Low Cost Marketing and PR Ideas to Promote Your Business
Low Cost Marketing and PR Ideas to Promote Your Business
Use Facebook to Target Your Demographic
Did you know that you can place ads on Facebook to reach people who work at specific companies or students at the local university. You can even target age groups and know how many are in each age demographic. Yes it’s true and it’s VERY effective. Imagine being able to direct ads to the EXACT target market you want. It does not get any better than this.
Do a Sales Blitz!
What’s a sales blitz? It’s a one or two day ‘blitz’ of your immediate market area where your staff goes out to local businesses and hands out a flyer, business card, small gift or whatever to secretaries, clerks or anyone else they can talk to. Pick a slow day, like Monday or Tuesday, pay your staff to come in, pair up in teams and tell them to go out into the community. Pay them a decent wage, buy them lunch, give them money for mileage, ask them to make notes about their best sales calls and offer prizes for the ‘best lead’ of the day, ‘best potential future customer’ etc. You’ll be amazed at the success of this and the new business it will generate. This idea works for banks, restaurants, hotels and business that rely on business from the immediate market area.
Mobilize Street Teams
Recruit customers for a “Street Team.” This is a great low cost way to promote your business. Customers can be recruited to blog, write reviews, sidewalk chalk the local college campus etc. and can be used effectively to get the word out on the street. Thank them with free stuff, drinks at a local restaurant etc. This technique has been used by major corporations on college campuses for years in promoting everything from computer software to lingerie.
Make Some NEWS!
Make News! Then send out a creative press release talking about it. A release can accomplish a lot of things. It can be used to announce information to the public, your investors, the media, your customers and even your competitors about you and your activities. Send a release to: 1) Announce a new service. 2) Announce a new product. 3) Tie in with a national holiday, a birthday or anniversary. 4) Celebrity sighting at your business. 5) Charitable donation by your establishment.
Get Listed in ALL the Phone Books, Yellow Pages
Whew! You’ve just opened your new business, your ads are working, the web site is up, and the signage is done. But, wait! What about a listing in the phone book? Yes, people still use the phone book, but they’re more apt to call directory assistance from their cell phone when they’re motoring down the road.
Are you listed? Better call 411 and find out, Oh, and better call from your friend’s cell phone directory, too, as they have another service, and don’t forget to call Verizon and AT&T and Sprint … get the picture? If you aren’t listed in every directory you don’t exist to a bunch of consumers who are trying to do business with you. You need to fix that!
For a comprehensive list of places to list your business visit: LocallyType's website
Get Listed in ALL the Search Engines
A high % of all internet searches are for business phone numbers or addresses. So if you are not listed in all of the major search engines people can’t find you. Google, Yahoo! and MSN all have methods to list your business. Yahoo! even has places where people can review your services. Encourage customers to take time to rate your service. Testimonials are an important part of any company’s online image and they do influence people to do business with you. Click around and get to it.
Write Useful Articles and Post Online
Everyone has expertise on certain subjects related to their field. Write a 600-1000 word article about a focused topic. First come up with a list of topics you want to write about. Then set a goal to have them completed by a certain date; one a week works for me. If you don't have time, hire a ghost writer (you still get to put your name on it). Where do you find a ghost writer? Check your local newspaper; chances are there's a writer who'd like to pick up some extra cash. Then publish the articles on the internet using sites like EzineArticles. Why should you go through all this trouble? It’s simple. People search online for the solution to their problem or for someone or something that can solve their problem. Once someone reads your article they are “pre-sold” on your ability to do the same for them, then they contact you. The best part --it’s free!
Get on a Panel at a Conference
Admit it. You’ve been to an industry conference and you look at the people on the panel and you wonder, “How in the heck did ‘that’ guy get on the panel? I could do that.”
Well, you’re not alone. Like getting asked to the Junior High Dance you can wait to get an invitation or get aggressive and make it happen. As a publicist I am often asked to get a client on the convention dais and as a result I’ve got couple of tried and true tactics that really work.
Here are a few tips to help you land that panel gig.
1. Bring a big name to the party. If you have little name recognition organize a panel around a topic and call in a favor from Bill Gates or other notable friend, client, customer or vendor by creating your own panel. Pitch the "ready made" panel, which includes yourself of course, to the conference organization. They have less work, and you get more editorial control over the discussion. Big names draw big crowds. All conferences like big names.
2. Create a catchy title: Even if you have a big name on your panel, an unexciting panel title and no mention of the big name will not be as interesting to the conference planner. Take a page out of the entertainment industry. Would people rather watch "Desperate Housewives" or the same program titled "Five Bored Housewives on Wisteria Lane?”
3. Make a promise. Tell conference planners what prospective audience members will learn and what they will take away from the presentation in the copy describing the program. For example: Tell them they will learn to do X, Y & Z and will be able to implement something tangible in their own business or practice.
and they’re more apt to book you.
4. Plan way in advance. Most conferences are booked into convention halls years in advance and most programs are decided upon many months in advance. If you want more tips visit: Westwindcos' website
These are just a few low cost ideas to generate new business. There are hundreds of market segments you can attack to promote your business and an infinite number of tactics to employ. The most important thing to do is to make a plan and start NOW.
Low Cost Marketing and PR Ideas to Promote Your Business - To learn more about this author, visit Scott Lorenz's Website.
