As the business world navigates through challenging times, companies in the St. Louis area must be strategic about how they promote their products or services. With a recession in full swing, businesses need to leverage cost-effective ways to reach their target audience.
Fortunately, the internet provides a plethora of opportunities for businesses to promote themselves online. In this article, we will explore some of the best online promotion strategies that companies in the St. Louis area can use to stay afloat during a recession.
From content creation and social media marketing to TikTok short videos and YouTube shorts, to local directory listings and website SEO, and finally, PPC advertising with Google Ads, we will provide practical tips that can help any business thrive in today’s challenging economic climate. So, if you’re looking for ways to boost your online presence and gain a competitive edge, read on to discover the secrets of effective online promotion during a recession.
Content Creation with ChatGPT and AI
Creating high-quality content is essential for any business that wants to build a strong online presence. Content can take many forms, from blog posts and infographics to videos and social media posts. To create compelling content that resonates with your target audience, you need to have a clear understanding of their needs, preferences, and pain points. Here are some tips to help you create effective content for your St. Louis business:
Use ChatGPT for Inspiration: One of the best ways to generate new content ideas is by using AI-powered tools like ChatGPT. Simply input a topic or keyword, and ChatGPT will generate a list of relevant ideas that you can use to create engaging content. Additionally, you can use ChatGPT to suggest titles, outlines, and even opening paragraphs for your content.
Create Catchy Titles: Your title is the first thing that your audience will see, so it’s essential to make it catchy and attention-grabbing. Use strong action words, numbers, and emotional triggers to create a title that your audience can’t resist clicking on. You can use ChatGPT to help you generate creative and catchy titles.
Focus on Your Audience: To create content that resonates with your target audience, you need to understand their pain points and preferences. Use ChatGPT to help you create a customer persona and understand their needs and preferences. This will help you create content that speaks directly to their interests and needs.
Use a Consistent Tone and Voice: Your brand’s tone and voice are essential for building a strong online presence. Use ChatGPT to help you define your brand’s tone and voice and create content that is consistent with your brand’s personality.
By using these tips, you can create effective content for your St. Louis business that resonates with your target audience. And by utilizing AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, you can speed up the content creation process and generate new ideas quickly and easily.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is one of the most effective ways to promote your St. Louis business online, but it can also be time-consuming and challenging to manage. To make the most of your social media strategy, you need to have a clear plan in place and use the right tools to streamline your efforts. Here are some tips to help you use social media to promote your business:
Repurpose Long-Form Content: If you have long-form content, such as blog posts or white papers, you can repurpose them into smaller, bite-sized pieces of content for social media. Use tools like Canva to create eye-catching graphics, or break up the content into smaller chunks that can be easily shared on different platforms.
Use Social Media Management Tools: To save time and improve your social media strategy, use automation tools like Buffer to schedule posts in advance. This way, you can plan your social media content in advance, and ensure that you are posting regularly and consistently.
Customize Your Content for Each Platform: Each social media platform has its own unique features and requirements, so it’s essential to create content that is optimized for each platform. Use design tools like Canva, which has pre-made templates for each platform, to ensure that your content looks great on all platforms.
Engage with Your Audience: Social media is all about engagement, so it’s essential to actively engage with your audience. Respond to comments, share user-generated content, and run contests to encourage engagement and build a community around your brand.
Measure Your Results: Use analytics tools like Google Analytics or social media analytics to measure the results of your social media efforts. This will help you understand what’s working and what’s not, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
By using these tips, you can create a strong social media strategy that promotes your St. Louis business effectively. And by using automation and design tools like Buffer and Canva, you can streamline your efforts and create platform-specific content that looks great on all platforms.
TikTok Short Videos
TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion active users worldwide. While many people still think of TikTok as a platform for young people, the truth is that it has evolved to include a wide range of users and demographics. If you’re a St. Louis business looking to reach a larger audience, you should consider using TikTok as part of your social media strategy.
