Launch Smart: Five Free Marketing Moves

Ready to grow a new business without draining your wallet? We break down five free, high-impact moves that build a clear brand, boost visibility, and turn real-world connections into steady referrals. Shelby McFarland, the marketing broker behind Marketing Happy Hour, lays out a lean playbook you can execute right now and refine as you scale.

We start by building a brand foundation that actually guides decisions: simple logo and colors, consistent voice, and a mission that shows customers what you stand for. From there, we claim the essentials—domain, Google Business Profile, and social handles—with an eye on clarity and search discoverability. Shelby shares why consistent naming matters, how to fill profiles so they rank, and what images and keywords help your pages get found without ads.

Content becomes your proof of reliability. You’ll hear how to create a weekly cadence you can sustain, pick formats that reduce stress, and publish posts that teach, answer questions, and highlight wins. Then we move offline to the rooms where trust is built: chambers, leads groups, and events. Learn how to make networking intentional with clear asks, thoughtful follow-up, and one-to-one meetings that turn contacts into referral partners across cities and even countries.

To keep your momentum, Shelby points you to a free bank of 55 marketing ideas and introduces the BOSS mindset—Bold, Opportunistic, Strong, and Service-minded—as a filter for every choice you make. If you’re launching in 2026 and feeling the pressure to do everything, this guide shows you where to focus your time so your message is clear, your presence is consistent, and your service drives word-of-mouth. Subscribe, share with a founder friend, and leave a review telling us which free tactic you’ll try first.

Chapters

• 0:52 Welcome And Episode Focus
• 2:03 Define Your Brand Foundation
• 3:20 Claim Your Online Real Estate
• 4:29 Create Consistent Social Content
• 5:28 Network For Referrals And Trust
• 7:13 Free Resource And BOSS Mindset
• 9:07 Encouragement And How To Connect

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:26

Hey y'all, what is up? It is Shelby McFarland here, the marketing broker, with another episode of the Marketing Happy Hour Podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Um, this week I want to talk to you guys about starting a new business and the first five things that you can do for free um that you can do for marketing for your business. So, as a new business owner, I know you're probably somebody that um wants to do everything yourself. So you're the accountant, you're the uh secretary, you're the appointment scheduler, you're the person that does the business, you're the person that does all the marketing, you do all the networking. So I understand I have been there, done all of that, um, and get it because we have to be like scrappers, right? As a freaking entrepreneur and new business owner, like we have to do things ourselves and know that we are capable of doing it. And sometimes we have to know that we can do all things in our business before we start delegating because then what do we have to do? We have to train people and stuff, right? So let's talk about five things that you can do for your business marketing-wise as a new business owner. And these are all free. So I want to make sure that you understand that this just takes time and effort and energy, and you can be successful at it. The first thing I want you to do as a new business owner is define your brand. Who are you and what does that look like? What does your logo look like? What does um your colors look like if you have an office? What kind of vibe do you get give off whenever people come in the door? What are your values and your mission statement? Like everything about your brand and what you want it to come across as. This is a mistake that I made as a new business owner. I did not create the branding appropriately when I first started my business because I was just excited to get started. I chose a name. I just did a logo real fast and put it out there in the world with no plan. So I want to make sure that you guys understand like go in and create that brand if you go through a business plan, if you do it for your for yourself. Um, what does that look like? But also know that you can transition that brand in the future if things change. I've rebranded my business twice now in 10 years. And I know that it seems like a lot to think about in the future, but if you come up with who you are now, and maybe that'll change a little bit in a few years, it's okay to then rebrand. But I want you to have an idea of who you are and what you want to come across as to your customers. The next thing is I want you to claim and optimize your online real estate. That means Google Business Profile, your Facebook and Instagram um handles, what does your URL or domain sound or look like? Is that available? Did you have to kind of change it up? How can you optimize that for the search engines? So claiming all of this is very important. Now, Google, Facebook, Instagram, all of that is free. If you do get a domain, that's usually about$20-ish dollars for the year or even for a couple years, depending on where you get that purchased at. But that's very important to make sure that we get that domain when you come up with your business name and making sure that everything looks and sounds the same. Like with my business, I am all about um the marketing broker, and so it is MKTG broker, and then I make sure that um that's on all my socials, so that way it's at the marketing broker, but it's MKTG, and so it's very easy to find on domains, it's very easy to find on social media and that kind of stuff. So just think about that whenever you're claiming your real estate. The next thing is I want you to start creating consistent valuable content on your social media. If you are creating content for social media, what does that look like? Um, are you sharing them about who you are? Um, are you sharing your services? What does all that look like? But then also, I want you to start creating consistent, valuable content on a weekly basis. That means staying consistent. If you have a plan, make a strategy and do it. Do not fall away from it. I know you can get overwhelmed with all these other things, but being consistent on social media is so, so important and showing up for our people so they know, like, hey, they're showing up for us now, then I know that they're gonna show up for us whenever we hire them. So it's just very important for you to consistently stay on social media and doing that. Now, the fourth thing that I want you to think about when it comes to marketing your business is what kind of groups can you get involved in networking-wise? Joining the chamber, uh, maybe you're in BI, doing a leads group, something of the sort. So that way you can um get involved and get to networking as soon as possible. Because in person is how you're gonna grow that um valuableness of you. I don't even know if that's a word, but make sure your value is growing and your reputation is positive and making sure that you can get those referrals from in person as well as whenever people um get to know you, they'll know, like, hey, they'll probably do good work, and then they'll send their friends and family, and then you'll start getting that because the number one marketing thing that I know will work for you is referrals from current customers, past customers, um, people in leads groups. I've been in several different leads groups and have um extended my circle here locally as well as nationally as well as internationally. Um, when I was a part of BI, I actually had a referral partner in um Canada. And so she would refer people to me, I would refer people to her, and it was just really cool to be able to meet each other, of course, virtually, but being able to be that referral partner to each other, and so that's why networking is very important. What kind of events can you go to? Just carve out the time to go to ribbon cuttings, things like that, so that way people get to know your face and your name, and you know, wearing your logo branded shirt, getting to know people, especially if you're new to the community and they may not know you, or if they do know you, how can you rebrand from what you did before? The fifth thing that I think you should be doing as a small business owner that's starting a business and wanting to do some marketing, you can go to 55free marketingideas.com and download my list of things that you can do for marketing. It's 55 really great ideas to market your business. And it's all for free, guys. Like the ideas that I give you are free to do for your business. I don't want to sit here and go through 55 different ways on this podcast. So just go and download 55free marketingideas.com, download that list, go through it. You may not be able to do all 55. Maybe you can do 10, maybe you can do 12, maybe you can do 45, maybe you can do all 55, but it's a resource that I want to give you guys so that way you can download it and start implementing it to your business. If you are starting a business in 2026 and you may be nervous and it may be overwhelming, just know that I have been there and I understand and that you are going to be incredible. I follow the acronym BOSS. If you follow me on social or know my book is Market Like a BOSS, the acronym BOSS stands for Bold, Opportunistic, Strong, and Service Minded. So I want you to be bold in your marketing, bold in your branding. I want you to find those opportunities through networking or leads groups or maybe you can make some cold calls. I want you to be strong and know that you deserve to be in the industry that you chose to open up your business in. And service-minded is the number one way you're gonna find success in your business. How do you give your customers great service? How do you make sure that you keep them in the forefront of your mind? Because if you do that, then they will refer more people to you and you will find more success. So, y'all, we are gonna be great this year in 2026 for businesses. And I am here for you. If you need anything, if you want to book a consultation, you can on my website. I would love to talk to you about your goals and dreams of your business in 2026. I'll catch you on the next one.