How to Promote Your Business Online

If you’re like me, it’s easy to promote or sell something that isn’t your own. But when it comes to feeling comfortable marketing your own business, it can either feel awkward and uncomfortable or go overboard and act as if you and your business are the best things since sliced bread. The truth is, there’s a delicate balance to promoting your small business online and off.

2 Small Business Promotion Tips

Below we examine the two extremes of the wrong way to market your organization and what to do instead. Let’s get started!

#1 Avoiding Self-Promotion

You cannot successfully market your business if you’re not promoting yourself.

Reasons people avoid self-promotion:

  • You believe if your product is great, that people will naturally find it (they won’t).
  • You’re not comfortable tooting your own horn!

Here’s the truth about self-promotion:

  • People aren’t going to find you unless you put yourself out there.
  • Self-promotion is not the same as intrusive advertising.
  • If you believe your product is that great, you should want to share it with as many people as possible!

If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Don’t be afraid to tell everyone about how great your products are.

Now that you’re not shy anymore, what’s next?

#2 Too Much Self-Promotion

There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Using “We-Centered Marketing” means talking so much about your company and what you do that you fail to explain why it matters.

When crafting marketing messages, always ask yourself:

  • Who cares?
  • OK, but why should I care?

You should ensure that your business has a solid value proposition and mission statement.

Here’s why a mission statement matters:

  1. You want to promote yourself in a way that’s consistent with the brand.
  2. If it’s not consistent, it’s probably not relevant, which is why you might be overdoing it.
  3. It will help you integrate your “why,” so you don’t fall into “We-Centered Marketing.”

Conclusion

Now that you know the balance between too much and too little self-promotion, it’s time to take your online marketing to the next level. Click on the image to the right of this post to get a free marketing analysis or contact us directly to speak with a marketing expert about how BizIQ can help with promoting your company in the digital space.