by Tracey Allen

Created on: October 20, 2009

Small businesses with minimal advertising budgets to promote their business for free should look for online promotional opportunities. There are a number of ways for you to promote your business online.

Your first step should be to decide on what it is you want to promote. Will you promote an event or activity? Or is it a new product? If it is newsworthy then an online press releases will give you great value.

Free Press Release or PR Log are two of many free press release services that offer distribution to the media. Some services will even have your release listed on Google News and Yahoo News. The added value of an online press release is the viral impact. Online press releases are also often picked up by RSS feeds, bloggers, and other great online sources for sharing information. A well crafted press release is essential to be effective. If you have a few dollars then there are other press release services that offer a little more value by allowing Youtube.com videos to be uploaded plus other great features.

Youtube.comand other video websites also offer a venue for small businesses to promote their products/services. Here is an example of using Youtube for promotions - Eco Home Solutions Inc. use the video on its website and used it to promote themselves on Dragon's Den for venture capital funding.

Online newsletters can be used for cross promotions between complimentary business very effectively. Spend a little to create a nice button ad and approach local businesses that compliment your business. For example, TPI - Travel Places partnering with Chameleon Language Centre a local language school to offer crash courses in Spanish for travellers going to the Caribbean. By exchanging links and putting ads in each newsletter both businesses win.

Notice boards or Services such as Kijji offer the opportunity to post various types of classified ads and available worldwide. Look for other classified ad boards online.

Bartering with other businesses can also provide your business additional advertising space. Look to online magazines or newspaper publications that are specialized in your area and run by another small business. Trading ad space on your website with another business is a great way to get exposure.

Facebook fan pages can also be used by small business to both promote the business. For a small investment you can also advertise with facebook. Hubspot offers a great overview of how to set up a fan page on facebook.

There are numerous ways to promote or advertise online, you will only be limited by the time you can spend to create and implement your strategy.

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