If you are currently setting up a new business, then congratulations are in order. This is an exciting time indeed, one of the best parts of the whole process is when you first launch. You may be starting to realize just how much work running a business entails. But don’t worry. The truth is, when it comes to looking after your own startup, all the hard work is worth it. You just need to do everything in your power to ensure that it pays off – and that’s where marketing comes in. If you are completely new to business, then you might not be aware of the importance of marketing. Put simply, marketing successfully means the difference between your business succeeding or failing. That’s why it is necessary to put a lot of effort and time into it, particularly in the early days. When you are just starting, you need that little push to get things going. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most effective marketing techniques you can carry out from home.
Social Media
When it comes to online marketing, social media is your best friend. It is likely that you already have accounts on the major social media platforms. Regardless, you need to make sure that you set up new ones for your business. It is vital, first of all, to make sure you can get a decent handle or username. It should be easy to remember and relate to your business. You would be surprised at what a profound difference this can make. What’s more, remember that the key to success on social media platforms is interaction. Social media is ‘social’. It does not work to simply send out tweets and hope for the best. You need to spark up conversations with people and keep them going. At first, looking after your social media accounts can feel like a full time job in itself. But believe me – it pays off in the long run.
Blogging
In all likelihood, you have already thought about setting up a website for your business. This is essential to most businesses. It can help with branding your business but to stand out from the crowd you will need to do more than have a static website. One thing you should be aware of is the power of updating. A great way to do this is to have an in-site blog. As long as you have a reason to keep linking to your web pages, then you will continue to drive traffic to it. And ultimately, that could mean more business for you. It might even be worth using a content marketing agency to produce the blog for you. That way, you can be sure that the content of the blog is the kind that will continually draw people in.
With email, you have another free tool which can be used pretty much any way you like. The most common use is a weekly or monthly newsletter. If you are keen to draw people in quickly and keep them interested, then email is a must. Set up a subscriber link on your web page and produce a regular newsletter. As long as you are appearing in people’s inboxes, they are unlikely to forget about you. But make sure the newsletter offers value to those that subscribe to it and don’t over use it or you will lose subscribers quickly. If you have a blog the newsletter can have excerpts with links back to the blog page. You can also offer exclusive discounts for newsletter subscribers or bonuses not available to others.
Whatever method you chose to use, consistency is key! It can take some time to build up a following or subscriber base. Don’t be sporadic in your marketing efforts. Create a marketing plan and stick at it! Measure results regularly to see how it is going and make modifications or tweaks as necessary.
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