Free marketing. Nothing in life is ever free, right? And how could you possibly get free marketing in this online world? Well, the fact is that free marketing does indeed exist, and we’re going to give you 10 ways to get some of if for your product or service.
1. Play the Algorithms
You’re already on social media, so one of the easiest ways to grab some free marketing is to create the right kind of content for the algorithms running in the background of the social media platform. Then the algorithms make sure that your content shows up in front of the right people. By focusing on key topics for your audience and using the right hashtags, you can get exposure to thousands of people without paying for a single ad.
2. SEO Keywords
Key wording for search engine optimization (SEO) is gold for the everyday blogger. However, SEO will boost your website no matter what your business is, and this is why blogging is recommended for all sorts of businesses, even ones that aren’t centered around blogging. It’s all about improving your website’s ranking so that your business is more easy to find online. To that end, sites like keywordtool.io can help you find commonly-searched words related to your business and how often they are appearing in searches. Also, keeping track of what’s trending at places like trends.google.com can assist you with subjects to write about.
3. Facebook Groups
Many Facebook groups, whether they are local or nationwide, will host theme days. These are a great opportunity to share details about your business like your social media page, your website, a recent post, or even what you offer, if that is allowed by the group’s rules.
4. Guest Podcasting
If you’re looking for extended reach and like to talk, being a guest on a podcast can be a great way to get some free marketing. As a podcast guest, you are able to access someone else’s audience and be featured on their social media and in their email marketing at no cost. That’s a lot of free exposure to potential customers and clients just by adding value to someone’s show. If this interests you, seek out some podcasts on your areas of expertise, pitch a topic, and see what happens!
5. Guest Workshop for a Membership
If you have knowledge in an area that could be helpful to the members of someone’s online community, you could also pitch a workshop to be included in the membership. Just like with guest podcasting, this provides you access to someone else’s audience for free. And even better, it puts you in front of people who have already bought in for information about subjects with which you could help them.
6. Cross Collaborations
Cross collaborations don’t have to be complex. Something as easy as a Stories takeover can provide some powerful free marketing, especially if you collaborate with someone who doesn’t do exactly what you do but has a separate, like-minded audience. You could even prepare your Stories ahead of time, reach out to people with whom you could collaborate, and then just provide a brief intro for their specific audience along with your pre recorded materials. But however you do the collaboration, the point is just to share value and have an opportunity to provide a discount, freebie, or other offer to people outside of your normal audience.
7. Guest Blogging
Another great way to get some free marketing that is evergreen and get exposure to another audience is guest blogging. Down at the bottom of that article will be your headshot, business information and maybe even an offer for a freebie you have. These blogs usually go out in email marketing, as well, and you’ll be on the guest blog’s website for future traffic. Just like with your Stories, blog material can also be prepped in advance and used on multiple blogs.
8. Leaving Comments
Adding value to other people’s posts with comments also puts you in front of individuals who might become potential customers or clients. The best way to do this is to follow other business owners who are part of a similar market to your own and then hop on their trending posts to add substantive comments.
9. Tag & Share
Free marketing can also come when you give a freebie or discount in exchange for someone sharing a post, content, or feedback. A product business might do this by offering a product sample to someone who then shares about that product on social media. Or a service business might approach former clients for a video testimonial which could then make the tag-and-share rounds on social media.
10. Giveaway
For a quick boost in audience growth and marketing, consider teaming up with a few business owners who have complementing products or services for a giveaway. While this does cost you the amount of the product or service to be given away, the access to other audiences you receive as part of the giveaway is free and effective.
For many more marketing tips and tricks, we’d love to see you in our Creative Boss Society, a community for creative entrepreneurs. In the society, we’re just about to dive into the specifics of Instagram marketing, how to build an audience, and how to transform those followers into clients. So if that is something you’d like to get in on, come join us now!
