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In this day and age, it’s not enough
to simply expect
your business to market itself. There was a time
when conventional advertising and word-of-mouth would do the job for
you, but those methods
just aren’t adequate in an increasingly competitive environment.
If you expect to publicise your company effectively and put the word
out, you’ll need to find ways to
get the edge over your competitors.
Here are 10 ways you can do just that.
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1. Try human-edited directories
When you think about web directories,
you may have a certain image in your head, but that image is likely
to be false. A human-edited web directory has several advantages
over an AI-generated one: it’s much more bespoke, it’s spam-free,
and search algorithms are more effective. If you want to get the
edge when marketing your business, try to
submit the
website to online directories.
2. Go local
The smaller your business, the more
advantageous it is for you to specifically target local demographics
with your marketing. You can
do this via
social media like
Facebook or Twitter, trying conventional
advertising, or even by reaching out to local
influencers to see if
they would be interested in a collaboration. Going local
laser-focuses your demographic and means your marketing feels more
personal. You can use specialized web services
to produce
brandable merchandise of which can be used in a local
campaign, with giveaways and such, ideal for brand awareness.
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3. Maintain a heavy social media
presence
If you don’t have a
presence on social
media, then to many people you may as well not exist. Maintaining a
heavy social media presence is crucial if you want to reach new
customers and market your business. It’s hugely advantageous to you
if your social media is witty or constantly generates engaging
content; people will organically engage with you this way and you
won’t need to advertise.
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4. Network
Meeting regularly with your
competitors and sharing strategies might not seem like an optimal
way to market your business, but by pooling your resources you’re
increasing your potential reach. Obviously, you don’t want to give
too much to your competitors, and it’s probably a good idea to
search for businesses that don’t have the exact same audience you
do. Creating partnerships can be extremely lucrative, though.
5. Create and promote great content
Many businesses go wrong when they
fail to realise that
content is king. You can spend as much as you
like on
marketing, but if you don’t have the content to market in
the first place then it’s just so much wasted effort. Generating
consistently great and engaging content means you’ll almost be able
to let the work do itself.
6. Maintain a consistent brand
identity
If you keep changing your
brand’s
messaging or
advertising identity, then you’ll alienate potential
customers and marketing yourself will be much harder. Decide what
your
core brand identity is and try not to deviate from it too much.
It doesn’t have to be too specific; just think about what your brand
represents and come up with a simple, straightforward
message that
reflects those values.
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7. Focus hard on visual content
Although written content is definitely
an excellent way to spread your brand message and identity, a huge
proportion of your audience
will likely prefer
visual content. Creating videos and Instagram
posts should, therefore, be your primary focus. In addition, you can
send out marketing pushes to influencers who create this type of
content, because they’ll be able to reach audiences you might not.
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8. Emphasise your website
Some people believe that having a
website for your business is not important. Those
people would be incorrect. Having a website for your business not
only drives sales, but also lends a professional feel to your entire endeavour. If you’re only on
social media, you’re not commanding the
kind of authority that leads consumers to want to access your
business.
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9. Craft your content for SEO
When you’re crafting written content −
as well as content in general − you need to have both of your eyes
on
SEO, or search engine optimisation. This aspect of your marketing
has never been more important than it is now. Good SEO means
consumers can easily find your content and that it’ll be prioritised
above other content on Google (and other search engines), which is
very good for you.
10. Consider creating - or sponsoring
- a podcast
Podcasts are incredibly popular with
people of all age groups. Creating a podcast shows that you have
your finger on the pulse of how people consume content nowadays. If
you don’t want to create a podcast of your own, you could consider
sponsoring one. Sponsoring a podcast means you’re giving creators
money to do what they love and also gets the word out about your
business. It’s win-win!
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These are just some of the ways you can get the edge over your
competitors when you’re marketing your business. It’s never been
more important to stand out than it is now; if your business doesn’t
immediately grab consumers’ attention, they’ll simply move on and
find one that does. Don’t let yourself be left in the dust and don’t
allow your dreams to fade. Your business deserves the best marketing
you can muster!
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