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How To Market Your Small Business Online

Updated on November 2, 2015

Understanding Why You Need To Market A Small Business Online

Anyone with a small business website knows how hard it can be to bring in the traffic needed to see success.

With the increasing growth of the internet it is only common sense for anyone with a small business to make sure they have a website that is not only attractive but can be viewed on mobile devices as well.

There reason you need to be mobile responsive is simple...

Statistics are currently showing that more than 66% of internet searches are now coming from mobile devices. These mobile devices are also hooking into the many social networks and are receiving real time information about businesses

What you are about to discover is different ways that you can use right now to start marketing your small business website, no huge fees just tools that you can access right now.

Market Your Business Online With Social Networking
Market Your Business Online With Social Networking

Market Your Business Online With Social Networking

Social networking can be an effective marketing tool for your business online.

With everyone jumping on Twitter or Facebook, there is no reason why your business shouldn't.

Not only is social networking simple to use but most of the time, it is free.

With so many social network sites out there, you can start driving more traffic to your online business today

You Don't Have To Spend Thousands To Get Business Anymore

Most businesses today can't afford the thousands of dollars that go into print advertising and radio ads or commercials.

Social networking is a cost-effective solution those businesses who want to market their business to a larger market scale without breaking the budget. Some businesses don't feel that social networking is professional but in order for you to make connections, you need to network.

Social networking is all about being social and with the internet being used as information, you can use this as a platform to get information out about your business!

Social Networking Can Open Up A Completely New Audience To Your Products Or Services

The key to social networking is to sign up for the site that can be geared towards your market. Twitter is a very popular social networking site and is free for you to sign up.

It's very easy to set up your profile and link to your website with the limited amount of characters they allow you to use. You then introduce yourself to your new followers and spread the message about your business.

This can be tweeted by yourself or by a social marketer that you have hired specifically for this. Other popular social networking sites are Facebook and Myspace. Make sure you go and check the new redesign of Myspace it looks like this social platform is getting ready to take on Facebook and Google Plus.

It's an effective idea to maintain a number of social networking accounts to gain a large following.

An Example Of How Easy It Can Be To Use Social Networking

For example, if you have a business account on Twitter and you are having a massive back to school sale with an extra 50% off. All you need to do is promote this sale BEFORE it even comes out. On the day of the sale, you tweet this sale and offer a discount coupon to your Twitter followers.

Before you know it, there will be others who will be re-tweeting news on your sale and repeated. Social networking does work if you know how to use it. Not only are you there to spread the word about your business but you have to be genuine and gain the trust of new customers.

It creates a great relationship with your customers and you can find out what they want.

Don't Sell But Interact To See Success

Social networking sites are focused on interpersonal connections with users so do make sure you can interact well with your followers. This means answering the questions, commenting back and responding back in a timely manner. Social network marketing can take time setting up profiles, finding individuals who have the same interests, and joining groups but it will pay off in the near future.

As you gather a large subscription list, it will be easier to update and find that subscribers will be following you on a daily basis once you get going. All of this will drive large amounts of traffic to your website on a daily basis with potential customers.

Easily Use Twitter As A Social Marketing Tool
Easily Use Twitter As A Social Marketing Tool

How To Easily Use Twitter As A Social Marketing Tool

Twitter has grown by leaps and bounds in such a short time.

From celebrities to moms to small business owners, it seems everyone is tweeting.

For those who are not familiar with Twitter, this social networking site can help grow your business on a daily basis.

You Need To Be Using This Social Marketing Tool

If you have a small online business to a large corporation, social networking is a growing marketing tool online. Unfortunately, there are many who don't know how to use it. Twitter is very simple to use and signing up is free.

When you sign up for a Twitter account, make sure that your business name is not taken. It's always good to use the same business name you have for your Twitter account. It will make you recognizable and brand your business quickly.

You don't want to name your Twitter account "Li123sa355" when you're running a marketing consultant business. Remember your Twitter account name will reflect on who you are.

You need to either be using a business name or a personal name, as an example due to the length I have been online I can use my personal name "Ron Cripps" on twitter to grow my marketing business.

If you have a very long business name, try shortening it to something that is easy to remember and easy to type in. If you find that your business name is taken, find something that is similar and not taken online as a domain. Some business owners have even taken onto buying domains that match a Twitter account's name.

Make Sure You Complete All The Bio Information On The Profile Page

Once you have signed up, make sure to fill out your bio with information that followers will read. You are limited by a certain amount of characters so make sure the information you write is catchy and true. Always add your website link so that followers can visit your business right away.

To make your page personalized, you have the option of choosing a background. Twitter offers some backgrounds that you can choose from to easily uploading something of your own.

There are many business owners who upload a background that have their website domain on it or products as their background. Choose wisely what your profile theme will be for it can capture someone's attention or make them click to the next account.

How To Get Followers On Twitter

To gain followers, you should add your Twitter link to your website, blog, email signature and other social networking sites. People that already subscribe to your other marketing campaigns may want to follow you on Twitter. To add even more people, you need to search on Twitter for those who have the same interests.

