3 Smart Ways to Promote your Business

There are a lot of ways for a business to gain traction. There are dozens of channels a company can take to get the word out. In the real world and the cyber one, the options are endless. Here are a few simple, but smart strategies any business can use to promote its name.

Logo Products

It may not seem like a big deal, but logo products are actually a great way to help promote your business. Sure, they are just tiny little free trinkets that seem trivial. But if you think of logo products as a new kind of business card, then they become something more.

Business cards are often relegated to closed-up places like a rolodex of a dusty desk drawer. But what is on a business card?

• names
• logos
• contact info

All of that can be placed on a logo product, but in a much more interesting way. Rather than having your card shoved away somewhere, your branded writing utensil can stay out on top of a desk and get used regularly. And each time it does, it will be a reminder of your business.

In addition, logo products serve as a way to make your company more memorable, and to express a point of view. A unique promotional product is:

• useful
• enjoyable
• “buzz-worthy”

And in trade show environments, notable can be the difference between a new customer, and someone who breezes by your booth.

If you pick the right logo items, you can also support the corporate philosophy. For example, water bottles are great for a health conscious company to give away. Stress balls are also health themed, but they offer an infinite number of options to use humor or quirkiness to help your business stand out. Even web-based business can benefit from amusing logo products as free gifts in shipped orders.

It may seem like logo products are an easy expense for a small business to skip, but when used well, they can be eye-catching reminders of your business that can make you more accessible than your competitors.

Social Media

Any company that hasn’t at least considered getting involved in social media is already behind. The fact is more than 80% of Americans are using social media networks.

All of these people represent potential customers. Granted, a number of businesses have gone about the business of securing their social media profiles, but are you maximizing them?

It’s important to use your logo and key business information on your pages. But it doesn’t stop there. The thing about social media is that it doesn’t work if you only use it for self promotion.

Social media is about conversation. When you use social media just to advertise at people, it’s ineffective. But when you use it to talk to people, and contribute to the community, you can build good will around your name.

Social media can be used to announce new products, services and promotions, but it’s also useful for gaining feedback, reputation management and creating interaction.

Twitter in particular is a fantastic channel for following not just mentions of your business name, but also dialogues surrounding your niche.

When you find out what really matters to people in your market, you have a direct line to giving them what they want. When you use Social media to educate, entertain and actually talk to your customers then you manage to humanize your business in a way that naturally engenders brand loyalty.

Partnerships

One of the best ways for a business to improve its image, reach and network is through smart, symbiotic partnerships. There are a number of ways in which a business can work with others. Complimentary services can offer packages based on services, or location. Or among the most popular are those that benefit a good cause.

Charitable partnerships are popular not just because they are humanly decent, but because they are a smart business practice. A business can contribute to a charity and get their name listed on a website, program or newsletter as a giver.

Or a business can sponsor an event like a diabetes walk or donate to a silent auction. Not only does this give your business exposure, it can help increase your businesses’ reputation as a pillar in the community.

For B2B connections, discounts for services are a great way to offer incentives. For example, when a movie theater partners with a local restaurant for a “dinner and a movie” package, both the eatery and the theater can gain business they might otherwise have lost to take out and a DVD.

Ultimately, the goal of this kind of promotion is to capitalize on the other party’s audience. Every business and charity has an established following. Partnerships can help you gain access to those followers in a meaningful way that doesn’t feel like a cheap marketing ploy.

There are thousands of ways for a business to promote itself, but there are some which feel distinctly less like advertising. While logo items, social media and partnerships are only a few ways that a company can build its customer base, they are effective and uniquely distinctive ways to ingratiate a business to the public.

When you can connect to customers in a way that feels more personal than commercial you have the possibility of actually building relationships. And when it comes to business, nothing is more powerful than relationships.

About the Author

Sarah is a writer for Quality Logo Products a website offering promotional products and branded items. She has been writing and blogging in the marketing space for the last several years.