What are the best ways to advertise your business without feeling the pinch? Promoting a business is no mean feat, but we’ve pulled together some ways in which you can promote your company – whether you’ve been in business for years or are just starting out – with maximum impact, at minimal cost.

Brainstorm

First and foremost, plan your attack. Who will your potential clients be? How will you reach them? Who will the decision maker be – the CEO of the company, the HR director or the PR manager? Write your answers down, and refer to them before you start any innovative marketing tactic.

Giant wipe walls are brilliant for such brainstorming sessions and are wonderful for recording employees’ feedback without the need for flimsy (and often easy-to-lose) flip chart pads or post it! notes. Using this nifty piece of equipment, you’ll be able to decide who’ll do what and employees will be able to refer back to the plan whenever they like.

Wipe walls can even be fitted together to turn any wall into a large whiteboard – an economical, effortless way to share your ideas in style.

Get a Website

A real must in promoting your business is setting up a website. If you simply can’t afford to fork out for a professional to custom-build your website, choose a company such as Wix, SquareSpace or Godaddy, all of whom offer tools and templates to make the task easier.

Related: How can I promote my small business website?

Get Listed Online

So, you have your website, but have you registered your business on search engine local directories? You can get your compny details up on Google My Business and Bing PLaces for free or on Yahoo! for next to nothing if you sign up for their services. Yahoo Localworks charges a monthly fee and lists you in 50 different directories, such as Yelp, WhitePages, Bing, Yahoo Local and more.

Set Up Your Social Media Platforms

Have you created social profiles on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest? If not, get them set up, making sure you include a decent description, keywords and a link to your website. With social media, one of the best things you can do is join groups or conversations in line with your small business’s niche products or services. Don’t spam them with constant promos, just take part in discussions.

Host a Marketing Event

One of the best things you can do to promote your business is to host various kinds of events, including workshops, panels, conferences, speaker series and networking events. By doing this, you’ll build trust amongst business leaders, not to mention offer value to clients. Wipe walls are great for events and presentations, and will no doubt get your message across effectively – and in style, too.

Easy to rig up, whiteboards can be used to create large walls, just like a giant wipe board – perfect for marketing events where you need to visualise your thoughts. Hosting an event is a fantastic opportunity for your business to gain publicity, particularly to local potential clientele.

Given that your business name will be associated with the event when you host, you can market your business and plug it to your spectators without selling too obviously. The better the event you lay on, the more your business will be remembered.

Email Newsletters

Have you signed up for an email service? Send a monthly newsletter and/or promotional offers to customers and prospects for your business.

Tip: Make sure you ask for permission before sending an email to the person in question. To kickstart the email list, offer a list of people – who you know are interested in your emails – a freebie, such as a free eBook, gift, diet plan or product as an incentive to sign up.

Press Releases

Is there something unique about your business? Then publicise it. Decide which audiences are likely to be interested in your product or service, then send out press releases to local newspapers, magazines, radio stations and TV stations. Be sure to post the press releases on several online press release platforms rather than just one, and don’t forget to include links to your website.

You’ll most likely have more chance to having material published if you include a photo with your press release (not radio stations).