Digital Marketing for Small Business

Digital Marketingfor Small BusinessJim Locke, PrincipalResultWorx Technology Group

Do you market online NOW?

•Do you have a website?•Do you have an e-mail newsletter?•Do you have a blog?•Are you active on any social networks?

▫LinkedIn▫Facebook▫Twitter▫Other?

Some Interesting Facts

•Welcome to the Social Media Revolution!

A Few More Statistics• Social networks and blogs are the 4th most

popular activity online (more popular than personal e-mail)▫67% of users are active in a member community▫10% of all time on Internet is spent on social

networks• 80% of companies use LinkedIn as a primary tool

to find employees• 77% of all active Internet users regularly read

blogs• 70% of consumers and businesses use search

engines to find local businesses

Yet…

•44% of small businesses do not have a website!

Why Market Online?

•The Internet levels the playing field, providing broad market reach to all participants

•Low Cost•Opportunities to educate and inform

clients▫Good content improves search engine

results•Opportunities to establish yourself as an

expert in your field

Outbound vs. Inbound

•Outbound Marketing▫Print, Radio, Television, Direct Mail▫Goal: Catch the customer’s eye

•Inbound Marketing▫Blogs, Social Media, E-mail, Video,

Podcasts, Text▫Goal: Give the client valuable content that

drives him to your site

Digital Marketing vs. SEO• Digital Marketing

▫ More Science than Art▫ Inexpensive▫ Content Driven▫ Easy to Maintain

Can be self maintained▫ Easier to Track Success

• Search Engine Optimization▫ More Art than Science▫ Expensive▫ Controlled by Large

Companies▫ Difficult to Maintain

Regular professional maintenance required

▫ Difficult to track results

What about Pay per Click Ads?

•Pay per click (PPC) advertising (e.g. Google Adwords) is based on keywords▫Dominated by large companies▫Can be expensive▫If you get the right keywords, KEEP THEM!

•Only read by 25% of people who search the Internet

•Social Media PPC is a different ball game…

Getting Started…

•Reserve your “brand” name•Manage your reputation•Profiles and Pages•Blogging•E-mail •Building Communities•Social Media Advertising

Reserve your “Brand”

•Names on social networks are going FAST!

•Reserve your business and personal brands

•Use a service like KnowEm to check name availability

•DO IT TODAY!

Manage your Reputation

•Do you know what others are saying about you and your business online?

•Google your name and business name•Setup Google Alerts to monitor your

reputation•Use tools like SocialMention to see what

is being said about you on social networks•Respond to positive and negative

comments alike – It is considered Customer Service!

Profiles

•Establish profiles for yourself and your key employees on LinkedIn and Facebook▫Tip: Link to your website▫Tip: Get LinkedIn Recommendations

•Establish profiles (or pages) for your company on LinkedIn and Facebook

•Profiles should be similar on all services▫Building a Personal Identity▫Building a Corporate Identity

Company Pages

•Establish a page for your company on Facebook▫Your Facebook Page is a social gathering

place for clients and customers▫Use invitations and short term pay-per-

click ads to gather at least 25 “fans” quickly

▫Get one TODAY, even if you don’t have a webpage!

•Establish a company profile on LinkedIn

Blogging

•Blogging is an excellent way to establish yourself as an expert and inform and educate clients

•Content may be syndicated to other sites (e.g. your website) which will improve your ability to be found easily on the Internet

•All blogs and websites should include an e-newsletter and RSS feed

Microblogging

•The most popular microblogging service is Twitter

•Twitter experts recommend that you update your status regularly

•Services like Twitterfeed and Ping.fm can make this easier and update multiple sites at once

E-mail

•An E-mail newsletter is still very effective for driving traffic to your site.

•Utilize an e-mail news service to ensure compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act

•E-mail signatures▫Follow Me▫News Feeds from your blog

Building Community

•Use Facebook, LinkedIn or other platforms to build communities around issues or clients▫Allow clients to interact and support each

other▫Provide information and guidance▫Communities can be open or closed

Social Media Advertising

•Sold on pay per click or impression basis•Utilizes keywords and demographic

information to target an audience•Easy to measure and manage

▫Run several campaigns in rotation and tweak

▫Focus on a promotion, event, etc.•Inexpensive

Putting Social Media to Work

•Pick your tools carefully and integrate them into your work life; Start with▫Google Reader▫Hootsuite ▫Delicious ▫MailChimp

•Write once, syndicate the rest•Limit the time you spend on social media•Measure your results

Resources

•Download the Digital Marketing Toolbar▫News, resources and information to get you

started with Digital Marketing▫Download profile worksheets and

presentations▫Learn about Digital Marketing “in plain

English”▫Much more…

•Join our Digital Marketing Group on LinkedIn®

•Follow us on Facebook or Twitter

QuestionsPlease feel free to contact us:

Jim Locke(626) 689-4491jlocke@ResultWorx.com.com

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