by Lina Martinez

Marketing is such an important element of business- without the right promotion people simply won’t be able to find you and buy what you’re selling. But it doesn’t have to be all dullness and analytics- marketing can be incredibly fun and be a way for you to connect with your customer base. Here are a few ideas.

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Set Up an Interesting Stall At a Business Expo

When you attend a business expo you get to chat with customers and clients directly, and show off your product or services in person. But there’s no need to stick to dull demonstrations and presentations- you can make it fun! You get to be engaging and really connect with those who are interested in you as a business, Set up creative games linked with your business that encourage interaction. Make your stall bright and exciting. Business expos are large events, and often customers will only get chance to visit a few stalls. By making yours fun and engaging you increase the chances that they will come and speak to you and find out more. If you hand out promotional products with your brand name like pens, keyrings and umbrellas it will remind people of your business whenever they use them. Sites like Promo Gallery offer this service, it’s a fantastic way to get your name out there as these are the kinds of items people use regularly.

Run Giveaways and Competitions

Let’s face it, everyone likes free stuff. Running giveaways and competitions is a good way to get people excited about your brand and the message can spread like wildfire when people know there’s something in it for them! There are lots of ways you could go about this. You could give a mystery product or a freebie to everyone that orders from you in a certain time frame. You could ask people to like, share and comment on a picture on Facebook and randomly select a winner. Every time someone likes, shares and comments all of their friends will see, and have the chance to enter too which in turn will be seen by their friends. People might not share your business out of the goodness of their heart but they’re much more likely to if there’s something in it for them! You could use a sweepstake platform to run a giveaway, people just need to enter their email address for a chance to win. You then have a list of emails that can be used for your marketing- just be sure to state this is what you will be doing in the fine print. In return, they get to be in with a chance of winning a fantastic prize. This could be products or services from your business, a gift card or an unrelated prize like a tickets or even a holiday. The more impressive the prize, the more likely people are to enter.

Use Social Media to Actually Be Social!

The most successful brands are those that know the power of social media. While this can be a great platform for promoting your deals, offers, products and services- engaging with customers can also be very effective. If someone comments on one of your posts or pictures, reply back. Ask a question, get them chatting. This can promote a positive experience of your company and help them to feel more connected. It can make them much more likely to use your business either now or in future. Be friendly, witty and responsive.