Mike Paffman, CEO, VIRGO PR

Plenty of small businesses don't have the same marketing and public relations budgets that big brands and corporations do, which means that they have to find other ways to incorporate promotional strategies into their campaigns. Additionally, many business owners of brand new companies also don't have a lot of time to spend on creating marketing campaigns or promoting their company's products or services. Fortunately, there are some effective promotional strategies for beginners that are designed to help small companies that are just starting out. 

Content Marketing and Optimization

One great way that small businesses can share what they're doing behind the scenes is through content such as blog posts or even short videos that are shared with the target audience via social media platforms. This type of content can be used to market the company's products or services and attract a brand new set of clients. However, every piece of content should be optimized to be able to reach the target audience of the business, which means business owners should be utilizing keywords within that content. 

These keywords have to be placed in very strategic locations within the text when it comes to text-based content, or with hashtags for video content. Another great thing about content marketing via social media platforms is that sharing that content is free, and it's one of the best beginner marketing strategies available for small businesses. Regularly sharing content helps engage the target audience on a given platform. 

Email and Ads

Email marketing campaigns are another great effective beginner promotional strategy that can get the company in front of its target audience. Everyone that subscribes to a company's email newsletter will receive the message right in their inbox folder, and another benefit is that companies can keep track of various metrics with these types of email campaigns.

Aside from email campaigns, businesses can also create digital ads to get in front of an even bigger number of new consumers, and the best way to promote those ads is through Google or Facebook. Both of these platforms are a lot more cost-effective than ads in print or TV, or even radio, and they have excellent targeting features that allow companies to reach a wide audience. 

Contests and Giveaways

Another great way for companies to turn prospects into consumers is to run contests. That means creating some type of game or quiz that will get the attention of visitors. Companies can ask for some more personal information from the participants, like their favorite products. Or they ask them to subscribe to an email newsletter and reward them with a discount or a bundle of enjoyable products from the business. 

Similarly, many people love getting stuff for free, which tends to turn them into buying customers. That's why giveaways are so effective at promoting a company's products or services, and they’re beneficial for digital businesses as well as brick-and-mortar stores. The giveaway price can be similar to the price of a contest with a discount code or products or services from the company itself.

About the Author: Mike Paffman is CEO of VIRGO PR, a leading PR agency.