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Is it really necessary for a small company to have website?
Can I really make SEO work for me?
Can blogging really benefit my company?
Is this all just a waste of time and is any of this profitable?
In a very Dr. Phil-ish candidness, you bet your butt they do! And here’s why:
1. I’ve said this to potential clients, current clients, on previous blogs and to my friends…YOU NEED A WEBSITE! Whether you live in a big city or small town, the truth is that most of the world doesn’t know you exist. Unless your business has a product or service that is exclusive to your geographical region, you need to expand not only your mind but also your client list and profit margin. How else can a small company in Nebraska acquire a client in Maine?
2. If you have sneakers, you need laces. Since you need a website, you need SEO. It’s the only way to get higher rankings in the major search engines for your company with limitless advertising. Yes, it can be a little time-consuming at first if doing so yourself (or you can just hire someone to do it…see www.jpdesigntheory.com) but it is worth the time and your dimes.
3. Do you see the visual example of a necessary principle? The more you or someone else writes about your company and services/products 
exposure expansion & growth.
4. It’s evident from all the market growth and promotion of social media, it is not only big now but it’s here to stay.Customers are savvy enough now to use it to their advantage and that directly benefits your company if you get on board. Especially since customers are utilizing all the tools the worldwide web offers to discuss product/service experiences and research them prior to purchase.
In the end, I hope these answers to common questions help you to understand the importance and necessity of websites, SEO and blogging. Can’t wait to see YOU on the www!
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For those outside the marketing realm, let me help define “branding”. Branding is a signature ‘look and feel’ that leverages all of the resources our industry has to offer to make sure that you will be noticed and recognized by consumers and like industry companies.
- Branding is an essential component to any business therefore it’s something you should consistently think about and ensure it evolves on an ongoing basis. Taking time to think about and employ opportunities to promote your brand is both fundamental and key to its success.
- Your brand and marketing materials should precisely detail & sell your product and/or service. If they’re not, they’re wrong. You know the old adage of “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it”…well if it is, it’s time to re-think and re-brand.
- C’mon, get focused! Your view of your product/service can sometimes be narrow and if it’s your “baby”, it can be hard to be a tough critic. So if you can’t afford to pay for a professional focus group, here is a suggestion. Get together a group of professional friends from various industries and present your products/service. Offering hors d’oeuvres and beverages is a nice form of compensation. What’s most important though is getting their feedback in writing and implementing their suggestions (if they are good ideas…) into your brand/marketing strategies and promotions.
- Know your street credibility ~ Your brand image as well as its reputation is vital. It’s super important you know what your client base is saying about you…and even your competition. Being armed with this information will allow you to evolve your branding & marketing strategies to thwart the effects of the good or bad press.
- Promote your brand across all landscapes. This should include at a minimum:
∞ direct marketing via mailers;
∞ email campaigns and promotions;
∞ online & in-store promotions; and last but surely not least…
∞ social media, etc.
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In high school we all wanted to be liked…to be accepted by a group of people as part of their “in-crowd”. You remember…the cool kids who seemed to rule the hallways while others salivated at the double-dutch opportunity to laugh at one of their jokes or be thrown just a nod of acknowledgement. As adults in the business world (most of us anyway unless you are a 20 year-old Zuckerberg wiz kid), we aren’t all that different. We enjoy rubbing elbows with the “movers & shakers” in an effort to acquire business connections that will hopefully profit us in relationship and in contribution to our wallets.
It’s in these efforts that we come to understand and implement strategies to be liked, which easily translates into the business marketing forum to obtain business relationships…profitable ones hopefully. In the world of Social Media, especially on Facebook, we come to understand on a more global level, the Power of Like. If you are not on Facebook-well golly gee willacurs you should be. Why?
#1- it’s free. In a world where next to nothing is this is 100% gratis!
#2 – much like blogging and having a business website; it gives you UNLIMITED, GLOBAL access to people and other businesses. Many people/businesses are now searching Facebook for products/services in lieu of traditional worldwide web searches.
#3 – many businesses on Facebook are already “Liked” (or unfortunately Disliked) and have reviews/comments on their pages which makes their business report card accessible in a glance.
#4 – again, it’s free. No marketing budget needed.
Do you really need more persuasion? If so, here’s an elementary concept taught outside high school hallways in the game of real business life…
In the world of Social Media…Like=Relationships & Revenues
And thanks to Mark Z-that’s the Power of Like
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For a modern lesson on a classic fundamental, let’s take it back to elementary school for the 5 W’s (and 1 H) for a moment shall we? Who, What, Where, When, Why & How…although not in that particular order.
