Online marketing platforms you can utilize for free
Best online marketing platforms in Ireland
Google Listing
Social Media Channels
Blog
Video sharing platforms
Google Search
Forums
Organic social media platforms have opened up online marketing opportunities for businesses which everyone has access to for free, which is an amazing asset to any marketing campaign. There are so many avenues to explore giving your business endless choices to apply to your marketing campaigns. Let us explore what is out there and will they be suitable for your brand visual identity.
Google Listing
Google has become synonymous with searching for information across the globe. Basically if its not on Google listing it probably doesn’t exist. 90% of online interaction begin with a search engine which provide their own local listings, Google My Business. This is a popular method for potential customers to find your products and services.
Once you have registered your listing on Google My Business you can engage with customers and post images to help your business stand out.
Your business listing will be tied to a local SEO’s which should be a strong consideration in your marketing plan.
Users will search for localized keywords which will steer them to your business. If users search for a local bakery in Dublin, you want your website to be at the top or near to the top of the search engine. The listing will include your location on Google Maps, and contact details, so it’s easy for potential customers to find you.
This listing is all Free so its a good way to get your business on the map, quite literally.
Social Media Channels
Again social media channels are free so which one will be suitable for your business?
Consider what products or services are you offering and what human and financial resources have you got, yes , social media may be free but think about the value of your time.
Don’t plunge in and sign up for every channel on the market, they may not fit your brand model so stay focused.
- Facebook is the most popular platform with 1.11 billion users so your target audience is in there somewhere. Engage with your followers and answer their queries and enter into conversations. Facebook is thought of as the social home for business.
- Google+ has 359 million active users a month and is popular for business listings but does need to be updated on a regular basis. When people search for your business, whether they follow you or not, your Google+ page and the most recent posts, will be displayed. This makes it an important platform to consider for your business.
- Twitter has approximately 215 million users and is used for communication and is known for keeping up with the latest news and developments.
- Linkedin is a more formal business platform, allowing people in the same industry to enter into conversations about developments within the same industries and exchanging ideas.
- Youtube is popular for video content and has 1 billion users per month. This is a powerful channel for optimized content to be discovered by people looking for your product or service. When it comes to your SEO ranking, videos are 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of search results.
Blogs
If you want to own your own blog, WordPress is a great start. It allows you to set up a WordPress site for free and they will host it inclusive of the package. However, if you want your own .com site they can host it but there will be a monthly fee for using WordPress. Still worth it as it gives you total control. WordPress also provide free templates to suit your business brand and are easy to control from the front end by you. You don’t have to be a techie. There are many free sights out there. Google search will help you find the best one for your business.
BlueHost is a good option when hosting and its cheap and includes a free domain name and is linked to WordPress.
Blogs allow you to engage with you audience and tell them of your latest developments and enter into conversations. You can also multi publish to your other social media sites.
Forums
There are a plethora of free forums on the web so choosing one which is suitable for your business may involve some research. By connecting with influencers in your industry could be a way forward. Also getting feedback from existing users will give you an insight into what is the most efficient forum for your marketing strategy. Here are a few you may consider.
Zetaboards offers free forum hosting which is good for building online communities. They have many features such as joinable groups, free support for customer domains and spam preventions.
BuddyPress is also free and open source social networking software package. It is a WordPress plugin which sets your site up as a discussion platform.
MYBB is a powerful software package that allows you to easily build your own website for Free. It includes threads, public posts, private messages and profile searches.
There are so many Free opportunities to market your brand which could be relative to your business and will deliver your marketing strategy to your target audience, so with a bit of research and networking your strike rate should support your sustainable business.
Put your wallet away and go for it. We can coach you to utilize these platforms. Contact us Today!
Brand You Creative
Creator – Lee Kavanagh on Jan 18, 2019
