5 Easy ways to promote your business or brand

So you have a business and you want to get your brand noticed and get more sales. A couple of facebook posts and word of mouth should be enough to help you grow. Right? 

Unfortunately its not that easy. If you really want to grow, get noticed and get more sales then you have to put in a little extra work. Here are the top 5 ways to help promote your business and gain the trust of potential customers.

1. Create a website for your business or brand

OK, this one might seem like a no brainer but hear me out. Many shops think that because they don't sell online, they don't need a website. Wrong! A website is a central place where you can build your brand image and promote people to visit your store. You don't need to sell online and worry about seller fees and postage and all the other headaches that come with it. As long as you have a website that can tell people who you are, what you offer, and why you should buy from them, then you are miles ahead of many other businesses.

That's all well and good but I don't have a budget for a big flashy website and I dont have the skills to make it myself. 

This seems to be what most business owners think but it's a lot easier than you think. Platforms like Wix and Squarespace provide the full website service for a very small monthly fee. Usually you can start out for less than £10 a month. They come with pre designed templates and hosting so you don't have to worry about design or technical stuff. Simply sign up, choose a template, write your content and add images, and you're good to go.

When it's so easy to create a website for your business there's no excuse for not having one.

2. Blogging

Now you have a website, the next step is to start to blog about your business, brand, or associated interests. If you have chosen to use an all in one solution like Wix or Squarespace then there will be an option to write blog posts on your site.

You may be wondering “why do i need to write blog posts when I already have the website? Surely that's enough?”. Well if you really want to drive traffic to your site and get noticed then this is a great way to improve how many visitors you will get.

Try writing articles that are relevant to your niche or review some of the products that you sell. You should already know alot about your business so this should be easy. Even if you only write a new article once every couple of weeks, this will g a long way to improving how many people land on your site.

3. Be active on social media

This one should be a no brainer and if you aren't already doing it then you're massively missing out. 

Firstly, try and find what social media platform a lot of your competitors are using. If your business is based around fashion then maybe Instagram is the best option for you. There are some great steps you can take to sell on instagram. Even if you aren't selling it can be a wonderful place to simply promote yourself. If you offer something like financial services, then Linkedin could be the best platform as its more targeted towards professionals. . 

You need to be active wherever your customer demographic is active. So do your research first and find out where you should focus your efforts. 

Try and post at least once a day. This may seem hard at first but once you get into the habit of doing it you won't even think twice. When taking pictures of your products or shop, try and make them look as professional as possible. If you want to take product photos, set up a dedicated space. Get a table, some lights and maybe even a stand for your smartphone or camera. Heres a great article to read up on how to get the best out of your smartphone.

Don't forget when posting to try and write naturally as if you are speaking with someone. This way your social media posts won't sound stale or robotic. 

4. Give your branding personality 

Since you are now posting on social media, the next step is to try and give your brand a personality or a personal touch.

This doesn't need to be a massive effort, even just adding your face to some photos or letting people know there's actually a person behind the camera can build a great sense of trust.

Large business have teams of people to help create a specific brand image but you don't need to do this. Make yourself the personality of the brand and your customers will be far more willing to engage and share what you do.

This can sometimes be daunting for people who don't like to be in the limelight, but you don't have to be front and center all the time. Even a small personal can make all the difference in how customers interact with you online.

5. Branded packaging

So you now have a website and are writing great articles to get lots of new visitors. Your posting on social media and have given your brand a face and personality. Great! You're doing all the right things. 

There's one more great way to get your business noticed and you don't even have to think about it or put in any effort. Get yourself some branded packaging with your logo printed on it. If you are a retail store then printed carrier bags are the ideal way to get your brand in front of lots of potential customers. When one customer buys your product, they walk out of your shop with your branded bag and are essentially a walking billboard. 

If you're an online store then custom mailing boxes could be the packaging solution you're looking for. Branded with your design or message, it adds a special finishing touch when the box is delivered and can get people talking about your business. 

These types of printed packaging can give you extra exposure and boost your overall brand.

These 5 steps are just a starting point to promoting your business, but if you are able to do them all it will provide you with a solid foundation to grow.