Whether you are a start-up or a freelancer, marketing will possibly be something, you cannot afford. But it is marketing that starts your business off just right, so here are some tipps on how to market your business or knowledge without any costs, except for time.

Write and circulate press releases
Online public relation is by far easier and less complicated than classic public relations offline – and absolutely worthwhile. No creating extensive mailing lists, no connecting to the press.
Instead press releases can be distributed via free press portals. Once published, the press releases reach journalists and consumers alike while generating links to your website or online profile.

Join freelance platforms
Start-ups and freelancers benefit from utilizing online freelance platforms. Not only is it possible to generate projects, it is also easy to connect to businesses or other freelancers and little by little build a network.

Write guest articles
Start-ups and freelancers have a lot of knowledge to share – experiences, tipps, do´s and don´ts, but also expertise. To share this knowledge with others generates attention and links to your own website or profile – which makes it an asset in online marketing.
And: Most blogs are open to guest articles from professionals.

Take part in the discourse
To keep informed about what is happening in your sector is understood – so why not just take part and get active and outspoken yourself?
Writing comments about articles or posting something in discussion forums is easily done and aids your online marketing profoundly.

Use social media
Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter – when it comes to social media sites, you can pick and choose. Try to use as many channels as possible to reach as many potential customers as possible – and to strengthen your network.

Ignorance and a lack of understanding undermine the implementation of social media in many medium sized businesses.

The question is: What is social media useful for?

The social web is a communication network. Completely new ways of communicating have developed online. More and more people are using these to express their opinions and exchange information. This fact cannot be denied.

Different kinds of people are talking to each other, commenting or forwarding things that have been posted in blogs and pictures are uploaded in public galleries.
Social networks, like facebook, are used to find old and new friends and to reconnect.
This leaves a huge network of social relationships and information, which is exchanged and rated.

And it is not only products or services of big businesses that are being talked about…

brian solis’s conversation prism portrays how comprehensive the social web has become and how wide the conversations range that define it:

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brian solis is a digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist. he’s recognized widely as one of the most prominent thought leaders in social media.

Does your visibility in social media influence your professional life?
People are debating on whether your online appearance does more harm or more good to you – regarding work life.

One side is arguing:
The stronger the social web gets integrated into our daily life the better it is for your career to actively participate in it. In some professions your visibility in social media is essential for getting hired. In others it is not requisite but still an asset. You can use social media for purposes of self portrayal. All in all appearance in social media is inevitably growing more important.

The other side saying:
Letting the online world participate in your daily life can’t be helpful for your career. If your future employer is able to find your last holiday pictures online it can only influence your professional life in a disadvantageous way. Even if you wouldn’t be sharing information which is all too private you are still leaving more and more digital footprints through social media. In the end this will leave you traceable and therefore transparent digital user.

Is there a way to strike the balance between those two opposing views?
What are your opinions on this matter?

fast company compiled a nice list of very interesting business books: “…the works offer fascinating tales of innovation, and you’ll learn everything from the secret underpinning some of the world’s fastest-growing companies to strategies and insights for building a more sustainable society in the wake of the recession.”

(image by fast company)

• “In Cheap We Trust” by Lauren Weber
• “Viral Loop” by Adam L. Penenberg
• “Create Your Own Economy” by Tyler Cowen
• “Bright-Sided” by Barbara Ehrenreich
• “Googled” by Ken Auletta
• “Busted” by Edmund Andrews
• “Change by Design” by Tim Brown
• “Adland” by James Othmer
• “In-N-Out Burger” by Stacy Perman
• “Strategy for Sustainability” by Adam Werbach

today, people engage in social media on a daily basis – but does it help them to feel less isolated? according to recent research data (conducted in the u.s.), individuals’ social cycles are diminishing. apparently, this increasing isolation is not due to modern technology. interestingly the research results suggest the exact opposite, namely that technologies such as facebook or twitter promote social interaction. view full post here.

“twitter lists” is a new twitter feature that allows you to group the tweets of certain users into categories. there is also an option to view and subscribe to the twitter lists of other users… check out: 10 ways you can use twitter lists on mashable.

this wall street journal article discusses how linkedin and other social media sites are utilized in the hiring process. according to dan schawbel, personal branding expert and author of “me 2.0: build a powerful brand to achieve career success”, many people are still discovering how to navigate online for job searching and networking. many are unsure of what is appropriate and what is not. however, experts such as schawbel recommend not to be intimidated by uncertainty, but to act wisely and carefully. meanwhile, it is commonplace for companies to embed social networking sites into their hiring process as a recruitment tool for new talent and as screening sites for potential employees. these sites are primarily utilized to ensure a candidates integrity, behavior and to pre-select. schawbel explains that in the future, a person’s “online brand” will be included into the majority of hiring decisions because the information is so easily accessible and provides a first impression of a job candidate. although not all companies have integrated such sources of information into their hiring process, the number is growing steadily. for example, careerbuilder.com reports that 45% of companies were using social-networking sites to screen potential employees, up from 22% in 2008. according to a linkedin spokesperson, not only technology companies use online resources, but firms across all industries…

“why should i sign up for another website, and just add to all the sites i already use? …the idea for vreebit grew out of frustration with artificial limitations of these sites. vreebit does not just combine the most valuable elements of existing social networking and groupware technologies – it transforms these indispensible platforms into powerful and effective tools. in short, vreebit changes the very concept of social networking into one of versatility, simplicity, efficiency – and fun!”