Where Can I Promote My Business Online? – Blog

In this article you will find:

• The most common ways to be promoting a business online in 2022
• How to make the most of your online properties
• Links to more in-depth resources on more specific topics.

Business owners ask us all the time: “Where can I promote my business online?” In today’s digital world, it’s hard to get people to notice you. When you’re a small or medium sized business, it can be a major challenge to get any attention, or build an audience of loyal followers and customers. That’s because there are seemingly unlimited options as to where you can set up profiles or shops and places to advertise. If you try too many, before you know it, you’re spread so thin that many accounts are unfinished or completely neglected. You end up wasting huge amounts of time trying to set up new tools that just don’t end up working for you. If that sounds like you, don’t worry, you’re not alone. All the options and advice out there can be extremely confusing and overwhelming but we’re here to help.

We at GET Digital Support like to say that all these options and choices are like a maze. That’s why you need to make sure you choose wisely when promoting your business online. We’re here to help guide you with expert advice and insight so that you don’t end up going down the wrong path or getting completely lost.

With all that said, here are what we consider to be essential, foundational tools that your business should have. This is how we will answer that broad question of “Where can I promote my business online?” Before you focus on anything else, we recommend that you ensure these digital marketing properties are in place and optimised for the best results. Here are the most essential and effective ways to get started promoting your business online in 2022:

1. Website

Your website is the most important part of your online presence for many reasons. That’s  because it’s one of few options that you have full control over. Creating a website can be done by yourself, the business owner, with a DIY website builder such as WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, etc or by hiring a web developer. No matter where or how you create your website, the most important thing is ensuring that it has a clear business objective. Whether you are selling products or collecting new leads, you need to define those objectives before you start designing or redesigning. Know what you want and need in order to pick the right platform and method that works for you. 

When it comes to selecting a platform, be sure to compare features, prices, and templates to find the right one that suits your business objective, your desired functionality, and the look and feel you want to create. Important features that you require, can be an easy way to eliminate options that don’t work for your needs. 

Whether you are creating a new website yourself, updating, or hiring someone to build it, there are several important things to keep in mind: 

1. Keep your main objective front and centre. Meaning, if you are selling products, keep that focus throughout and make it as clear and easy for customers to take the desired action of making a purchase. An example we see a lot of “what not to do” is an e-commerce website that doesn’t have shoppable products on the home page.
2. Include lots of photos. Photos can be good for SEO but they can also help tell your story. Good quality photos of you, your location, staff, and especially your products will make your site look more professional.
3. Website load time is extremely vital. When adding content such as graphics and photos, make sure they are “optimised for web”. That means that the size has been reduced and the file compressed to a point that does not diminish the quality too much. To test your website load speed, we recommend using this mobile speed test from Think With Google: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/feature/testmysite/
4. Simplify your navigation. This is especially important for e-commerce websites. We often see sites that try to show all the categories and subcategories across their main navigation bar. This ends up looking very busy and complicated. Try to simplify those options into logical categories and then branch out into broader categories with submenus. 

These are just a few quick pointers to think about when creating or updating your website. There is certainly a lot more to say about creating a website that works. If you’re looking for more, here is an in-depth guide to creating an effective website.

2. Google Business Profile (AKA Google My Business)

Google is the #1 search engine used in the world and a Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business Listing) is the next best property for you to set up to promote your business. 

First of all, if you ever wondered how to get your business to show on Google Maps, that’s how. Besides getting your location on the map, It is often the first interaction someone will have with your brand when searching for you directly. It is also an amazing tool for building credibility with customer reviews. 

Your Google Business Profile is almost as important as your website because It gets the most basic information across to the user, very quickly. It tells someone who you are and where they can find you, and how to contact you. It is the best place to display and update your business hours, location, and pictures inside and outside of your store along with staff photos. You can even post products that you sell and updates on things like sales, or changes to your operation. Think of it like the window display into your shop. It’s all that important information you want to show out front, to draw new customers in. 

Best of all, claiming your profile and accessing all of the features is completely free. The only additional cost you might run into is if you use their website builder feature (which we don’t recommend using by the way) and purchase a custom domain or if you run advertising to promote your listing.

If you don’t have a Google My business listing, the process of claiming your location and verifying the address is very easy. You can get started at https://business.google.com.

If you already have a listing, be sure to keep it up to date with new photos, updates, business hours (especially holidays), and products as often as you can. 

