My Tips for Effective Online Marketing
Today is one of those rare days where nothing is going on. I don’t want to waste it – I want to make the most of it.
So I updated my LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is one of the most viewed and least useful social media platforms, I heard that somewhere and that matches my experience. Though you still need it.
But it showed that I have been doing Panorama Marketing Group for nearly ten years! And in that time I’ve learned a lot. Here are my most useful tips:
- Every small business needs a website, email marketing and social media.
- WordPress is the best way to go for a website.
- MailChimp is usually the best solution for email marketing
My rules for social media
- Facebook for who you know
- Twitter for who you want to know (you can get replies on Twitter from people who won’t see your message elsewhere)
- Google for SEO (google.com/mybusiness literally will put you on the map)
What I do
My goal is to provide small business with Internet Marketing Solutions. If you don’t have your own in house person you should hire me.
My strengths –
Back in the dark days of 2008 I was really good at email marketing. Not many people are. There are a ton of web designers and social media people – but I kind of had the email gig all to myself.
Email marketing is the most focused way to reach people who are interested in what you are doing. It isn’t perfect but it is a very valuable tool.
Back in 2008 I would buy email lists. Just yesterday I got a call from someone wanting to buy a list. Don’t do it! Build your email list. That part of the industry has changed. Purchased lists are a recipe for disaster. We build lists by keeping track of everyone you interact with in your business, web form sign ups, and social media.
Email people at least monthly. I have one list I email twice weekly and it works. You need to balance the need of keeping your business in people’s minds and not annoying them. Stay relevant. Offer something interesting and present a value.
Social Media
There used to be rumblings that social media is replacing email. Informed people knew that wouldn’t happen, but social media provides another way to focus in on your market. I heard one client said they never got an order off social media. That means they’re doing it wrong (they didn’t hire me!)
I’ll try to keep this short – but for your social media page you want to attract people who are interested in what you are providing.
So if you offer a line of skin care products, run articles and images that will attract people. Use a hashtag to make it easier for people to find you and put emphasis on your keyword. #skincare is good, but #antiaging might be better. Use both but don’t overdo it. I cringe when I read a Facebook post that is an image with nothing but hashtagged verbage.
Use Twitter to find people you want to find. I have one client who operates a business on the Huntington Beach boardwalk. We found twitter accounts of neighboring businesses and now they network – this restaurant recommends SurfCity Segway.
Make sure your business is set up and verified on Google.com/mybusiness. Then go out and follow other businesses and people. They will see you are following them, or added them to your circles and you will have made an impression.
Another benefit to social media – back end links. The more links that point to your website the better your SEO.
Where I’m a Bargain – (Notice I didn’t say my strength)
WordPress makes it fairly easy to be on the web and it is all put together to avoid the mistakes of amateur web developers. I do have years of experience but I don’t consider myself a professional web developer.
My problem with WordPress is every theme is different. There are some great ones, but where they put stuff is always different. And what’s included with the free version vs what you have to pay for.
And then I find strange plug ins that tend to crash, (cough – visual composer)
So I use a few themes I’m familiar with and can do a fairly decent website for $250. I like to do it because you need your email marketing, social media and website to all work together.
