If you had plans to throw a big party and invested a lot of money, time and effort into bringing it to life, would you invite guests, or just hope that they turn up?

All businesses start because of great ideas, but to succeed they need to sell their great ideas to their customers. Just like you would invite guests to the party, you need to invite potential customers to your business. They are not mind readers and they don’t know what you do and how you can make their life better or easier. It’s on you to take initiative and introduce your business.

1.  Create an SEO optimised website

Your website is your virtual showroom, but if it isn’t SEO optimised, your visitors will struggle to find it. The content on every page helps search engines understand what your website is about. So, when people are searching for topics relevant to your site, search engines know to recommend your content. Your website also needs to be mobile friendly, so visitors’ experience on their mobile devices and tablets is just as good as the desktop experience.

2.  Register your business with Google My Business

Google My Business is a free tool that helps small businesses create and manage their Google listings, which appear when customers find businesses on Google Search and Maps. The listing is free and will help you be found online, as well as add credibility, particularly if you have customer reviews.  You can also use the tool to publish regular blogs.

3.  Publish a regular blog

Showcasing that you understand your audience, industry and the market can have a great impact on how your brand is perceived. Google also loves fresh content and a blog on your website helps to drive traffic to your website and serves as a great source of content for your social media.

4.  Encourage social sharing

Allow your website visitors to easily share your posts and find your social media accounts by having the icons visible on your homepage so they can follow your company for regular updates. Anyone sharing your posts on social media helps you reach new people. Even better, as the share comes from someone they know and trust, it’s more likely to trigger their interest.

5.  Create a professional email signature

Very simple, yet very effective if you think about how many emails you send every day. Use your signature to highlight any relevant contact details, link it to your website and keep it up to date. Include your logo and links to your social media profiles to build brand awareness and connect with others.

6.  Use news aggregators to boost your traffic

News aggregator sites make it easy to find relevant content based on your interests. And if they can help you to find great sites, they can also be very effective when it comes to promoting your own content. Some of these are available as apps, some of them will require a plugin and for others you just need to submit a link to your blog or website with relevant tags.

7.  Use video content

Short, informative videos keep people engaged with your content significantly longer than text and pictures. In fact, people stay on websites with videos 60% longer than sites with just text and pictures and Google likes pages where people spend time. They are also great for storytelling.

8.  Connect with relevant influencers

Consumers are increasingly seeking reviews from people they trust before buying products or signing up to services. Now, the circle of trust has grown to people they follow on social media, too — ranging from celebrities and industry experts to bloggers. By sharing your content with their audience, these influencers can help you achieve a number of marketing goals such as lead generation, brand awareness and credibility.

9.  Post regularly on social media

Consistency and regular communication will ensure that you are reminding your followers about your presence. Keep your updates engaging - instead of simply copy and pasting a link to your update, take the time to write an attention-grabbing headline and intro to go with it. In addition to interesting, visually attractive posts and captions, pay attention to your target audience. The more you interact with others on social media, the more visible your posts and your own profile will become.

10.  Run social media competitions and partnerships

Social media competitions can generate a lot of engagement and reach new followers. Set up an interesting competition that requires followers to like your page or tag a friend and offer something in return.  Two accounts can always reach more followers than one, so get in touch with other businesses that you could form partnerships with and explore how you could run joint campaigns – either promoting each other or offering an interesting giveaway. 

11.  Ask for help with social media sharing

Ask your friends and colleagues to share your updates – the more your posts get shared, the more often and higher they will appear. Updates that get re-shared and liked do better than those which are individually posted, and building a social media community also means that you are getting your updates in front of your followers connections.

12.  Write guest blogs

Expand your reach by guest blogging elsewhere – offer valuable advice that can be published on other sites and benefit from the extended reach that they bring. Research blogs that are reaching the right readership for your business and connect with other bloggers – they can benefit from your expertise, and vice versa you can offer to publish their guest posts on your blog.

13.  Send out a press release

Having your name mentioned in relevant media outlets can have a great impact on your business, get you noticed and create a lot of positive buzz around your brand.  Issuing a press release is an effective way to get your name out there, if you have relevant news that can be interesting to the media.

14.  Leverage PR

Engaging with the right media and presenting them with your story through appropriate channels is great for your reputation management as it will give you credibility and help you communicate your messages to your stakeholders. It can help you generate content to use on all your other marketing channels and get your company seen on different platforms making you look proactive and knowledgeable.

15.  Send out email campaigns

Regular email campaigns ensure that you are in touch with your existing and potential customers. You can send out emails about recent news or product launches. There are many free tools that will let you design and send out an email campaign, without having previous email marketing experience.

16.  Host a webinar

Webinars are a great, cost effective way to attract your potential customers through knowledge and experience sharing without any geographic limitations. They are easier to organise than face-to-face events, yet still have the ability to connect with others and help to build your brand.

17.  Create downloadable content   

Give your audience valuable insights – you can create an ebook, a detailed how-to guide or anything that provides in-depth knowledge that is interesting enough for your visitors to trade their email address in exchange for the download. This works in many ways – building your profile as an expert, building up your mailing list and improving your website traffic.

18.  Enter awards

Awards give you external recognition of the quality of your products and service. And even if you don’t win, being shortlisted will give you the opportunity to network and to be seen at the right places.

19.  Join online groups and forums

Join the conversation online.  Groups and Q&A forums are great to learn from others, share your expertise and they are also very effective organic traffic drivers. Whether you prefer to join a community on Facebook or contribute on Quora, you are increasing your visibility online.

20.  Share case studies and testimonials

Write up the success stories to date and use them on your website and social media. Doesn’t matter if you can’t use your client’s name. Everyone loves a good story – so share yours. Use your happy clients to promote your business by asking them for testimonials. There is nothing better to prove your skills than having a satisfied customer telling everyone else.