Looking to spread the word about your business without spending a cent? No matter what type of business you operate, these free digital marketing tools can help boost your visibility and bring in new business. Restaurants, retailers, and service professionals alike can all benefit from these seven free digital marketing tools.
Social media
Old-fashioned, organic social media posts are free, easy, and a staple in every digital marketer’s toolkit. Although there are dozens of strategies, formats, and tools for managing paid advertising on social media, every company should prioritize posting regularly on their business profiles. A simple news feed update once or twice a week shows your company is open for business and engaging with followers. Social media boosts your company’s SEO results as well as helps you connect with potential customers — and best of all, it’s completely free.
[Read more: 9 Free SEO Tools for Your Business]
Nextdoor
Nextdoor is a hyper-local social media platform that connects people who live in the same immediate geography. Users on the app are neighbors, businesses, nonprofits, public agencies, and brands that join the platform to ask for recommendations, share safety alerts, and advertise their products or services.
Nextdoor claims that 25% of conversations on its platform involve neighbors asking for recommendations for local businesses. When you sign up for a business page on Nextdoor, you can share general business information such as your address, website, or open hours. Local customers can also leave recommendations and message you directly. Creating a business page is free; there’s also the option to pay for advertising on Nextdoor.
Google reviews
Reviews on your Google business page can be a gold mine for your digital marketing efforts. Ask satisfied customers to leave a review on Google after a positive interaction. You can do this in person, through email receipts, or with a business card with a QR code linking directly to your Google review page. Then, showcase your positive feedback on your website and social media.
Build credibility by responding to all Google reviews, positive or negative. “Reviews are useful for potential customers when they’re honest and objective. Customers find a mix of positive and negative reviews more trustworthy. You can always respond to a review to show the customers that you care and provide additional context,” wrote Google.
Old-fashioned, organic social media posts are free, easy, and a staple in every digital marketer’s toolkit.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT can meet a range of different marketing needs. This AI-powered chat tool can suggest social media copy, help brainstorm marketing campaign ideas, generate product descriptions, and help you research industry trends. Best of all, ChatGPT is completely free to use.
Pablo
Pablo, a free tool from Buffer, provides license-free images you can customize with text overlays to use on social media or in other marketing outreach. This user-friendly image editing tool provides a library of images from Unsplash, another great source for photos available for commercial use. Within Pablo, you can add filters, change the size for different social media platforms, and add text to images. It’s a great tool for making your profiles pop.
[Read more: 8 Free Tools for Creating Outstanding Graphics for Your Small Business]
MailChimp
It may surprise you that this incredibly popular email marketing platform has a free option. MailChimp is free for up to 1,000 monthly email sends (defined as the maximum number of emails that can be sent per month with 500 contacts). If you contact a small but mighty email list, MailChimp has tons of features to help you engage regularly and build relationships with your customers.
Help A Reporter Out
Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is a good resource for getting free media coverage for your company. Journalists post requests for sources on particular topics related to stories they are working on. You can sign up for a “source” account and respond to journalist requests for a chance to be featured in a local news story. These opportunities help position small business owners as subject matter experts and can get media attention for your company.
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
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