March 7th, 2012
By Edmond Hong
Often big marketing comes to mind when you consider small business, and perhaps you are right to think that way. The scope has changed significantly since the introduction of the Internet. The opportunities for business the Internet has fashioned are unrestricted. Staying ahead of the wave is the secret to success nowadays and its not just big multinational companies with huge marketing budgets that have the edge. What is required is a innovative marketing strategy that will propel your business the levels you may have only dreamt of.
Create Momentum for Online Authority
A Professional Website That Stands Out
Maintenance of your professional website is paramount when it comes to website marketing dominance. Consistent and up to date information is needed to ensure you attract not only new, but recurring customers to your site. Word of mouth should never be underestimated.
With an attractive, informative website that provides current and useful information by way of promotions, sales on products and services, is an effective guarantee that your customers return and inform their friends and family to visit as well.
Opt in lists are an effective way to build an email list of subscribers to your site. By using this method you are able to inform customers of upcoming sales and events that you may have scheduled.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a method that should not be ignored. SEO strategies will ensure you are competitive in the search engines and receive targeted traffic to your website. No traffic, no sales.
Social Media for the Competitive Edge
Blog Your Way to Success
Blogging is an effective method of increasing traffic to your website. Blogging about your website has become a successful method of communication between small businesses and prospective customers. It’s the perfect avenue to interact with your readers when it comes to your explaining your products and services. Be sure to respond to your readers queries promptly to avoid them becoming irritated with no answers to their enquiries. Build trust with your customers and establish yourself as an expert to safeguard their return.
Facebook marketing for business has become somewhat of an online phenomenon, with over 100 million daily users. It’s advantageous to know your way around the site to maximize and catapult your business to the next level. Creating a buzz or some type of hype that has people flocking to your site and sharing your information with their friends is a clever marketing strategy. This is easily accomplished by creating a Facebook page and sharing with your subscribers who visit your website. You can achieve this by simply adding a Facebook widget that is easily visible on your website pages.
Keep the content on your Facebook page fresh and relevant. You can promote special offers and any other appropriate information for your customers. Photo’s are video clips are especially popular to convey your business products and services. Business logo’s can be used as your profile pictures for maximum value. To learn more about this, you could visit the daily Facebook marketing blog here.
As mentioned, widgets are the best method to create your fans base. The widgets are conveniently provided by Facebook to promote your page and are very user friendly to implement to your website. Facebook ads are another effective method to promote your page on the entire site. While a Facebook page is free presently, you will need to purchase your ads or perhaps you would rather expend your budget to buy Facebook fans to create an instantaneous fan base.
Authenticity is the most successful attribute of your Facebook page, so keep it tangible. People like to feel that they are important to you, so visitor interaction is fundamental. Take the time to interrelate with your visitors as you would with someone you know, to ensure their return. Build trust by letting your visitors know you are a real person, upload items of your own personal interest, such as a personal photo’s taken from a memorable event in your life. By coming across as a real person rather that just a business, you gain visitors trust. Make sure you stay ahead of the eight ball and keep up with the ever-changing world on Facebook.
Twitter, used effectively is an effective device when it comes to social networking. Think in terms of Twitter as a continuation of your blog. Keep tweets short and to the point, relating to your brand and link Twitter to all other social media pages for an effective marketing campaign.
Twitter is a very effective method to announce press releases or interesting links to your page and other useful information that your readers may find motivating. Make sure you display your Twitter widget on your website to incite valuable discussion.
LinkedIn is hailed as the largest business-networking site in the world. Besides being an successful resume site, the ranking authority LinkedIn holds with Google is extremely powerful for any business. It is extremely likely that your LinkedIn profile will be displayed on page one of Google, should your name be searched. Integrity is elevated making it a worthwhile venture to create a LinkedIn profile for your business. Also be sure to link to your website and blog.
Take Advantage of Mobile Optimization
Smartphones are taking the marketing world by storm. To stay abreast of advanced technology it is wise to implement strategies such as Mobile Optimization to gain that competitive edge. In today’s fast paced world of progressive technological equipment, mobile phones are over taking from personal computers as the preferred tool for Internet surfing, emailing and purchasing online. Make sure you are detected by applying a smart strategy using mobile marketing, as there are an ever-increasing number of consumers finding local businesses via their smartphones. Sites such as Google Places, Yahoo Local, Yelp and Citysearch are excellent sites to get on board with to make your marketing plan successful.
Information Marketing Explored
Testimonial Audio/Video
Creating a testimonial audio or YouTube video to promote on your businesses website is amongst some of the most effective marketing tactics that small business can apply. Being easy to make and promote, it gives your customers honest evaluations of your business from satisfied customers. It promotes authenticity from content clients without the hard sales pitch that is so off putting to many people. Webinars have become immensely popular to also gain attention for your business.
Also massively prevalent are E-books.
These electronic books are easily downloaded so your customers have them in seconds following payment. With the introduction of the Kindle, E-books are set to explode even further as a practical marketing solution strategy for many small businesses.
What works for some small businesses may not necessarily work for the next. Reaching your particular target audience takes fine-tuning. By being original and inventive and thinking outside of the box is what you’ll need to have a successful online marketing campaign.
Summary:
In this day and age, staying abreast of the competitive takes time and can be challenging to find the right balance. However, by being aggressive and using online marketing tactics such as social media marketing, you can see your businesses potential soar to new heights.
- Kick start your businesses online existence by increasing traffic to your highly professional website using search engine optimization
- Use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs and other social media to draw in potential customers and liaise directly with them
- For those fast moving people, mobile optimization is the most effective method to keep up with their pace
- Implement video and audio marketing technology to build trust and communicate vital information in a few short minutes.
About the Author:
Edmond Hong’s expert small business marketing strategies have been presented in respected media such as the New York Times and the Age Australian Business section. He owns a social marketing business where celebrities and marketers could buy facebook fans to increase their social credibility online instantly. He possesses two degrees, one in Civil Engineering and the other in Business Marketing, both from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia – where he currently resides. He spends his spare time writing and educating business people.
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