How to promote your business in 2024: a step-by-step guide to success

In order to make your small business a success, you need to promote it. 

While you likely already understand the importance of having an online and offline presence, learning how to promote your business to your specific target audience and within your budget is important for all business owners.

In this article, we’ve listed 13 actionable methods of promoting your business in 2024. Let’s take a look…

1. Build a website

First things first, you need to get online with a website for your business.

You should think of a website as your online shop front – it’s a way for people to discover you, learn more about you, and most importantly, shop with you (if ecommerce is part of your business model).

A good website is not only a promotional tool, but it also acts as a way to track some of the other marketing techniques you implement. 

For example, you can drive users to your website within your other strategies, and monitor site visitors to see how successful these strategies are.

Building a great website doesn’t need to be daunting either. You no longer need to be a coding whizz thanks to no-code platforms such as Squarespace and Wix. If you have the budget, though, you can hire a professional web designer instead – but be wary that this will cost a lot more. 

2. Optimise for search

To drive traffic to your website and boost your brand awareness, SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the most valuable tools at your disposal.

You’ll want to target relevant and high-value keywords on your website. For example, if you run a pet accessory business you may target terms such as “best value dog beds” or “best collars for puppies”. 

The point of SEO is pushing your website up the search results for your target search terms, resulting in more clicks and hopefully more conversions. 

SEO is a broad term, and there are a lot of ways you can optimise your website. If you have the budget, you can hire a professional SEO expert to help you, but if you want to keep it in-house, the good news is that covering even just the basics will have an impact on your results. As a starting point, you should:

• Use a keyword research tool, such as Semrush, to find keywords to target, and incorporate them naturally into your website copy
• Make sure your website is mobile-responsive, user-friendly, and easy to navigate
• Compress the imagery on your website so that your pages can load faster, and make sure all images have alt-text

3. Set up your Google Business Profile

Another great way to target online searchers is by setting up a Google Business Profile – particularly if you’re looking to attract local customers or tourists searching for nearby businesses.

A Google Business Profile offers key information about your business, including an overview, map location, contact details, and opening hours.

It’s a great way to collect reviews for your small business too, and you can add photos and a link to your website.

The key benefit of setting up a Google Business Profile is that it adds legitimacy to your organisation. Users will be able to confirm that you are credible, and check your reviews and photos to see whether you’re offering what they’re looking for.

4. Write guest posts

While blogging on your own website is a great digital marketing tactic and a way to show your authority and even boost your SEO, what about writing guest posts for other websites?

Writing articles or blogs for other companies to publish on their sites allows you to get your brand in front of their audience, boosting awareness of your brand. If your post includes a backlink to your website, it can also help with SEO, as this shows Google that other brands see your site as valuable or relevant.

Guest blogging can be time-consuming, though, and you will need to make sure you take the time to research and find blogs and websites that are relevant to your business, have good domain authority, and already have a substantial presence to make it worth your time.

5. Find influencers and affiliates

It’s not just you who can promote your business – you can find other people to do it too!

Partnering with relevant influencers and affiliates is a great way to get your business in front of more eyes.

You can partner with them on product or service reviews or a brand awareness campaign – whatever works best for you and your budget.

Why not consider setting up an affiliate program that incentivises people to promote your business and drive traffic to your website? Affiliates will earn a small commission on every sale they make for you, so make sure you account for this in your profit predictions. 

6. Email marketing

Email marketing can be one of the best ways to target and retarget customers – not to mention it’s one of the easiest and cheapest promotional tools too. 

In fact, 47% of UK customers say they have made a purchase as a result of receiving a marketing email! 

Start by building an email list. You can do so by asking people to sign up when they make a purchase, or incentivise them to do so by offering a perk such as 10% off their first order or free shipping.

You can then target them with relevant email campaigns, such as updates on new products or seasonal sales, and you can retarget those users who are yet to complete their purchase.

One of the best things about email marketing is that you can set up automated campaigns to be sent at particular times or to particular customers, meaning it doesn’t need to take up your time and resources in real-time. 

7. Consider retargeting 

Speaking of retargeting, going after people who have visited your website before or who are already aware of your business can be a great promotional tactic. 

A huge 70% of visitors who are retargeted with ads are more likely to go on to convert on your website. 

For example, you can target paid ads on social media to users who have visited your website, showcasing products they might have missed or time-sensitive promotions.

