ONLINE MARKETING DEPARTMENT
It goes without saying that the vast majority of small businesses are spending most or all of their marketing effort, time, and money, online versus more traditional avenues such as mail, print, radio, or outdoor advertising. In this section, we will take a very deep dive into the various kinds of online approaches that are most likely to drive prospects to your business and provide resources to existing clients to stay engaged with your company, its products, and/or services.
It is a common refrain among small business owners that they are overwhelmed by the options available in online marketing and further discouraged by the learning curve to be effective. While it is no secret that there are plenty of potential online existing to drive business and profits, the investment of time, energy, mental strain, and money often presents a huge barrier to even trying to find the right solutions.
Top Online Resources for
Small Businesses
The following are not a perfect list for every business. However, it is going to give almost any small business a fantastic jumping-off point that is likely to provide the best ROI. You will find more information about each by clicking the icon.
Websites
It is absolutely job one to create a website. The website is like a storefront of a traditional brick-and-mortar company. All of your other efforts point prospects to your website. Your existing clients come to your website for contact information, updates, new offerings, specials, promotions, and more.
Local Business Directories
If you are a local business with most of your clients coming from 5-25 miles around your location, even if that location is in your home, you need to be listed on the local business directories. GoogleMyBusiness is the most important listing and arguably the most important “real estate” on the Internet for small, local businesses. Yelp, City Search, Bing, and other directories are called "citations" by marketing experts. The more citations, the better.
Email Blasting
Often referred to as the online advertising method with the highest ROI, sending out periodic emails to your customer and prospect list is a time-tested and proven method of keeping folks aware of your existence. The cost to create and mail to hundreds or thousands of names is usually far less than $100, even if you count the time to create the content.
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