No matter how large or small your business is it's always important to monitor your funds and spend effectively. Your budget often defines the amount of people you can reach, however there are a lot of ways you can advertise your business, for free!

Here are 8 ways you can advertise your business today for free. 

1. Use LinkedIn

Professionals flock to LinkedIn for business advice, connections and resources. Take advantage of this by being a content creator on the platform. LinkedIn has their own blogging platform with the use of articles where you can show your expertise. 

If your content is high quality your LinkedIn connections will do the hard work for you by liking and sharing your article with their audience. Organic reach without the use of paid ads is the best form of advertisement! 

2. Ask for Online Reviews From Happy Customers

Your customers dictate your success. If you are providing a good service and product they will tell their friends which will lead to a steady flow of referrals. Customers trust opinions of others and seek out online reviews before taking the plunge of hiring you more than ever. 

Review your current customer list and ask if they will write a review about their experience on your platform of choice. We focus on Google, Facebook and HubSpot directory. 

Need help turning your customers into super fans? Read our blog on how to get and receive love from your customers. 

3. Set Up Google My Business

This might be the most powerful free tool available to any business. Being able to control your presence on Google Search and Google Maps with this free service is something every business needs to take advantage of. 
 
Want step by step instructions on how to set things up? Visit our blog post here, how to set up Google My Business.

4. Start Guest Blogging

If you are able to find yourself blogging on established blogs as guest writer there are a lot of benefits that can come from it. For starters, every blog does have an audience, the size of that audience depends on its success. When you're a guest blogger you are reaching an audience you might not have reached before and since most bloggers share their blog posts on social media, email marketing and Google Ads, this is all a win for you! 

Another positive to guest blogging is that you often get a chance to have links in the copy that lead back to your site. Backlinks have great value for your SEO if the site you are blogging on is high quality, it can increase traffic and rankings when done properly. 

5. Go to Local Networking EventS

Networking events are a great opportunity to people you might not have had luck in meeting over email or the phone. The great thing about these events is that the setting is defined as a spot for you to start talking about business. Avoid the cold call  and opt-in for this face to face interaction. 

So, how do you find these events? Check out your local Chamber of Commerce, Facebook Events tab or even Eventbrite to find upcoming events. 

6. Start A YouTube Channel

Acting as the second largest search engine in the world next to Google. YouTube has just under 2 billion active users and more than 400 hours of videos are uploaded every minute. 
*Stat taken from: https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/youtube-stats/

Start by creating a channel branded to your business and upload informational videos to help your customers along the buying process. This will allow your customers to build trust with your business before they even made the first call. 

7. Start USing social media

It's rare a business has a marketing plan where social media isn't part of the mix. Since the majority of these networks are free it makes sense to have it as part of your strategy. Your business might not make sense for every platform so be careful which you choose and focus on the right networks for your business. Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are a safe spot to start.

Need help with social media? Not sure where to start?
Download our playbook, it's free! 

8. ASk to Be Interviewed on A Podcast

Similar to guest blog posts, podcasts have their benefits too. This new form of media has come strong in the last two years where almost every business has a podcast and is creating content online. If you are able to find yourself interviewed on a podcast and it fits within your business goals, jump on it! No matter how large or small the podcast audience is, it's still an audience you might not have reached before.