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Posts Tagged ‘publicity’
Saturday, December 13th, 2008
We`ve talked a bit about video marketing here before, but another area that many people feel more comfortable with is podcasting. Since you don`t have to appear on screen, this makes it a little easier for those with stage fright to promote their business in a more personal manner.
Podcasting doesn`t even need to take much time, it`s something that you can put together fairly quickly. Some business owners offer longer podcasts, with effects and interviews, etc. However, this is really not necessary and you can keep it to just 5-10 min. if that`s what you feel more comfortable recording.
The advantage of using podcasting to market your small business is that people prefer to buy from human beings. A website can often be construed as corporate or too professional. Having a real live person talking to them about the business is a great way to connect with visitors.
If you aren`t sure about the whole video idea, then you might prefer to take a look at podcasting. It`s a great alternative that still offers plenty of room for personality.
Tags: podcasting, publicity, small business
Posted in Small Business Podcasts | No Comments »
Saturday, November 8th, 2008
You might not realize just how powerful the written word can be. It`s something that can actually cause your business to rise or fall, depending on the quality of the business writing you do.
It`s worth learning to write well, or else hire someone to do it for you, since it really is important. Just imagine if a company sent you a letter or email, asking you to join them in promoting something. Would you consider it if the letter sounded as though a first grader had written it?
While grammar and spelling are extremely important in business writing, most people still make common mistakes with these. It`s often a simple matter to have a friend or family member scan the letter to ensure that it`s not full of errors. It can be difficult to proof your own writing, since you are so close to it, you`ll tend to skip over any errors.
Business writing is a skill that every business owner should have. If you don`t feel that you are skilled enough . . . practice makes perfect.
Tags: Business Writing, publicity, skill
Posted in Business Writing | No Comments »
Monday, October 27th, 2008
It stands to reason that if your business blog is popular, your business will be, too. However, getting to be big in the world of business blogging is rarely easy. Unless you happen to be the only blog in your niche, chances are you`ll have a lot of competition. But don`t worry, you can still get up there.
Comment. The more you comment, the more people will notice you. But don`t just leave a “hi, nice post” comment, write something useful.
Guest post. By writing guest posts for other blogs, you`ll find that you are able to gain new followers and reach new audiences.
Join a group. Being active in a social networking group will help you gain popularity and as your network expands, more people will spread the news of your business blog.
A business blog rarely goes big on its own, so you`ll need to put in some effort to ensure that it grows and becomes well known. This will bring in more clients and improve your expert status, as well.
Tags: blogging, business blog, publicity
Posted in Blogging for Small Business | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 24th, 2008
Viral marketing sounds like a great way to do business, it basically involves having other people do your marketing for you. But how exactly do you make your marketing viral? Here are a few tips to get you started.
Viral Marketing Tips
- Choose the right medium. Video is one of the most popular viral marketing tools because people LOVE to watch video. If you can come up with something worthy of sharing, then you can watch it skyrocket in popularity.
- Give it a headstart. Whatever your viral marketing medium is, it`s not going to go viral on it`s own. You`ll need to “sneeze” it out. That means getting others online to link to it and share with their friends. If you have a good social networking group, that`s a great start. Asking other bloggers to review can also work.
- Keep it short. An hour long video or a two page essay is not going to get spread too far, but something that only takes 15-45 second of your time is certainly a good candidate.
- Be shocking or funny. These are two main ways to get major traffic and they really do work. If you can`t be funny, look for a way to make your viral marketing shocking.
Viral marketing only needs a starting push from you and then it should take off on its own. Obviously the results vary from time to time and depending on the audience you`re looking to impress. It`s a fun way to get some extra publicity.
Tags: publicity, videos, Viral Marketing
Posted in Viral Marketing | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
Are you tracking your website traffic? This is a subject that we don`t touch on too much, but it`s still an important one. If you don`t know where your clients are coming from, how can you increase them?
Knowing where your clients and website visitors come from is the best way to boost your online business. That`s why tracking and analyzing your website traffic is so vital. By keeping on top of where everyone is coming from, you`ll know which ad campaigns work and which should be dumped.
One of the biggest expenses for most small businesses is advertising and publicity, so it makes sense that you would want to know exactly which ads are working. Keep track of it and you will be able to increase marketing efforts in the areas that are producing and boost your clients.
There are tracking programs that allow you to keep an eye on these statistics and it`s very helpful to do so.
Tags: business, publicity, tracking
Posted in Tracking & Analytics | No Comments »
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
Social media is a great way to boost your online visibility and it`s something that only requires a little time, as opposed to spending a large chunk of your budget on marketing.
I`ve put together a very simple five step method to make social media work for you and your business. All you have to do is follow these steps and you`ll find that you have more traffic and publicity.
- Pick one social media network. To begin with, don`t try to build up a huge following on twenty different social media sites. You`ll end up spreading yourself too thin, so start with just one . . . you can add more later. Some of my top picks include StumbleUpon and Digg.
- Fill out your full profile. Take the time to fill in all the blanks. This will help like-minded people find you. Don`t leave the “about me” section blank. Add a photo of some sort, whether of you or something representative. Keep in mind that using a more personal nickname as opposed to a business name will help you seem like a real person.
- Bookmark some sites. Depending on where you have chosen to start your social media career, you`ll want to either rank or bookmark a few websites that you like. Make sure you write a review that works . . . don`t just copy and paste bits from the page, give your real opinion on the sites.
- Start making friends. Don`t befriend just anyone. It`s in your best interest to create a network of people who are interested in the same things as yourself. If you start sending out friend requests to everyone and anyone, your messages will be seen as spam.
- Network. Send some messages to your new friends, bookmark their websites, ask what you can do for them. They will likely be very pleased to reciprocate and you will gradually build up a following.
Social media can be an excellent method of getting some free publicity. If you keep working away at it, a little each day, your business will definitely benefit.
Tags: networking, publicity, Social Media
Posted in Social Media | 2 Comments »
Friday, March 21st, 2008
Social media can be a very effective arena for business promotion, but many people feel that they should be able to simply flood the social media sites with their links and get plenty of traffic, without repercussions. However, this is probably the best way to be labeled as a spammer and your sites will end up being voted down into oblivion, with the worst case scenario being that you end up banned!
So, how do you go about using social media properly? Keep in mind the old adage, “It´s better to give than to receive” and you´ll do just fine.
Social Media Giving Tips
Vote for others. Spend some time just browsing the site and voting for content that you like. Likewise, if it´s lousy or spam content, vote it down.
Comment. Make comments and fill out the review sections when you are voting. While most social media sites don´t require this, it is still something that will help build your reputation and will help others decide if they are interested in reading it or not.
Make friends. When you find someone who has similar tastes to yours, why not add them to your friends list? Then, rather than simply ignoring them, stay in contact from time to time, vote for their content and check out their website.
Bookmark new sites. When you come across something interesting on the internet, add it to your favorite social media sites to share it with others.
Giving more than you get is the perfect way to make social media work for you. You´ll find that people are more than willing to vote for your items and will be happy to add you as a friend when you have a good reputation for being a community-minded player. Try not to bookmark or vote your own material very often, if possible, have someone else do that for you, so you won´t show up as the person who “discovered” your own site. All these tips can really help with your social media campaign and get you far better publicity than simply spamming will.
Caroline
Small Business Mavericks
Back to the Blog
Tags: publicity, Social Media
Posted in Social Media | No Comments »
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