NOTT MARKETING SERVICES

Making the Most of Your Options (without losing your shirt)

This business of promotion is a process. If you want to get the most benefit from advertising dollars these days, you have to be creative and think hard about the clientele you are trying to get in front of. The website is the first step in the process of promoting yourself as an expert in your field... that's your online brochure/ resume/ biography. You will find that in the first several months after publication, you will get a lot of emails and phone calls from people trying to sell you stuff. The fact that they saw your website proves that the site is visible to search engines.

Before spending any money on local advertising, make a list of the type of customer who might be looking for your particular product or service. Be specific. Gender, education level, homeowner, marital status... Next, determine whether your business supports highly localized, regional, or global advertising option. If you are limiting your area to your home state right now, the next step would be to get a press release out to the local press or contact a local newspaper and have a feature story written about the benefits of your product or service. Get a magazine to publish an article about you, or if you could advertise there, they have online ads in the home resource guide.

Combine online and offline resources, but have a plan

So, a combination of online/offline visibility targeting the demographic who might best be served would be a smart way to jumpstart the process. Marketing is a huge industry, and today there are lots of choices.

• There are companies that specialize in press release distribution to online and offline publications. Have a local agency produce a professional one-minute video marketing piece, and give you some creative options in distributing your video.
  
  
• There are a lot of companies using social networking sites for promotion as well. I know that Facebook will put an ad up for you to targeted prospects and it's not cost prohibitive.
  
  
• You might also talk to someone at your local cable televison company about running a spot on cable tv.
  
  
• Make a list and start making some phone calls to compare your options, you can take the next step in the process. In the mean time, can you get any of your clients to write a short testimonial for the website? Once people start looking through the site, testimonials will attest to your professionalism and expertise. The testimonial can be a powerful endorsement.
  

 

Artful Business Directory Inclusion

I have a client with links in about 6 online business directories, a YouTube video and a sponsored ad in Yahoo local search. When I search for his company name, all the links from every source comes up in a row and he dominates the page. When you talk to your local Yellow Pages representative, inquire about adding your website link to the online version of their directories. I have seen YahooLocal Search page sponsored ads purchased as part of a yellow page advertising package. Adding links to as many free online business directories, online marketplaces, online yellow page sites, and free search engines are very effective when your search terms and keywords are chosen carefully. Take advantage of inclusion in Google Maps, and check out Merchant Circle, where you can establish a blog, publish a newsletter, post articles and network with area merchants.

When your website project is complete, Nott Marketing Services will add your link to respected online business directories as part of our development process. We will monitor your ranking and continue to provide input for clients who have long-term maintenance agreements.

 

Share Your Expertise

Please keep in mind that as a business owner, you are the industry expert in your company. Use your website to qualify your leads. If you sell insurance, help the consumer wade through mysterious terms and definitions before calling your agency. Publish articles, a glossary of definitions, share health care bill issues, etcetera. If you are a security solution specialist, talk about safety issues, how to promote workplace safety, how to prolong the life of your locks and keys, and the like.

Once you get the hang of collecting timely content about your industry, look into publishing an email newsletter. Nott Marketing Services can get you started - call us today!

 

Post A Short Video to YouTube

Your message may be more compelling in video form. A short video that presents your message, lesson or expertise, uploaded to YouTube.com can appear on Google in a matter of minutes. Original video content is highly regarded by search engines and appears in organic search results well before many webpages. If you are an expert in clay beadmaking techniques and give classes in this art, why not make short movies sharing your technique and post to YouTube? The movie links directly to your online showroom... you gain credibility as an expert and you plug your store at the same time.