Entrepreneurs: It is Not Self-Promotion When You are Filling a Need

Pick me! Buy my product! Read my blog post! Click my affiliate link! Follow my ad!

These are the types of messages internet users are bombarded with everyday. And, understandably, small business owners often do not want to add their voice to the cacophony hawking seemingly disparate products, services or information. After all, I’m a woman, and I can’t begin to tell you how many spam emails I receive for penis enlargement. The last thing I want to do with my small business is annoy people the way those spam emails annoy me. Same with you, right?

But the key to promoting your small business – either through advertising, social media marketing, or even a sandwich board in the street – is promoting your business to people who actually need you. If I cast a wide net with my self-promotion, I could end up accidentally hawking my line of high end shampoos to the Bald is Beautiful Club. But if I know my target customer and go to places where those people can be found, then I have a much higher chance of filling a need, and thus NOT irritating people with my business promotion.

The first step in this process is to identify your target customer. You can do this by brainstorming the types of people you think would need your product and service, and, even better, you can do this by conducting market research and find out who has already purchased your product or service. For example, when the Scion xB came out, manufacturers were sure they had a hit on their hands among the young adult crowd. But once the cars hit the market, it turned out that middle aged soccer moms and dads were buying them in droves. If Scion had not paid attention to their market research, they might have continued marketing to young people and missed out on a vital segment of their market share. Target your promotions to people who will actually buy your product or service, not just people you think will buy your product or service.

The internet is often the culprit when it comes to annoying, far reaching advertising and marketing campaigns, but your business does not have to join in. If you use social media, only “friend” people who are in your target market or whose opinions sway those who are in your target market. For example, Oprah Winfrey – who is famously single – might not need a custom wedding invitation designer, but many of her viewers will.

Facebook ads are another great way to reach out to your target audience. Because users enter so much demographic information in Facebook, when you buy an ad through that social media site, you can specify that only male college students ages 18-22 or female mothers ages 35-45 see your advertisement. People who have no interest in your product will not be annoyed by seeing your ad crop up on their social media site.

A final thought on self-promoting on the internet is to visit forums and blogs. If you provide marketing services for real estate agents, don’t hang out on forums and blogs frequented by other marketers. Instead, hang your hang on forums and blogs frequented by real estate agents. This way, when you self-promote a service, article, blog post, class, etc. you will reach people who will likely need you, rather than people who are competing with you.

Sure participating in self-promotion can leave many small business owners feeling cold, but if you think of yourself as filling a need rather than bombarding a bunch of strangers with useless information, then you are already halfway toward an effective promotion.

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