| When marketing your small business, it is important to | | | | should include publishing articles and syndicating your |
| be innovative to set yourself apart from the crowd, | | | | blog content. Yes, a blog is a very key component in |
| but it is also important to rely on time-tested techniques | | | | successfully promoting your business. Every blog post |
| that have a proven track record of success. Your | | | | or article published is another means of drawing in new |
| goal should be to have the foundation in place to do | | | | business. |
| the heavy lifting in your marketing plan and then | | | | 4. Social networking. This is a relatively new marketing |
| supplement it with the creative and innovative ideas | | | | medium but just because it is new do not discount it as |
| that will give your plan a push over the top. | | | | a fad. Your customers are heavily engaged in social |
| These are the basics that should be the foundation of | | | | networks and therefore it is critical that your business |
| every successful online marketing plan. | | | | do so as well. After all, isn't marketing all about being |
| | | | where your customer can see you? |
| 1. A killer website. Now this may surprise you, but the | | | | 5. Capturing leads. Having an email list of existing and |
| best websites do not always have the fanciest web | | | | potential customers is like having a bank at your |
| design. You do not have to spend thousands of dollars | | | | fingertips. Whenever you want to add funds to your |
| on designing a website. Functionality and usability are | | | | cash flow, you just send out an email to your list. If you |
| the keys to success here. The best websites are | | | | do not have a system in place to encourage your |
| focused and have great navigation. They have a clear | | | | website visitors to add their email to your list, you are |
| message or call to action. | | | | missing a great opportunity for increased revenue. |
| 2. A solid site promotion plan. One big misconception is | | | | Many people will visit your website but, for whatever |
| that promoting a website online takes a great deal of | | | | reason, may not be ready to purchase right then and |
| money. This is not the case if you understand how to | | | | there. They may intend to come back later, but few |
| get the search engines to promote your site for you. | | | | actually do. By capturing the lead, you are able to close |
| Investing in an SEO expert will save you thousands of | | | | that sale in the future. Those 5 elements make up the |
| dollars in advertising expenses. When your site is | | | | basics of creating a web presence for your business. |
| optmised and you have a plan in place to get inbound | | | | They are the time-tested techniques that are used by |
| links to your domain name it is not necessary to do a | | | | every successful business online. If you want to |
| big paid advertising campaign. | | | | expand your reach online or create a local brand for |
| 3. Content marketing. Since the internet is made up of | | | | your business, you simply must implement these |
| 100% content, it makes sense that the more content | | | | methods. Once those are firmly established, you can |
| you can provide, the more marketing opportunities you | | | | then concentrate on the creative side to make your |
| have. The largest portion of your marketing strategy | | | | business stand out. |