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Just because you are starting out small, doesn’t mean you should go unnoticed. As a small business owner, sometimes you’ve got to take matters into your own hands and create new opportunities to be noticed. It’s this kind of initiative that will take your business from fledgling to contender. WIth a little creativity, the right tools, and a plan, you can take your business from invisible to memorable. Here are three smart ways to get you started:
- Web Presence
In today’s digital world, no business can flourish without a web presence. Customers want convenience and information. A solid web presence provides both. You’ll want to make sure you approach your web presence from two angles: website and social media. Start with your website. WIth sites like wix.com and and websitebuilder.com, you don’t even need to be a tech genius! You can create a custom website with little to no experience for a very reasonable price with user friendly sites like these.When you start establishing your social media presence, Facebook should be your first stop, but don’t forget about Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp or Foursquare, and YouTube as well.
- Marketing Material
You don’t need a super bowl commerical or a full page color newspaper advertisement to get your name out there. In fact, with the right equipment, you can create your own professional quality marketing materials to distribute around town and create a buzz! The right equipment means a quality digital printer/copier center. I know, that sounds expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Just like buying a certified pre-owned car gives you that shiny, reliable automobile without the depreciation, used printers from a reputable dealer can give you the ability to print your own professional marketing materials and forms in-house! Sites like www.jjbender.com are a great place to find the right equipment at a reasonable cost.
- Contests and Giveaways
Now that you have a web presence and customized marketing material, get to promoting! People love free stuff! Combine free stuff with the excitement of that winning feeling and you have a great way to drive traffic to your business. There are a plethora of ways to do this but first things first, determine what your goal is. Increased web traffic? Email subscribers? Sales? Once you’ve done the research, determine an awesome prize. Use this as an opportunity to showcase a new product or your bestselling service. Remember, the winner will be a great word of mouth proponent, so make the prize one that the winner will want to talk about! Janet Meiners of Open Forum has some great ideas for using Facebook to create a successful contest and you can find some insightful guidance for Instagram giveaways from Halley Belt over at Thrive Hive.
See, it’s just that easy to get your business out there! A few baby steps will give you big returns in the long run. You’ll drive traffic and build a reputation for your business. Get started today. You’ll be glad you did.
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