Promote Your Business Locally - Give a little get a lot in return.

To name a few, there is marketing, accounting, finding clients, developing new products and customer service plus so many more that we could spend days reviewing each one. But we are going to discuss “marketing” and how you can locally promote your business.

Any new business should think and plan on promoting to your local market. Your local market and how you contribute to your community will make a great impression on those looking for services or products that you offer. Communities are tight knit and require many of its business owners to contribute to the well being of it. As a new or established business you may need to get out and work in your community to make a name for yourself and your company. As a business owner you may need to give some of your services or products away free to advertise them to your local market. But most importantly is the time you contribute to your community in the name of your business that will have the greatest impact.

There are many organizations that you can get involved with that do many ongoing projects for communities such as the Rotary or Kiwanis Club. Their main objective is to get involved in the community to make a difference.

Local Chamber of Commerce’s and Business Networking groups allow you to network your business through organized involvement. If you choose to join your local Chamber get involved with the Ambassador program, serve on committees and become involved rather then just paying dues. Many Chambers hold yearly Business Expo’s so you can highlight your services or products to the business community.

Above all of the rest making the commitment to volunteer your time is the one that will always reward you twice fold. Think of it this way, any one can write a check or give products away as door prices but in today’s business life style nothing is as important and has the greatest impact than donating your time.

If you are a web developer or new SEO professional here is an example on how you can combine giving of yourself and promoting your services at the same time.

When I first started my web developing company I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I could get my name out in our community.. In those early days what I did have was time but a limited marketing budget. I started researching local non-profit organizations to see who had websites already developed. What I found was the local chapter of Big Brothers and Sisters did not have a website for their local office. While doing my research I also found that every spring they held a Kids Bowl-a-Thon to raise money for their program. With this information in hand I asked for a meeting with the current director. My proposal was to offer them a free website in exchange for a sponsorship level in the upcoming Kids Bowl-a-Thon. They were so taken back by my offer that not only did I get a sponsorship I got the highest level of sponsorship which included advertising in all the major papers, event t-shits, posters and all banner advertising they did leading up to the event. This one donation of time turned into a real breaking point in making a name for myself.

As our business has grown over the years we have stayed true to giving back to our community as much as possible. We have many times over the years given services away to non-profit organizations and most times requiring nothing in return as we did with that first exchange for sponsorship. Our community knows they can always count on someone from our company to come through when extra hands are needed and this in itself has set us apart in our community.

You will get out of volunteering as much as you put into it.. Don't hesitate to donate some of your time to a worthy volunteer opportunity. You will be glad you did and so will your business..

Author – Tracy Fredrychowski – SEO Instructor
Search Engine Academy of SC
Looking for local Search Engine Marketing and Optimization training in South Carolina? The Search Engine Academy of SC holds workshops in Greenville, Columbia and Charleston. Check and see when we will be bringing our 5 Day SEO Hands on Workshop to your area.

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