3 lesser-known online advertising platforms worth trying
Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. – Robert Frost
Small business owners can use the inspiration of that famous Frost quote and apply it to their approach to business in a variety of ways and I’m sure that some of those ways will make “all the difference.”
One way in which taking the road “less traveled by” is in online advertising. I previous posts, I’ve extolled the virtues of advertising on Bing rather than Google. There are also some overlooked social media sites where you can advertise that are worth exploring. Here are three that could work great for you.
Quora. I’ve discussed Quora before when suggesting ways to get topics for blogs or for new products or services. However, Quora also accepts advertising and it you’re company is B2B, it might be one of the best places for you to advertise.
I believe that it could payoff for B2B companies for many of the same reason it’s a great place to go when you’re mining for product, service, or blog ideas. Quora is a magnet for business leaders and entrepreneurs. They ask probing questions and offer insightful answers. If you want to get in front of their eyeballs, Quora is a great place to be.
Stumbleupon. Strategies on how to create viral content is always a topic of discussion on the Internet. Frankly, “Try advertising via Stumbleupon” may be the single best strategy to make your content go viral. Stumbleupon is a social networking content “discovery engine.”
Stumbleupon users – via its browser plugin and mobile app – vote up content and then the popular content gets suggested to other Stumbleupon users. If you have created a killer piece of content, try promoting it through a Stumbleupon ad. It might strike a nerve with users and achieve viral status.
Reddit. Companies as huge as Coca-Cola and Toyota have advertised on Reddit, yet you can get your foot in the door for as little as $5 a day. Reddit is essentially a discussion or conversation platform that is segmented into all kinds of special interest subreddits or “communities,” which are supervised by an editor.
With some more than 50,000 communities, you are certain to find one or more that would be interested in your product or service. By the way, when you find the communities that you’re interested in, participate in the discussions. Once you’re established as a legitimate voice – not a spammer – feel free to post valuable content from your website.
If you feel like a microscopic fish swimming in the ocean when you go to advertise on Facebook or AdWords, you should explore these three platforms and see if they might help you realize a better return on your online advertising budget.