Today. Internet marketing is playing a leading role in brand promotion, displacing traditional marketing (billboards, posters, leaflets, etc.) from the podium. The diversity of companies operating in the market makes it difficult to arouse the interest of potential customers. In order to distinguish the advertised offer from competitors, it is necessary to take appropriate measures, and one of them is to invest in internet marketingwhich significantly accelerates brand development and sales growth. But what if we are just starting our business and our profits are not high enough? We have compiled a list of 7 reliable ways to advertise for free on the Internet.

Free advertising - myth or fact?

The concept of free traditional advertising is an oxymoron. However, having a profile of your brand online, you can promote it, significantly reducing costs or even losing a penny. Some activities related to the promotion of your company online can be done independently, using only your time.

1. Free online advertising: social networks

Social media is undoubtedly the power of the Internet right now. Most of us spend at least an hour a day on websites and social networks. This popularity is great for advertisers, but it's also an opportunity to promote your website. In this case, free online advertising is about creating an account or fan page and reaching new recipients, thus introducing them to our brand.

It's worth having a presence on many channels, but it's worth considering whether we'll have the time or employees to constantly update content on each of them. Then choose the option that your customers use most often. Followers = future customers!

Which social media to choose for your business?

• culinary, fashion or photo blogs - Instagram, Pinterest;
• B2B business - Linkedln;
• e-commerce industry, RTV and YouTube stores;
• hairdresser, makeup artist - Youtube, Instagram;
• the most diverse types of companies - Facebook.

2. Website positioning

Independent positioning of a website undoubtedly requires knowledge, time and patience, but on the Internet we will find many tools that can help us, for example, SEO audit, keyword suggestions, and suggestions from Google: Google Search Console and Google Analytics. However, in the absence of experience, they may not be enough, so it is worth taking advantage of the offer of a professional SEO agency that prepares many packages for any budget.

The website positioning process includes, among other things, the following:

• Technical optimization of the website.
• On-site and off-site activities.
• Keyword comparison and analysis of the contest keywords.
• Adding new unique content written by copywriters.
• Linkbuilding is the creation of a valuable link profile.
• Monitoring the position and responding to changes.
• Improving the "user experience" of website visitors.
• Track the activities of your competitors.

Positioning is an excellent advertisement that has a long-term effect. But the main condition for its effectiveness is proper implementation.

3. Company blog

Google appreciates frequent content updates and meaningful texts, and the best place to add them is in the the company's blog. It is an ideal tool for driving traffic to your website. You can hire copywriters or spend nothing by writing blog articles yourself, making it a free way to advertise online. The benefits of running a company blog include, for example:

• Promote your products or services with an article, for example, about the benefits of using them.
• Getting links to your website through unique content.
• Sharing articles on social media, which will help us get new potential customers.
• Creating "evergreen" content that will always be relevant and attract the interest of your audience for many years.
• Improving website positioning.
• Increase the number of clicks from regular search results.
• Building trust, authenticity, and the position of an expert in the eyes of the client.

4. Advice to potential customers on online forums

The activity of "online forums + marketing" gives the result of "word of mouth marketing". However, it is worth remembering that promoting a company or website on the Internet is different from using mathematical formulas. In fact, the proposed actions give different results. For example, on a forum located in the Google Ads thematic network, you can advertise in a traditional paid way. Or you can bet on free advertising by responding to user comments, but not in a whisper!

Being present on online forums does not necessarily mean whispering. A much better form of advertising is to maintain an official company profile. You can create a user account anonymously on behalf of the company (for example, using the company name in your nickname).

Be present in online forums, not just registered. Follow topics created and developed by users - your potential customers. Don't post annoying advertisements. Instead, reply to threads where your response is desired and valuable. Maybe someone's vacuum cleaner broke, and you run an online home appliance store. Or someone doesn't know which cosmetics to choose - describe the benefits of the one you are considering. In your responses, offer the products you sell, insert links to them, but not every time and not in excessive quantities.

An online forum where you are wanted and liked is also a good place to invite people to special events and encourage them to take advantage of a promotion. By winning the sympathy of the recipients, you will gain current and future customers. Even if they don't need the products in your offer today, they will remember you tomorrow when they need them.

5. Google Maps and Google My Business

Google My Business - is a free way of advertising offered by Google. We can quickly and easily create a virtual business card for our company, which will make it easier for users to find it on the Internet. You need to start by creating a Google account and connecting a business card to it, filling in information about the company and verifying it with Google. Such a business card provides not only a place in the search results, but also visibility in Google Mapswhich makes it easier to find customers interested in inpatient services.

Benefits of creating a Google My Business account:

• Possibility of free online advertising.
• Presence in Google Maps.
• The company appears in search results for brand phrases.
• Easily and quickly familiarize the client with the most important information about the company and facilitate access to it.
• Get feedback that increases brand trust and reliability.

6. Cataloging

The days when online directories were the mainstay of website search are long gone, but that doesn't mean that no one uses them.

There are business directories on the Internet where you can publish your entry. Such directories often allow you to add a link to the company's website, so you get both advertising and an additional link that will help with positioning.

If you're just starting out and don't have too many links to your website, cataloging may be worth your while.

7. Email marketing - personalized online advertising

Every website - regardless of the company's industry - should provide users with the opportunity to subscribe to a newsletter. Hardly anyone has time to visit all the pages of interest every day and check for new products, promotions, and articles. When you launch your newsletter, you can prepare regular lists of popular hits from blog offers and guides. You will also use this method of promotion when participating in a festival or making appearances at company fairs - just before inviting customers to participate in a game or encouraging them to visit your booth at a market.

With a newsletter, you have a unique opportunity to impress your existing customers and personalize your advertising. Divide users into target groups - people who are interested in topics A, B, and C. People aged from to. People living in big and small cities. When you want to advertise specific products or services, you will immediately select potential stakeholders. In addition, you will offer the recipients such guides that will be really useful to them.

In some respects, email marketing has a significant advantage over other types of promotion. Well, it's an online advertisement that recipients expect and want - after all, they subscribe to the newsletter themselves. If you don't have a database of email addresses, you can use the data of customers who have made a purchase in your store and send them an advertisement for a similar product or a personalized discount code for their next order. In addition, send messages to customers who have purchased products or ordered services with instructions on how to use these products/services or other articles on the same topic.

As you can see, there are more opportunities for free online advertising than you think. You don't need to spend large sums of money to promote your business online. However, there are issues that require special knowledge and experience and cannot be replaced by any programs or online tools. DaliWin digital offers professional website positioning, website development, and brand promotion in social media at attractive prices. We encourage you to check out our full offer and get in touch!