Tips for Using Video to Promote Your Small Business

Tips for Using Video to Promote Your Small Business

You’ve decided to add videos to your marketing plan. Great idea! Having videos on your website will increase your SEO (search engine optimization). How do you promote your brand correctly using videos? Here are some ideas for you to implement.

Keep the content short and to the point, while being creative at the same time. Your customers and potential customers do not want to watch a long-winded production. They want everything to be quick so they can move on to the next thing. Make sure your content is engaging, genuine, and even funny. If people believe in what you are saying, they will be more likely to connect with you and like you. This will get them interested in what you have to say.

Use your videos to teach about your products or services. Videos can also be tutorials on how to use your product. Videos that are tutorials can be up to three minutes in length. Any other type of video should be 30 seconds or less.

Don’t forget to add a call-to-action. Nothing is going to work if you forget this very important part of the plan. Let your audience know what you expect of them at the end of the clip. Do you want them to call you or visit your website? Don't leave your audience confused about what you want them to do.

Provide enough incentive for viewers to act. People love information, but they love incentives even more. If you really want to engage a potential customer, include a promotion that he or she can benefit from. A promotional code included in the material can encourage customers to act quickly.

Brand your video properly. Include your brand somewhere on the content, but don’t overload the video with your brand. It can turn people off very quickly. You don't want them to feel like they are watching an infomercial.

Edit your video properly. A poorly made movie is something that no one wants to sit through. It is the same with your marketing content. Make sure you preview what you have made at least twice to catch mistakes. If you can't sit through it at least two times, how can you expect your audience to do the same?

Post your video on YouTube. Don’t just post videos to your website. YouTube is the second most popular search engine today, so posting there will get even more people looking at your video. Post your videos on your business Facebook page too.

 

 

Your Small Business Needs a Facebook Page!

Your Small Business Needs a Facebook Page!

Setting up a Facebook business page is a great way to get the word out about your products or services, to advertise promotions,

attract new customers and drive business to your website.
Keep the information you put on your business page about your business. Don’t include posts about your kids or a family reunion. Pictures are great. They will often be “liked” and that can help in building more fans for your page. Just make sure the pictures are about your business, your products or your staff.

Post regularly. Pick a schedule and stick to it. Your posts should inform your customers and potential customers. Don’t always be selling. Link an article related to your business that you’ve read. Also, engage your fans. If they comment on a post, respond. That’s the “social” part of social media.

How do you let customers know about your Facebook business page? Include your Facebook page link on your website, your business cards, your brochures and your products. This helps spread the word.

Use your Facebook business page to help improve your business image online.

How to Increase Your Website Traffic

How to Increase Your Website Traffic

One of the biggest battles for a small business owner is getting traffic for your website. Being online is one thing. But being known that you are there is definitely another thing. Potential customers have so many options for websites and businesses like yours that there is a great probability that you may not get noticed no matter how long you have been around. This is why you have to make sure that your website earns more traffic than your competitors’.

1. Make sure your website is easy to navigate. One of the simplest ways to raise the probability of website traffic being converted to sales is to encourage your visitors to stay on your page. This way, they would be interested enough to look around and see what you have to offer them. You would not be able to do this if your website is slow and clunky. Therefore, make sure that your website looks good, is easy to navigate, has easy-to-read text, cool hues, and easy-to-click links.

2. Engage your visitors through interactive and informative content. People enjoy websites where they either learn something new or where they can have fun. They like reading articles that are laden with humor but at the same has very informative content that they can use or refer to on a regular basis.

3. Include a call to action. After showing your clients what your website has to offer, the next step is to call for their action. Visitors have seen your products, now you need to inform them on they can benefit from buying your product. Show them just what they stand to gain and what they would not lose at all when they purchase your products.

 

Create a Blog Site for Your Business

Create a Blog Site for Your Business

Effective blogging can do your small business a lot of good. Small businesses can benefit from adding a blog to their social media marketing plan. But, blogging is not that easy. You must invest time in research and writing to increase website traffic.

One important piece necessary to effectively build a blog for your small business is content. Readers visit blogs to collect information. To gain your customers’ and prospects’ trust, you must consistently supply them with quality and useful content. Add pictures to help tell your story. Images help break up text and make your blog more interesting.

How to Blog With Purpose

How to Blog With Purpose

A business blog can grow your business.

·         57% of companies with a blog have acquired a customer from their blog.

·         61% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog.

·         Blogs attract repeat visitors who continue to come back to the website for fresh content.

