Say you’re a brand-new IT firm located in London. The majority of your intended customers will be London commuters travelling daily. No one knows who you are and what your services are and what they are for. What would you do to promote your brand? Have a London t-shirt printing service print shirts and caps you can give away? Throw an event? Or put up ads everywhere?
Depending on your budget and target audience, there are a myriad of ways to be able to promote your brand and get your name out there. However, there’s no easy way, and neither is it free. This is why companies hire experts to do the marketing for them. But what if you have a small business that just started, and you can’t afford to have a marketing team yet? You’ll need to know how to promote your brand in the most cost-efficient way. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Sponsor an event that has something to do with your business.
Imagine a rock concert being sponsored by a tech company that makes anti-viruses when no one is going to see a show while thinking about computer viruses. The link between sponsor and event audience isn’t always noticeable at first. You’ll first have to research the market and find out who your core customers or your target audience are and what events they most likely attend. This is why you mostly see sports brands sponsor sporting events. If your business is related to tech, then tech expos and job fairs would be your best bet.
- Giveaways are always fine. Just don’t overdo it.
Giving away too much can be pretty costly. Remember that you are doing this to promote your business so that you can help your business grow. Cheap gifts, mini-contest prizes, even a small lottery will do if you decided to prioritise the prize’s quality over the quantity. Most common giveaway gifts these days are USB flash drives, T-shirts, umbrellas, pens and notebooks.
- Ads are a great way to promote your brand, but you should be careful about how you do it.
While physical ads are great, like billboards and posters, ads on the Internet carry a negative reputation. Unless your business is related to tech or the Internet, use net ads sparingly. Instead, open a social media account on Facebook and Twitter, as well as your own company’s website so that potential customers can learn more about your company. They can also use social media to send you comments and questions about your brand. Also, social media allows people and companies to make promoted posts that appear on everyone’s timeline.
Do take note to avoid negative PR as much as possible. These days, the notion that “there is no bad PR” doesn’t exist anymore. Once you understand the ways you can effectively promote your brand, you’ll be able to promote your company to everyone effectively.
Image: Pixabay.com
