Are They Worth It? 3 Promotional Strategies Considered

When it comes to promoting your business, you’re never going to be short of advice. There’s entire websites devoted to advice on your business promotion; YouTube videos; social media posts; webinars; ebooks… the list goes on, and on, and on. 

The question is… is any of it actually useful? 

Let’s discuss five of the most commonly mentioned techniques for promoting a business-- and whether or not they’re actually worth it. 

1. Facebook 

Facebook is the King of social media for many business owners, given its incredible popularity-- no business person is going to turn away from a market of two billion users. Many people also feel that it provides the highest return on investment available in digital marketing, even though prices have increased over the last few years.


• High user numbers mean the best chance of your posts being seen. • Excellent if you have a business that relies on local custom. 
• Purchasing Facebook ads is beneficial, as you can target exactly the kind of person you think may be interested in your business. 


• The algorithm is notoriously difficult to master. To try and get the most from Facebook, you might need a marketer with direct experience in this area to help you. 
• Your ads will be blocked by most Adblockers, so have a limited scope. 

Worth It? 

Yes, especially for local businesses. It would be very difficult to justify advertising online and not including Facebook ads.

2. Google Adwords 

Adwords is Google’s own advertising program, allowing businesses to pay to appear in search results. AdWords is the world's largest digital advertising platform but it has gotten very expensive over the last decade, especially for popular keywords in competitive spaces.


• You only pay if a customer actually clicks on your ad, so all of your budget will translate into -- at the very least -- lukewarm leads. 
• Plenty of expertise to guide you if you need assistance; you can consult a Google Adwords consultant for help on your strategy and finding the right keywords to target. 


• If your business is in a very popular niche, you may have to pay a high price to appear in search results. 
• There’s always the risk someone just clicks on the ad accidentally, and you have to pay for their slip of the finger. 

Worth It? 

Yes. Google is still King when it comes to driving business to your site, and Adwords is a guaranteed method that allows you to appear in their search results

3. Video Marketing

We live in an evermore visual world; video marketing is designed to take advantage of this. YouTube is the most popular video platform and AdWords is a simple and effective way to reach billions of viewers.


• As with Facebook, there’s the potential for a huge number of views. 
• You can generate revenue from any videos you upload, and those videos can work to promote your business, so it’s a two-for-one. 
• Excellent if you are targeting a young demographic; millennials and Generation Z tend to prefer video to text-based content. 


• Video marketing takes a lot of work; you have to produce the video, edit it, check the comments… 
• … or you outsource your video marketing, which is expensive. 
• You have to walk a fine line between your videos being helpful, and too helpful-- i.e. so helpful that the potential customer doesn’t need to go to your business for more assistance. 

Worth It? 

If you’ve mastered every other form of promotion, then it’s worth turning your attending to video marketing-- but it shouldn’t be a priority for you, unless you are specifically targeting a young demographic. 

Remember that not all promotional strategies are created equal. Do your research, test the waters, and eventually you will find a system that works for you and your business.

I hope you enjoyed this article about whether Facebook, Google, and YouTube advertising is worthwhile for your lean startup.

Interested in more articles about digital marketing?

Read My Posts:

- 4 Do It Yourself Conversion Rate Hacks For Startups

- How To Improve Your Pay Per Click Ad Performance

Published by Michael J Schiemer
Owner of Bootstrap Business
Money - Marketing - Motivation
Digital Marketing | SEO | Social Media
Mike Schiemer Builds Better Business

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