Promotion

Regardless of the product or service offered, almost all businesses must engage in some form of promotional activities for their product. Traditionally, this has taken place through media and physical advertising, but with exponential growth in the popularity of digital technologies, the opportunities for different promotional streams are now almost endless. A few of the more popular free promotional strategies include:

Creating a website
Creating a social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
Fostering word of mouth promotional campaigns
Have your business appear in more prominently in Google search results by setting up a Google MyBusiness page
Ask customers to review your product or service online

Some of the more popular paid strategies include:

TV advertising
Radio advertising
Print media advertising
Social media advertising
Search results advertising (Google) – sometimes called PPC (Pay Per Click)
Creating an email campaign
Implementing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so that your website appears higher in search results
Influencer marketing (Paying individuals to promote your product on their social media profile)

Which strategy will work best for any business depends on budget, who the target customers are, and the nature of the business offering.

Tips

Starting points:

Read about and consider which promotional strategies will best reach your target customer.
Consider setting up a website, directory listing and social media presence. If you do choose to do so, ensure they are regularly maintained and updated.
Research what other, similar businesses are doing in this space. Is it working for them?

Suggested strategies:

The terms ‘advertising’ ‘marketing’ and ‘sales promotion’ are sometimes used interchangeably – consider carefully when researching.
Where possible, consider finding resources and information specific to your industry. Not all products or services can or should be marketed the same way.
Look for recently updated resources, especially regarding online promotions. The world of digital marketing is dynamic and fast changing, and anything more than a few years old is likely to have lost relevance.

Select Resources

The following materials link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

Advertising Campaign Planning by Jim Avery
Call Number: HF5837 .A93 2016
ISBN: 9780978663834
Published/Created: 2016
An in-depth, academic style start to finish guide for creating an advertising plan and implementing it, covering everything from defining target audiences to choosing your media mix.
The Marketing Plan Handbook by Robert W. Bly
Call Number: HF5415.13 .B559 2015
ISBN: 9781599185590
Published/Created: 2015
Chapters 7 and 8 provides easy to understand advice around planning which marketing and advertising strategies to use, and how to integrate your digital and physical marketing.
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk
Call Number: HF5415.1265 .V39 2013
ISBN: 9780062273062
Published/Created: 2013
Although slightly dated in the ever-changing digital marketing world, this book regardless provides interesting and often entertaining examples on how to create engaging social content – and what to avoid.
Multichannel Marketing Ecosystems by Markus Ståhlberg; Ville Maila
Call Number: HF5415.126 .M843 2014
ISBN: 9780749469627
Published/Created: 2013
A range of experts with experience across industries share detailed information about their experiences and advice on creating cross-channel marketing promotions.
Consumer Marketing by Richard K. Miller & Associates
Call Number: HF5415.1 .C588
Published/Created: Annual, 2009-present
This book provides a wide range of consumer marketing statistics from across different industries and advertising mediums, which may be useful in determining which strategies are best suited to your business.

These are freely available online sources provided by government agencies, trade publications, and organizations.

Small Business Marketing 101 (Forbes) External
A brief easy-read introduction to promotion options available to small businesses, published by Forbes, a well-known business news and information provider.
Small Business Advertising: The Ultimate Guide (Fundera) External
‘Small business advertising doesn’t necessarily have to be all that challenging; nor does it have to be all that expensive’ this article tells the reader, presenting concise information and advice about various advertising opportunities and strategic considerations. Fundera provides financial services to small businesses, as well as useful articles that are editorially independent.
Advertising FAQ's: A Guide for Small Business (Federal Trade Commission )
Any advertising campaign must adhere to truth-in-advertising rules or risk financial penalty. This excellent FAQ by the FTC will help you understand these and other advertising rules that may affect you.

The following guides were created by the Library of Congress to give an in-depth list of resources on a specific topic.

Influencer Marketing
As a marketing strategy, companies hire individuals with a large social media following to promote products through their personal accounts. Use this guide to research the business of influencer marketing, current issues and regulations in the industry.
The Entrepreneur's Reference Guide to Small Business Information: Marketing: Research, Strategy, and Advertising

Small Business Hub: A Research Guide for Entrepreneurs

Promotion

Tips

Starting points:

Suggested strategies:

Select Resources