Small Business Online Advertising
Our last blog was about the cost of doing business. I suppose it would've been more appropriate to title it the "Cost of not advertising with your website". However, the message is clear; if you want to get exposure for your business, you can't rely on the old standards (only) to get it done. Whether you like it or not, you need to roll with the times.
So what does that mean? Well, if you want to reach out to new audiences online, it will take almost a brute force attack at all the mediums to get it done. That means riding the social networking train, using ad words and banner ads, having a blog that you update regularly, maybe even use an email newsletter where you can send virtual coupons to your readers.
Social Networking
Social networking, in my opinion is kind of a misnomer. I mean, you're not out handing business cards out to people and making contacts the "old fashioned" way. It's not sitting at the bar and BSing with the guy next to you. Rather, you're a part of networks like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIN, StumbleUpon, Last.FM, etc. Involvement in the various social networks will be varied from person to person. For example, you might use MySpace just for personal contacts and Facebook for business connections. Personally, I don't use MySpace. I deleted my profile some time ago. I use my Facebook to connect with friends both new and old. However, I also have created a page for my business that I use to communicate with "fans" (blog updates, new projects, etc). I use LinkedIN to connect with other professionals in the design world. Obviously, you want to be cautious with what you share and with whom. Once you put your info out there, it's there for literally EVERYONE to see. So be wise about it.
AdWords
AdWords (google, Yahoo, etc) are a good idea to target specific keyword searches. However, it can be difficult to get it figured out and do it right. Google AdWords is particularly baffling; you almost need a doctorate to be successful with it. The basic premise of it is that you create an ad that targets certain keywords. Then the ads show up when someone searches for that word. You pay for the ad each time someone clicks on it. Depending on the keyword, you could end up paying through the nose for it. So you have to be smart about what words/segments you target. Otherwise you end up throwing out good money with no results to show for it.
Banner Ads
Personally, I'm not sold on the effectiveness of banners as a form of advertising. You'll notice that I have a banner on the home page of this blog. However, it's used to advertise my business. I don't really like ads, but I also realize that they are a necessary evil. They do help with backlinks and could help bring in a little extra source of money. I think there's a middle ground where there's an acceptable compromise between no ads and MySpace. Once they start to get too numerous, annoying, or affecting your overall web browsing experience, I think you've gone too far. So, this is another area where wisdom and caution are to be taken. You don't want to annoy your visitors so much that they bail as soon as they've shown up.
Bloging
Writing a blog can be tricky. You have to decide what you're going to write about and how it pertains to your business. For example, if you have a gym, you want to blog about fitness, health, weight lifting, even nutrition. That way, not does your blog make sense with your type of business, but your backlinks and trackbacks will be so much more meaningful since it pertains to your business overall. That's what I've tried to do with this blog. I've tried to write articles that only deal with website design, development, search engine optimization, etc. Obviously this post and the other about small business advertising kind of break out of that. However, even with those two outlyers, there is a running theme of maximizing your presence online with your website. Let's put it this way; you wouldn't expect a web design company to have a blog about knitting, would you?
Newsletter
This is another one of those things that I doubt it's effectiveness. Sure, I've signed up for some email blasts (NewEgg, Buy.com, World Wildlife Federation, One.org), but frankly I don't read the emails 75% of the time. Either I'm too busy or just don't feel like taking the two minutes to read it. So, I figure everyone else out there must feel the same way about it as me. However, at Christmas time, I took a gamble and tried a newsletter of sorts. I sent out a "Holiay" card with a couple different coupons. One was for existing clients to get a discount on their next redesign. The other was a referral bonus, which was dependent on the person referred signing a new contract. At the time of this writing, I have yet to have anyone redeem one of those coupons. Maybe it was my offer, maybe it was my audience, but I haven't seen any return for the effort. In business, ROI is key. You need to make sure that you're getting your money's worth and frankly, I see more benefit with the influx of visitors to this blog than I have with that newsletter. With the changing landscape of the internet and social interaction, I think that the newsletter is quickly being replaced by other, more convenient and on-demand means.
