5 Great Ways to Promote Your Small Business

“Are you still in business?” A small business owner told me she was talking with a friend, who asked, “Are you still in business?”  If her friends didn’t know she was still in business, she was obviously doing something wrong.

You have a great business, I know.  And you are working hard to do everything you need to do, including marketing, customer service, and managing your finances.  Just don’t forget to promote your business.  What I’m talking about when I say “promotion” are those things you do to keep your small business in the “eye” of the community, to keep people aware that you are still out there, especially if you are selling to the community.

Ways to Promote Your Business. I suggested some ways the small business owner could make sure people were aware of her business:

Get involved in a community event. Every season has some events in the community that you could join.  I am sure you can find some that relate to your business products or services.  If you have a fitness-related business, sponsor a race.  If you are a restaurant, participate in a cook-off or food fest. Set up a booth at the county fair or at a mall event.

Volunteer. There are many ways businesses can help out in any community.  Just being out there and helping, especially if you bring employees along, keeps your name in the public eye and generates lots of good feeling.  Ask for employees to help you volunteer on a Habitat for Humanity house or a Red Cross blood drive, for example.

Create a community event and publicize it. Create your own event, maybe centered around a special day for your type of business, and publicize it.  Get one of the radio stations to do a promotion for the event and invite the community to help you celebrate.

Talk to community groups. I am a big advocate of public speaking to promote your business.  Find community groups that need speakers (they all do!) and get out and talk to them.

Promote on Your Website. Keep your website up to date and use it to promote community events, your own events, your speaking engagements, and anything you can think of that will draw people in.  Have a “What’s Happening In [name of community]” page on the site, and promote the activities you are participating in and those you want people to know about.

Keeping your name out in the community doesn’t take a lot of time and money, but it’s something you should continue to do to let people know you are “still in business.”

Image – mobikefed@flickr