You have finally done it. After all your hard work to set up your business, you are officially a business owner. Congratulations! And now you are ready to promote your product or service and achieve the success you have desired for so long.
But you suddenly step back and ask yourself how? How does a new business owner get the word out that their business is there and they have this product or that service to offer? By a critical and effective marketing technique called “Build Market Awareness”.
In essence to build market awareness you are simply getting the word out. Letting the world know that you are there and ready to take on their business.
You don’t have to spend money that you haven’t earned yet either. There are so many ways to create and build market awareness that are completely free. Yes, FREE!! The internet provides almost limitless potential for any new business to promote its product and service. It is up to the individual business owner to use this potential to their full advantage, and choose which method(s) would work best. Usually a combination of two or more will yield the best results.
What are some of these methods you ask? Well read on.
Blogging
Blogging offers a forum for you to tell the world about your product or service. It is also a valuable tool to improve your ranking with the search engines.
Set up a blog on your website and share interesting information and useful tips. Talk about your product or service and their benefits. Blog about promotions or specials you may have coming up.
Provide a comments section for your readers to comment on and discuss your posts. Encourage them to share with others by providing sharing links to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn as examples. Engage in the conversation as well.
Include case stories and/or customer feedback here too, even if you have a testimonials section. Don’t be afraid to share the not so good stuff either. Demonstrating how you overcame a problem and ultimately made your customer happy will speak volumes on your professionalism, customer service, and your confidence in your product or service.
Articles
Do you have some great information to share with the world that would show the benefits of your product or service? Or are you very knowledgeable and experienced in a certain area that is related to your business? Then why not write about it and share it with the world.
Article marketing is another great way to build market awareness. When done well and published to well-respected and well-read sites, you are bound to receive a lot more traffic to your own site, and thereby building market awareness. What you have to say may just be the answer to a problem someone has been having. And then you have the solution in your product or service.
Make sure your article reads well and is free of mistakes. Have a friend or family member that may not be familiar with the subject matter read it. Did they understand what you were trying to say? Did they perhaps learn something new? That should be the goal of this exercise.
Next, research article publishing sites (the free ones only please) that are either directly related to your business, product or service, or have a section that is. Choose only those sites that have fresh and up to date content to post your article to. Don’t forget to include a short blurb about yourself and a link back to your website.
Keep a record of where and when you posted your article, so when a potential customer mentions how they heard about you, you will know what is working.
Press Release
Write a newsworthy story about your business and its product or service. Submit it to various media such as local radio and television stations, newspapers, magazines etc. Explain how your product or service is of benefit to the user. If your story is important or interesting enough, it may just 2be published.
Social Media & Networking
Social media such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as professional networks like LinkedIn, are growing in popularity for business people as a phenomenal tool to publish and exchange information and build market awareness. Just think, each time you post something on your page/wall, you are not only putting it out there for your own personal network to see, but your network’s network too.
If you already have a Facebook account, it is best to set up a separate business page in and invite your existing network to join it. A separate Twitter account for your business is recommended as well. It is fine to share the information between your personal and business accounts, but what pertains to your business should start at your business account and be shared over to your personal account and not the other way around.
Include your business information in your profile on networking sites like LinkedIn, and of course a link to your website. Look for other business owners in similar or complimentary businesses to network with. You just never know when someone is going to need something you have.
Podcasts, Audios, Videos
Have something to share? Why not create a podcast, an audio recording, or a video. Similar to writing an article, these mediums offer a great way to express yourself and talk about your product or service and its benefits. Get the word out. Build market awareness!
Rehearse your podcast/audio/video several times before you start to record. A dry run recording is probably a good idea too so you can test all your equipment before moving on to the final product.
Record everything in a quiet environment. Talk slow enough to be understood, but not too slow to bore your viewers/listeners. Avoid a lot of webcam movement. You certainly don’t want anyone getting dizzy. Be concise, factual, and straight forward.
Post your finished record to YouTube or whatever similar media may be available to you. Include a reference to your business and its website.
Include your articles, press releases, and podcasts/audios/videos on your website too!