Networking as Advertising
I often have clients and friends ask what the best form of advertising is. They want to know where they will get the best ROI for the least amount of money. Of course everyone wants to know this and it tends to be a little different for each business when you talk about traditional advertising mediums.
That being said, I firmly believe that there is one form of advertising that costs next to nothing and can be pretty fun and/or interesting for just about every industry. What is this advertising avenue you may ask? Well to put it very simply it's NETWORKING! You know, getting out there and meeting people in different organizations, groups, places, etc.
Now you may be thinking that this isn't really advertising, but I beg to differ. What better form of advertising is there then a real life conversation about you and your company? Who is there to better explain what you do then you?
I mentioned above that it is as close to free as you can probably get when it comes to advertising. Really all you need is a handful of business cards, which you can get 500 cards today for less then $50, and a place to go. Even if you have to throw in gas, dinner and some drinks you probably will only spend $100 for one night of what could be numerous valuable contacts.
With the craze of blogging today, networking can even be done from your own desk. Now you can't get much cheaper then that for advertising can you? Browse the internet for blogs or forums that relate to your business or industry and start posting. Now I say start posting, but I DO NOT mean start "spamming" the blogs and forums. Simply start engaging in conversation by commenting on someones blog, and give yourself a footer at the bottom of your comment that notes your website address, name, and company and you've just advertised for no cost and without being an annoyance to the site you are viewing.
With technology so readily available and the internet broadening everyone's horizons, there are thousands of ways to make yourself visible. It requires a little of your time and thought, but it doesn't have to be a hundred thousand dollar ad campaigns in a magazine to be effective. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising, so get out there and start talking!
--------------
Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
That being said, I firmly believe that there is one form of advertising that costs next to nothing and can be pretty fun and/or interesting for just about every industry. What is this advertising avenue you may ask? Well to put it very simply it's NETWORKING! You know, getting out there and meeting people in different organizations, groups, places, etc.
Now you may be thinking that this isn't really advertising, but I beg to differ. What better form of advertising is there then a real life conversation about you and your company? Who is there to better explain what you do then you?
I mentioned above that it is as close to free as you can probably get when it comes to advertising. Really all you need is a handful of business cards, which you can get 500 cards today for less then $50, and a place to go. Even if you have to throw in gas, dinner and some drinks you probably will only spend $100 for one night of what could be numerous valuable contacts.
With the craze of blogging today, networking can even be done from your own desk. Now you can't get much cheaper then that for advertising can you? Browse the internet for blogs or forums that relate to your business or industry and start posting. Now I say start posting, but I DO NOT mean start "spamming" the blogs and forums. Simply start engaging in conversation by commenting on someones blog, and give yourself a footer at the bottom of your comment that notes your website address, name, and company and you've just advertised for no cost and without being an annoyance to the site you are viewing.
With technology so readily available and the internet broadening everyone's horizons, there are thousands of ways to make yourself visible. It requires a little of your time and thought, but it doesn't have to be a hundred thousand dollar ad campaigns in a magazine to be effective. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising, so get out there and start talking!
--------------
Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Labels: internet marketing, marketing, tips, tricks
posted by Ignite Media LLC at
Thursday, February 28, 2008
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home