Can your potential customers find you online? Can your potential customers find your competitors online? Does your business have a strong online presence?
When your customers search for YOUR keywords, whose company do they find? Whose company do you want them to find?
What are YOU doing to increase your online presence and traffic?
Do you know how many businesses, both small and large are marketing their products and services on the web? Do you know how many articles and blog posts are written around the same content in various places on the Internet? Have you even wondered how and why there are a finite number of topics one can speak or write about yet an infinite number of discussions about them?
I read somewhere that it would take 57,000 years to read the entire Internet and then of course, once you were done, you would have to go back and start all over again because the web is dynamic and constantly changing. Now I don’t know about you, but that is way more time than I have so the challenge becomes how do YOU get your website, articles, blog posts, etc. read?
There is no easy answer but there are a few simple things to keep in mind. First of all, if you are a small business owner and can’t answer the questions “who are you?” and “why should I care?” – you better either figure out a way to answer those questions or find another career.
Your brand, your product or service, and your online personal and business reputation make up who you are. You need to be able to clearly define exactly what your offering is. If you are selling a specific product or line of products, the answer is fairly straightforward. But if your business is service-oriented, it might be a little more difficult to be able to clearly capture your service(s) in one phrase (your tagline). Keep in mind that if you as the business owner can’t summarize your service(s), your potential customers certainly won’t be able to either.
Next you need to be able to answer the question “why should I care”. What need does your business fill? What makes you better or different than your competitors?
Armed with these answers, you are in a better position to be “heard”.
Are you a small business owner who has been running a successful business for decades relying on your good reputation, word-of-mouth advertising and traditional marketing campaigns? If so, then that is great, but are you finding that even though your current marketing strategies are working and your reputation is creating customer loyalty and even bringing in new customers, that you might be living in the dark ages when it comes to the Internet?
Many small business owners have enjoyed success by relying on the same marketing methods that have continued to bring their business growth. They have spent years building up a great reputation and reap the rewards by seeing increased revenues. But oftentimes they have not made any updates to their website, if they even have one, and might find that the new guy on the block is starting to get a larger share of the customer base. Why might this happen? The new guy knows that the Internet is here and it is here to stay. He also recognizes the power the Internet has in the purchasing process.
Product purchases in particular, are more often than not, made only after the consumer does research on the web to see what their purchase options are, what others say about their potential purchase, price variations, and other variables that are taken into consideration before most of us buy anything. From cell phones to automobiles, most consumers make good use of all the available information on the Internet to make themselves more educated consumers. If the small business owner doesn't have an Internet presence, it is highly likely that his/her company will be overlooked. You have to be in the game to play the game.
Having an Internet presence is even more important when it comes to search. If you either don't have a website or it is not optimized for search, you will not even be in the running for potential new customers who are using search options to help them make their final purchase decision. This is not to say that you should discontinue what you have been doing with your marketing. If it is working and isn’t broken, don’t fix it BUT you can and should make some enhancements. These enhancements revolve around using the Internet to help market your business.
In addition to making sure you have a website that it is updated and optimized for search, you will want to utilize some form of social media marketing in your efforts. Social media is the new way to build your brand and reputation online. It’s a great, low cost marketing tool with a huge potential. To NOT make use of its benefits and advantages, would be doing a huge disservice to your business.
Small business owners are already plagued with trying to find enough hours in the day to get their current workload done, so it might be overwhelming to even think about adding yet another “thing” to do. But do not worry.
You don’t have to do it all and you don’t have to do it all at once. Take baby steps. Check out what your competitors are doing and which networking platforms they are hanging out on. Keep in mind that every business has different needs, every business owner has different time restrictions, and that there is no one right way to conduct social media marketing. It is for you to investigate, analyze and evaluate which techniques and platforms will be the best for your specific situation. Don’t forget while you are entering the huge World Wide Web, that there are other simple actions you can take to increase your online presence such as making sure your website is listed in Google, Yahoo & MSN as a basic minimum. Remember, if your competitors are listed, you want to be listed too.
For a basic video introduction to marketing, go to Small Business meet the Internet.
What are footprints? They are marks or impressions of someone's foot - right?
What does a footprint mean? It means that the owner of that foot was in the place where the print was left.
