Standing out from your competitors and the millions of companies present on the internet is not easy. Improving your visibility, however, remains essential if you want to acquire new customers. You also don’t need to spend too much money on promoting your business, as there are inexpensive or even free ways to get it out there. Thanks to the online marketing techniques that we are going to present to you, with effective ways to make yourself known for free, your results will increase at high speed, the traffic on your site will increase significantly, and this without paying anything.
1- Create and update your blog
You’ll be too busy in the early stages of starting your business, but when you find your stride, consider starting a blog . Indeed, the blog turns out to be a particularly useful and effective way to make yourself known. It allows you to develop your company’s natural referencing , and thus position yourself on terms related to your activity.
Thanks to a blog, you will be able to appear in the first results of search engines.
Position yourself on keywords related to your activity and write content on this subject. Subsequently, the Google algorithm will spot you and position you favorably.
With a simple search, an Internet user can read your article, learn about your offer and become a prospect. It’s up to you to convert him into a customer.
Creating your blog is an important, even essential, step in the marketing development of your business. Indeed, it allows you to publicize your products and services free of charge and to a wide audience. It communicates to your prospects and customers how you stand out from your competition. Regularly updated, your blog must be relevant, interesting and current. You can write your articles alone and use content sharing software to delegate this task to you. Blogging is a free way to make yourself known for free and to develop yourself, but it can also be time-consuming. Do not hesitate to seek professional support and train yourself on this subject.
Effective ways to make yourself known for free
The blog has the double advantage of seeking new prospects and consolidating the relationship with your current customers by sharing your expertise with them . In addition to this, it allows you to show your customers that you are still as active as ever. In addition to giving them relevant information, the blog can reassure them. Conversely, a poorly populated blog can be a sign of decline in your business. If not, avoid reposting this image and focus your efforts on your content strategy .
Providing information to your customers means communicating and being interested in them. You will not only market your product or service, but also provide help to your customers and more generally even to Internet users. Through the human aspect of your business, you will build connections that will improve your brand image . Sharing your knowledge with your customers helps them understand difficult concepts and creates interaction.
2- Optimize your SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to all the techniques and processes that contribute to positioning a site or a web page in search engine results, such as Google, Yahoo or Bing for example.
The main objective of a search engine is to find the web page that best answers a user’s query. The query corresponds to the keywords used by the Internet user when doing a search (examples: “online management software”, “how to make an invoice”, “advice for beginner entrepreneurs”, “easy tarte tatin recipe”, etc.).
Google is the world’s leading search engine. Strengthening the SEO of your site and blog is essential. There are many free eBooks and downloadable documents on the web to help you develop your SEO. We also have an article on how to create a well-referenced professional website on this subject in partnership with Orson, the online website creation platform.
Your site and your blog need good SEO to be seen by the greatest number of Internet users. By investing a little of your time, you can have a site placed at the top of search engines, all without spending a penny. Different approach techniques for carrying out your SEO are available to you.
First, establish a content strategy as seen in the previous point. Positioning yourself on diverse themes by using keywords and writing dense content allows the Google algorithm to spot you. Another way to improve your natural referencing is to increase your domain authority (DA). Known as domain authority in French, this is a rating used to judge the strength of a site in the eyes of Google. This rating ranges from 0 to 100. The higher it is, the stronger your site is considered. To allow this rating to increase, in addition to a content strategy, set up backlinks. These are inbound links. Multiply partnerships so that other sites point to you. Google will spot these links and your SEO and DA will increase.
These strategies certainly take time to implement, but they can be very effective in the long run.
3- Use social networks
Social networks are an aspect of your strategy that should not be neglected. These platforms appear to be one of the best ways to make yourself known.
In continuing to promote your blog articles , social networks play a major role. Indeed, it is these platforms that will allow simple Internet users to take an interest in your content and generate leads for you. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or even Instagram, your content is shared with the whole world, that makes you want it, right?
Whatever your activity, you will be able to reach your target through social networks. Studies have shown that they are used as much by young people as by an older population, and that a large majority of people have one or more accounts on social media. So, by bringing together a community around your business you will make yourself better known. More than beneficial, the functioning of social networks is miraculous. Take the example of Facebook. A person who is a member of your community appreciates one of your posts and likes or shares it, their friends who were not aware of your business will discover you and you benefit from increased notoriety. On social networks, your visibility and notoriety can therefore constantly increase. However, beware of illusions! Not everyone in your community is your customer, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help you get your name out there.
If you have the ability to produce videos, don’t forget Youtube. Although it is not really a social network strictly speaking, underestimating it would be a serious mistake. Google’s video platform has had more than a billion users since 2013, representing a third of all internet users. Creating a YouTube channel and sharing tutorial videos related to your business will develop your visibility.
Social media is free to use, however, if you want to take your promotion a little further, advertisements and announcements on these networks are paid (especially since recent updates to their algorithms).
4- Publish a press release
Make yourself known through the press. If you develop a new idea, an atypical idea, it may interest the press! A press release announces events relating to the life of a company or a brand. This press release generally includes basic information, visual supports and contact details to help the journalist who will produce the article. The design and distribution of a professional press release is most often carried out by a press relations agency but there are also free sites . Before publishing a press release, there are questions to ask yourself. Do you have a relevant story to tell? Who is your audience (who will be interested in your content)? When is the best time to publish your press release? Why is your story unique?
On Linkedin, you have the opportunity to get in touch with many journalists, don’t hesitate to “knock” on their doors! Send them a well-constructed email about your case. If it is convincing, it could be taken up by certain media (newspapers, television, radio, etc.) and even distributed by sites, all free of charge to make yourself known for free.
5- Google is your friend
Google is a very powerful tool for promotion. Indeed, thanks to Google Business your prospects and customers will find you more easily. During their Google searches, the address, telephone number and much other information about you and your business will appear and this serves as your real business cards.
6- Participate in entrepreneur meetings
Finding yourself at trade shows or at entrepreneur evenings can only be positive. These are more or less professional and casual meeting places. These meetings are an opportunity to make yourself known and present your business. It is very important to participate in this type of event so that other entrepreneurs can talk about you afterwards. These events are an opportunity to increase your visibility and gain a place among partner and competing companies. In addition, these meetings allow you to expand your network and acquire new people.
They can be an opportunity to create partnerships, even alliances. The fuller your address book is, the more you increase your chances of success. Take advantage, networking is free!
This is one of the effective ways to make yourself known for free.
7- Offer samples
Samples are certainly easier to set up for products than for services, but their effectiveness is great. They allow you to both communicate and make yourself known , while allowing you to test the product and make the consumer want to buy it. Here’s a clever strategy! Furthermore, samples should not be considered as financial losses. Instead, look at potential customers and the resulting gains.
Effective ways to make yourself known for free
You now have the cards in hand to make yourself known without spending a cent. But, no need to wait for your new popularity to start using the best C2M management software ! Find all our articles on the Kiwili blog and continue reading.
Read More: How to Deploy an Effective Social Media Strategy?