Sounds good, doesn't it? Free advertising... Well, it is good, actually, but there's a catch: you have to do everything by yourself. With paid advertising you have no care in the world, you pay the money and expect results. With free advertising, however, everything has to be done manually.
There's another thing I like best about free advertising: unlike the paid one, viewers do not know it's actually advertising. Let me give you some examples: make several accounts for your business on all major online networks. Link yourself to as many others as you can. Have all your friends follow you or whatever. Have a foundation to start with. Until now I count a few hours at work, depending on how fast you create those accounts. Then keep those accounts active. Do not make them overactive. Do not post chaotically, just for the sake of it. Post interesting stuff. If you're into accounting for example, find a way to make it appealing, so people won't jump over your post after they read the first line.
Avoid at all costs terms like 'free'. The thousands of companies out there who advertised free content that you could access only by paying a formal membership have compromised those forever. Meaning they were free 'for members'. Find synonyms or alternative approach to advertise something people do not have to pay for.
Finally, do not advertise, post interesting content. That's pretty much the catch to it. On the YouTube channel post videos that are interesting, short (people will skip 30 minutes documentaries) and funny or likeable. People will start following your channel; hence get a step closer to what you sell. Same on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter. There are tens of social networks out there, join them and post content like you mean it. Remember to keep your posts varied and not stick to the business at hand. That gets boring and people will neglect you or even block you.
Make good videos. Make a charismatic presentation about your product and insert it among your content. If you can't write it yourself that way ask a friend or start researching. The point of this is to have a viral thing taking off without sounding like an ad. It's like those banned commercials that get millions of viewer although there's not a single one on TV. You don't have to swear or curse or mock the dwarves. You just have to find a hilarious situation and apply your product to it. Bend it to your needs.
Since it's free advertising, you must work very hard in order to surpass the advantages paid advertising provides. All I have mentioned means that you have to exploit the one advantage free advertising has over the paid one: people do not consider it advertising. It's a camouflage that can work to your advantage a lot if you find the right angles and the right tools. I cannot tell you what to do exactly, but do some online research for a couple of days, targeting what I said, and you'll see what I mean.
By Oana Coroian
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