How to Promote Your Business

In case you have not guessed it yet today’s tip is about how to promote your business. In today’s marketing tip, we will begin completing our series on the Four P’s of Marketing. The fourth and final “P” is Promotion. This is what most of us think about when we hear the word “marketing.”

As we have been discussing, marketing dives into a whole lot more than just advertising. The thing to remember about the Four P’s of Marketing is that each one is vital to a successful business. If you ignore one, all the rest start to crumble. You can spend a ton of money advertising a product at the wrong price and fail to achieve your goals. Or you could have the perfect product at a great price point, but fail to promote it properly, and no one will know about your amazing idea. Everything has to work together and be in good order to function properly. 

So What is Promotion? 

At the risk of sounding overly obvious, “promotion” is any activity designed to spread the word, get people’s attention, and gain their interest in what you are doing. Promotions can take the form of paid advertisements, social media posts, email marketing, public relations, blogs, podcasts, videos, webinars, and more. Ultimately, promotion is all about being in the right place, with the right message, at the right time so that people searching for what you offer can find you. That’s right: promotion is not about finding customers – it is about making it easy for them to find you. It is not about attracting them to you, it is about showing up where they already are. In the old days, advertising was all about trying to find customers, but this strategy does not work in today’s world. 

How Does Promotion Help Customers Find You? 

I’m glad you asked! Effective promotion shows up in front of people that already know they need or want what you have. This can be as simple as having your salsa displayed in the chip section at the grocery store. Or more complex Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies that improve the chances of your salsa eCommerce website showing up when people search for “best salsa.” You could spend money trying to find and convince people that they want salsa then still have to convince them that they want your salsa. Or you could simply show up where all the salsa lovers (like me) are hanging out. It is a lot more effective to just be where your customers are already looking. 

This is not just about shelf space and SEO either. The same concept applies to any promotion you are doing. Advertise your salsa in a food and cooking magazine. Write a blog sharing recipes that use salsa. Put your salsa billboard at the corner next to the grocery store where it is sold. Start a salsa lovers social media page. The list can go on. The point is to do things so you show up in the right place, at the right time, in front of the right people. Who are the right people? The ones that are already looking for you. 

More to Come

There is more to say about how to promote your business. Our next marketing tip will continue the conversation on promotion. We will discuss things like the differences between top-of-mind-awareness versus call-to-action advertising, as well as paid versus free campaigns. Check it out here: Advertising Your Business on a Small Budget