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As President of Westwind Communications a PR and Marketing Firm. I work with entrepreneurs, start-ups as well as doctors, lawyers and authors. I am often called upon in the early stages of a company’s existence to get them “on the radar.” Sometimes however, the best ideas can be low cost or free. Of course the best "free" marketing idea is good old fashioned "word of mouth" or as it’s called today "WOM." Here are just a few low-cost marketing ideas you can use to get new business for your new business.
Use Facebook to Target Your Demographic
Did you know that you can place ads on Facebook to reach people who work at specific companies or students at the local university. You can even target age groups and know how many are in each age demographic. Yes it’s true and it’s VERY effective. Imagine being able to direct ads to the EXACT target market you want. It does not get any better than this.
Do a Sales Blitz!
What’s a sales blitz? It’s a one or two day ‘blitz’ of your immediate market area where your staff goes out to local businesses and hands out a flyer, business card, small gift or whatever to secretaries, clerks or anyone else they can talk to. Pick a slow day, like Monday or Tuesday, pay your staff to come in, pair up in teams and tell them to go out into the community. Pay them a decent wage, buy them lunch, give them money for mileage, ask them to make notes about their best sales calls and offer prizes for the ‘best lead’ of the day, ‘best potential future customer’ etc. You’ll be amazed at the success of this and the new business it will generate. This idea works for banks, restaurants, hotels and business that rely on business from the immediate market area.
Mobilize Street Teams
Recruit customers for a “Street Team.” This is a great low cost way to promote your business. Customers can be recruited to blog, write reviews, sidewalk chalk the local college campus etc. and can be used effectively to get the word out on the street. Thank them with free stuff, drinks at a local restaurant etc. This technique has been used by major corporations on college campuses for years in promoting everything from computer software to lingerie.
Make Some NEWS!
Make News! Then send out a creative press release talking about it. A release can accomplish a lot of things. It can be used to announce information to the public, your investors, the media, your customers and even your competitors about you and your activities. Send a release to: 1) Announce a new service. 2) Announce a new product. 3) Tie in with a national holiday, a birthday or anniversary. 4) Celebrity sighting at your business. 5) Charitable donation by your establishment.
Get Listed in ALL the Phone Books, Yellow Pages
Whew! You’ve just opened your new business, your ads are working, the web site is up, and the signage is done. But, wait! What about a listing in the phone book? Yes, people still use the phone book, but they’re more apt to call directory assistance from their cell phone when they’re motoring down the road.
Are you listed? Better call 411 and find out, Oh, and better call from your friend’s cell phone directory, too, as they have another service, and don’t forget to call Verizon and AT&T and Sprint … get the picture? If you aren’t listed in every directory you don’t exist to a bunch of consumers who are trying to do business with you. You need to fix that!
For a comprehensive list of places to list your business visit: LocallyType's website
Get Listed in ALL the Search Engines
A high % of all internet searches are for business phone numbers or addresses. So if you are not listed in all of the major search engines people can’t find you. Google, Yahoo! and MSN all have methods to list your business. Yahoo! even has places where people can review your services. Encourage customers to take time to rate your service. Testimonials are an important part of any company’s online image and they do influence people to do business with you. Click around and get to it.
Write Useful Articles and Post Online
Everyone has expertise on certain subjects related to their field. Write a 600-1000 word article about a focused topic. First come up with a list of topics you want to write about. Then set a goal to have them completed by a certain date; one a week works for me. If you don't have time, hire a ghost writer (you still get to put your name on it). Where do you find a ghost writer? Check your local newspaper; chances are there's a writer who'd like to pick up some extra cash. Then publish the articles on the internet using sites like EzineArticles. Why should you go through all this trouble? It’s simple. People search online for the solution to their problem or for someone or something that can solve their problem. Once someone reads your article they are “pre-sold” on your ability to do the same for them, then they contact you. The best part --it’s free!
Get on a Panel at a Conference
Admit it. You’ve been to an industry conference and you look at the people on the panel and you wonder, “How in the heck did ‘that’ guy get on the panel? I could do that.”
Well, you’re not alone. Like getting asked to the Junior High Dance you can wait to get an invitation or get aggressive and make it happen. As a publicist I am often asked to get a client on the convention dais and as a result I’ve got couple of tried and true tactics that really work.
Here are a few tips to help you land that panel gig.
1. Bring a big name to the party. If you have little name recognition organize a panel around a topic and call in a favor from Bill Gates or other notable friend, client, customer or vendor by creating your own panel. Pitch the "ready made" panel, which includes yourself of course, to the conference organization. They have less work, and you get more editorial control over the discussion. Big names draw big crowds. All conferences like big names.
2. Create a catchy title: Even if you have a big name on your panel, an unexciting panel title and no mention of the big name will not be as interesting to the conference planner. Take a page out of the entertainment industry. Would people rather watch "Desperate Housewives" or the same program titled "Five Bored Housewives on Wisteria Lane?”
3. Make a promise. Tell conference planners what prospective audience members will learn and what they will take away from the presentation in the copy describing the program. For example: Tell them they will learn to do X, Y & Z and will be able to implement something tangible in their own business or practice.
and they’re more apt to book you.
4. Plan way in advance. Most conferences are booked into convention halls years in advance and most programs are decided upon many months in advance. If you want more tips visit: Westwindcos' website
These are just a few low cost ideas to generate new business. There are hundreds of market segments you can attack to promote your business and an infinite number of tactics to employ. The most important thing to do is to make a plan and start NOW.
Low Cost Marketing and PR Ideas to Promote Your Business - To learn more about this author, visit Scott Lorenz's Website.
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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