What does this have to do with marketing? The answer is EVERYTHING.
If you are a small business owner, your footprint is your brand. You want to give your brand as much exposure as possible and you can do this by leaving your footprint wherever you go both on and off the Internet. If you attend a business networking or social event, your footprint is usually your business card. On the web, your footprint is the comment you leave on someone's blog or article. It can be your participation in conversations on industry forums.
The more places you leave your footprint, the more name recognition you will get, the more connections you will make, and the more you will be building your expertise on the subject you are commenting on which will help to identify you as your industry expert. Miles Austin in Footprints in the Sand shares some great insights and differentiates between lurkers and those who leave their footprints behind. Which one are you?
Guest blog by Barnabas Nagy | FurlongDesign creative design studio | furlongdesign.com | barnabas.nagy@furlongdesign.com | twitter.com/furlongdesign | +44 77 99 56 56 26
Today I dared to open one of the archived newsletters from Entrepreneur. Since I am a web designer I don’t like reading titles such as this: Does Your Business Still Need a Website?
The article discusses the idea of establishing accounts on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn instead of a website. They evaluated an individual for whom this business strategy worked out. You can read the whole article here. Before giving out my space to social networks, I would like to look into this discussion further and let you know my opinion.
Rudy Mendoza totally abandoned his corporate website saying “We spent tens of thousands of dollars on our website and got almost nothing out of it” I’m really sorry for the designer team who created the website for Rudy Mendoza. They didn’t do a great job. A good website can be profitable.
3 Main Reasons Why Businesses Shouldn’t Ditch Websites for Social Networks:
1. Social networks serve a different purpose than a website. They serve as a tool to communicate directly with customers and achieve real time feedback. The functions of third party applications are complementary to a website but should not replace them.
2. Most social networks are found to be useful when companies and individuals link to additional information about them. Social networks are just a platform to jump from, not to jump into.
3. A website can drive as much sales as, and often times more than these social media networks. Although I have achieved leads and sales from social networking sites, the majority of my business has come from my website.
A brand cannot live without a good website that provides their customers additional information or the ability to purchase the product/service they are interested in. If the company tries to remove this component they risk damaging their branding. Who said you can’t have your cake and eat it too?
Companies should use websites and social media networks to market their products or services. Why should you have to choose when you can use both?
Note: I use social media networks and find that they have been useful in increasing brand awareness for Furlong Design but I would never forgo my corporate website for those sites. Let me know what you think by leaving comments below. Original source: http://furlongdesign.com/2010/04/14/does-your-business-still-need-a-website/
"You are your brand" is my all-time favorite subject.
John Antonios in his article Personal Branding – The 10 Commandments, discusses the importance of providing quality and value to others as part of your personal branding process.
It is an article well worth the read.
There are TONS of social networking sites on the web – so many that it can make one's head spin trying to keep up with them all. After being on each one for a bit, you can see which ones are the best fit for your specific needs and focus your attentions on those that add the most value.
You probably notice that some of the networks are wrought with people sending you emails about how you can earn 6 figures in 5-minutes. If this were true, why would any of us be working this hard trying to make a buck?
Then there are those that no matter what you do or how much you try to engage others by visiting their profiles and commenting on their posts, you just don't see the reciprocity. Like I said, put your energies where you will see the best return.
With that said, why are you networking? Are you a professional who is trying to get business? If so, be sure you don’t forget what your ultimate goal is – to make a sale.
It has been said that direct selling is frowned upon in the social spheres and this might be true. However, without a plan on how you are going to follow-up your networking with steps towards getting more customers, you will just find yourself spinning and stuck in the social network black hole.
Don’t get caught in the “numbers game”. Keep your eye on the target! Networking vs Selling? Selling is more lucrative by Michael Schuett discusses why as professionals, we shouldn’t forget about what our goal is when we network. Read Michael’s article here.
Social networking is a great way to meet new people, share ideas, learn new things and promote your business.
HOWEVER, what you write on your profiles, statuses, updates, comments, etc. can and will be read by anyone.
Yes, sites like Facebook allow you to set your settings as private if you wish, but can our right to privacy be taken away?
Check out How US Government Spies Use Facebook (Updated) to see how the government can get past your privacy settings.
