16 Organic Ways To Profitably Advertise

Post Written By Expert Panel, Forbes Business Council

As the needs of consumers evolve, organizations are forced to rethink their current marketing practices and evolve. Paid advertising will likely always be a valuable method for reaching current and prospective customers. However, organic marketing can help facilitate a connection with a target audience that benefits both the audience and the business for the long term.

With companies having to shift rapidly, moving to and implementing organic marketing has to be done efficiently while still turning a profit. We asked the members of Forbes Business Council to share how leaders can navigate organic marketing in a way that is profitable. Their best tips are below.

1. Offer Value

I find it incredibly beneficial to inspire and educate potential customers before trying to introduce the product or service. If someone feels that you care enough to share beneficial information regarding their problem first, they will be confident that you will also be able to help them solve it via your product or service. Utilizing social media effectively to do this has served us well. – Reco McCambry, Novae

2. Leverage LinkedIn

As headhunters (agency recruiters), there is no greater platform for organic promotion than LinkedIn. Since our goal is to attract the attention of both clients and candidates alike, LinkedIn allows our team to write posts, add in hashtags, comment/share on others’ posts, in addition to creating videos, articles, company updates and other marketing messages that speak to professionals. – Dandan Zhu, DG Recruit

3. Craft Original Content

Our mission is to achieve gender parity in the workplace. We have endless amounts of data, research and ideas on how companies can move in the right direction. We craft interesting articles around different topics and post them across our platforms. We find that our blogs are a great way to raise awareness and engage with potential customers. – Mona Andrews, Stay In The Game

4. Use Word-Of-Mouth Endorsements

Our business is B2B referrals so we know the power of word-of-mouth endorsements. There’s no overhead cost to ask for a referral and you can choose to compensate your customers via a formal program to build loyalty. Many business owners feel uncomfortable asking for referrals, but you’re really doing a service to both parties when it works out. – Yuval Shalev, Hunterz.io

5. Focus On Value-Driven Marketing

Value-driven marketing creates a pull that is more long lived than direct advertising. If my value as a business is to care more about happy customers than increasing revenue in the short term, I would ensure customers with small bill sizes get equal attention. That in turn may result in a word-of-mouth referral and increased LTV, which will eventually make the business profitable. – Neha Kesarwani, Vertoe

6. Invest In Your Brand

The most effective and profitable way to advertise currently and going forward is investing in your brand. This means investing in social media content, growth and press. These three things are the best long-term investment that any business owner could invest into. – Luke Lintz, HighKey Agency Inc.

7. Combine Business And Personal Accounts

Use your business Instagram and your personal Instagram as a place to bring brand awareness. With your personal Instagram, be sure to keep the tone less professional and more in your natural voice. Always tag your business Instagram when you post about it as well; your followers will be curious about what you keep raving about! – Alessandra Conti, Matchmakers In The City

8. Go Where Your Audience Is

It comes down to creating interesting content that your audience cares about in places that your buyer personas are. Find out where they are by talking to current prospects, existing customers and also companies you have not engaged with. We do by-line articles, podcasts, videos, webinars and also speak at several conferences. Cross promotion has also been effective for us. – Gabriel Smith, Pricefx

9. Prioritize Quality

Quality is the best organic growth strategy a company can have. If it is a quality product, satisfied customers will repeat the purchase. On the contrary, if it is a product that does not meet their expectations, it is very rare that they will actually repeat the purchase process. In this context, the quality of both the product and the customer service represent an infallible tool for organic growth. – Kevin Leyes, Leyes Media

10. Create Sustainable Relationships

It’s about creating and sustaining relationships. Use social media platforms and your email list to help people get to know, like and trust you. Being consistent and regular is most critical. You’re a person on a mission that is meaningful. Blog short, intriguing articles and post content weekly that has relevance to your services. Only “sell” once every few weeks to keep their trust. – Sharon Lynn Livingston, The Livingston Center for Professional Coaching

11. Focus On Smaller Volume Keywords

Instead of going after keywords with lots of search volume, we focused our content marketing efforts on keywords with smaller volume and more intent for conversions. The traffic we get organically is not that a huge number, but we get more qualified leads from these efforts. – Dimitri Akhrin, CRMDialer

12. Build Strong Alliances

Build a strong referral program so that your existing customers will frequently recommend you. Build alliances with other related industries that offer products and services that complement yours, to cross-pollinate customers. Thirdly, take small hits for the bigger picture. Offer free items that will attract customers and then expand what you can offer them to grow your profits. – Elie Y. Katz, National Retail Solutions

13. Use Social Media

Social media is a great way to talk to your clients and engage your prospects. When people view you as a natural expert in a field, they seek to engage you wherever they are when they need that expertise. We found that engaging our clients naturally through LinkedIn, as opposed to advertising, has led to a double digit ROI for our investment. – Maurice Harary, The Bid Lab

14. Utilize Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization is one of the most effective marketing tactics that goes underutilized in many industries. Getting your website to the top of search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing, can bring ready-to-buy traffic to your website with zero advertising dollars. The best part about SEO, unlike paid ads, is that the traffic and the results are long term. – Caitlin Strempel, Rising Ranks Digital

15. Remember The Value Of Your Track Record

Credibility and track record; there is no substitute. When customers search your brand and find one or two search results, they feel uncertain. On the other hand, when they search for your brand and dozens of articles, interviews, videos and testimonials show up, especially on independent sites, it boosts their confidence that this must be a reputable firm with a track record and happy customers. – Scott Amyx, Astor Perkins

16. Give Away Valuable Content

Creating content that is legitimately valuable to your target audience and giving it away is the most effective way of creating awareness and interest with your ideal customers. Far too many companies create content as a lead magnet to get contact information. If you want to keep your target audience’s attention, give them something they derive value in. They’ll want to know who created it. – Ray Green, RJG and Co.

Forbes Article Link: 16 Organic Ways To Profitably Advertise