How can I grow my audience without social media?
If you’re not interested in being on social media, or you don’t want to rely on social platforms to grow your business, there are quite a few alternative ways to promote your business. Here are some recommendations from Startup Society member Cheryl Cosner, who has an MBA in marketing and owns Sheep School:
The tools we had when I worked as a business counselor helping small businesses with their marketing plan development are useful tools that may seem new again if you want to skip the social media treadmill:
- Public relations - Create a press release for nearly everything you do, when you launch your business, when you have a new product or course, and when you make a new hire. Newspapers still exist and most are hungry for content. They are competing against non-print content and need new content to publish. Most have digital versions in addition to print. A quick, organic search will help you find directories of small daily and weekly newspapers across the US. Here is one directory for a good start. Send a press release to magazines and trade publications. Ask what columns are looking for new products to introduce to readers. Keep in mind that the lead times for newspapers can be quite short, days or only a week but magazines can have a lead time of months. This is important for seasonal content.
- Piggyback on association newsletters - Send your press release to associations that are in your niche and ask for inclusion in their regular newsletter. Write a helpful piece for their newsletter that their (and your) audience will find interesting.
- Get on the radio - Small radio stations often have interview/talk radio programs that interview community members or individuals that are doing something interesting. Prepare your own list of interview questions so their job is easier, and you can make sure your topic is covered well.
- Speak to associations and community groups - Prepare a helpful presentation that you can give at civic groups or associations. This should be in alignment with your core audience. As we used to say, "Get on the rubber chicken circuit." These organizations often welcome hearing about a topic that will help their members. This could be done locally if you are a service business or you could plan a webinar that has a much further reach.
- Participate in trade shows - The glory days of trade shows have faded in recent years (thank you, Covid), but there are still opportunities to be a vendor or a guest presenter at these events. It is a great way to gather information from your target audience since you will have many one-on-one conversations with people. Also, you are able to grow your email list with a simple clipboard and a sign-up sheet. These are already warm leads, and they are easy to follow up on later. In some cases, trade show organizers give vendors a contact list of all registered participants. How's that for list building?
- Send a postcard - Prior to all the electronic media that we use now, print newsletters and postcards were the primary source of outreach. When was the last time you received a postcard from a business? Maybe your eye doctor or dentist? What is old is new again. The word on the street is that postcards are once again a way to stand out in a crowded, social media world.
- Pick up the phone - Have we forgotten that phones were once used for TALKING to people? Texting has gotten in the way of personal communication. The sound of the human voice creates connection and trust. Reach out to people who you could collaborate with in your space. Call (or create a small personalized video using the person's name) to personally answer a question for someone who writes to you. You would be surprised how much people will respond to a personal connection.
Now, I recognize some of these tools won't scale well and are better used for local businesses. But not all. A press release to the right small newspaper may trigger a syndicated article in 180 newspapers across the country, as was an experience I had. An interview with a regional radio station may develop into requests for interviews at larger stations with more listenership. Speaking locally can evolve into international speaking gigs. (I found myself a guest speaker at an international symposium as the result of a presentation for a local society chapter.)
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