WHO…you of course! Don’t think blogging is for you or beneficial to your company? Read on my friend…
WHAT’s the point of business blogging? To communicate clearly to a wide variety of readers (either from your business sector or to one who is interested in acquiring your company’s expertise) and reach them on a virtual yet tangible level that says 
wanna do lunch…via Skype?
HOW can a blog work for your company? Let me pass on what I’ve come to understand. Basically, if you are a small to medium-sized company, more than likely you have a limited advertising/marketing budget if any. This may in turn affect your ability to rub elbows with your industry-related business colleagues and the frequency of networking opportunities. But guess what? If you have a semi-talented employee who can write pretty well or hire a content writer like myself (hint, hint-plug, plug) you can be well on your way to leveraging social media to your advantage and profit margin.
WHY and the WHAT points are somewhat synonymous. You (or your superiors) want to have a corporate blog which elevates you/your company to a WORLDWIDE PRESENCE. This taps you into the local and global business market by creating dialogue via your company website to an UNLIMITED number of people for almost FREE. Need I say more? Ok but just because I can hear the anticipation…
WHERE is Waldo, Jane, Bob or whatever your name is? Where do you pow-wow and have your swank & usually expensive lunch meeting to seal your deals? Your couch if you’re lucky! In 2012, most freelance and small business owners work from home or out of a local Starbucks. You can save time and money with this fantastic networking tool by using a little of Father Time and a smidge of talent to take your business to the next level and into an unlimited marketplace. No expense account required.
WHEN you choose to use social media to your advantage, you win-plain & simple. Oh and today is a great day to start.
Still saying blah, blah, blah?????
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For those of you who question the validity of Twitter in business, I’m here to tell you to stop. Twitter, much like other mediums of social media, can affect your bottom line if you know how to use it. There is no one tactic to fit all, I can admit that, but that’s because each business is different and unique in its own way. Now lets talk about the numbers. You’ve seen some Twitter users with hundreds if not thousands of followers. From people you’ve never heard of to celebrities you have. However I’d like to expose a misconception in what novice people view in these numbers.
Follow for Follow: Now I haven’t been on Twitter since its original launch, but I have been around for a few years to see the evolution in its use. One of the things that annoy me and my team the most is people who follow only to get a follow in return. Oh they’re relentless too. I’ve even received followers that un-followed me months ago that tried to follow again to see if this time I’d bite. If I wasn’t in business to pay attention to who I follow and who follows our brand online they totally would have gotten me. So this thought that you must follow someone just because they’re following you is rubbish.
Follow Your Interests: I stopped short of saying “follow your heart” because that could easily lead you to trouble online. If you’re into woodworking, do a Twitter search for the keyword “woodworking” and see what pops up. Aside from the Tweets look at who said what and how long ago. See if you can jump into the conversation by @ replying. If the conversation or dialogs are of interest to you, go ahead and hit that follow button. Again, don’t hit it with the intent of getting a follow in return. Hit it because you value what that person has to say about that subject.
Thousands of Follows: Yea this is all too common these days. Check the screenshot below. How can you have 3,800+ follows and following 3,800+ and you’ve only tweeted 36 times? No website listed, No real name, No location. Clearly you bought all of those follows, and more than likely have a bot scrounging the net to follow people automatically. Don’t believe the hype people. When you come across these types of profiles just leave them be. Chances are they’ll latch on for a few days and drop off when their program notices you haven’t followed back.
Celebrities: They have big numbers because of the obvious. However they also have influence. The influence is what I strive to teach our clients to regard as important. If some pro-basketball player like Dwayne Wade said he was going to be at a Miami local night club, there would be a huge buzz around Twitter because of all the people who follow him. They’d RT that message and relay it to their followers by the hundreds or thousands just because of who he is and how highly they regard what he says. So be your own rock-star or celebrity in your local market.
Understanding social influence is what will keep social media in check. If we all went with the mentality of follow one and follow all, our timelines would be saturated with crap and Twitter wouldn’t be as fun anymore. I also think that’s what makes it great because you actually choose your level of noise.
There are sites out there where you can actually see some true numbers about Twitter handles if you really want to investigate the influence of a user. Sites like Twitter Grader, Peer Index, SocialBro, and Klout do just that. What you want to focus on in your own tweets, is the engagement. For a business, you can’t just run out there promoting your products and sales all day and expect orders to flood your site (unless you’re selling $2.00 Jordan sneakers). But seriously, find people who are talking about your industry or products and talk with them. Answer some questions they may have regarding their needs. Be a positive influence. Through the courtship, you’ll establish a relationship. Offer more information by answering a question and insert a link to your website or blog post that talks more about your answer. Being a great source for answers or information is where the true value is. That’s what gets you more followers and RT (re-tweets).
Have any other real tips about Twitter, please share with us in the comments below.
3. Do you see the visual example of a necessary principle? The more you or someone else writes about your company and services/products 
