Feeling invisible? Here’s how to get your business seen

As a small business, it can often feel as if you’re the smallest fish in the tank at all times. And invisible. Those who have been around for a couple of years already will be stealing all of your customers – and it’s kind of impossible to beat them on price as well.

Luckily, there are ways to make sure that you get to be seen and enjoy a few more customers by simply increasing your own business exposure. Step out of the shadows once and for all and make sure that they know where to find you; here is a handful of tips to make it happen so that you can watch your small business prosper a bit faster.

First: Please the search engine

While the search engine can be rather tricky, it’s really all about the sum of what you’ve been doing online. It doesn’t help much to put as many of the keywords you think it will like just because you want to boost your ranking – and you might even be punished by doing so.

Instead, focus on your overall effort on social media, collaborating with other websites, and getting a proper business blog up and going. You should hire a professional SEO company as well, though, as they know how to take care of everything for you.

Next: Invest in your customers’ needs

Content marketing is not as much about drafting lengthy how-to-articles as it is about identifying what your target audience needs help with. Whatever business you’re in, you have customers who would love your expert advice on something – and they will just love you more for being so helpful and insightful.

That’s why there are so many blogs, vlogs, and social media accounts out there; they are building relationships with their target audience by giving them expert advice. If someone finds what you said helpful, they’re sure to spread the word as they see you as an authority in the field which, again, increases the amount of exposure your business is getting.

Plus, when one of your customers are faced with the option of perhaps paying a bit less for a product from one of your competitors, they will still choose you if you’ve helped them in the past and demonstrated that you know what you’re talking about.

It’s how your brand can build a sense of trust in the customers that is so important for your reputation as a business. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on this one; invest in your customers’ needs through content marketing and they’ll be sure to both spread the word and come back for more help in the future.

Remember the merch

First of all, it’s not a good idea to put all your money into kickass merchandise when you’re still a very young startup, struggling to find your feet and make the ends meet. As soon as you’ve got the ball rolling, however, marketing through merchandise can be a really good way to boost your exposure slightly – as well as creating a solid brand for your business.

By handing out t-shirts, wristbands, pens, etc to your hardworking employees, you’re boosting their morale while also ensuring that everyone is gathered around the same brand. It unites your business internally, in other words, and the strength from within will often find a way to shine so that people on the outside is able to see it as well.

And that’s not even mentioning the exposure your brand gets when those employees are wearing the merchandise or making use of that pen in public.