5 Online Strategies That Work for Small Business

By Lauren Hobson

Marketing a small business online can be both easy and effective, especially with the abundance of online marketing strategies available today. But since there are so many ways to market your small business on the web, it can be a challenge just to decide which online strategies would be right for you.

Here are five online marketing strategies that typically work well for small businesses, and are popular with web users as well:

Video Marketing - Using videos to help market a business online has become very popular, and today it's common to see videos on web sites and blogs, as well as in e-newsletters or e-campaigns sent out to subscriber lists. Users vary in how they like to "consume" information, whether it's reading text on a web site, listening to a podcast, or watching a video, so it's typically a good idea to provide them with several different opportunities to receive your marketing message.

Studies have also shown that adding video to a small business web site can increase conversion rates and sign-ups, and can also help small businesses give a great first impression when customers and prospects visit the site.

Blogs - If you haven't started a blog for your small business yet, now is a good time to consider it. Taking advantage of this technology is one of the best ways to get visibility for your business and create new traffic and inbound links to your site. Blog posts don't have to be very long to be useful, but they DO have to be added regularly, at least once every week or so. Blogs are also a great place to post news items and upcoming events.

Social Networking - Social networking is a fairly recent internet phenomenon that enables people to use the web to stay connected to each other in a variety of ways. MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, You Tube, and others have recently gained attention for their potential business applications, and businesses have started using social networking to connect with their clients effectively.

Depending on the type of small business you have, you may be able to use these new technologies to help you reach customers with announcements, build up your customer base (or following), get direct business referrals, and gain greater overall web visibility for your business. Using social networking as part of the marketing mix for your business can really give you an edge over your competitors, since this strategy is quite new to businesses and not everyone is using it yet.

E-Newsletters - Sending out regular e-newsletters is a highly targeted online marketing strategy that can also help establish credibility and expertise with your readers. E-newsletters also give your business a chance to communicate on a regular basis with customers and keep your company's name and message in front of them. That way, the next time your customers need something that you sell, they will remember your company and may call you first before contacting your competitors! Consumers have come to rely on e-newsletters as a primary information source for the products and services they are most interested in, which makes it a great choice for small businesses that want to stay "top-of-mind" with their customers and prospects.

E-Newsletters are also easily tracked, so results can be measured and analyzed. The tracking data can tell you if your message prompted any response (such as clicking on a link), or if your message was even delivered in the first place. Tracking stats can also reveal lots of other useful information, such as how many recipients actually opened the email, or how many emails "bounced" or were not delivered to a recipient (and why).

Web Press Releases - Distributing press releases to web outlets is a great online strategy for small businesses. Web press release outlets are typically lower cost and more accessible than traditional wire-service press outlets, and carry the additional benefit of generating new inbound links for your web site in several places on the web. The benefits can carry even further if your press release is "picked up" by other sources on the web, creating even more inbound links and improving overall web exposure for your business.

Of course, there are many other online marketing strategies available today, and depending on your type of small business, some will work better than others. But typically, the five strategies listed above (video marketing, blogs, social networking, e-newsletters, and web press releases) work well for most small businesses and are fairly easy and inexpensive to implement. The important thing to remember is that as online marketing continues to become more mainstream, small businesses can consider using these initiatives to improve their marketing results while keeping their marketing costs in check.


About the author: Lauren Hobson, President of Five Sparrows, has over 15 years experience in small business technology writing, marketing, and web design/development. Her articles reach 4,500+ readers each month. To subscribe, visit www.FiveSparrows.com.

Courtesy: MANTA.com newsletter