Business growth is dependent on increasing the number of potential customers you have access to. Yes, you might earn repeat business from a small subset of your audience, but you need both repeat customers and a steady flow of new ones as well. That said, consider some ways you can increase your business’ reach, both online and off.
Related eBook: Six Sample Marketing Plans (free download)
How to Expand Your Reach Within Your Community
How can you boost awareness of your brand within your local area?
Host Events
The type of event you might choose to host will depend largely on your business type. Perhaps a class, workshop, demo or event in support of a worthy cause or charity would appeal to locals. Maybe a fun event for the local youth would attract a sizeable crowd.
Considering the interests and values of your potential customers can help you to come up with idea that will actually work, an idea that will increase your reach.
Attend Events
Along the same lines, attending local events can also get your business on the radars of more people. How? It gives you the opportunity to network with other attendees. To that end, it’s smart to keep business cards (and maybe even some brochures) handy, not just for potential customers but also potential partners.
Team Up With Another Business
Speaking of partners, partnerships can be a great way to get your business name out there. That is, of course, if the business of your choice is not a competitor but compliments your business in some way. Additionally, the two of you must have audiences that will be interested in what the other offers.
If these two criteria are met, the groundwork is there for a mutually beneficial relationship.
Leverage Offline Marketing
Offline marketing could include print ads, flyers, billboards, banners, segments in the newspaper, and so forth. The great thing about this form of marketing is that it can be used to make your other reach-boosting efforts more effective.
For example, you could advertise your events or put an ad out for specific types of companies or charitable organizations that might be interested in partnering.
How to Expand Your Reach On Search Engines
How can you increase the visibility of your website and other company-related sites?
Optimize Your Website
In short, search engine optimization (SEO) involves improving various website elements so search engines can understand its relevance and value in relation to popular industry-related search terms. Higher rankings in search results lead to increased awareness of your brand and more site traffic.
Now, you’re probably thinking, “That sounds like just what I need! How can I do this SEO thing?”
Because search engine optimization encompasses so many things and ranking factors are always changing, the best option is to, at the very least, consult with a digital marketing expert. That way, you can be sure that you’re using ethical means and can actually accomplish your long-term goals.
Create Optimized Blog Posts Regularly
Publishing optimized blog posts consistently increases your reach in much the same way as an optimized website. You can imagine, then, receiving twice the exposure for your business if you invest in SEO for both.
Invest in Search Advertising
The previous two methods involve people discovering your business after typing a query into a search engine. Search advertising is different in that you place your business in front of them intentionally as they perform searches.
Your advertisements are set apart from regular search results. You have the opportunity, though, to make them even more effective with compelling copy that will persuade people to check out your website and see what your business is all about.
How to Expand Your Reach Through Email Marketing
How can you get and nurture more leads through email marketing??
Get More Email Signups With List Building Tactics
There are many ways to grow your email list and, by extension, increase your reach. For example, you could leverage persuasive social proof by showcasing reviews, testimonials or your current number of subscribers. You could whet people’s appetites by emphasizing subscriber-only benefits.
You might also offer something in exchange for emails such as a free download of a useful checklist or eBook. If you have a company newsletter, you may want to promote it on Twitter, LinkedIn, and similar platforms. As stated, there are many ways you could go about increasing your reach through email.
Don’t Miss Opportunities to Use Email Capture Forms
On and offline, there are plenty of places to insert email capture forms. Online, you can place forms on your website, blog, various landing pages and so on. And they don’t only have to be static in the sidebar or the end of a page. You can do popups, slide-ins, homepage gates, and more.
Of course, you don’t want people to feel like they’re being harassed into giving their email. And you don’t also want to appear to be begging out of desperation. Yet, a balanced mix of well-placed forms can maximize your results. Here are some more tips on lead generation to help you out.
Optimize CTA’s
You might be thinking, “How hard is it to create a call-to-action?” Perhaps surprisingly, it can take a few attempts to realize the full potential of your CTAs. What elements do you have to perfect?
First and foremost, you need specific language that encourages action. For example, instead of a vague button that simply says, “Download,” you’ll want to get specific and promote action. Download what? Why? Answering those questions might lead you to something more like this, “Download the FREE [insert topic] eBook Now!” Much more persuasive, right?
In addition to language, though, you must also consider the best placement, size, color, design, and so on. Then, test and tweak one feature a time to get it fully optimized.
How to Expand Your Reach On Social Media
How can you get more people to become aware of and interact with your brand on social media?
Use Relevant, Popular Hashtags
As you probably know, hashtags categorize posts by topic so that they can be easily searched. By using hashtags that see a lot of traffic and those that are closely related to your industry, you can get found by people who’ll take an interest in what you do.
Related: Free Hashtag Marketing eBook
Create Quality Posts
Posting a lot isn’t in itself the key to surefire success. The quality of your social media posts is of primary importance. What’s considered high quality depends wholly on the background, interests, preferences, needs, and wants of your target audience.
If you “hit the nail on the head” with the type of content you post, you can expect it to be re-posted and shared by your followers, which will only widen your sphere of influence.
Track Your Success
As trends, tactics, and audiences change, it’s vital for you to know what’s currently working and what’s not. Therefore, you should regularly examine stats and analytics to identify what you should be doing more of and what needs to be tweaked (or eliminated altogether from your strategy).
Related eBook: How to Know if Your Marketing is Working
Expanded Reach Equals Business Growth
Which of these methods do you think you might be able to use for the good of your company? Perhaps more than one caught your eye. No matter which ones you choose, though, you’ll be elated when you see the payoff—business growth!
For more ways to expand the reach of your business, try the strategies in one of our six sample marketing plans:
