Phenomenal Internet Marketing

Phenomenal Internet Marketing

Many small business owners aren’t up to speed on what’s happening online. At the same time, some of the younger business owners seem to think that everything should be digital. They dismiss anything offline as “old school,” slow, and ineffective. The truth is in the middle (as usual). How you use the Internet to market your business really depends on your business and your target market, but here are seven minimum steps to follow.

1. Have at Least One Website

Your main site is your “branding” site. In other words, this tells your story. Remember, a brand is nothing more than what people say when you are not around. Guess who manages that? You do! Your brand has to come through loud and clear on your site. The first thing people do today when they learn about you is go to your site.

Will they fall in love? Will they run? There is no telling how much damage is being done to small businesses because of horrible websites. If a customer comes to your site and finds something old and tired, guess how they think about your business? You may not need the flashiest site around, but your image does need to be positive. Since you want to have fresh content, you may consider having a platform where you or someone else can post regular updates or have a social media plug-in.

2. Have an Opt-In

A huge mistake I see many small business owners make is not having an opt-in on their website. An opt-in is a way for prospects to give you their e-mail addresses so you can communicate with them. Offer something free that will benefit them (see “The Fastest Growth Tool on the Planet!” for examples). Don’t ask for more than the first name and e-mail address at first, because many who visit your site may not be ready to give you a lot of information yet. So, just a contact page isn’t good enough. You are asking for too much information without giving anything in return.

Have a compelling opt-in that offers a solution to your target market’s biggest problem. “Sign Up for Our Free Newsletter” isn’t compelling enough unless you tell them what the benefit of getting the newsletter is. On my main site, I offer free business-building tips by e-mail, free videos, and webinars. I ask only for the first name and e-mail address. But once the person clicks submit, he or she is taken to a page that offers something more valuable. At the time of this writing I am offering a free CD that is mailed. The audio program reveals the “Five Secrets of a Phenomenal Business.” If your business isn’t very phenomenal and you want it to be, then you’ll order that! And we mail free CDs constantly. There are many things you can offer, but the key is to get something prominently posted on your site.

To take that up a notch, have an autoresponder (an automatic system that automatically sends an e-mail response to each person who opts-in immediately). You can customize this to say whatever you want it to say. And if you want to take it into the stratosphere, you can create a series of responses over time that brings them step by step to the sale, or takes them through a learning path.

By the way, this can be done for every product or service that you provide at every level. It can be as sophisticated as you want. I won’t recommend specific programs here because, by the time you read this, they could be outdated. But there is no shortage of programs to choose from. This brings me to the next part of your Phenomenal Internet Marketing System…

3. Have a Regular Outgoing E-Mail Newsletter

An e-mail newsletter that adds value to your prospects and clients is a powerful tool. As you give them solutions to their problems and offer solutions that your competitors aren’t even talking about, you position yourself as the “go-to” person in your industry.

4. Have a Strong Social Media Presence

At this point, in most cases, it’s not whether you should use social media or not, it’s which one(s) to use, and how to use them effectively. The way I see social media is like a worldwide networking group that’s happening 24/7. Remember that all of business is about relationships. Using social media can help you build and deepen relationships.

Ironically, when I wrote this section to appear in The 5 Secrets of a Phenomenal Business, I was on the Sunshine Coast of Australia, overlooking the ocean from my balcony and I had my Facebook page open. I was communicating with people all around the world, and a business associate noticed I was in Australia and contacted me for lunch. Three hours later we were having lunch and set up a business deal. Networking and engaging people on social media doesn’t mean you are just going after business deals. You are building relationships that may become business deals.

Use the social media platforms that your clients and referral sources are using. Instead of picking the one you like, find out where they are and plug in. Social media doesn’t need to own your life either. Once you get familiar with posting, simply make a post once or twice a day (depending on your business and the platform). Always respond to comments, acknowledge retweets, etc. The key is engagement. Don’t over promote. Remember, it’s about building relationships. If you aren’t going to do it, hire someone who will. I hired a marketing manager who does a phenomenal job keeping my social media up to date. She also handles just about every facet of marketing for my training company. Victoria is a Godsend. The more active your business is, the more time is required for marketing and you can’t do it all yourself.