Yesterday I sat with a new client who was looking for advice positioning his small business on the internet. He had a list of questions to move through starting with Yelp, his website host and WordPress, and then some details on Google+. The list was typical of many small business owners when they begin to work with me.
They have notes from different marketing attempts, articles read, and even snippets they overheard at a cocktail party. As always I really enjoyed working through the list and watching my answers and explanations bring a certain amount of understanding. This particular client previously had a static website that ranked well in Google and business poured in his door creating waiting lists and a cash windfall. He did not keep up with changes to online marketing and watched his website ranking drop and customers slow to a crawl. While we talked about very specific details about his business, our session focused on the following 3 major points:
- Every small business needs a website. It should be built in a platform like WordPress (.org) that has a user friendly content management system. This will allow you to add articles, pictures, and upcoming events easily. Your site should be easy to navigate, provide useful information and represent you and your business. And it needs to be responsive.
- You need to be blogging. There are lots of reasons why blogging is important. One of the most important is Google loves blogs and websites that have many pages and are continually updated. Blogging also shows your personality and highlights your business in a personal way.
- Start building a strong social media campaign. Through social media you will have a great way to connect with current and potential customers and clients. But, establishing a social media footprint for your business takes time to build. Optimize your profiles, connect with the right people and then …be social!
My client walked away from the meeting with a plan of attack on working through each of these steps so he can regain his presence and start to once again build his business. If you find yourself with notes on internet marketing (maybe some are on scraps of paper and napkins) give me a call to help you get organized. My passion lies in helping you, the small business owner planning and then putting the right pieces in place so you can succeed.
