Do you have a project? It’s time to tell people about it

Once the project is launched and the goals established comes the arduous task of being known by investors, partners and the public in general. Promotion is an essential task, and today it is greatly benefited by the possibilities, mostly free, that the Internet offers. There are several key points that an entrepreneur has to pay attention.

The message

Let's start with the message. Before promoting a business, you should know well what you want to communicate, and once this point is clear spread the message in ways that differentiate you from other projects, especially those that may be similar to your business.

Users today are bombarded with all kinds of slogans and tend to pay little attention to them, so the message must be concise, simple, and accurately reflect the idea of your business. Besides getting the customer to retain the message, you will square the circle if the slogan is able to generate positive feelings. As an example, we suggest you to read articles like this one about one of the best entrepreneurs in the world, Steve Jobs.

It’s not easy, but as Jobs pointed out, it is important to communicate the idea that we are the best at something; when that idea catches on, customers arise spontaneously, as we all want to work with the best. To be perceived as such, we have online allies like social networks and blogs.

It is important to highlight that we must maintain the consistency and persistence of the message, but instead of repeating the same one it is advisable to show the advances in the day-to-day of your business: talk about the customers you have visited, your new collaborators, the successive stages in the development of your business, and even the difficulties that you are overcoming. Communicate messages that generate empathy with the audience and serve to establish the basis for an interest in your company.

Social networks

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the promotion of a business has been greatly benefited by the choices available on the Internet, especially social networks and websites. To start promoting your business online you have to begin by choosing carefully the social networks in which you want to publicize it, since not all are valid for everything.

If, for example, your new business is audio-visual it is convenient for you to join networks like MySpace and Facebook. In this regard, we remind you that if you open a professional Facebook page you should not fall into the error of using it just to talk about your company, as you wouldn’t give a good image and users may stop visiting it. On the contrary, try to provide interesting information: articles, studies and links to other websites on the same topic.

On the other hand, if your business is focused on technology products and services, it is more appropriate to promote it in networks such as Twitter. If you belong to the hospitality or retail sectors, it would be very interesting to include your company in FourSquare.

Whatever network you choose, create a short biography about your company, always indicating its purpose and highlighting your services, products and offers. Don’t forget either that a social network is to interact and to be active, not to just post information you find interesting and then disappear. Answer all the questions you receive and invite your clients to visit your other pages.

Websites

Regarding the creation of a website, it is something simple and free – however, it is only the first phase in what is known as Web Marketing or Promotion. Once created you must follow several steps. First, include your website address in all your ads and correspondence, and make sure it appears in your emails as your signature and in any promotional items you may have.

You should also register and promote your site in web directories. These are portals that bring together corporate websites classified according to their business. This will allow any potential client searching for specific products or services to locate your business.

Continuing with this subject, there are few websites more effective than YouTube when launching a visual message. Your promotional video should show some of your products or services, but be careful not to fall into the "anything goes". Even if it’s not done by professionals and you shoot it with a domestic camera, you have to be careful with the design and the edition, making sure it is as short as possible. If your proposal is good, you will be recommended and will receive inquiries from potential customers.

If in addition to the free resources available you want to invest in online advertising, you can hire different promotional spaces in blogs or relevant niche websites and gain access to a more powerful type of targeted advertising. To do this, you can contact the webmasters that manage the pages or use contextual advertising services like Google Adwords, which allow you to publish ads configured according to the specific parameters you need, at a quite affordable cost. Yahoo! has a similar product: Publisher Network.

Finally, when designing the promotion of your website, make sure it’s fully compatible with mobile devices, so that users can visit the website of your company at any time. If entering the website they find it slow, you will probably lose potential customers.