Getting the word out about your products, services or content is easier said than done. While some entities have a relatively easy time gaining exposure due to pre-existing audiences, most brands have to fight for every click, view or purchase.

All too often, would-be entrepreneurs and bloggers give up on their dreams due to the sudden realization that generating attention is difficult. You can write, produce or create all the offerings in the world, but that does not guarantee people will find what you’re providing.

To help brands and websites ensure their offerings are appreciated and seen, we’ve put together a few recommendations for free and low-cost promotional tactics.

Embrace SEO

Search engine optimization arguably remains the one great equalizer in the battle for recognition online. Through a wide variety of tactics, brands and businesses can target specific search engine results in pursuit of greater visibility, thereby pinging links and pages to audiences who care. This tactic – when pursued by the brand alone – costs nothing, but takes quite a bit of time to deliver results.

Utilize Guest Blogging

In a world where everything seems to cost something, most have trouble turning down free content. If you’re wanting to garner a bit more traffic and don’t mind contributing to others, then guest blogging may be a good choice for you. In short, guest blogging involves creating content that is published on other websites and which provides a link back to your own site. There are many guides online that explain how to utilize guest blogging effectively; not only can it boost your visibility via direct traffic, but it can improve SEO in some cases as well.

Target Q&A Sites

Community forums and Q&A sites like Reddit are the perfect breeding grounds for publicity and marketing when done properly. Rather than relying on straightforward marketing campaigns, brands that can provide insight and information effectively will find that a bit of related, subtle promotion on subreddits and places such as Quora can deliver large amounts of traffic over time. It is definitely important to be subtle and non-spammy when doing this, but it can be one of many tools used to boost your brand’s reach.

Use Social Media

Social media has quickly become one of the most powerful tools available to any brand. Through Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and other platforms, brands can accumulate followers, build loyal audiences and distribute their content far and wide. The great thing about social media is that it can be used both organically and via low-cost ad campaigns. Whichever way you decide to start pinging links to audiences, social media simply cannot be overlooked as a powerful promotion tool.

Create Something of Value

Last but not least, brands that create value naturally generate more buzz and reach. Many blogs and businesses have discovered that by providing a free e-book, PDF or document that is chock-full of information and valuable, they generate heaps of publicity and traffic. If you can generate something similar and serve it to your audience, then the effects can be staggering.

Generating promotional buzz for your brand isn’t inherently difficult: it just takes time and a bit of trial and error. Through the five tactics outlined above, you’re sure to find at least a couple that suit your brand. Because they’re either free or relatively low-cost, you can afford to utilize them again and again for additional effect.