Promoting abusiness can beadraining fulltime job even without worrying about organic reach andyour follower count. How doIget customers without social media?— you might ask? This question concerns lots ofmerchants, andweget it. Luckily, there are many ways tomarket your products, andsocial media isjust one ofthem.
Check out 13ways topromote your brand without social media andyou’ll find there are plenty ofoptions toget theword out about your business.
Does MyBusiness Need Social Media?
When you’re just starting out, you should decide: Is social media necessary forabusiness? Unfortunately, there isnoone size fits all solution. But wecan give you insight tohelp build smarter marketing strategies.
One thing issure though: social media isagreat asset only ifyou have astrong message toconnect with your followers. Posting about topics unrelated toyour niche andinconsistent content plan will domore harm than good. Think how you can showcase your brand’s value, what helpful information you can share tobeseen asanexpert inyour niche.
51Ƶ merchant Selena Robinson uses Pinterest promote her digital goods forhomeschooling
Here’re theresources that will help you topresent your brand onsocial media:
- Ablog post onbasics ofsocial commerce
- Our podcast episodes onusing social media forabusiness, aswell aspromoting your brand onPinterest, YouTube, Snapchat, andInstagram.
- The entire Sell onSocial section ofour blog
Asyou see, wehave lots ofmaterials onbuilding your social presence. Still, it’s important tobuild your brand beyond these platforms, solet’s talk about how you can promote your business without social media.
How Can IGet Traffic toMyWebsite Without Social Media?
Some methods below require almost noeffort, while others need more time andinvestment. But all ofthem will drive visitors toyour website without social media, sochoose what makes more sense foryour business atthemoment.
Get your brand inthenews
Every business has something special andworth talking about. Determine your brand’s story: what makes your brand unique andwhy isitthebest alternative tothecompetition? Then pitch your brand story torelevant publications forcoverage. Think about local blogs andnews sites, newspapers too. Focus your efforts onlocal reporters forTVԻradio.
Anarticle about ’s initiative onlocal news
Think what ultimately makes your business interesting anduse that toleverage an
Agreat example forasmall business focusing inproduct distribution could gosomething like this:
Hello John Smith ofMetropolitan News,
Here atJoe’s Snacks, wewant tobeable toprovide affordable snacks forour customers while making animpact inthecommunity. When weset out todothis, wedecided that we’d set upour business tobeanopportunity forformer convicts, sothey can get back ontheir feet while learning about operating abusiness. We’d love totalk toyou more about this ifyou’d like. Feel free tocontact usat
Also: Sell theStory: How toGet Started with Storytelling forYour Brand
Use content tomarket your business
Ifyou’re ready toinvest abit more time andeffort into promoting your business, think about content marketing. Inanutshell, it’s attracting anaudience bycreating andsharing free valuable content. Itmight beanycontent that answers specific questions people have, forexample, educational articles,
Bytheway, social media posts can also beapart ofcontent marketing. Creating content isjust astart, tomake itwork foryour business, you need toshare it. The easiest andcheapest way todothat issocial media. Inthis case, combining content marketing andsocial media can provide better results than using them separately.
Ultimate 5Squad offer free downloadables forteachers andparents
Important thing toremember isthat content marketing isn’t about direct selling ofyour products orservices. It’s about your audience andwhat they want toknow about. You asabrand owner have valuable knowledge toshare with others inyour field. Focus your content onthis knowledge, andyou’ll beable tobuild trust with potential customers byshowing your expertise. For example, ifyou sell bikes, shoot avideo about fixing abike yourself. Or, ifyou’re afitness instructor, partner with awellness influencer tomake alivestream about exercise you can doathome.
Remember that сontent marketing isalways strategic. Ifyou are sharing your knowledge, itmust beconsistent andrelevant toyour audience.
Podcast: Content Marketing andBrand Story
Send out email newsletters
Effective email marketing allows you tostay intouch with your customers while simultaneously offering them deals toincentivize their return toyour store. Asanemail iseasily forwardable, your subscribers can become your evangelists when you give them something interesting toforward toafriend.
Here are themain things toremember when creating your newsletter:
- Make sure your email doesn’t look like spam
- Stick toshort andstrong subject lines, andwhen indoubt, use subject line testers. There are tons ofthem online, forexample, this one from .
- Make sure your email content ishuman, useful andinformative.
Add asignup block toyour site tocollect emails (Image: )
Don’t spam thereaders with needless information. Itwill eventually get caught infilters that keep itout ofpeople’s inboxes, anditwill beignored byeveryone else long before that. Instead, make sure that readers find thecontent useful.
For example, ifyou sell home decor, send people ideas onhow they could incorporate your product into their home. What works foranybrand istelling acompelling story about how theitem you’re offering uniquely serves its purpose andwill change its owner’s life.
More: 10Smart Ways toGrow Your Newsletter List
Partner with other entrepreneurs
Reach out tolocal entrepreneurs with aspirit offinding new ways toteam up. It’s anincredibly cheap andefficient way togenerate referrals andcreate awareness foryour brand. Partnering with another business owner may make you their direct recommendation whenever aneed foryour product comes up.
