Utilizing online marketing tools to jumpstart your business in 2015
Who puts 2 nickels in a blender?!? Some might say only the craziest or daring people like the characters from the movie The Internship would do this, but the truth is we all want to try it! I’m not saying to go ahead and throw 2 nickels in a blender, but I do encourage the idea of thinking outside the box. Only a small percentage of people ever follow through on that great idea they had or believe that they can be more than just an employee. These are the people who change lives, take risks, and are game changers. We call them Entrepreneurs!
Today, we find ourselves in the information age – a time when consumers can find a wide variety of services and products for themselves. Thus, it is becoming more of a challenge to become an entrepreneur. With the ease of the Internet, IPhones and technological resources right at our fingertips, it is harder to set oneself apart from the competitive market of entrepreneurs looking to create a name for themselves. What is an entrepreneur to do? Don’t fear! There is still plenty room for you and your business. Here are 3 necessities to help you on your way to launching a successful business:
- Create a Professional WEBSITE
- Find at least one SOCIAL MEDIA Outlet to get your name out there (Facebook, Instagram. Twitter, LinkdIn to name a few)
- Start a BLOG
Creating a Professional Website
Besides having the willingness to move forward with your business, you need to have a place where people can go to connect with you. When starting a business, building trust is the key factor in order to connect with your target market and generate leads for your business. Therefore, developing a professional website should be your starting point in order to ensure that you can nurture relationships with your audience. It introduces people to your business and from there allows you to foster connections with your consumers creating avenues by which you can post pictures, connect your social media outlets and blogs and even allows you to sell product straight from your website! With the general population of consumers utilizing tools like Google and Yahoo search engines and using Apps like Yelp and Craigslist in order to find goods and services, it is so important to establish an online presence for your business. Furthermore, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are important developments in order to ensure your website receives the views and the traffic it needs to gain familiarity and becomes commonplace amongst people who are in need of your services (Stay tuned to read more about SEO and SEM in an upcoming post!).
Using Social Media to Your Advantage
According to the Forbes article entitled “Why Your Business Must Embrace Social Media Yesterday”, the author speaks to those who have not yet been convinced of the need for social media in their business. The author says, “The beauty of social media, if done properly, is that you can be responsive, interact with customers in ways you had not envisioned, and build a community of supporters. Or, you can sit by the sideline and wait for your competition to take the lead and then you get to try and chase them.” Everywhere you look today, individuals of every age, class, gender, and social status have smartphones and use some form of social media to connect with their social circles. Social media outlets are there for your benefit. Whether you are convinced of these benefits or not, it’s important to realize that websites alone can take your business only so far. Think of a website as a billboard. The more social media your business uses; the more opportunities for “traffic” to pass by and see your billboard. Keeping an up-to-date social media profile is essential because it helps funnel people to your site thereby giving you more business. Using that to your advantage will guarantee success for you and your business!
Create a Blog
Lastly, Blogs are the poster child for the new age of information! Starting a blog is more than just posting an uninteresting and vague article about regurgitated material that matter little to your audience. Effective blogging is about portraying yourself as an expert in your field of knowledge to those who will be interested in following you. Blogging is a verb and should be done regularly. Give your readers something worth reading and make sure to link it to every social medial outlet available. Write on your blog to share information about your goods or services. You can be as simple or as creative as you choose – posting text blogs can be interesting but throwing in a video blog from time to time might spice things up a little! Don’t forget to include tips or ideas that will help them use your goods or services more conveniently. This will also help funnel people into your website, and more importantly, boost your business! The more comfortable people get with your product by what they learn or enjoy from your blog, the more likely they are to trust you and to use or buy your services. Be proactive! Stay up-to-date on relevant and current content to share on your blog and you will keep yourself ahead of the game!
The Bottom Line
If you are willing to take the leap and start a business, now is the time to get active. Today, most people only respond to technology and resources available to them online. Committing yourself to using the tools available such as building a professional website, utilizing social media outlets and stating a blog, will guarantee you a spot amongst one of the competitive businesses of this day and age. The best news is that there are a lot of tools available to help you find that success along the way! These tools will put you a step ahead of your competition and on a path to a bright future in all business endeavors. Let these 3 simple steps kick-start your business and get you to where you want to be. If you need help getting started, contact us or comment below on the tools that helped set you on a path of success when launching your business. We look forward to hearing from you and getting your business moving upward!
The Vertx Marketing Team
