The Web. It’s everywhere. It’s where people of all ages and backgrounds gather information. If your business doesn’t have a web presence in some capacity, it’s almost as if it doesn’t exist! Internet marketing tools are a great way to reach a wider audience (it is worldwide, after all) in ways that traditional marketing methods can’t compete with. We’re going to discuss a few of them here!
Websites vs. Splash Pages
A website is a way to legitimize your business. It’s expected that even the smallest of companies at least have a simple website containing basic information. It tells people how to reach you, what your business does, and might even have photos of your work or testimonials from satisfied customers. Even a basic website will have 3-5 “buttons” or “tabs” for the separate pages. The purpose of a website is to tell potential customers what you do. It should function as a brochure of sorts, and should let people know how to get a hold of you if they have additional questions.
A splash page is a single landing page on the web. It can have hyperlinks to other websites, but doesn’t have any buttons or tabs leading to additional pages. It’s a static entity. These are great for small companies that can’t afford to do a full website, but still want to have a web address and a small amount of information visible. There’s room on a splash page for 3-4 photos, contact information, and a brief blurb or two about your company. It’s better to start small than have nothing at all!
Example Splash Page: http://shopyourhouse.com
Example Website: http://www.christinenelsondesign.com
Blogging
While it may seem that everyone and their uncle has a blog these days, there are actually far more readers than writers. This is an opportunity! When we suggest blogging to our marketing clients, they tend to dismiss the idea, saying they couldn’t possibly have anything interesting to say. We disagree. Writing a blog is a chance to become the “expert” on any subject matter that’s important to you... like your business! It’s free to start a blog, and you can update it as often as you choose. Once a month is usually do-able for most people. If you’re a kitchen designer, blog about interesting articles you’ve read, new color trends, tips for being eco-friendly, and things like that. While a blog indirectly promotes your business, you shouldn’t use it as a platform to sell your products or services. A blog is a way to share information, and in doing so, you build trust with your readers and they start viewing you as a resource and as an expert.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free tool offered by Google to help you track traffic to your website. It’s fairly simple to install, but you need some prior computer programming knowledge to do so. Once it’s set up, the tool will generate monthly reports directly to your Inbox with information on how many people visited your website, how much time they spent on each page, what kinds of words they used to find you on a search engine, and where geographically the visitors live.
For example, if a kitchen designer’s report told her that 90% of her website visitors last month came from the northern suburbs, that tells her that current advertising efforts in those cities are working or that she needs to probably start targeting those areas. If her report also told her that people were spending 5 minutes on her “Project Gallery” and only 20 seconds on her “Services” page, she might want to think about incorporating some of the Services information into her Project Gallery to ensure people are seeing the services she offers. With the monthly reports, you can look at your marketing efforts and evaluate as you go. If you or someone you know can install the Analytics tool, it’s well worth it!
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are all on the forefront of marketing efforts for companies big to small these days. Wikipedia defines social media as a “shift in how people discover and share news, information and content.” Is it a passing fad or something just for tech-savvy 20-somethings? No and no! Marketing messages used to be disseminated via one-way communication that would maybe reach the target audience: direct mail, TV commercials, magazine and newspaper ads. With social media, information is shared among many, and is more of a dialogue than a monologue.
How do you know which of the thousands of social media platforms to use?
Look at each social medium and adjust your material accordingly. The largest group of people on Facebook is women between the ages of 35-54. The largest population using Twitter is women ages 18-34. These are two very different groups of people in terms of how they think and how they buy. Using the same message across the board would be a mistake!
How can social media help my business?
Social media increases your reach. These platforms allow people to interact with you in a way that’s easier for them. Increasingly, people are basing their business decisions on social conversations. Your actions and presence on Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and other platforms speak to your integrity, good or bad. Potential customers of all ages and income levels will do their research before doing business with a company, so what does your presence online say about yours? Facebook has 100,000,000 unique visitors to its website each month. Given that it’s a free tool to use, why not take advantage of that opportunity?
© 2010 Trebuchet Communications
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