Here are some tips for using TikTok to promote your business:
Set Aside Personal Feelings: While TikTok may not be your favorite social media platform, it’s important to set aside personal feelings and recognize the potential it has for your business. With the right content and strategy, you can reach a larger audience and grow your brand.
Create Short-Form Content: TikTok is all about short-form video content, so it’s important to create content that is engaging, entertaining, and informative. Use the platform to show off your work, give quick tips related to your industry, and connect with your audience in a more personal way.
Use Hashtags: Like other social media platforms, TikTok uses hashtags to categorize content and make it easier to discover. Use relevant hashtags in your posts to increase visibility and reach a larger audience.
Collaborate with Influencers: TikTok influencers can help you reach a larger audience and build credibility with your target market. Find influencers who align with your brand and collaborate with them on content to grow your reach.
Engage with Your Audience: As with other social media platforms, engagement is key on TikTok. Respond to comments, collaborate with other creators, and run contests to engage with your audience and build a community around your brand.
With that said, some companies don’t have the resources to handle all of these social media accounts. If you have a small team, or maybe just one person managing your social media, then consider sticking with Facebook and blogging on your company’s website.
YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts is a relatively new feature that allows users to create and upload short-form vertical videos. These videos can be up to 60 seconds long and can be a great way to quickly and easily reach a large audience.
One of the biggest benefits of YouTube Shorts is that they often get featured in Google Discover, a popular mobile feed that shows users content related to their interests. This means that if you create a compelling and engaging Shorts video, you have the potential to reach a large audience beyond just YouTube.
Here are some tips for using YouTube Shorts to promote your business:
Create Vertical Video Content: As Shorts are designed to be viewed on a mobile device, it’s important to create vertical video content that fits the screen. This means filming in portrait orientation and optimizing your content for mobile viewing.
Keep It Short and Sweet: As the name suggests, Shorts are all about short-form content. Keep your videos to under 60 seconds and make sure they get to the point quickly.
Use Eye-Catching Thumbnails: As Shorts are often featured in Google Discover, it’s important to use eye-catching thumbnails that will entice users to click and watch your video. Consider using bold colors, interesting imagery, and clear text to create a thumbnail that stands out.
Include a Call to Action: Like with any other type of marketing, it’s important to include a call to action in your Shorts video. This could be something as simple as asking viewers to like and subscribe to your channel, or directing them to your website or social media pages.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of content and themes to find what resonates with your audience. YouTube Shorts is a powerful tool for businesses in St. Louis looking to expand their online reach and build their brand.
Local Directory Listings
One of the best ways to promote your business online in the St. Louis area is by getting listed on local directory websites. These websites are specifically designed to help people find local businesses in their area, and can be a great way to attract new customers.
One local directory website you can consider is Move2STL.com, where we’re dedicated to helping local businesses in the area. Getting listed on Move2STL.com can help your business reach a larger audience in the St. Louis area and make it easier for locals to find you. Another perk is that we often run web stories to promote our favorite companies in the area on Google Discover, where thousands of locals get a chance to read them.
However, don’t forget the important ones like TripAdvisor, Yelp, Yellowpages, Facebook, Angi, Foursquare, and Bing.
Here are some tips for getting listed on local directory websites:
Ensure Consistent NAP Information: NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone Number. It’s important to ensure that your NAP information is consistent across all local directory websites you are listed on, including Move2STL.com. This consistency helps search engines verify the accuracy of your information and can improve your search engine rankings.
Optimize Your Listing: When creating your listing, be sure to include as much information as possible about your business, including your hours of operation, services offered, and a brief description of your business. This information can help potential customers find you and can increase your chances of getting featured on local directory websites.
Encourage Reviews: Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your local directory listings, including Move2STL.com. Positive reviews can help improve your online reputation and increase your visibility on search engines and local directory websites.
Google Business Profile
If you haven’t already claimed and optimized your Google Business Profile, then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to promote your business online. Google Business Profile is what replaced Google My Business pages and it’s a free tool that helps businesses manage their online presence across Google, including Google Search and Google Maps.
