Promoting You and Your Business Online

In the beginning businesses had no social media only a website.

Now we need to be constantly educating ourselves to keep ahead of the game – as some of you have heard me say ‘SM is about playing the game’ – and it’s Google’s Game.

I’ll firstly start with asking you a question : How do Kiwi’s buy? (think of the TV program ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’)

Phone a Friend – is like Word of Mouth - Networking

Ask the Audience – is like the client Testimonials

50-50 = is the Google Search

Next question : What are the areas you can promote You and Your business online?

And I say You and Your business because online marketing is increasingly about doing business with a person, building a relationship - not just knowing about what the Business has to offer.

Website – Social Media – Blog – Online Newsletter – Video – Directories

Firstly you need to have a clear understanding of what results you want from your Online Marketing Strategy.

What do you want to achieve?

Higher web ranking
Attract more visitors to your website
Increase sales
Create a SM following
Get customers to share your online information
Get listed in online directories
Show up on Google Maps

It can be a combo of these not just one.

Then you need to research who your ideal customer is – do you know what they want and where they participate online?

I have 14 questions you can start with, including checking out your competitors.

Based on your research you will be able to discover what is the best online media to achieve your goals.

And it will help you shape your message to the right audience.

You need to be where it matters for Your business.

Having a great Website that is mobile responsive is a great start.

Google ranks those with a mobile responsive site higher in its search results.

Make sure it is written well and populated with your key words and phrases.

Answer customer’s questions – like a FAQ’s page, use great headlines and create content that provides solutions.

Update at least four times minimum a year if your site is a brochure site.

Google is seeking to provide more accurate answers to queries so there is more importance placed on content being useful. And it is increasingly looking for content that is relevant and trusted – content with authority. Authority is gauged by links and references from reputable sites and social sharing.

Next is to target the Social Media sites that appeal to your target customers – ask your regular customers what SM sites they use.

Write and converse as if you’re talking to them – SM is about building relationships not direct selling.

Social Media is concerned with recommendations by users, the sharing of content and the credibility of writers, and the consistency of posting.

Search Engines increasingly look to these social signals to help find relevant content, this means creating great content others want to share, rather than getting lots of ‘likes’.

Purely because they are Google owned I would recommend being on Google My Business and Google Places for a map. Google loves it when you play in their sandbox.

Investing even a little bit of time and energy into your business page on Google can mean improved local search visibility, especially for our small to medium-sized business.

The social media platforms are great for users to build business contacts, build connections and get introductions.

I find it a great place to learn, share and gather information on business related topics and use these in a newsletter.

Join industry related groups and participate in conversations if you can.

Please add your own photo – people like to know who they are talking to, nothing worse than seeing one of those grey icon fillers, they put me off - And no sunglasses!

The best time to post is when your audience is online!

There's LinkedIn, Facebook Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and others to investigate, if they are relevant to your business.

Blogs are a great way to create new content and add your personality by ‘answering questions’ - which is currency for Google.

Content that is full of your keywords and phrases makes Google gauge you as an authorative link.

E-Newsletters are still a popular channel to promote list growth, share information and market sales.

Write great headlines and keep content short and punchy with images.

They are an easy way to stay in touch with your existing client base and remind them you’re there, give them exclusive offers/specials.

It is easier to get repeat business once your have established a relationship than to keep finding new business.

Some website builders have built in E-Newsletter components, or there is MailChimp, or sites that offer to put it all together for you and send out.

Video is a popular way to establish a business online.

Either by you describing your product or service, a customer giving a testimonial, or your customers might benefit from an instructional video about your product or service.

Add the video to your website and all SM sites.

Google loves video as YT is owned by Google and is the 2nd largest search engine.

You can put lots of information on the About page of your YT channel.
Videos help customers buy – 65% of consumers will visit a website after viewing a video to learn more.
 

Directories are all Free Listings so fill out as much as possible and add links back to your website.

This is a very brief overview of some of the areas and ways you can promote you and your business with online marketing.

Remember that in today’s world the most important first impressions often happen online.

 

If you would like to know how any of the areas I mentioned might help your business further then give me a call on 021 2121306 to have a meeting, or send an email.

I look forward to hearing from you!