Advertising in the 21st Century: Use Modern Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Business

Newspapers and print ads are no longer the most popular forms of advertising for businesses. This is because we live in a digital society and people spend less time reading newspapers and magazines and more time on their mobile devices. If you want to target those people as new customers, you have to go where they are. Fortunately, there are numerous marketing aids that you can use, many of them free.

Here is a list of some modern methods of marketing that will get your company or business noticed.

1. Website. If you do not have a website, you need to create one. Even if you are a local store with walk-in traffic, you still need a web presence. Statistics show that most people do research online before making a purchase, whether it is in the store or on the internet. The average amount of time spent is two hours.

2. Blog. Create a blog. You do not have to be a professional blogger to create a blog for your company. There are several free sites that will host your blog. Two of the most popular are Wordpress and Blogger.com.

3. Tweet with Twitter. Get a Twitter account and send tweets about promotions or new products or services that you are offering. Combining a blog with a Twitter account will help you get more attention from potential customers.

4. Go Mobile. There are hundreds of apps that businesses can use to promote their brand. You have to find the ones that work best for your needs. Foursquare and SCVNGR are two apps that businesses can use to promote their product. SCVNGR allows you to interact with your customers.

5. Use the Social Networks. Facebook has over 500 million users; capitalize on that traffic by creating a page for your business. You can post updates, sales, and other items of interest to your customers.

Don't be afraid to try something new even if you aren't about the results. Many of these methods of advertising your business are free or low cost. You can even hire experts in the various areas to do the work for you while you reap the results.