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Use Digital Media to Come Out of Your Shell
The Sprocket Report
Nobody likes the pushy salesman – we get it. And we believe it fervently. But the marketing world shows no mercy to the shy guy. While we know a few small businesses that go a bit over the top, far more folks underwhelm to the point of invisibility. Here is what you should do to showcase your website.
Claim your listings and post your URL
Every business and not-for-profit should start by claiming their listings at Google, Bing and Yahoo! Next, work on your listings at Yelp, Linked In and similar sites. There are hundreds of places to get listed, but these are the most important ones.
Even if you’ve been in business for many years, you may not have “claimed” your listings appropriately, so check it out. Complete all the details you can for free, especially the place where you link to your website. You can always upgrade your profile later if you want.
Create social media pages for your business
It may seem overwhelming to manage social media, but it really helps your website’s visibility. Make pages for your business (which are different from personal pages) at Google+, Facebook and Twitter– Google+ especially since Google is still the most widely-used search engine and they look favorably on folks who use their tools. Fill in all the blanks, particularly the website field.
Using a tool like HootSuite lets you post everywhere in one fell swoop and also lets you schedule posts so you don’t have to think about it every day. Once or twice a week is fine for beginners. Reposting other people’s posts with a comment also counts and it’s easy. Keep it super simple and you might just enjoy being social.
Blog and/or comment on blogs
Blogs create content for your website on a regular basis, keeping it fresh. You can also blog at places like Patch.com which can link back to your website. You don’t have to write a novel – nobody has time to read that anyway. A few paragraphs listing the “3 Signs You Need New Gutters” are plenty.
If even a few paragraphs are too much, comment on other people’s blogs. Use your URL in your signature or profile so your website is identified. Don’t write comments like “GO TO MY SITE!” Rather, add to the conversation, as in: “Thanks for the info on LinkedIn best practices. We like to stay in touch with our donors this way.”
Use all of the above to spread your news
Once you’ve built all of these outlets, make use of them! Tell everybody when you have a new blog post, celebrate an employee’s birthday, update your website and so on. No, you don’t have to tell folks what you had for lunch.
Will this work unleash a flood of visitors to your website? Maybe not, but it will certainly get the gates open. Be sure to check your website analytics to see how much your traffic improves so you’ll know where to focus your future efforts.
Because we’re in the website business, we want to help folks get their website found. Contact us today if you'd like help with any of these marketing efforts and we’ll put our team to work for you.
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Kate Gingold
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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