Getting your name out to your target consumer is one of the most important steps towards achieving financial success. We share 5 steps on how you can market your start-up business online.
List your company on online directories.
Most customers are familiar with big telephone directories and it’s probably that when they are in need of a product or service, they will turn to the online version of this familiar object. Choose a category that best fits your company and list your business on online directories. There are many directories which offer free listing opportunities to entrepreneurs. List your business name, a short description of the products or services you offer and all your pertinent contact details e.g. mobile numbers, Skype details and website details.
Make customers online.
Investigate what online communities your customers frequent. By joining an online community that many of your customers are members of, you repeatedly expose your brand to potential customers, which in turn increases the probability that potential consumers will recall you brand when faced with a product or service related problem.
Once you’ve joined you can list your business name, business description and contact details. The more active you in online discussions related to your business industry, the more online members will get to know what products or services your business offers and how you can serve them.
Market sales and promotions online.
Use social networking websites to post special announcements about your company for example promotions, sales, competitions and exclusive deals. Try to keep each message as personalized as possible without damaging the integrity of your business’s reputation. A personalized message should attract attention while clear business orientated content guides their attention to you company. Unlike a too silly message that reduces credibility or a too generic message that potential customer may ignore.
Posting brings profits.
Join blogs you’ve established is frequently accessed by your target consumer group. When you write and post informative articles that are relevant to your customers, you build credibility among your target audience as well as promote yourself as a knowledge expert. In addition to potentially generating referral business, blog posts can direct readers to your site and assist in obtaining a higher rank position on search engines, effectively converting traffic to customers.
Go viral.
You need not invest in expensive corporate media marketing to generate a good viral ad. Consider contacting a local university or college that offers multimedia courses. Some students would jump at the opportunity to gain experience and recognition creating a vial ad for a real business. You can get several potentially popular ads by working via the course coordinator to host an in-class competition with an attractive prize.
Source: Louis Nel for Businesstrade.org
