Starting a business can be a difficult task, no doubt. Even if you have set up, you still have a long way to go to make your business profitable.
The most difficult part of running a business is to make sure people know you are open for business. Furthermore, without the proper awareness, people will not even know that your business exists. As a result, you might have a hard time getting your business off the ground, which will lead to low sales and slow growth. And you absolutely don’t want this to happen.
One of the best ways to get your business running is to promote or market your business to a wider audience. Furthermore, with the creation of business apps that can easily be accessed from your mobile device, promoting your business has never been easier.
In this article, we will be sharing with you some information on which apps you can use to promote your business so that you can let more people know that you are available for business.
Yelp
The first entry on our list is Yelp.
Yelp is a website where people come to find places of business, such as restaurants, dentists, beauty salons, etc. Furthermore, business owners can use Yelp to list their business on Yelp’s website. Therefore, it will be very useful to create an entry for your business on Yelp, and once someone searches for products or services you are dealing in, your place of business will come up in their search result. In addition, Yelp allows you to:
- Create a business page
- Describe the products and services your offer,
- Show your working hours
- Add photos
- Give directions to your place of business
- And much more.
Furthermore, Yelp also displays reviews and ratings of your business for other customers to see. Therefore, if you have good ratings and reviews, you are most likely to attract more customers.
The best part of Yelp is that it is free to put up a business listing, and you only need to pay for advanced features.
Arguably, the most visited social media platform in the world, Facebook is visited by millions of people every day for many reasons, mostly to socialise, share/read posts or stay connected with friends and families.
Over the years, a new trend has emerged on Facebook where people create a business page on their Facebook account. Furthermore, this business page is filled with content relating to the products or services the individual is selling. Moreover, a Facebook business account could have the following features:
- Business Description
- Prices
- Availability
- Locations
- Working Hours
- Posts or News About Updates
Facebook also has various “groups” that are focused on a particular topic or problem. Therefore, if your products or services are related to any of these groups, you can join these groups and mention your business to its members. In addition, Facebook also has comments sections where you can post information about your business so anyone who reads your comment will be made aware of the business you are running.
Overall, Facebook is a great place to promote your business due to the vast amount of traffic it gets. Lastly, the best thing is that a Facebook account is completely free.
Youtube
Youtube is one of the top search engines used to search for online videos so the logical thing for a shrewd business owner, such as yourself, to do is to post videos about your products and services on Youtube.
There are two ways with which you can promote your business on Youtube.
Firstly, you can sign-up for a free account, and begin posting videos about your products and services. Furthermore, it will be more effective if you can organically introduce your products or services by creating a video that solves the user’s search intent. For example, you could create a “How to….” video that shows how your product or service is the perfect solution for the user’s problem.
Secondly, another way to promote your business is by having Youtube run ads about your business on other people’s videos. However, this method is not free, and people are more likely to skip these ads when they appear on a video.
LinkedIn has become the go-to place to create a professional profile to connect with other people and businesses.
The main purpose of a LinkedIn account is to do business with other people, whether it be getting a new job, collaborating with someone, or supplying materials to businesses. Therefore, by creating a LinkedIn account, personal or business, you will be able to reach out and connect with people who might require your products or services. In addition, having a LinkedIn account is an excellent way to promote your business because your profile will be accessible to millions of professionals who might contact you if they need to.
LinkedIn also has a comments and posts section where people come to discuss a particular topic. Therefore, you can use these sections to introduce your business to potential customers and be sure to let potential customers know the best way to contact you.
A LinkedIn account is free to create. Furthermore, once you have an account created you can send a link to your account to potential customers via email to promote your business even further
Google Ads
Another popular option, albeit an expensive one, is to promote your business through Google Ads. Google Ads allows you to advertise your business on Google and all its affiliate products, such as Google Maps and Youtube.
All you have to do is create an ad, using text and images, for your business and send it to Google to post it. Moreover, once you send an ad, it will be displayed whenever someone searches for products or services similar to yours. For example, if you sell sports equipment, then everyone that searches for “Baseball bats”, “Hockey pads”, or “Soccer balls” on Google will be shown an ad of your business. Furthermore, in this way, you will be able to promote your business to your target audience more efficiently.
Once your ad is live, you will only pay for results such as when people click on your ad, call your business, or go to your website. In addition, Google will also help update and improve your ad for changing trends by providing analytics, insight, and tips, thus making sure you get the best results.
While Google Ads may be a good way to reach your consumers, it is also a costly option. However, Google has put in place flexible payment options that will allow you to set your budget. In addition, you will never exceed your monthly set budget, and you can choose to adjust or pause your spending anytime.
Final Thoughts
Any one of these marketing tools can be a great way to promote your business to online customers. Moreover, since all these tools have mobile apps, it will be easier and faster for you to manage your promotional campaign because you can simply open these tools on your phone and create an account, make changes or additions, view updates, etc.
By promoting your business through these tools you will, no doubt, begin to see more customers coming to your place of business.