LBU INSIDER

April showers brings us beautiful blooms, and a month step closer to days where we can spend time in the sun! Here in LBU, Inc., we are all itching to plan out our vacations, get those fantastic summer days in our calendar. While we wait to go out and enjoy the outdoors, April is a month to take full advantage of our opportunity to plan out how we can network outside the workplace while we are on vacation. Sure, many don't like to mix business with pleasure. But this is not the first time we hear groundbreaking deals made during time at the golf course, or while vacationing in the Islands? Let's all do our share to expand our business and operations, and see the rewards of finding the balance between business and pleasure.

1.Promote Your Business Whenever You Communicate

You have business cards, but you also put out a lot of other documents in the course of doing business. Don't forget to make sure that your email has a complete signature that provides all our business information and a promotional tagline. You can also add a section with links to our Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest so the recipient can connect with our business on social media.

2.Use Social Media to Promote Our Business

Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are great ways to promote our business through​ social media.

3.Promote Our Business by Blogging and Writing Articles

When you're thinking of how to promote your business, don't forget about writing articles.

Well-written articles can provide free advertising and build positive word-of-mouth. If you have skills in web designing, why not leverage that skill by writing a piece about our products you are most proud of?

Places to take advantage of:

• Blogs/websites: There is an astronomical number of these that are hungry for content. Many accept, even seek out, "guest posts", blogs or articles from people not employed by the person or business running the site. Ideally, you want to get your piece published on a blog or website that has high traffic and has a good chance of being visited by your prospective customers.

• Magazines: The magazine industry isn't dead yet and many of them are always looking for content too. Freelance writing sites also provide a great deal of information on all kinds of publications that might publish your efforts.

• Newspapers: Print media can still be a good place to put our business promotion article. Try contacting the Business editor of our local paper and pitching your article.

4.Use Buddy Marketing (Cross-Promotion)

Buddy marketing involves joining up with another business or businesses and pooling our resources to promote all of our businesses. As is a joint venture, buddy marketing is a great way to extend your reach. For example, when you send out brochures, you could include a leaflet and/or business card of another business which has agreed to do the same for you. This gives you the chance to reach a whole new pool of potential customers.

5.Give Out Freebies as Business Promotion

We're all familiar with hearing or reading advertisements that promise that the first 50 people to visit a particular store will receive a free (____). You fill in the blank. It could be anything from an overstocked cosmetic pouch to fanny or duffle bag! Masks and totes are always popular as well.

6.Promote Our Business Through Your Leisure Activities

Whether your chosen leisure activity is working on a museum restoration project, rock-climbing, or shopping, there are all kinds of ways to promote our business while you do what you love to do.

And with any kind of group activity, there's always the opportunity to promote our business by letting other people know what you do and how it could benefit them. This doesn't mean that you talk about nothing else, but there are bound to be chances to talk about our business that crop up during normal conversation.