I would like to have some advice for marketing and promoting my new Web Design company. I would like to target Local and Global market both, So I think I will be needing two completely different marketing techniques. Website Ads, PPC etc never worked out well for me, I was thinking of something like Newspaper Ads, Distributing Flyers, Posting Classifieds Ads etc. Can anyone guide me through the process? About what to do, and what not to do while promoting the company for the first time? Thank you.
I'd suggest trying to use both craigslist and backpage. Creating your own twitter and g+ pages (which you probably already have) is a must. Using places like this forum can also prove to be beneficial.
I suggest also some local work, so, meeting with business guys in your area. Professional networks can be very important as well, since you can have leads through them.
Why don't you try come local PR for the local business? You could write up a press release with some news about the industry and how your services are helping your clients with this news. For example, you could talk about a new security threat and how you have updated your tools/platform to protect your clients. The key is to come up with news of interest to a media outlet's readers and then pitch it personally to the reporter/editor. A nice write up in the local newspaper or local business journal could generate some new customers.
Jrbiz, you read my thoughts! Nothing sells better than an article in a local newspaper/ news portal. Have it written well, discuss the topics people are currently discussing - and it will be noticed, resulting in a wave of traffic to your website. As for global market - SEO and SMO are a must, nothing else works. blogs, forums, social networks - get as many mentions of your website as you can.
anyway, since the competition is so high, the most important thing is to create examples where you face an issue in your field, with the explanation of how you solved it. press releases are ok, but there are too many. Explaining your skills and your good ideas is much more important.
Your words are music for my ears, Jake! I say this myself - do not tell you are good, prove it by acting good. Show your customers you are their perfect choice. 1 worthy example is better than 100 loud promises.
Try to do a search, you will find a lot of similar questions being asked. My personal opinion will be that of localization of advertising. Advertise to those businesses you know, do your work well, benefit from the WOM, Word of Mouth. Advertising on the Internet will be extremely expensive, I don't really recommend Google Adwords etc, they cost tons of money and the returns I do feel do not justify the costs.
Thanks, Zealot! Common sense is a lot important in business and in marketing. But, (strange!!) many don't have it! when sometimes you just need to sit and think, relax and understand how things are working and the best choices.
Word of Mouth is the best, but it needs some quantity of satisfied customers. It begins working only after you have a pool of customers, which recommend your service to their friends and colleagues. Other methods of promotion have to take place first, though WOM is definitely the best. SEO is not limited to using Adwords, implementing right keywords to website content is enough to make it more SEO-friendly, and further improvements result in even better results.. but this is not the place for discussing SEO. Social media advertising can also help greatly, it can be done oneself and does not need great expenses. Well... every little bit counts on the road to success, after all.
I am a huge fan of SEO. Let’s be honest…the only way to get to the top of the search engines and STAY there is to use organic efforts like posting content: articles, videos, press releases, etc. You can do this yourself, or hire a company to automate the whole process for you.