You work so hard to build your business. You do your research to find just the right products or services, develop the perfect logo, and get everything set up just right. Then it’s time to generate leads, and suddenly you hit a wall. If generating traffic and leads is a challenge for you, you’re not alone. In a recent Hubspot survey, 63 percent of business owners found lead generation and attracting traffic to be their top marketing challenge. Business promotion is not just important, but necessary, so here are a few ideas to get you started.

Add an email opt-in to your website, blog and social media.

Your email list allows you to contact customers and prospects with announcements, special events, your newsletter and more. The challenge is gathering those email addresses. By adding an opt-in on your website, blog and social media profiles, you are reaching several different audiences that have already demonstrated an interest in your business.

The opt-in can be a simple field that allows the user to input their email address, or it can be more involved, structured as a lead-generation web form. The point is to collect email addresses of prospective customers so that you can market to them, draw them in and convert them to customers.

Create a strong, conversion-focused website.

Most business articles that discuss promotion emphasize the importance of a good website – and that is great advice. However, many fall a bit short in certain key areas. Yes, a website is integral to your business, but there’s a lot more to it than that. You can’t just put up a webpage and hope for the best. Your website is useless if it isn’t doing its job – converting visitors to customers.

Including elements like a call to action in several places (including one above the fold) on the page, value propositions, and interactive web forms will help to increase your conversion rate. If you are not sure how to create a conversion-ready website, hire someone who specializes in user experience (UX). It’s worth it.

Bring your content alive with storytelling.

Creating strong, SEO-rich content on your blog, website and social media can be a great promotional tool. It is how you can talk to your customers and prospects, but you want to avoid talking at them. Storytelling will engage your audience, drawing them in and helping them connect to your business.

Identify your passions, play up your strengths and highlight your accomplishments. Your users need to see the human side of your business, and that begins with you. Facts and data are useful, but when you can weave them into a story, you can make the information come to life for your users, and they will respond by becoming your customers.

In our free eBook, 5 Secrets to Successful Storytelling and Brand Building, you will learn how to use your personal story and self confidence to help your brand succeed. Download your free copy of this eBook by clicking the button below.

Develop customer-centric programs.

There are a number of incentive programs that you can use to promote your business. They work great to attract new customers but are also very effective in creating customer loyalty. Contests, sample giveaways and affiliate programs are popular and effective for many businesses. You can also create a frequent buyer program, customer appreciation program and even a referral program.

The more you show your customers and prospects that you appreciate them, the more they will be drawn to your business. This is the core of relationship building, and it’s how you get lifelong customers for your business. Everyone likes to feel appreciated.

Structure your social media to get leads.

Social media is a great low-budget promotion strategy. Create company profiles for several social media platforms and begin posting with your target audience in mind. Create a mix of targeted product posts and business posts (behind-the-scenes posts are very popular), but intersperse it with content that may not be directly related to your business, such as a motivational quote or cute cartoon. Think of it as a hook. You use that content to catch your prospect’s eye; then reel them in with your great product and company posts.

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