Send to KindleAll businesses should have an online business promotion plan. Small businesses often neglect this critical area of marketing.
Do you think that the Internet is a fad?
Do you think it will go away anytime soon?
Of course not!
If the Internet isn’t going away, then why do so many small businesses ignore the Internet as a marketing medium?
The first part of the answer is simple. Too many small businesses do not promote their business at all. (Unless you consider a yellow page ad a marketing plan.)
The second reason is that many small business owners simply don’t know what to do.
Here are a few things that you can do to promote your business online.
Are you collecting the email addresses of your customers?
You should be. Email is the cheapest and easiest way to stay connected with your customers. Emails are practically free while a first class stamp coast $.44 at the time this was written. Not to mention the cost of producing a mailing.
Social Media
Facebook recently exceeded 500,000,000 (that a half a billion) active users. That is simply too many people to ignore.
Facebook allows you to create a “fan page” for your business. This is absolutely free and gives you and your customers a easy way to connect. They’re simple to set up and easy to update. You or a staff member can easily do this between customers.
With smart phones you can even do this when you are out of the office.
The key is to be consistent. Facebook is an interactive medium and while you don’t have to spend a lot of time connecting with your fans, you do need to connect with them regularly.
YouTube is another huge social media site. No longer simply a site for teenagers to post their home videos, YouTube should be part of your online business promotion plan.
People go to YouTube for information and entertainment.
You don’t need slick videos to connect with your crowd. You can start making videos for <$100. In fact, you pobably have all the equipment you need right now.
Keep Learning
As with promotion, consistency is the key to mastering business promotion. Here is video on online business promotion to get you started.
There are many other sources of information available online. Check out this blog post on small business promotion for more ideas and for other articles about promoting your business.