5:27 PM
Lanee' Blunt
By
Lanee’ Blunt
Many
small businesses want to use internet marketing but don’t understand how it can
benefit their company. Most small business owners understand how to market
their business offline but when you are operating your business online you need
to embrace an internet marketing strategy. Consumers make buying decisions
based on your website, and the availability of the product or service.
Website
Your
website should be fast, provide answers to your customers questions, have a nice
design and easy to navigate. Include all of your contact information on your
website and if you want you can provide a photo of your location and your
staff.
If
you don’t have a website and want to build one for your company, it’s not
hard. Buy a domain name, and give it a
lot of thought because a searcher will put your company name into a search
engine and must find your company among your competition. Select one that will
be memorable. A web hosting company will host your domain name on a server and
store your script, text, images, and information about your company on your
website. You will have to choose a web hosting service. Choose a web hosting
company that will answer your questions, and provide assistance if you are new
to building a website.
Local
A
good way to market your business online is to list your website with search engines.
Google will let you list your business with mapping and your company address. This is great for local customers that are
looking for your business online and wish to visit you. You will need to sign
into Google Places and verify that you are the owner and here this is where you
can give your customers information about your company. Your business will be
found on Google+, maps, and mobile devices.
Social Media
Internet
marketing should integrate social media but you have to test and find out what
will work for your business. With social media you will be able to stay in
touch with your customers and answer any questions that they may have about
your business or your service. For some small businesses social media allows
you to inform customers when you are offering a sale. When you setup your
website signup for social media sites and create a profile for your business.
Signup for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest these are the
major ones but you can sign up for more if you want too. Each one is a little
different so you will have to research them to get a fill for them and how they
will work for your business.
Content Marketing
If
you aren’t already doing it you should. Write useful content for your customers,
and you don’t have to upload your product brochure on your website, because you
can write a review article. If you have a service business write a How to
article on something that you know that your customers need, for example, How
to Keep Your Computer Clean from Computer Viruses if you have computer
business. People will find your article interesting and useful and this can
lead to sales, so don’t just copy your competitors and try to sell to your
customers use content marketing to drive people to your website.
Email Marketing
You
must build a list of customers or prospects for email marketing. If you have a
business, a store, or a service ask your customers for their email address
because this is the best list that you can have is from someone that has
already bought from you or is interested in buying from your or using your
service. Ask visitors that come to your
website to sign up for your email newsletter, this will help you build a list
by giving you their email address and in return you will send them a
newsletter. You must make sure that they
have opted in for your email. Another strategy that you might want to consider
is you can write an eBook an offer it to your customers as a free download if
they will give you their email address in return.
See also
Posted in: Online Marketing