For example, if you are a graphic designer, you will want to type in graphic designer on the search box. This will bring up the latest graphic designers who have tweeted. Tweeted means those who have posted up an update. Once you add people to follow, they usually tend to follow back.

Keep your followers interacted by updating on interesting things. You don't want to be someone who tweets every minute. Most followers will un-follow those who tweet too much.

Make sure to respond to those who have responded to your tweets and answer messages in a timely manner. This will create your credibility and show you are genuine in your social networking.

Blogging Is Important For Your Online Business
Blogging Is Important For Your Online Business

Having A Blog Is Also Important In Marketing A Small Online Business

There are still many people in today's world that have no idea what a blog is but in the business world, you should know that a blog can mean great marketing power.

In the beginning, blogging was used specifically for personal use but now it has evolved into something greater. Blogging can be used to promote products and gain insight on what a customer wants buy allowing potential customers to comment on the articles they are reading.

There are more and more people reading blogs versus visiting a regular website today. If you don't have a blog for your business, you need to start now.

It Can Be Free To Set Up A Blog

Blogging is free and can be done at home on your own time. Not only is it great as a marketing tool, it's also a great way to create your own social network community. You can create a very large network community in no time without every leaving your home!

This makes working at home enjoyable with every marketing tool right at your fingertips.

Using genuine communication between customers and a business owner makes a blog more interesting.

Reading blog posts coming directly from a business owner can create trust and credibility. Not only will readers be interested in what you have to say, they will be eager on what you have to say next.

If you have recommendations that you write about, it will be taken upon instead of bypassed if the blog communication is better than good. There are many blog owners who don't respond to their reader's comments or avoid reader emails which will be a negative impact on their business. Be sure to stay away from that.

Blogging is All About Interaction Just Like Social Networking

Most readers take notice on which blogs don't value their readers and with the internet, word of mouth can get around faster about your business if it's negative. Blog marketing is not just about writing content for your potential readers, it's about being involved in your own blog community.

You must be able to maintain your blog on a consistent basis and be genuine about your blog theme. Blogging is about writing what you know about. Being passionate about your topic of choice will show in your blog posts. If you're not passionate about the topic(s), you won't be consistent in how much you post and will therefore, lose readers.

Give Your Customers An Option To Find Out More About Your Products Or Services

Once you gain a good readership, it's important to keep them!

You can do this by setting up a subscription link with subscriptions options of email or RSS feed. The blog platform you use will let you easily set this up either on the sidebar or beneath your blog posts.

Always keep your subscribers and new readers engaged in your blogging. Offer something that they want to keep subscribing to. Make polls and surveys to keep them part of your blog community. Always read what they have to say so that you can gain insight and feedback about your business.

Use all of the knowledge you find out from your blogging to create an even better business. Blogging is simple to use and vital to your business success, sign up for a free blog today to get started.

For those that would like to use Wordpress as their preferred blogging platform thyen follow this link to get 30 Wordpress Video Tutorials.

Newsletter Marketing Is Vital For Your Online Business
Newsletter Marketing Is Vital For Your Online Business

Newsletter Marketing Is Vital For Your Online Business

Having a newsletter can save you money on print advertising.

Not only will it save you money but a newsletter is targeted to the right market.

If you don't offer a newsletter for your business, ask yourself why.

In today's online world, there are so many marketing options that a newsletter should be vital to your business success.

A newsletter can keep clients up to date with your business about new products and information.

You Should Add A Email Newsletter Sign Up Form On Every Page

If you have a website, it is easy to add another web page that will allow your potential subscribers and customers to learn why they must sign up. This page should be written to your best marketing ability so that it captures visitors to sign up right away.

You must be able to capture someone's interest in the first few sentences otherwise they will click away and go elsewhere. Make it catchy and simple for them to navigate.

If you do a search online, there are many free websites that will help you create a link for subscribers to sign up. Once they sign up, their email addresses will be added to your newsletter list.

All you need to do is create a timely schedule on when the newsletter is emailed out. It's as easy at that for setting up your business newsletter electronically.

Use Every Opportunity You Can To Capture A Potential Customers Email Address

You can also offer customers to sign up for your newsletter by having it in an electronic thank you note once they make payment. Add your newsletter link on your email signature, blog and social networking sites.

Once you get the word out there that you have a newsletter via email subscription, it could become viral and bring you a tremendous amount of new potential customers. This will create a massive mailing list for you that you can use during special promotions and holidays.

How Often Should You Send Out Email Broadcasts

Once you have everything set up on where your customers and visitors can sign up for the newsletter, you need to create it. First off, decide on how often you want to distribute the newsletter. Most businesses have a newsletter that comes out monthly and chooses either the first week or last week of the month.

Never state a specific day because it can have a negative impact on your business if it's not distributed on that day.

Make Sure You Theme Your Newsletter To Your Business

The theme of your newsletter should be based on your business. For example, if you have a graphic design business, you may want to create a newsletter about the latest graphic design technology. You will create information that your subscribers want and in between this, you can plug your graphic design service.

Offering a promotion to only your newsletter subscribers can benefit your business by gaining new customers. Some businesses even offer a greater discount to customer subscribers if they can get others to sign up.