Agreat example would betovisit thelocal ice cream truck andoffer topromote them atyour next local event, oronyour online shop, inexchange fortheir putting out your fliers bytheir menus.
51Ƶ merchant Jaeleen Shaw joined alocal entrepreneurial group anditdelivered great results:
We became apart ofthat community early on, andall thepeople involved inthat are acore part ofthecreative community. They all shared with their friends, andweblew upreally quickly.
Jaeleen Shaw runs aflower business andbelieves intheidea ofcommunity over competition
Check out our podcast tolearn more about Jaeleen’s tips andexperience.
Advertise with Google Smart Shopping
Ifyou’re looking foraset upԻgo solution, consider running automated Google Smart Shopping ads. Your products will appear onGoogle Shopping, YouTube, Gmail, andmore than 2million partner websites. Best ofall, ads run, test, andoptimize automatically, all you have todoistoset upacampaign inthree simple steps.
Ifyou’re new to
Get areferral program
When you run areferral program, you reward customers forspreading theword about your business. For example, you can reward them with points that they can use toget adiscount, exclusive gifts orfree shipping.
Referral marketing puts anew spin onagood old word ofmouth. Using areferral program iseffective because you leverage your customers andpeople typically trust recommendations from their friends.
Ifyou don’t know where tostart, wehave not one but two special episodes ofthe51Ƶ
Anexample ofareferral program you can set upforyour store with theGratisfaction app
How Can IPromote MyBusiness Without Social Media?
The methods below will help you strengthen your brand andmake your business more visible. Combine several strategies toget more attention toyour store.
Sponsor events andsupport charities
One oftheeasiest ways toget your brand’s name out inthecommunity istobeapart ofthecommunity inthefirst place. Help sponsor local events andget your brand’s name onevent flyers. Look into sponsorship opportunities forlocal junior sports teams. It’s agreat idea tosupport charities, asithelps tell thestory ofyour company’s values.
For example, you can offer apercentage ofyour site’s online proceeds each week toaspecific charity ofyour choosing. There are plenty ofcharities out there, look fortheones that correspond with your audience’s values andbrand messaging.
’s shoppers can support thefoundation bymaking apurchase
Participate inevents
This option isalso about events, but it’s about sharing your expertise rather than sponsoring. You can participate inall kinds ofonline andoffline events toget theword out about your business. For example, speak ataconference, organize amaster class, orjoin awebinar asaguest expert. You can host events yourself orpartner with other entrepreneurs, depending onhow much time andeffort you can offer.
Place outdoor ads
Traditional outdoor ads are still agreat form ofmarketing that you can use. Location iswhat matters most here. Ifyou offer catering ordeserts, finding anoutdoor adopportunity close tothelocal business park will help you build toward becoming the
Use print ads
Don’t underestimate print ads, asthey are still aquick andeasy way toget your business out there. They worked like acharm for51Ƶ merchants Donna andAndrea that sell FlipZees, original glasses forputting onmakeup:
We sent aletter with theproduct toprint magazines, andone came back. They did itlike alittle help section: Mrs. Jcan’t put onher makeup but how can she behelped? andthen they featured our FlipZees glasses andoffered adiscount code. Wehave had alot ofsales straight there. And itcost usnothing, just apair ofglasses andwe’re still getting repeat sales.
Asurefire way tomake print ads work foryou istooffer adiscount based off oftheoutlet thecustomer saw theadin. Print different coupon codes indifferent papers andmagazines totest thewaters andsee where you get more orders from.
Start apop-up shop
There are lots ofreasons why it’s agood idea toopen a
You can set upyour booth atmarkets andfestivals like does
Brand your car
Why not take your vehicle andturn itinto anadonwheels foryou too? All ittakes isavisit toyour local auto detailer; get some advice onwho offers thebest vehicle wraps, then offer topromote their business inreturn foryou todothesame.
Your car will become abillboard that works foryou every time you turn thekey intheignition. Make sure toretain aprofessional look that also displays thecontact info foryour brand onboth thefront andrear ofyour vehicle.
Give away merch andfree samples
One oftheways tomarket your business without social media istoput aphysical item insomeone’s hands. Itshouldn’t betoo big orexpensive, andyou should beable touse ittomeet adirect need inthat immediate moment. Atanevent foralittle league sporting event? Hand out branded water bottles. Swing bythelocal farmer’s market anddrop off tote bags with your logo. Visit aconvention center andhand out branded bottle openers. Or, you can just offer free samples ofyour product without having tomake your merch.
Artist makes stickers with his comics
Promotional items also make great gifts toyour loyal customers. Offer free samples ormerch asathank you gift. Ithelps promote your brand alittle, while also building brand loyalty.
DoYou Promote Your Brand Outside ofSocial Media?
While we’ve touched onafew different methods topromote your brand without social media, nosingle idea byitself isthesilver bullet tocure your marketing worries. The best plan istotry alittle bit ofeverything until you have enough data onwhere torefocus your efforts. With alittle practice, you’ll beable tofind aperfect solution andmake your efforts work foryour brand.
Now, your turn toshare your opinion onmarketing products without social media. How doyou promote your business? Issocial media abig part ofyour marketing strategy?
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