We talk with small business owners every day at SpunkeBusiness and there are a few recurring questions we encounter. Here are our answers!
Q “Look, I’ve been putting this Internet stuff off for a while now, but I’m really not sure how it’s going to fit in with my business and marketing strategy.”
A. “The ‘Internet stuff’ will fit around your existing business operation. Designate the time you or a staff member can allocate to the online component of your business… then establish a budget and go from there”. Your online marketing budget will determine the nature and breadth of your online campaign (social media, content marketing)… and the time you have to dedicate will determine the scope of your campaign. You may have time to dedicate to multiple online strategies (PPC, social media, SEO) or you may wish to focus only on one.
Check Our Our Free Business Masterplan to determine how the Internet might fit your business… Click Here
Q. “I have Google Places page… why do I need a website?”
A. “Simple… because a GP page is limited and if someone is searching for your type of business and you return a GP page whereas your competitor returns a website (even basic will do) that has product images, a couple of testimonials, the ability to make a quick enquiry or even to purchase off their site, then you have just lost that simple marketing battle. Everyone in any business will need a website in the next 18 months.. it’s akin to the old yellow pages or print media campaign.. and it’s so affordable”
Q. “I don’t have the time.”
A. Do you have the time to open your store in the morning and put your old ‘A-frame’ out front? Well, updating your Facebook business page or sending an email blast about your latest promotion is going to be that important soon. It takes 20 minutes and reaches thousands. We can automate much of the process, especially email marketing and social media.
It’s not that difficult; it’s just a mind shift for many traditional business owners. We have been traditional business owners and understand the juggle, but in terms of return on your time and dollar investment, online strategies are truly exciting.
A. This is common; many web design companies (not all), will build you a website and provide little or no training around how to market your website, upload new content and operate the ‘dashboard’. Without some basic marketing, your website is pretty useless really unless someone is searching on your business name. You need to be found on Google page 1, particularly locally, for your niche search terms.. So either enlist a professional to create a simple online marketing strategy for you or have someone provide training so that you can do your own marketing and ’drive’ your website yourself. if you’re happy with your website, you just need to learn how to make it work for you. If you bought a cheap website, it’s highly likely that it is not going to be ‘optimised’ for search engine success and this may need tweaking also. All of this is simple so get the required help to make it happen.
Q. “We’re doing Facebook and blogging, but we aren’t getting the results we expected..”
A. Firstly social media marketing (Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ etc) is a longer term strategy that should be part of a broader online campaign… don’t rely on it as your sole generator of leads. In saying that, we would suggest checking your website SEO to make sure Google can find you on your business search terms. It is one thing to have a website, but another to ensure it is easily found by search engines. Ensure such things as keyword rich meta data, appropriate plugins and automation.
With your blogging, there are technical tips here such as interlinking your posts and pages using keywords as your anchor text. If this is ‘double dutch’ to you, then drop us an email and we can train you around any of this.
Q. “It seems like there is just so much to do with this Internet stuff; it’s like running another business… it needs to be easier”
A. How automated are your online processes? You can inexpensively outsource or automate everything from creating your blog posts and Facebook updates to disseminating your material to thousands. We have excellent packages that take care of this for clients but we can also suggest plugins and cheap third party platforms that you can configure yourself that will send your blog posts and FB updates out into the stratosphere for you with the push of one button… Just ask!
Are you using the incredible power of email marketing. You can automate a series of emails to go out to your database, send impromptu broadcasts and so much more… with a crazy $42 return on every $1 spent, email marketing must be part of your marketing strategy moving forward.
The time factor was definitely what delayed me getting started – but once you get going it becomes just another part of your business that you know is going to bring you in more clients
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