There are so many options available to new businesses these days to get their business information out through inexpensive means, or even free classifieds. Web sites exist which allow any citizen, worldwide, to create advertisements for either a business, or an individual item for sale. These ads can be community specific, but can also be posted and made available to a much wider audience.
One excellent tool that can be utilized are social networking sites. Anyone can advertise their business to friends and family, and via the people on their friend lists, the information goes viral to a wide range of individuals. This is a sort of digital word-of-mouth advertising which many businesses have found to be a tool they use to great success.
Of course, there is still the good old fashioned phone book available as well. Any household which has a traditional land-line receives these books, and many of them do use them when searching for goods or services. Creating a catchy and attractive ad in the phone book can also link people to their business web-site, or other social networking contacts, and they can receive more information about the business from there.
There are a variety of web sites available where average people can post their own commercials. These video sharing sites have tag lines where anyone doing a web search can be linked to their commercial, and can view all the information about the business. This creates a sense of being more personal, as potential customers can actually see the people they are about to do business with.
Many social networking sites allow videos to be linked, as do personal web sites. This allows anyone who views the video to be automatically brought into the business web-site where more information is available. Many people prefer to spend money with small business owners, and certainly no large corporate executive would be speaking on a video to promote his or her business, as these people do not connect with the public as a rule.
The Internet is the most powerful tool small business has to get their name into the public arena. This is a much more affordable alternative to attempting to create a commercial for television. Not only that, but most people watch cable networks, so television is not as useful to advertise to a specific town or community.
Mass mailings and fliers are still an effective means of advertising to a smaller area. Grocery stores everywhere still have bulletin boards out front where a cleverly designed flier can attract plenty of attention, and increase traffic into their business. One can pay a print shop to do it, but the average household printer will work just as well, and generally costs much less.
With the availability of free classifieds, social networking, and video sharing; there are many affordable options for new businesses to get their names out. With a little creativity, and a personal computer, anyone can take advantage of the technology. This is a powerful and affordable tool that any small business can use.
