Are you in a marketing rut? Are you ready to get your business noticed with a few easy-to-implement marketing ideas? Excellent, because we have a list of out-of-the-box ideas that will attract new customers and help to build buzz around your brand.

1. Online directories

The days of flipping through the yellow pages might be gone, but there are still many online directories your business can benefit from. These sites allow business owners to create a profile that offers information that your customers are most likely to search for including address, business hours and pictures.

There are dozens of online directories out there. Here are the top 20 places to list your business:

 

Is your business already listed online? Deluxe Corporation offers a free online directory search tool that you can use to check the status of your company across the most popular online directories and ensure all the information listed is correct.

2. Review sites

Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to market your business. These days you can also encourage word of mouth marketing for your business online through review sites.

Similar to online directories, there are many to choose from. Some of the most influential include:

3. Beneficial online marketing tools

There are a few specific tools that small business owners should explore when thinking about ways to boost their marketing efforts. Here are four of our favorites:

Good marketing and practical networking often go hand in hand. The next time you attend an industry trade show, an event at your local Chamber of Commerce, or even a simple social gathering, make sure you have FullContact on your smartphone. With this app, you can snap a picture of a business card and the contact information is automatically loaded into your VerticalResponse contact list.

Effective marketing also requires that you work hard to grab the attention of your audience. With Justuno, you can do just that. This handy widget allows you to add an instant offer/promo to your website or social sites. Before getting the offer, the visitor must submit his or her email address. This comprehensive tool gets people talking about your business and adds them to your contact list.

When something newsworthy happens with you business, always consider creating a press release to share with the media. In addition to emailing it to your local TV stations and newspapers, you should also share it on Prezly.com. This site places your press releases in front of leading digital newsrooms and other social media influencers.

Boost your overall social media presence with Foursquare. When someone visits your business, they can “check in” on Foursquare, which tells their social media audience where the user is. Your business name will then show up in their social network news feeds, which is perfect free publicity without any upfront effort.

4. Offline marketing ideas

Remember though, despite the push to be everywhere online, offline marketing still has its place. Here are a few ideas to consider when looking to take your business marketing off the digital grid:

  • Join a local business group

Join a local business group like the Chamber of Commerce or other business-oriented groups. These organizations will usually host social gatherings, distribute newsletters and participate in volunteer events, all of which are opportunities to market your business.

  • Keep ‘marketing swag’ on hand

From pens to t-shirts and everything in between, it’s important to get (and work to keep!) your name out there. Make sure that you have a stocked inventory of marketing swag goodies available at all times whether you own a physical or online business. In addition to wearing it yourself, set aside an amount to give away to customers each month as well. Companies like PsPrint specialize in crafting small business printed materials for a reasonable price.

Tell us how you are building buzz for your brand.

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© 2015, Contributing Author. All rights reserved.

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