While we will admit that social media is a powerful tool and should not be omitted from your marketing strategy, we also must recognize that there are other ways to promote your business besides social media. Many of these alternative ways can also stand alone and give a great punch to your marketing efforts.
And while social media tends to be the focus of most marketing campaigns, we want to encourage you to look at the internet in a holistic way. Besides social media marketing or in addition to it, you may consider these 7 ways
Email marketing is so powerful and one of those tools that so many entrepreneurs don’t pay enough attention to. Your emails are your own! Whereas the content you share on your social media is not. Social media rules and algorithms are constantly changing. Unless you are always alerted about every little change and how it affects your business, then you may find yourself struggling to keep up. One day the algorithm is in your favor and the next it is not.
With email marketing you have control of your message. How it looks and when it is delivered. There are so many free tools out there for you to start with like
• Mailchimp
• Mailerlite
• Constant Contact
• Send in Blue
• Before you level up to the paid tools like
• Aweber
• Infusion Soft
Whichever platform you decide to start with, just know that starting and utilizing an email list to build the relationship with your audience is a big win for you. You need to be consistent in sending valuable emails to your audience that will inspire, motivate and educate them at every turn so they get excited to open each email that you send.
You can learn more about email marketing by reading this ebook here..
What better way to promote your business than through the word of mouth of your most loyal customers. A referral programme gets your customers involved in the growth process of your business. Whether you offer them an incentive like a discount or coupon code for sharing your content or signing people up, a referral programme is a great alternative method to promote your business.
Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful marketing methods and a referral programme, puts structure to how the word of mouth messaging is spread and gives an incentive as well
Networking and selling yourself to your ideal clients is still an attractive way to meet new clients. Social media can reach a huge audience but in some instances it can feel impersonal. Networking allows you to inject that human touch into your business. It allows you the opportunity to answer questions and really dive into the emotions of your audience.
And networking has a few variations. You can attend an event, ask to speak or present at an event or even moderate an event. Either way, it is a great way to introduce yourself to your ideal clients and close some deals.
Social media is king, but traditional media is its support system. Have you ever wondered why so many successful people on social media still show up on magazines or radio shows? Well because, it still is a great way to promote your business. Instead of looking at radio, tv, press or magazines as competing with social media, think about it as complimenting your social media.
Strive to strike a balance between the two. Get interviewed or featured in media that your ideal clients are following and listening to. It is still magical to see your name and picture appear in the newspaper or magazine
Not only does it pack a punch but it leaves an impression. I remember when our local telephone company launched their mobile services called bmobile, everywhere you turned you saw people in green T-shirts, green umbrellas, green pens, green hats. Their brand could not be ignored because they literally painted the town green with their branded items. So much so that when someone says they want something in bmobile green, you instantly know what they mean.
Your branded items like your pens, mugs, tshirts, caps, umbrellas and even call cards have a long shelf life. These are the things that people keep lying around their homes and in their offices. They are constant reminders to your audience about your existence and the challenges you solve. How many call cards do you have on your desk right now from a different business?
A collaboration between businesses that are serving the same ideal client is a quick growth plan. Take some of the stress off of trying to reach everybody in your niche on your own. Collaboration helps you skip a few steps. The collaboration must make sense though. It must be mutually beneficial to both parties and to both audiences and it must be clearly communicated wat each audience will receive because of this collaboration.
Often overlooked because entrepreneurs tend to not see what is directly in front of them. But getting involved in a meaningful way with your communities through sponsorship is a win-win situation. You can do small sponsorships like buying water for the local football team, branded a park bench, providing school supplies for a children’s home in the area. Your good deeds will not go unnoticed and it is also great Public Relations for your business (get it featured in the papers!!) But more than that, it puts your brand in front of potential clients who may not have know you existed before!
No one said that you should not be using social media to build your brand. However, incorporating other strategies outside of social media that can work with your presence on social media is a great way to build momentum and get more eyes on your business in a short space of time
