Advertising a Small Business

The success of a business is always attributed to a smart and effective advertising strategy. With the continual rise in competition these days, it is better to make plans for choosing the right way to promote a product or service to the target audience early on. For small business owners, advertising means promoting the business through a low cost method since the budget for advertising via traditional media is limited, not to mention that it might not be the necessary approach to market your business. Here are some suggestions that can help you in advertising your small business without spending much.

Take advantage of the wonders of online advertising – promoting your business online is becoming very popular as many people browse the web when they want to see what is out there in terms of popular products and services. You can start with creating your own website or blog. Many business owners take advantage of getting promoted via Search Engine Marketing and Optimization (e.g. Google AdWords, pay-per-click and local listings,), and Social Networking (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace). These are all part of what makes business marketing easier, faster, and cheaper.

Distributing flyers is one of the old-school techniques that still works wonderfully – since magazine and newspaper ads can be quite a bit more expensive, it is better to advertise by distributing flyers, especially if there is a particular area where target individuals are concentrated. Flyers are an easy and convenient way for them to get information about your business. The printing of these materials does not cost much, and distributing them is not an issue because there are multiple avenues available from the local newsstand to nieces and nephews looking for ways to spend the summer.

Word of mouth advertising says it all – this is a priceless and most credible way of promoting a business. It is one way of convincing customers to tell others about how great your product or service is. Potential customers tend to trust a business better if there are other customers who can genuinely talk about it with satisfaction. You can start by hiring someone to spread the word about your business or do it for free by simply encouraging a customer to let family and friends know, and ask permission to post the comment on your website.    

Reach out to your target market – you can do this by offering a free trial of your services or giving out product samples. In addition, advertising your service through event sponsorship can generate leads as well.

Get involved with related businesses – this is another form of word of mouth advertising, but without the competition, plus an opportunity to network with other business. This also works through an online platform, as long as communication is clear and your contacts are accessible. The other business will love you for it as well.

Alex Rasmussen