Running a business on the web is morphing. Are you keeping up?
It wasn't too long ago that you could get a web site up and running with quality SEO, Search Engine Optimization, techniques and you were good to go. That effort would insure you are going to appear as an organic listing on the first page of Google search results.
While that is important, and still very achievable, you are going to see your online inquires decline if you slack off on activity to build your business reputation.
There are a number of factors for this. The big one is that, while Google is the biggest search engine, there are other web sites people search to find a product or service they want. Recents studies, by PEW, show that more than half of all internet users conduct research online before making a purchase.
A few of those heavily popular sites are Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr, Vimeo, LinkedIn, and there are others.
In the old days your marketing plan was buying yellow page ads every year. The cool part of doing online content marketing with your business is you are sustaining your business because your content doesn't disappear.
But, having a web site, and then never publishing new content to it, is showing Google that your site is stale. And part of Google's effort is to keep the most relevant sites at the top of search engine results.
To successfully implement sustaining your online business, here are three simple steps:
1. Get your site optimized to be found in Google and Bing.
This is easy to accomplish as I mentioned before. Once you start a quality campaign on this your site will be visible, within six months or less, when someone is searching using terms that are relevant to your business.
The best way to achieve quality content is by getting into the habit of posting material about your products on a regular basis.
2. Begin a content creation effort to provide the public with material about your products and services - on a regular basis.
One easy place to do this is Facebook. Yes, Facebook is a big search engine and that is what their marketing teams are planting the seeds for today.
The first step is setting up a business page and then making sure it is verified.
To do that, while viewing your business page, select
Settings in the top right corner.
On the new screen that appears click
Edit next to
Page Verification.
Today, the verification process, if you are doing it by paper takes about 4-6 weeks. Unfortunately, I have not had much luck with the phone verification process, maybe you will.
When your business page is verified you will appear more often in search results within Facebook. And, if you are doing advertising there, or boosting your posts, I would do it after you verify your business page.
There are many places to post content about your business, but doing it, getting it done, seems to be the hardest piece of the equation. To get over that hurdle, just pick one place to get started posting your material. Do that until you are feeling some success with it.
Many older businesses have a mentality of yellow book advertising. Those folks are thinking, "I will put an ad out there and someone will find it." The flaw with that is there is no passion or drive in that approach. An ad in the yellow pages is stale and boring.
Conversely, publishing content posts in Facebook (other other social media) are your current material and, when done right, give people insight into how you can help them.
Readers want authentic information. What problems are you solving for the reader with your products or services?
Providing quality content to build your business reputation is not as hard as baking good bread. It just takes a simple effort to get your content made (short story or video or pictures) and then post it.
#3 Keep a handle on measuring your content success.
Google Analytics (GA) is a free tool that will keep you informed.
You can use this tool on your web site, blog, even with
Facebook.
I would suggest using GA to measure your
landing page campaigns.
One simple approach to putting an automated marketing machine in place is with the following:
#A Post your brief article with pictures or phone video in sites where users are congregating already like facebook, twitter, youtube, and so forth.
#B In that content include a link to the landing page on your site.
#C Build your landing page, on your site, with compelling content and include effective Call To Action opportunities. The thrust of a landing page is that when people read it, you want them to do something. That 'something' may be download information, subscribe, or make a purchase from you. This is an
example of a landing page.
The point is, when people do something with you, with your business, they have more trust in you and your business. And, the first step in wanting to do business is having trust.
You and I, have to have, some level of trust to take action with a business. Would you go to a restaurant where you didn't expect a good meal? Would you bank with a bank that you didn't think was on solid ground?
Do you agree? Have you ever done business with someone or some establishment you don't trust?
Tell me more.
The trust we have in a business, that we participate with, is based on the reputation of the business. More importantly, our perceptions can make or break the reputation of a business. The strategy of your providing current online content about your business, on a regular basis, is to fortify your business reputation.
Steu Mann
Ez Web Company