The figures above are conservative. Blogging gets more important everyday. Start now. Here are some tips for blogging with purpose.

Answer questions. Listen closely to questions your prospects and customers ask. Answer every one.

Teach, don't preach. Avoid making your blog a heavy handed attempt to advertise your products. Adopt an educator's mentality and you'll win your reader's trust.

Engage your readers in a conversation. Ask questions of your readers, encourage feedback, counterpoints and criticism. Respond to comments as promptly as possible in an effort to exchange ideas.

Use images. Take advantage of the appeal of pictures to help tell your story and make your posts more attractive.

Set a schedule and stick to it. The number one reasons blogs fail is they are neglected. Schedule time to blog and post on a regularly. No excuses.

Increase your SEO. Use keywords and phrases that will increase your search engine rankings. Make them a smooth part of your blog conversation.

Have fun. Don’t be stiff or formal. Relax and fun writing

Why You Should Blog for Your Small Business

Why You Should Blog for Your Small Business

Combine "web" with "log" and you get "blog." It's a funny word, but serious business.

You’re currently blogging for your business or thinking about it (you really need to start NOW!), so here are some tips to help you blog with a purpose.

1.   Connect with customers - A blog is a practical and powerful way to share useful, relevant information with customers.

2.   Generate traffic - A strategically planned blog, with carefully chosen keywords in play, will show up in searches, increase your SEO (search engine optimization) and drive traffic to your website.

3.   Establish authority - Your business blog is the hub of your content marketing efforts where you share your expertise.

4.   Win business – According to Hubspot, 60% of businesses who blog acquire more customers.

5.   Increase reach - Your blog will be shared and find new readers/followers daily.

6.   Give your company a voice - A blog is your pulpit, your publication, your journal - the place where you talk about whatever you choose, however you choose.

7.   Humanize your company - That voice needs personality. Great bloggers are genuine. Your personality comes into play, that is, if you aim to make real connections.

8.   Inspires content and productivity - Blogging is hard work. You need processes. Commitment. Consistency. You'll need to step up - and you'll be rewarded for doing so.

9.   Generate publicity - As mentioned above, business bloggers establish authority. Stick with it and demonstrate you know your niche and you'll get asked for interviews.

10.     Learn - We'll get a bit warm and fuzzy now, but there's no denying you are going to learn a lot about yourself and the world around you. It comes with being a writer.

11.     Get inspired - The research, the conversation, the experience... it's inspiring. Trust me on this: a switch gets turned on and it's impossible to turn off.

12.     Have fun - Perhaps not everyone will agree blogging is fun, but I believe every great blogger gets into it and enjoys the ride.

Tips to Make Your Website Attract Visitors

Tips to Make Your Website Attract Visitors

Small businesses rely on their website to bring in new leads. However, many of these websites are poorly designed, have low quality content and no clear call to action. Having a well thought out website can increase your business.

Your home page needs to tell your visitor everything about what you do in a clear, precise way. It doesn't have to massively long, just a few simple sentences or bullet points saying who you are, what you do and where you do it. Since a lot of web traffic doesn't go past the first page, it is important that your visitor understands your business from your home page.

Include a “contact us” form on your home page so they don't even have to navigate away from that page to get in touch, display your phone number clearly and any other details they might need to contact you. Too many websites hide their details away on some page with a link in the footer. You want to make it as easy as possible for potential customers to contact you.

Have a video. Video is becoming the preferred way to find out about a product or service. Add a 50-50 second video to your homepage. Visitors would much rather simply watch a short video and find out what you do than read through an entire website.

And finally, keep it simple. So many websites nowadays have big flashy banners and pages of text. Just keep everything simple and easy to read yet well thought out and informative.

Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Social media is a very powerful marketing tool for small businesses. Many small businesses are using different forms of social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging to connect with customers and prospects. Here are some social media mistakes to avoid when using social media to communicate and connect with your target audience.

Neglecting to Post

You need to post on a regular basis. Your readers will expect to see new posts from you on a set schedule. If you skip posts or don’t post often, your audience will not see you as an expert in your field. There is nothing worse than checking out a web site and seeing that the business hasn’t posted anything to their blog in months, or even years!

Procrastinating in Replying to Comments Made

Not replying to inquiries or comments made about your posts is a huge mistake. Treat your social media tools like you would your physical business. Make sure you promptly reply to any readers. This allows you to establish rapport with your target audience.

Be Aware of What Your Competition is doing

Everyone these days are making use of social media for online marketing purposes since it is a very powerful marketing tool. You must also stay up-to-date on what your competition doing.