It may or may not surprise you that more searches for businesses occur online than through the Yellow Pages. Many businesses have already abandoned the Yellow Pages for being expensive and not yielding results. There are increasing numbers of people who say, If you’re not on the Internet, I’m not interested. Look for this to continue to increase at an exponential rate.
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Marketing yourself is a public service. This means letting people know how you can be of service to them. Your Internet presence allows people looking for someone to help them solve whatever problem they are in. If you have no internet presence, many people will not find you and determine if you may be of service to them. Marketing is making your presence known. It is NOT a hard sell, trying to ram anything down anyone’s throat. Advertising is presenting yourself mostly to people who aren’t interested in what you have to offer. This is why most print advertising does not yield clients. Internet advertising is presenting yourself at a time when your prospect is searching for what it is you have.
Google your name and business zip code. Do you find yourself on the first page of the results? You may already be listed in sites of which you are unaware. Next, Google your specialties (one at a time) and your business zip code. If you have a number of listings, especially for your specialties, Congratulations. Even if you already have a steady stream of referrals, an Internet presence will only strengthen your position.
An Internet presence can be started (or expanded) for a lot less than you think. Getting yourself on free and paid listing sites. Generally, start with the free listing. One client found their free getfaves.com listing showing on the first page of Google search within one week. Begin with seeing if your professional organization has listings. These are often free.
Find the listing sites for Google business. This will also get you listed on Google maps, which show at the top of Google searches. Also do this for Yahoo and Bing business. Find other business listing sites by Googling free business listing sites, etc.
Create a website
A website is probably the single most important thing that you can do to expand your marketing efforts. It will greatly increase your presence and legitimacy beyond having your profile listed in different places. One can quickly create a simple site. You will want to present information that will speak to those clients you would most like to see. This will attract your Ideal client much more than if you describe yourself as a caring person who provides a safe place, etc. Conventional wisdom is that your content is 80% about the client and 20% about yourself.
Don’t wait until you have a perfect site planned. Better to get a functional site up, asap. Websites are dynamic entities. You will want to refine, probably add, and sometimes delete what you began with. How you write gives others a sense of who and what you are. Be sure to include a head shot photo of yourself with a big smile.
Begin with your DSL provider and see what they offer. Google free websites. Look for templates that you like, flexibility, expandability, etc. Many of the free sites will also let you expand your site, more, for a monthly fee. Most options will cost between $5 and $10 a month.
Create a blog
Some will start a blog, rather than a website. Generally, a website is more versatile and should be your first priority. A blog will probably serve you best, the more specific it is, i.e., focuses on a niche, etc. Two popular sites to start a blog are blogspot.com and wordpress.com. If you do a blog, aim to write at least twice a month.
Social media
The use of social media is exploding and will continue to grow. It is a way of connecting with friends and colleagues, as well as others finding us. Businesses are increasingly finding ways to market via social media.
One of the most popular websites is YouTube.com. While it is primarily used for entertainment, more and more it is used for education and marketing. An example is the video on our main page, Social Media for your Business. These videos can also be put on your website(s), as we did. Video has largely been underutilized by businesses.
Facebook.com has become another of the most popular websites. Some use it to keep in touch with friends and others use it for marketing. Use it for on or the other. If you want to use it for both purposes, use a personal email account for a Profile and a business email for a business Page.
Biznik.com is a business site, primarily for entrepreneurs. It is a way to network, especially with other businesses.
Twitter.com is a source that you can announce publishing a paper, changes to your website, good books and articles, workshops that you might offer, etc. Many offer free things like recordings, articles, etc. It is another way to network with other professionals. It’s popularity is exploding.
Like most things, the more you invest in being involved with social media, the more you will benefit. If you are active, you can minimally expect some increase in website/blog traffic. This may or may not equate to client referrals.
Writing articles
Another way to develop a presence is to write self-help and other articles. A very popular site to submit articles is ezinearticles.com. You can also submit to some of the listing and social media sites. When you write, distribute your writings in as many ways as you can. Post them on your website and blog. Have copies in your office waiting room. Fax copies, as is relevant with other fax communications.
Outside of the content, writings give others at least a glimpse of yourself. This is an opportunity to get to know, like, and trust you. The more that happens, the more people will come to you to help them achieve solutions.
Put your website address and contact information on everything
Make sure your address is on your business cards, stationary, fax sheets, etc. Just the fact that you have a website adds to your credibility, regardless if the receiver has the interest in checking it out. Create a signature file at the bottom of your email accounts. Minimally, include your web address, blog, etc. under your name, business address, business phone. Consider putting other information there, such as free offers, signing up for your news letter, etc. If you are going to start a group, give a talk, etc., consider including that information, while it is relevant, i.e., remove that information after it occurred.
In conclusion, you can’t do all of these things in a single day. However, you can complete Some of these things Today. Keep reasonable expectations. When you do these things, it isn’t likely that you will have 10 people call you in the first week. You will find that new clients will increasingly say, I found you on the Internet. Marketing is a dynamic process. Generally, our efforts are cumulative.
This is not the end of marketing. You will probably want to expand into other low cost strategies, including purchasing a domain name for your website, using one or several paid listing services, etc. Continue to educate yourself about marketing and new avenues. Good luck and good marketing.
Bulbwired.com does all this and more as a done for you package, come and register for one out our information packed Webinars to see how we can help your business.
Tags: Article Marketing, dofollow blogs, Google, Google site map, Tips, Twitter, Yahoo Search Marketing
