If you’re a business owner, the website MeetUp can be a useful place to find some potential customers, and to connect with like-minded individuals. But “how to promote my business with MeetUp,” you might ask. There are a number of different ways that make sense, and we will discuss a few of them in this article.

It’s undeniable that MeetUp is most beneficial to smaller companies, because it was started primarily as a way for local groups to get together. It is wider-reaching now, but still, you’re probably best off utilizing it to reach out to fans and businesses in your area. The first step is to set up a MeetUp account, which is easily done. Be sure to write an engaging description of what your company is all about, your values, mission statement, etc. Next, attend a meeting yourself, preferably one that somehow connects to the industry of which your business is a part. Introduce yourself to people, pass out business cards, and start to form personal relationships. You never know which ones are going to be valuable in the future.

Another great thing to do is offer free product samples to MeetUp groups. Even if the group is not directly related to your industry, it’s this sort of legwork that will help to establish you as a fixture in the community. The cost will prove worth it down the line, as the publicity pays off. You can also look for blogger MeetUps specifically, attend them, and introduce yourself. Bloggers write about a nearly endless array of topics, and local products and services are often high on that list. Getting well-known bloggers to write about you is a great way to up your online visibility, and increase your search engine rankings.  

MeetUp is all about being proactive, and the website and your profile are only the beginning of what you can do with this resource. If you’re busy, and you don’t always have the time to go to some of these events, then delegate. Send representatives from your company, and tell them to mingle. As your brand becomes more recognizable in your local community, you’re going to get a lot more repeat customers.       

If you’re looking to raise brand awareness, Tumblr makes a lot of sense. As a marketing tool, it’s versatility is a major asset: you can post music, videos, links, text, photos, quotes…the limit is your imagination. Because of its popularity, it’s also a place where you can reach a wide variety of potential customers, of many ages, backgrounds, and with different income levels. For the answer to the question of “how to promote my business with Tumblr,” we explore some of the site’s most useful features.

In setting up your page, you’ll first want to pay attention to which themes are available, and choose one that works best for you. Think about your company…are you going for a chic modern look, or something more retro? There are literally thousands of different ways to customize your site, so you should be able to find something perfect.

Once that’s done, you’ll want to go about the business of interacting and sharing. Search engines prioritize sites with fresh content, and you’ll want to make sure that you’re active on Tumblr every day, just as you are on all your other social media accounts. Find some other accounts that you like, which share the spirit of your company, and follow them. This is a case of giving love, and getting some in return. Companies you follow are much more likely to follow you as well.

Tumblr is very much an image-based site, so you’ll want to be posting plenty of visual content. This could mean pictures of your new products, or members of your staff taking part in community events. Images are perfect for interacting with non-American Tumblr users especially. An image needs no language to get its point across…just be sure that the pictures are high quality, and professional-looking. There’s no better way to show that your company isn’t a major industry player than with subpar content.

Finally, use hashtags and tag your posts, so that they’re easy to find. This is a sure way to boost the number of your followers, as your brand reaches more people. Create a persona for your brand, and make sure that your posts are in character. Once your account is well known, your followers will be looking forward to your daily content, and you will have gone a long way toward establishing brand loyalty.      

Reddit is thought of by some as an insular internet community, but the truth is, it attracts users from all walks of life, with opinions and interests equally diverse. As the owner of a company looking for publicity, the question “how to promote my business using Reddit” might not seem to have an obvious answer. But never fear, in this article we’ll give you some answers as to how you might approach this platform, and hopefully find it fertile ground for potential customers.

The most important thing to remember about Reddit is that it is not ostensibly a place for advertising, at least not in the traditional sense. With that in mind, it still can be a place that you interact with fans of your brand, and in doing so, hopefully you will attract some new ones. One thing that you can do is create what’s called a subReddit, which is a network within the parent site built around appreciation for something. That could be just about anything…cars, baked goods, World War II weaponry…or it could be centered around a brand. This is a way that you can get around the idea of “no advertising.” By creating a subReddit and encouraging conversation about your brand, you’re not technically advertising it.

You can also get some mileage through user submissions. Once you have created that subReddit about your brand, you might try having a one-time or even a weekly contest. You can ask fans of your brand to submit pictures of them enjoying your products, using them in innovative ways, or you might ask them to tell their favorite stories about your products or brand. Offer prizes or discounts to the most creative contestants. You’re trying to make this as interactive as possible, and it’s always good to show off your company’s quirkiness or coolness.

With the right incentive, it’s actually not that difficult to get standoffish Redditors to come out of their shells. This is a community with a lot of highly intelligent and creative people, and if you can tap into that, it will only be beneficial in growing awareness of your brand.