what it is your ideal customer likes and loves - and then create your social posts accordingly.
Network
If your business is service, rather than product-based (for example, you’re a baker rather than a seller of baking goods), the single best thing you can do to market your business when you’re getting off the ground is to network, network, network!
This is especially true if your business only extends to your local area; when you attend networking events in your town, you’ll be chatting directly to your customer base. At the very least, though - and even if networking events don’t pull in any new business - you’ll meet some likeminded folks and have a nice night out.
Take a look online, type in the name of your town followed by ‘business networking events’ and see what comes up. Then bite the bullet and sign up for a meet-and-greet or two. Psst: don’t forget your business cards!
Blog - and Often!
Does your website have a blog? If not, speak to your web developer about the possibility of adding one to the backend of your site. Blogging - and regularly - shows Google that yours is a real, live business producing fresh content your customers are looking for.
So, blogging offers a double whammy of benefits really.
Create a post and market it to your audience by leaving a link to your article on social media. Make sure the blog post includes relevant key words and, in time, you’ll be pushing your site up Google to help people who are searching for your services find you more easily.
Don’t Become Complacent
I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but you probably won’t see an influx of customers to your site overnight. You’ll have to really work at attracting people, via a mixture of the above. Once you’ve reeled in your target market, though, believe me when I say you’ll never look back. Business will soon be booming and it’ll be all down to the hard graft you put in now.
Until next time…