How can I Advertise my Business for Free Online?

Businesses tend to see clients or customers as separate individuals. When it comes to online communities it's better to think of them as an interconnected network. Individuals in the network link and communicate with each other. You want potential customers to link with you.

The first step is to create a Facebook and Twitter account. If your business sells to other businesses or professionals, you could also consider opening a LinkedIn account.

The secret to Facebook and Twitter is to post a steady stream of high quality content, that is relevant to your niche. Whenever I write a new business related article or if I find a great YouTube video or forum discussion, I share it with my subscribers. This establishes credibility, then if you recommend a product or service the chances of it converting into a sale is much higher.

To follow me on Facebook, login to your account, follow the link below, then go to the top-right part of the page and click on 'Subscribe'.

• My Facebook page
• My Twitter page

With both of these sites, when you share something all your subscribers or followers see it. It can also go viral if they retweet or reshare, what you showed them, because then everyone they are linked to also have a look at it. That makes Facebook and Twitter incredibly powerful viral advertising tools.

To be really successful with a video you need to create something that is so good, that people share it with their friends. You are unlikely to get there, at first. But with a little practice and a lot of creativity you can really make your business.

In your videos always tell people what you want them to do and why they should do it. Also start the video description with a link, to where you want them to go. That way you get a lot more traffic.

There are a great number of forums online, on just about every conceivable topic.

Say for instance: you have a business that sells pet snakes, snake food, snake environments and so on. You could Google "pet snakes forum" or "pet forums". You will find that there are many pet forums with subsections about pet snakes.

People that join pet forums and talk about their pets are not casual about snakes. They have strong opinions and care deeply about their little friends. So don't worry if you get some harsh criticism, it happens.

Once you have 10 or so posts, go to your profile and edit your Signature. If you put a link in there it will be displayed every time you post or respond to someone.

Say for instance you sell customized car parts, like speakers, radios, rims and so on. Auction some of your products on eBay. Then you include a hyperlink to your Facebook page, with the product. You could say something like: "For the highest discounts and most important articles and videos about customizing your ride, check out my Facebook page at..."

If you have a brick and mortar store you should list it on Google Maps. Go to http://www.google.com/local and click on "Put your business on Google Maps". I have found it to be an effective tool for getting quite a few local customers.

Whenever the opportunity presents itself you should collect your customers' email addresses.

When the internet started to become popular there was a chain of flower shops, that tried to use an email list to increase their sales. If you ordered flowers for your marriage anniversary, they would record your email address and the date. The next year they would send you an email to remind you before hand, so you could send flowers again. They also sent out emails before dates like valentines day and mother's day. It was so profitable that many flower shops do it, today.

You can do the same with a Microsoft Excel spread sheet, later when you have a larger list you can buy software to manage the list. By doing so you are creating a valuable asset. Ask yourself: "How much is a paying customer worth over their lifetime?"

I hope you enjoyed reading How can I Advertise my Business for Free Online? Why not leave a comment, if you have something to ad.