Developing the product or service for your business is just the start of your entrepreneurial journey. The next step is to find ways to promote your brand and let your target market know what you have to offer. Fortunately, gone are the “Mad Men” days where you need to set aside a fortune to launch a marketing campaign.
These days, your marketing budget can just be a fraction of the cost of traditional campaigns. Using different technologies and best marketing practices, you can launch your brand successfully without breaking the bank.
Here are a few smart, simple, and effective ways you can promote your brand:
1. Create Your Logo
Believe it or not, you actually don’t need a graphic designer to create a logo. There are great free graphic apps available on the web that you can use that won’t require a high-level of artistic skill. If you question your ability to execute a professional-looking logo, then hire a professional graphic designer. The logo should be appealing to your target demographic with the brand’s identity clearly represented.
2. Build Your Official Brand Website
After creating a logo, you can tell your brand’s full story on your website. Most of your content can be contained within its pages and links from various platforms must land on the most appropriate page. A web designer is no longer required since there are a number of website templates available online that you can use.
3. Establish Your Social Media Presence
Choose the platform where your target market frequents such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. According to a Marketing Sherpa statistic, 95% of adults from the Gen Z and Millennial generations (18-34 years old) are the consumers who are more likely to follow brands on social media.
It’s important to develop engagement with your audience as much as possible in order to build trust in your brand. Remember that genuine conversations with customers are better received rather than general promotions about your product. Based on a recent social media study, 71% of surveyed consumers are more likely to recommend a product or service based on a great social media interaction with a brand.
4. Distribute Promotional Items
As great as your online presence and social media marketing strategies are, these methods can’t compare to the appreciation consumers get from free promotional items. In fact, according to research done by PPAI (Promotional Products Association International), 82% of consumers had a more favorable impression of the brand after receiving promotional items.
You don’t even have to spend a lot of money on them, too. Affordable customized wristbands, logo-branded pens, and other small items go a long way in creating a buzz for your company. With 83% of consumers saying they are more likely to do business with the brand that gave promotional items, it seems like this marketing strategy continues to work for a lot of companies.
5. Produce Free Videos
Don’t underestimate the power of a well-made video. Just like your website and logo, you won’t have to pay a professional production crew to create an impressive video that introduces your product or service. With the right tools and equipment, you can create a great promotional video in a day.
When it comes to videos, YouTube is king. With over 1.9 billion users logging-in every month, you can’t afford to ignore this platform. This is especially true if your target audience is made up of young adults. According to this article, 96% of Americans aged 18 to 24 watches videos in Youtube while the same demographic has a declining TV watch time.
6. List Your Business
There are free online directories on the web that can connect you to your customers. While some of them require fees, there are directories that are free as well. These are digital yellow pages that organize companies by categories so make sure you get listed on the right ones.
There are endless strategies and solutions to promote your brand and business on the web and out in the real world. Every move should be consistent with the brand identity, and it must be aligned with the goal of the marketing campaign. More importantly, customer engagement must be given priority in order to build lasting customer relationships and brand loyalty.
