101 Ways to Promote Your Business
February 19, 2011 | By Ilfusion Team
The Ilfusion team of creative geniuses got together and came up with a master list of ways YOU can promote your business. ALL great ideas, some funny, some obvious, some incredibly awesome (#82), we hope you can gain inspiration and have a good time with our list. Enjoy!
1. Have an up-to-date website.
2. Submit your site to Google, Yahoo and Bing.
3. Register your business on Google and Bing locals.
4. Create a Facebook “Like” page and be active on it.
5. Create a Twitter account and be active on it.
6. Create a LinkedIn group and be active on it.
7. Rent a billboard.
8. Hand out fliers at the mall.
9. Guy in a gorilla suit waving at traffic in front of your business.
10. Banner on the back of an airplane.
11. Wear a shirt with your company’s URL on it.
12. Buy PPC advertisement on Google, Facebook and LinkedIn.
13. Word of mouth (it’s more powerful than you think!)
14. Attend as many networking events as possible.
15. Put ad in magazine.
16. Put ad in newspaper.
17. Airbrush your business’ logo on your car (or get one of those nifty magnets!)
18. Leave strategically placed business cards wherever you go.
19. Two words: Cork Boards.
20. Have people take creative photos of objects with your company name or logo on them.
21. Have a company video on a video-sharing website, such as YouTube or Vimeo.
22. Television commercial.
23. Radio commercial.
24. Superbowl commercial (if you can spare a few million $ of course).
25. Subliminal advertising in movies.
26. Customized merchandise (pens, mugs, stress balls, bumper stickers, etc…)
27. Sponsor events/local sports teams.
28. Direct mail.
29. Start an active blog.
30. Create a catchy jingle tune.
31. Have your business host a social event.
32. Strive to achieve omnipresence on the Internet (search results, networking sites, Q/A sites, etc…)
33. Send out press releases.
34. The power of 6.
35. Utilize your vendors, existing clients and friends for referrals.
36. Create a promotional campaign with give-aways.
37. Hold a contest with a theme that relates to your business.
38. Get involved with local charities.
39. Coupons!
40. Register listing on yellowpages.com.
41. Be active in your community.
42. Get on a TV or radio talk show.
43. Hold lectures about topics of interest to your business.
44. Start an affiliate program.
45. Create a targeted sales brochure.
46. Contact local companies that might be able to refer their business to yours.
47. Create and send newsletters.
48. Integrate social media buttons and “Share This” button on website.
49. Find an agent to promote you.
50. Pull a publicity stunt.
51. Comment on others’ blogs.
52. Draw attention to testimonials and positive feedback on sites, such as Yelp.com and AngiesList.com, etc…
53. Offer an exchange of service.
54. Offer free advice/information in your field.
55. Utilize your resources.
56. Participate in trade shows.
57. Hold a free car wash.
58. Hire cheerleaders.
59. Send birthday/holiday cards to existing and potential clients.
60. Create web banners and place them on relevant sites.
61. Name your first-born child after your business.
62. Shave your head and tattoo your logo on it.
63. Set up a stand on the street with your business’ sign and free samples of product and/or demonstration.
64. Buy the world a Coke.
65. Have a spotlight logo and shine it in the night (like Batman).
66. Have a neon sign.
67. Hand out free stickers and refrigerator magnets on the street.
68. Set up a free lemonade stand downtown and use cups with your business’ logo.
69. Company t-shirts in a t-shirt launcher at sporting events.
70. Advertise on a blimp.
71. Fly a kite with your company’s logo on it in a busy area.
72. Get a popular company to mention your business.
73. Celebrity promotions.
74. Cold Calling.
75. Product placement in a movie/TV show.
76. Have a mobile application.
77. Interactive advertising.
78. Discover a comet and name it after your company.
79. Have company event photos posted on a photo-sharing websites such as flickr.
80. Patent an invention for your business/company.
81. Travel in a hot-air balloon with your company’s sign on it.
82. Hire a scuba-diver to swim in the fish tank of a fancy restaurant and hold up your company’s URL.
83. Discover a new species and name it after your company.
84. Hire a flash mob.
85. Advertise in a movie theater (while waiting for feature presentation).
86. Sponsor a Nascar driver.
87. Have your company featured in a music video.
88. Customize mail stamps with your company’s logo.
89. Put up fliers in apartment complex mailbox areas.
90. Start a reality TV show about your company.
91. Advertise in video and computer games.
92. Make sure all of your employees have business cards to hand out (never know when you’ll need them!)
93. Door-to-door sales.
94. Put your logo on candy and give them out.
95. Start a webshow for your company.
96. Set up a rewards point system for your employees/customers.
97. Get permission to put fliers/business cards in “Welcome” packages for communities and groups.
98. Set up a booth at local area job fairs and festivals.
99. Print business info on matchbooks and hand them out at candle stores, smoke shops, bars, etc…
100. Add the links to your website and social networking sites to your voicemail message.
101. Have an “elevator pitch”
