Originally published August 2021. Updated June 2026.
For plenty of business owners, the terms marketing and public relations conjure up images of expensive marketing campaigns and excessive spending. However, marketing a business does not always have to be expensive — there are plenty of free ways to do it. The digital landscape has offered exposure to a number of different businesses. Although it can sometimes feel like fighting a losing battle for companies that are just starting out, there are still a variety of ways for businesses to market themselves through their consumers, even for free.
Email data
One way that companies can promote themselves is to capture email data from website visitors. That is easily achieved by integrating a sign-up option for a company's email newsletter; the company can then start building a database of consumer data. That information can be used for a variety of marketing and promotional efforts, from creating custom audiences for advertising campaigns to targeted email marketing.
Email marketing campaigns
Once a company has the necessary data on consumers, it's time to put it to work. Companies can set up an account with an email distribution platform and begin distributing emails. Generally, companies should avoid being too promotional and try to provide something genuinely useful to the people receiving those emails. Emails should be sent regularly, but never appear to spam subscribers — otherwise those people will mark messages as spam or unsubscribe.
Video marketing efforts
In the last few years, more and more consumers have turned to video content compared to any other type of content. Companies should utilize video marketing campaigns and start engaging their consumers. There is no need to create highly produced content for videos — even a simple tutorial will do wonders. This type of content is also highly marketable and shareable, which means the company can distribute it on social media platforms, on its own website, and in email newsletters.
User-generated content
A strong way for companies to engage with their audience and promote themselves is through user-generated content — content created and championed by fans of a business. It happens when consumers are so supportive of a company that they decide to share their experiences or the product they purchased with their social circle, usually on social media platforms.
This type of content can occur naturally; however, companies can also encourage it. One way is to highlight some of the best user-generated posts each week on social media platforms, or to create giveaways and contests that generate content from consumers themselves.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
