Social networking

Networking is very important in building up your business. It can be hard if you are busy or not very social. In person is definitely great but in this day on online social media take advantage of the many times free resources available. Here are some tips of ways to engage others online and help promote your business.

Join free forums

Joining forums can be a good way to meet others and talk about your business. Depending on if your business is a brick and mortar or online you may want to chose one that fits your criteria. If brick and mortar you will want to meet local people in your area. But if it is online then you wont be limited in local forums. Make sure you know the rules first in order to not get banned for posting to promote your business. Giving value is a good way to promote your business in a more creative way. Join a forum that relates to your business description. For instance if you are a personal trainer you would want to find fitness type of forums. Search for questions people have posted and give them helpful advice. Your forum user name should be your business name. That way when you give advice you are giving it as a business. If it is possible to put your business info in your user bio then do so. Have your website and any business contact info. This is a nice way of promoting your business with out coming off as being over pushy. If they like the way you conduct your self on the forum and see you know your stuff, they will seek you out.

Facebook networking

Facebook has many free ways to meet others and promote your product and brand. You can pay them for ad space as well. But if you are trying to keep costs down for now then this might not be the option for you at this time. Start a page or group. This is a good way to engage with your audience. You can always pay some one to promote it more later. Once you are too busy with your business you might not have the time to up keep it. But starting out and to save money you will have to do your own self promoting. Make sure you know the rules. Not all groups will let you promote your business. But you can comment as your business to get your name out there. You can also do Facebook videos. This would be a great place to do product demos, or show what your services look like. For instance if you do car detail you could show how that’s done. People are visual and some will connect to your business better by seeing what is’s all about.

YouTube videos are great

Back to that visual aspect. People love to see and hear how the business works. You can do so much more by video to help people understand the business then just over text. To see and how your business actually takes place. Maybe see the workers at work. Be able to connect with real people. We chose products based on the people that promote them. We learn to trust them and feel they have our best interest at heart. You can also ad your videos to your website. That way when people visit your website they can get a better understanding of your business. Make sure your YouTube name is your business name. Not only is that a lot more professional, but then you can comment on other videos as your business. Pick videos that relate to your line of business. Don’t comment and try to push your business or product. That’s just rude and annoying. Instead say something relating to the video. People will see your name and after a while if you are posting enough videos they will start to recognize it. These are just a few places to advertise. There are many more free and easy places. But don’t over extend your self. It is better to pick a couple of good ones and post more often on them. This way you will have more of an impact. Consistent posting with value will get you noticed over time. Build a name and a fallowing.