This is the most important business listing!
Website SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your website so that it ranks higher in search engine results pages. SEO can be a complex topic, but there are some basic strategies that small business owners can use to improve their website’s visibility in search engine results.
Here are some practical tips for improving your website’s SEO:
Conduct Keyword Research: Use keyword research tools to identify the keywords and phrases that potential customers might use when searching for your products or services. Include these keywords in your website content, meta descriptions, and image alt tags.
Create Quality Content: Create high-quality, relevant, and original content for your website that includes your target keywords. Long-form content tends to perform better in search engine results, so aim for at least 1,500 words per page.
Optimize Your Page Titles and Meta Descriptions: Your page titles and meta descriptions are what appear in search engine results pages, so they need to be compelling and relevant to your target audience.
Use Header Tags: Use header tags (H1, H2, H3) to structure your content and make it easier for search engines to understand what your pages are about.
Improve Your Website Speed: Your website speed is a ranking factor in search engine results, so make sure that your site loads quickly. Compress images, use caching, and minimize the use of plugins to improve your website speed.
Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly: More and more people are using mobile devices to browse the web, so make sure that your website is mobile-friendly. Use responsive design to ensure that your site looks good on any device.
Build Backlinks: Backlinks are links from other websites to your site. They are an important ranking factor in search engine results, so try to get backlinks from reputable websites in your industry.
Use ChatGPT for Content Ideas: If you’re stuck on ideas for your website content, ChatGPT can be a helpful tool for generating new ideas. You can ask ChatGPT to suggest content ideas based on your target keywords or industry.
PPC Advertising with Google Ads
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a form of online advertising where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on one of their ads. PPC advertising can be an effective way to reach potential customers quickly, but it can also be expensive if not managed correctly.
Here are some tips for using PPC advertising to promote your business during a recession:
- Start with a Testing Budget: When starting with PPC advertising, it’s important to set aside a testing budget to try different ad types, keywords, and targeting options. This will help you identify what works and what doesn’t work for your business before committing to a larger budget.
- Avoid Companies that Guarantee ROI: Be wary of companies that promise guaranteed returns on your advertising spend. There are many factors that can impact the success of your advertising campaigns, and no one can guarantee a specific ROI.
- Use Facebook/Instagram Ads: Facebook and Instagram offer relatively inexpensive advertising options, and they allow you to target specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
- Consider Other Platforms: In addition to Facebook and Instagram, you may want to consider other PPC advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Yelp Ads. Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to do your research and choose the platform that’s right for your business.
- Optimize for Your Budget: To get the most out of your advertising spend, it’s important to optimize your campaigns for your budget. This may mean adjusting your targeting, bidding, or ad copy to maximize the return on your investment.
PPC advertising can be a powerful tool for promoting your business online, but it does require a significant investment of time and resources to optimize your campaigns. By starting with a testing budget and avoiding companies that make unrealistic ROI claims, you can use PPC advertising to reach potential customers quickly and effectively.
Conclusion
Running a small business during a recession can be challenging, but by leveraging the power of online marketing, you can reach a wider audience and generate more leads and sales. By using content creation, social media marketing, TikTok, YouTube shorts, local directory listings, website SEO, and PPC advertising, you can build a strong online presence that will help you weather the storm and come out on top.
Take Advantage of AI Tools like ChatGPT
In addition, by using AI and automation tools like ChatGPT, Buffer, Canva, and Buffer, you can streamline your marketing efforts and save time and resources. This is especially important for small businesses that may not have the budget or staff to devote to marketing.
By running an efficient online marketing strategy and using AI and automation tools, small businesses in the St. Louis area can thrive in tough times. With lower marketing costs and a small team, or even just one competent person running their online marketing operations, small businesses can reach new heights and achieve their goals even during difficult times.
So don’t let a recession hold you back. Embrace the power of online marketing and start building your brand today. With the right tools and strategy, you can succeed no matter what challenges come your way.