5 ways to make your business more visible
Small businesses depend on visibility to be to successful and profitable. Without the time, resources, vast budgets and reputation of the big brands, small business owners need to think of clever and cost effective ways to connect with their audience and get in front of their ideal customers.
Here are some easy and cost-effective ideas to help grow brand awareness and visibility.
Blogging with intent
We all love a good story with lots of engaging photos and this is a great opportunity to show personality and tell your brand story. People buy from people that they like and trust. Make it authentic and personal by writing about what you do, how you do it, why you do it. Think about the questions that clients and potential clients ask you and provide the answers. This can help you to get found in searches and demonstrates your expertise and that you’re able to provide the solution to your potential client’s problem.
Behind the scenes are very popular and engaging. If your business produces a product, show and tell how it’s done. If you’re a service provider, write about how you work and provide some manageable tips that allow readers to take something useful away.
Don’t forget to include on brand photos to attract your readers and make it real. Label your photos with key words in the file name, alt tag and description fields of your website to help SEO.
Brand photography photoshoot with Angela Burgess, SE Magazines
Brand photography photoshoot with Julia Ferrari Web Design
Brand photography photoshoot with pilates instructor Alicia, AC Pilates
Brand photography photoshoot with dance and fitness instructor Amanda Botterill, Dance Flo
2. Get social and engage with and in your market
Social Media is the place to…you know it, get social. Most businesses share more of their personality and engaging content in their social feeds than their websites and it where your audience spends a vast amount of time. Use this as an opportunity to attract, engage and build a loyal fan base and following. Make sure you add your social media icons to your website and email signatures and encourage you staff to do the same.
Join and follow relevant local groups and hashtags and engage in discussions and posts from your business account with genuine, supportive and helpful comments without being salesy. This works for Facebook too where you can join groups using your business account and then choose from which account to comment with. All this helps to build credibility and awareness of your business.
Brand photography for Beckenham florist and gifts Just So Flowers
Product and food photography for The Sweet Reason Company
Brand & food photography for Sweet Carolina Kitchen & Bar and Sweet Carolina
Brand & product photography for massage and aromatherapist Vanessa of Made By Pure Hands
3. Put a face to the name
Did you know that LinkedIn reports that members with a profile photo get 21 times more views?
Email signature created in Canva
People want to know the face behind the business and brand. Get in front of your audience wherever you can. For starters, use your photo for your profile image instead of your logo, personalise your email signature with your photo and social links using free signature creator tools such as HubSpot or Canva and add an about me page or section to your website, with a photo of course, where you also might share personal information. I have had new clients tell me that they chose me because we shared similar interests. Take a look at my page if you’d like some inspiration.
4. Connect and join forces
Is there a complementary business in your community that you might team up with for a joint promotion, event, skill swap or referral programme? Can you guest blog or do a social media takeover? In addition to the backlink to your website (helps your SEO rankings), you’ll also gain exposure to a new audience or strengthen your visibility within your existing audience. The more you keep showing up, the more likely it is that your potential clients will remember your business when they need it.
5. Network
Headshot photography with Shona Chambers Marketing
Whether it’s formal networking or casual talk amongst friends and acquaintances, the more people that know what you do, the greater the visibility for your business. Find subtle ways to drop your business and what you do into casual conversations. Think of memorable and entertaining anecdotes that you can share, whether you’re at the gym (when they open again!), the school gates or walking your dog in the park.
If you’re looking for a supportive and friendly networking group for small businesses, entrepreneurs and the self-employed, I highly recommend looking at the Self Employed Club (@selfemployedclub on Instagram and Self Employed Club Group on Facebook) which was set up by the brilliant Shona Chambers of Shona Chambers Marketing. It’s been a great place to make new friends, develop knowledge and ideas and gain a few new clients along the way.
Thank you for reading to the end. Please have a browse around my personal branding, headshot and commercial photography pages to see how I can help to tell your business story and increase your visibility.