If you\u2019re a small business owner looking to increase your sales and revenue, you may be wondering how you can take advantage of the internet to market your business.<\/p>\n
This is a great question. However, we understand it may be confusing trying to figure out where to start.<\/p>\n
There are so many different marketing tools out there to choose from, so what should you focus on first to ensure you\u2019re able to get new customers online?<\/p>\n
One of the very best things you can do for your business is create a solid online reputation.<\/p>\n
This means you must create profiles and be active in the places that matter. Google, Facebook and Yelp are (in our opinion) some of the best places to focus on. In addition, if there are any review sites that are specific to your industry<\/strong>, those are great to use as well.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve decided on your target social media and review sites, you should do the following:<\/p>\n Make sure your profiles are complete, accurate, and professional. Include as much information about your business as possible, such as an \u201cabout us\u201d, contact information and hours of operation.<\/p>\n Also be sure to use high quality images for your profile picture and\/or cover photo. Including your business address is also important as it will help you show up when people search for businesses in your area.<\/p>\n If the website you\u2019re creating a profile on has a newsfeed (like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn), make sure to share some interesting and relevant content there.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to go overboard and plan out months of social media posts in advance. Just make sure it looks like your business is still active and online.<\/p>\n Having likes, comments, and reviews on your page is important. Contact your network and previous customers and ask them to like your page or give you a review.<\/p>\n You may have to offer incentives to get reviews, like a free product or service. This is fine as in the long run, a positive online reputation will help you generate more than enough business to cover your expenses.<\/p>\n In order to market or sell your products and services online, you\u2019ll need a sales funnel.<\/p>\n This is simply a process that you put in place to get in-front of potential customers, make them aware of what you sell, and ask them to buy.<\/p>\n Creating advertisements with Google Adwords and Facebook are two of the biggest and best ways to get in-front of your potential customers (other than referrals).<\/p>\n Adwords and Facebook ads are very different though. Each with their own set of pros and cons. However, if you invest some time to learn how the platforms work, you should be able to relatively quickly create new, profitable campaigns<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For example, on Google Adwords, you\u2019re targeting based on what people are searching for.<\/p>\n On Facebook, you target people based on their demographics (age, sex, economic status, pages they like etc.)<\/p>\n Any time you are advertising, you need to have clear goals in mind. What would you like to happen?<\/p>\n A) Sell to new customers Once you determine your objectives, you can decide on the platform you want to use, as well as the type of ad campaigns you\u2019ll need to launch.<\/p>\n This article would not be complete without mentioning search engine optimization.<\/p>\n Although the search engines are saturated, with high levels of competition making ranking more difficult, there are still opportunities to market yourself. In fact, depending on your location or business, you may not have intense competition.<\/p>\n1) Set up your profile<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2) Create and share content<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3) Generate engagement on your profiles<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Creating a Sales Funnel<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Setting up Ads<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Your Advertising Objectives<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nB) Get existing customers to buy again
\nC) Build a list of emails or followers to remarket to perpetually
\nD) Collect reviews and engagement on your online profiles to help sell more customers who find you organically<\/p>\nLeveraging Search Engine Optimization<\/strong><\/h3>\n