How can small business owners stay on top of online marketing? After all, it takes a specialized knowledge and it’s constantly changing! And how do you make time for it?
You’ve probably had some of these questions about online marketing for small business….
- I wonder if my website needs updating?
- How can I make sure prospects can find my company online?
- Should I be blogging?
- Maybe even ‘Why do I need a website?’
You’re dead in the water without a website
First, please tell me you have a website! Or at least a LinkedIn presence! Because if you don’t, you’re dead in the water. Even if you don’t need to be “found” via online searching, people want to get to know you before they do business with you and 97% of people are going to the website to look you up before they buy. If you haven’t created a website, hire someone to do it immediately.
These days, it’s not enough to just have a website; it has to be dynamic. Whether you own a 2-person plumbing company or an 80-person manufacturing firm, your website needs to look sleek. It needs to generate leads. And it needs to give away valuable content to both your prospects and clients.
My friend, Kevin Kennedy, with Marketpath, lists 10 questions to ask yourself to determine if you need a new website. If you answer ‘yes’ to 75% or more of the questions, he says it’s a pretty sure bet that your website is doing a good job for you.
People do business with people they know
A final suggestion about your website… put some personal information on it so people can get to know you and your team as people. People do business with people they know.
Another activity basic to online marketing for small business is blogging. Blogging is another way prospects can come to feel they know you… blog about things that are important to you and throw in some personal facts once in a while. Blogging is also a way to give value-added free content to prospects. It gives prospects a reason to return to your website. Plus, posting at least an occasional blogpost causes a change to your website which boosts your site’s search engine optimization, or SEO, making your site more apt to come up on Google’s first page when someone searches for a provider of your kind of product or service. Have your website creator add a blog tab to your website. Your online marketer can write your blog posts or you can give them rough drafts to work from.
Need a good provider of online marketing for small business? I know a couple and have referred several of my business coaching clients to them. Give me a call or drop me a line and we can figure out who would best fill your needs.
