What Is the Best Way to Promote My New Company?

It took a lot of time, money, and effort, but you've finally set up your business. There's only one thing left to do: Promote your company.

You can get the word out in a number of ways. Here are some tactics to try.

Create a website

When looking up how to promote your business, you'll find that it's important to create a website. The website should list basic information about your business, like what you do, whom you serve, where you're located, and your company's history. You can hire a designer to build your site from scratch, or easily build your own with preset templates on Wix.

Wix and LegalZoom have partnered to help small businesses expand their presence online. You can take advantage of the partnership by forming an LLC or corporation.

“Every business needs a website," says Brett Helling, CEO of Ridester. “The website you have for the company will be the 'go-to' for your customers. A good website will not only help in the promotion of your new company by telling the story of your business and what you offer but will also help to improve your other promotional tactics."

Set up social media accounts

An easy way to promote your company is to set up free social media accounts and post content that your audience will enjoy.

“Start your business on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and begin engaging with niche-related accounts as well as local accounts," says Holly Mills, chief marketing officer at Thrive Cuisine. “This is free, so use every ounce of it you can. Get friends and family to spread the word on their social media, linking back to yours."

Pay for online advertising

If you're looking for proven ways to promote your business, you'll need to pay for advertising at some point. According to Michael Anderson, marketing specialist at Signal + Power, “it can be relatively cheap if set up correctly through Google Ads.

For example, you can set a cap on how much money you're willing to pay for an individual click to your website within Google Ads. This allows businesses to start paid advertising slowly and to only increase their ad spend when they see noticeable results."

Additionally, you may see popular ad networks like Google and Facebook giving away free ad credit vouchers, says Niles Koenigsberg, a digital marketing specialist at FiG Advertising + Marketing.

“If you're new to these advertising methods, you're more likely to get a free ad voucher," he says. “Take advantage of those offerings when they become available to test drive your PPC [pay-per-click] advertisements and generate some initial brand awareness."

Contact local news organizations

If you're struggling for some good press to promote your company, you might get cheap PR by reaching out to local news stations, Mills says. “Let them know you're starting something awesome. Even if your business is not just for locals, you're a local businessperson, and that will be of interest," he says.

Manage your search listings

While the Yellow Pages used to be where people would find businesses, now they turn to the internet for help. That's why it's critical to create public business listings on sites like Google My Business, Yelp, Apple Maps, and Bing Places, Koenigsberg says.

“They are free profiles to create for your business and present easy ways to pop up in local searches across those search engines," he says. “Be sure to create your profile now to start generating brand awareness."

Additionally, encourage your customers to leave reviews—and monitor reviews across all your online listings through a tool like Birdeye. By thanking customers for their reviews and addressing their concerns when they have a negative experience, you will have an opportunity to strengthen brand loyalty.

Hire an expert to help

Since you're likely busy with the day-to-day operations of your business, you may want to hire a publicist or marketer on a freelance or full-time basis to help you out.

“Hire someone to take care of your ads, content, SEO, etc., as soon as you can afford it, assuming that this is not your area of expertise," Mills says. “Even if it is, you'll need help focusing on certain aspects as you scale your business. You can't wear all of the hats and wear them perfectly."

By figuring out how to promote your company—as well as hiring someone when you need assistance—you can get customers in the door and be well on your way to succeeding with your new venture.