Take advantage of this great marketing platform by creating a newsletter that will keep customers subscribed indefinitely. Research the latest concepts and listen to you readers for feedback.

This will not only help your business but create a great relationship between you and your customers.

Article marketing Can Help Grow Your Business Online
Article marketing Can Help Grow Your Business Online

Article Marketing Can Help Grow Your Business Online

Article marketing is one of the best ways to market your online business easily and for free.

It's an easy way to gain website traffic and to acknowledge you as an expert in your field.

Many online entrepreneurs think article marketing is a waste of time but if you make the time, it can bring in positive results.

So make sure to boost your business marketing strategy with article marketing.

You have nothing to lose and profits to gain.

Article Marketing Will Give You Themed Back Links

Search engine marketing is done by search engines reading content and finding your links. If you have no incoming or outbound links to and from your website, there's a good chance your website won't get picked up by the popular search engines.

If you're online, you must consider using search engines first before paying large amounts of money on paid advertising.

Where Can You Submit Your Marketing Articles

There are many free article directories online. If you type in the exact words "free article directories" on Google, the most popular ones will come up. Don't just choose one, choose many to submit your articles to.

However, in the past many would submit the same article to every directory, this is no longer effective. Place one unique article into each directory that you want to use that way you will get the most benefit.

The more sites that have your articles and link back to your website will help you gain ranking in the search engines if you know about using keywords. Using keywords in your articles are important so that search engines find you.

When search engines find you, potential customers will find you. You need to research keywords people are using that will target your business website. These keywords will be used in the titles and body of your articles.

Always Write Articles That Are Related To Your Business

Always write about topics pertaining to your business. You want to be recognized as an expert in your field. For example, if you have a digital camera website, you can choose to write about the best products. Don't just stop there.

You can create reviews, a list of what consumers should have and more. Be creative and write so that people can gain knowledge about the specific topic. People use the internet to gain information, make sure to write what they can't find elsewhere.

Use The Right Words And Attention Grabbing Headlines

Learn how to market your articles by using the right words to capture a reader's attention. Study up on using slogans and how to make a title pop. Create a title that will draw a reader in and make them want to read the entire article. Without something different than the next article, your potential reader may move on.

Do your market research and look around the article directories. See what articles are out there and what markets are saturated. Find a niche and always make yours stand out.

There are many free resources online on how to write great marketing material. Use all the free resources online to your advantage that will help you grow your business quickly.

Article marketing is a great way to get traffic to your website in no time. Once you start building up a consistent amount of articles, you can watch your traffic grow on a daily basis as more website owners publish your articles on their sites.

Remember, the more articles you have available, the more positive results you will see.

Market Your Business With Video Online Marketing
Market Your Business With Video Online Marketing

Market Your Business With Video Online Marketing

Video Marketing Is Starting to be the Most Effective Way To Market Any Business Big Or Small

With so many ways to market your business online, video marketing has become a popular marketing strategy for those who are pitching their products and business opportunities.

The internet is one of the most popular ways in today's world to gain information.

With busy lives, it's easier to type in what we're looking for on Google than pick up a telephone and find what we're looking for.

Getting a potential customer's attention online needs to be quick and memorable which can be done by video.

Video Can Bring Your Business To Life For A Consumer

With many blogs and sites that describe their products and advertisements in words to explain why you need to buy the product, a video can be replayed over and over.

Visitors can visit a website for a few moments and have another window open for a video which continues to play in the background even though their checking out another site on the other screen. An excellent first impression needs to be made if you want visitors to stay and what's better than someone actually speaking.

For example, with so many jumping on the internet wanting to find out how to make money online, you may have the best opportunity. On your video, you can get the main message out and market why people need to try this business opportunity. Not only do they put a face and voice to it but they can actually see how passionate you are about your business opportunity.

A video marketing plan can create a larger impact than just the normal everyday information that we read online. Most online entrepreneurs write so visitors would remember your video if you make one to stand out.

Older Conventional Methods Are Expensive And Less Effective

A radio commercial or television commercial can be costly and break a small business budget. Most businesses are opening up their market worldwide and having a radio commercial can cost you profits if you're only focused locally. With online video marketing, you don't have to pay thousands of dollars to get your message out.

You will have complete control of the video being made and where you will be placing it online for visitors to see it.

YouTube Is The Best Place To Start

With YouTube's popularity, there are many entrepreneurs using is at a platform for online advertisements. Producing a great video campaign is worthwhile and easy. You may want to invest in a camera that will do your video justice.

It should be a camera that will make the video clear in high definition. Most people on YouTube want to see high definition videos, if it's blurry, shaky and not precise, they will move onto the next one and it will be better. Take the time to find a camera that will help your business for the long run.

Remember, you are producing your own marketing materials that will be targeted to your niche market.

Once you create your video, play it back and make sure to have someone else view it. If you need to edit it, do so and have the best video you can have. This will be your marketing strategy to drive traffic to your site and gain new buyers.

Make sure to research other online video venues where you can upload your excellent marketing video.

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