After all, you already know there’s some level of interest there – now you just need to make the most of it.

Remember though, this will require a budget to be set aside for paid promotions.

8. Focus on conversions

When you’re thinking about your website and its content, you should have one main result in mind: conversions.

You want users to take action on your website and convert, whether that’s adding an item to their cart and checking out, signing up for your newsletter, booking an appointment, or reserving a table. 

To boost your conversions, make sure your desired action is clear and easy for a website visitor to do. Consider using pop-ups and adding easy-to-spot CTA (call to action) buttons to your web pages. 

Don’t forget to keep a close eye on your analytics to monitor things such as button clicks to see if your techniques are working. If they’re not, don’t be afraid to go back to the drawing board and change up your web pages to be more user-friendly and conversion-orientated. 

9. Get on TikTok

Once simply an app for uploading videos of funny dances and strange pranks, TikTok is now a major marketing and sales tool in its own right. 

Using TikTok as a business promotional tool is one of the easiest ways to target key audiences such as Gen Z and Millenials. 

Create relevant and engaging videos centred around your brand, jump on relevant trends, and engage with your audience. Don’t forget to add that all-important website link to your bio too!

Users can also shop directly on the platform via TikTok Shop, and with 49% of Gen-Z users making purchases on TikTok, you shouldn’t overlook it as a direct sales tool too if your target audience uses the platform regularly. 

10. Be social media savvy

Speaking of social media marketing, in 2024 it’s important to be social media savvy. With so many platforms and so many users, it can be hard to know which ones to jump on and which ones to avoid.

The truth is, you don’t need to be on them all. Instead, take a look at your target audience and find out which platforms best align with them.

For example, if you’re targeting other businesses and workers, LinkedIn is likely the platform for you. If you’re after an older demographic, you may opt for Facebook, while TikTok and Instagram are popular among younger generations. 

As well as your audience, consider your business and the type of content you want to produce. For example, if your products or services lend themselves to more visual content such as how-to videos, before-and-after photos, or product showcases, it makes sense to focus on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. 

11. Start networking 

Many of the tips in this article focus on online promotion, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to focus on offline promotion too. One of the most effective offline promotional activities you can undertake is networking. 

The type of networking that you do will depend on your business. If you offer a service, for example, you could join events for local service providers, while those who sell products could join events such as markets, fayres, or showcases. This can be a great way to boost your brand awareness within the community.

You might also consider attending industry events and conferences to meet like-minded people and share insights. Forming relationships with fellow entrepreneurs could spark beneficial promotional partnerships.

12. Create interactive content

In 2024, users are looking for more from their online experience. With so many websites and online brands out there, how can you make yours stand out from the crowd? With interactive content, that’s how.

Interactive content such as quizzes or games can be a great way to engage users from the moment they land on your website and, on average, such content gains two times as much engagement as static content. 

For example, you could put together a quiz to help users find the product or service that’s right for them, or an interactive game such as a “spin the wheel” pop-up could be a fun way of offering promotions and discounts to visitors. 

Interactive content also works well on social media, so don’t forget to encourage users to share their results!

13. Connect with local press

If you want to promote your business locally, a great way to do so is by connecting with local publications.

Getting a (positive) story about your business in a local newspaper, magazine, or online blog can be a great way to drive traffic to your website and feet through your doors. 

Draw up a list of the publications you hope to feature in and try to build a relationship with writers and editors.

The best way to get your story out there is via press releases. If you decide to distribute press releases to your chosen publications, make sure you have something newsworthy and relevant to say. You can’t send one out every time you have a 10% off offer. 

Instead, think about your backstory, what makes your business unique, and why the updates, events, or findings you have to share are timely and interesting. Keep the “so what” rule in mind – in other words, make it clear why a journalist or reader who doesn’t know you should care about what you’re saying.

Final thoughts 

So there you have it: 13 actionable methods to help you promote your business in 2024.

Promoting your business isn’t optional. If you want it to be a success and make a profit, you need to get it in front of the right eyes. 

It doesn’t need to be overwhelming or expensive, though, and many of these tips won’t cost you anything but your time and some brain power.

Remember, you don’t need to implement all of these strategies straight away – instead, start with a few and see how you get on. Keep a close eye on your analytics to monitor what’s working and what may need refining.