If you operate a small business, you know that you can’t outspend the big companies in your field when it comes to marketing -- so you have to find ways to get the most bang for your buck, including your online marketing budget.
Don’t panic -- there are plenty of ways to stretch your marketing dollar online. Here are five to consider:
1. Up Your Social Network Game.
A strong online presence can be had for the price of your time, not your advertising dollars. By creating accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+, you create more visibility and accessibility for your company.
Even something as simple as a Facebook contest can boost interest in your site and get the word about your company out there to more prospects and turn those prospects into buyers (although that will cost you the price of the prize).
2. Make Certain You’re Listed.
Google and other search engines are cautious about promoting a business they aren’t sure is actually out there anymore. In order to make the search engines aware that you’re up and running, take the time to optimize for local search, starting with claiming your Google listing for your business.
Then do the same thing for Bing. Don’t underestimate Yahoo, either -- make certain that all of your business information is correct and current in all three search engines.
3. Ask Your Customers for Reviews.
If you’re looking for a great sushi restaurant in an unfamiliar part of town to impress a date, what’s the first thing that you’d think to do? If you would automatically hop online and look up reviews for places close by, you’re doing exactly what about 92% of other people admit they’d do in your position.
Online reviews have become so important it’s smart business these days to solicit reviews from your customer base directly. Whether you offer a coupon for their next purchase or enter them into a contest, find a way to get your happy customers talking about your brand. Offset any negative reviews by responding to them immediately and offering to make the situation right whenever possible.
4. Freshen Up Your Website’s Content.
You need to create and share free content if you want to attract interested prospects and keep your regular customer base coming back just to browse around.
In general, people like to know things -- we’re an information-based society that thrives on knowledge, so give your customers more of what they want. Take a good look at your website and see what you’re missing:
- An “About” page that tells customers why you started this company and why what you’re offering is different than what your bigger competitors are offering.
- A blog that offers tips and information closely related to your product. You’re an expert in what you do -- so share that expertise and give people more reason to trust you.
- Video presentations of your product being made or your product in use. If you offer a service, a video presentation explaining the benefits of your service.
- Infographics that explain more about your product or share information that somehow relates to your product or service. Infographics are fun, easy to share, and memorable.
- A comments section where customers can leave reviews for your products or ask questions to other customers.
- If you have a physical store or office open to the public, your contact information for your business, including an address and phone number should be on every page. Local searchers are often looking for that information and don’t want to dig around for it.
Your customers or clients can end up feeling like they have a much stronger personal connection with your company just because you’ve opened up to them. You can also build a sense of trust by giving away information for free -- to anyone that stops on your website, without asking them to buy a thing.
5. Get Statistics and Learn What They Mean
Finally, get a statistical program installed on your site and learn what information you need to be watching. A lot of people either skip this step or don’t understand what’s important to follow:
- The number of people coming to your site each week, so that you know if your efforts are working or not. How many are unique visitors versus repeat traffic?
- How are they getting to your site? This tells you whether your search engine optimization is working or not. While it takes time to increase your traffic, if you don’t see results after a few months, you know it’s time to start thinking of new ideas.
- How long are people staying once they get to your site? If most of the visits are seconds, not minutes, you know your website isn’t catching their attention. Visitors who aren’t motivated to stay aren’t motivated to buy, either.
The Takeaway
These five tips cost more in time than they do in money -- but don’t forget that your time has value also. If you don’t know how to do some of the bigger tasks, like adding video or blog content, you can find inexpensive services that will do the work for you -- which frees you up for other aspects of the business.