3. Email Marketing

If there is one thing that the Facebook and Instagram blackout of 2021 taught us, it was that email marketing is the best place to build your audience because it won’t disappear overnight. While social media platforms and trends come and go, an email list has constantly remained a vital marketing strategy for almost any business. Much like your website, the value comes from the amount of control and ownership you have over this marketing channel. 

In order to start or grow your email marketing list here are few things to consider: 

1. Signup needs to be a priority. Your email sign up should be front and centre on your website. Many businesses use a pop up to promote their newsletter and encourage signup. As long as that pop up doesn’t happen too frequently, this can be a useful strategy. What you don’t want is to hide your signup in the website footer where no one will notice it.
2. Don’t call it a “Newsletter” or “Mailing List”. These terms, while accurate, give off the feeling of annoying spam which everyone already gets too much of in their email inbox. Instead, try to come up with a name for this “exclusive club” that the users are joining. It’s amazing how the simple act of changing the wording can give off a completely different vibe and encourage more sign ups.
3. Answer the question “What’s in it for me?”. When you promote your sign up, you also need to communicate value. In order for people to WANT to join, they need some incentive of value that they will receive. That can be from discounts, contests, or beneficial information. Whatever that value is that you are providing, be sure to communicate that clearly in your signup promotion. 

When it comes to email marketing, collecting email addresses is just one part of the strategy. Developing your newsletter with content that gets people opening and coming back to your website, is the next part to think about. Here is what you should consider when developing your email content: 

1. Develop a plan and structure. 
2. Keep it consistent
3. Focus on your audience and what they want or need. 

4. Social Media Platforms

Talk about navigating a maze. When it comes to social media marketing there are so many different options that it can easily become overwhelming. Facebook, Youtube, Whatsapp, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Pinterest, Twitter and LinkedIn are only a small handful of the social media platforms out there. 

As a business owner you are probably aware of (and possibly getting sick of) the unending and unsolicited advice on “what platforms you should be on.” However, to answer the question of “what social media channel should I use for my business?” Only you can answer that and it depends entirely on your customers.

Our best advice when it comes to choosing the right social media platform for your business is to know your customers. If you know who your customers are then you can determine where they are likely most active on social media. This can ultimately help rule out many platforms that your customers probably don’t use. 

A good example of this is the question we hear a lot lately: “should my business be on TikTok?” While popularity of this platform continues to grow, it always comes down to these 2 key factors: 

1. 1. Are your Customers using TikTok? Here is a very detailed article on TikTok user demographics that could help you answer this question: https://backlinko.com/tiktok-users – No matter what platform you are interested in using, we highly recommend going through the exercise of learning about the platform usage and demographics. Then compare how those align with your customers to determine if this social media channel is right for you.
   2. Can you maintain additional platforms and content? For most businesses it is hard enough to manage one single Instagram account. So before exploring new opportunities, make sure that you have a good grasp on the platforms you are using. 

For more on Social Media, here are a few other articles that may be of interest: 

1. A Guide to Social Media Buzzworthy Content Creation

5. Digital Advertising

When we say “Digital Advertising” we mean, paying to place targeted ads in front of potential customers in a variety of digital spaces. Those digital spaces can include in search, social media platforms, display or video ads on websites, audio ads on streaming platforms, and even advertising in video games. 

Just like traditional advertising, the goal is to put the right message in front of the right person, at the right time. However, the benefit of digital is that these platforms know more about those audiences and provide you with more options to hone in on your target. Everything from location to age, and even hobbies and interests can be dialled in for the best possible results. 

Like all of our examples in this article, there is so much to say about this marketing opportunity. So if you are considering paying for digital ads to promote your business here are some additional links that will be of use: 

1. Beginners course on Digital Advertising (Learn Facebook and Google)
2. Guide to getting started with Facebook Advertising
3. Guide to getting started with Google Advertising

Promote My business Online – Conclusion

It can be hard to decide or even know where to put your marketing dollars when you are starting out or growing your business. You need to research your options and decide what is best for your business. That said, we always recommend that you focus on foundational marketing elements that will help guide you when you are not sure what to do or feeling stuck. Those are: 

1. Branding. Know your voice, image, and what you stand for. A strong brand is the most important element of any business. For more on this, here is a Guide to Build Better Branding
2. Audience Profiles. It’s not just about you! The more you know and understand about your customers will guide you and your marketing. Knowing who they are, what they like, how they operate, will ultimately drive your decision making process when it comes to where to be online,  why, and how to offer them what they want. For more on this, here is a Guide to Audience Profiles. 

Just remember, you don’t have to figure this out on your own. GET Digital Support is here to help you navigate the maze of digital marketing and guide you in the right direction.