As a small business owner, you know and understand the inner workings of your business and what it needs to survive. You created your mission, vision, value purpose statement, researched your ideal customer base and now what? The truth is you launched your business with all of these items but now you are struggling to reach your ideal client base and recruit consistently paying customers. What can you do to fix it?
WHAT IS YOUR MARKETING PLAN?
Many small business owners launch their business with all the basics in place but often times forget to create a marketing plan to promote their services. If you are one of those business owners, do not stress about it! You are still capable of creating a successful marketing plan, one that is focused on online marketing, that places you in front of your ideal customer with just a few steps. Online marketing does not end at launching your website. Our society relies heavily on electronics and digital information to make purchasing decisions so implementing a detailed online marketing plan is crucial in your success. There are a few easy steps you can take today (literally) to become present and not be left behind in the digital world:
- Create a social media presence. You do not have to create a business page on every social media platform we have available. In fact, it is best if you do not do that initially. Instead choose a platform that you are most comfortable with and create a business page or profile. I recommend LinkedIn for business to business or Facebook for business to consumer.
- Be active. Once you have created your business page, it is important to be active from day one. What does that mean exactly? Post valuable and engaging content for your audience and do not give up. It is very likely in the beginning stages that your followers will not interact with your posts. That is normal! They want to know that you are there to stay and as they see you consistently posting and providing valuable content, they will start to react and interact with your posts.
- Publish directory posts or citations. With thousands of online directories, this task cannot be conquered in one day. You can however, create and publish one or two listings and then create a plan to tackle 2-3 daily after that. Some strong directories to publish your information on immediately include Yelp, Google and Manta. This step will increase the likelihood of your business being found online.
There are many steps to creating a successful internet marketing strategy and those listed here are just a few to help you get noticed today. Like all aspects of a business, they require time and commitment to be successful arms in your overall marketing plan. Do you have more questions about online marketing or social media marketing? Join me for a FREE live Q&A on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1R0d1jQ.
About The Author
Kathi Fuhrman
Kathi Fuhrman, owner of Fuhrman Creative has many years of online marketing experience.