7 Online Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners

Internet marketing is one type of marketing and business strategy that every business owner and entrepreneur should not miss. It’s cost-efficient – a quality that is favorable for small business owners. Online marketing activities give small business owners an opportunity to compete with their bigger competitors in the marketing arena through the Internet, search engines, and social media. Internet marketing can make a small business big and stand out from the crowd without spending big amount of money. If you want to tap the online market, reach more target customers, boost your profit, and grow your small business, here are 7 online marketing tips for small business owners.

1. Make an online marketing plan

A marketing plan will help you establish your specific marketing goals and objectives. It will also determine your steps, actions, and procedures to achieve those goals. Some small business owners are not interested to perform Internet marketing because they don’t know the importance of online marketing and they can’t establish their objectives in the first place. But in reality, Internet marketing can actually accomplish many business goals, such as increasing market reach, attracting more customers, and growing your revenue. Hence, take a time to think about your business objectives, and formulate actions to achieve those objectives through Internet marketing.

2. Invest on a website

A business or company website is your main business place on the Internet. It’s like your main base online where all your Internet marketing campaigns (e.g. social media marketing, search engine optimization, content marketing, and email marketing) originate. But for some small business owners, they think that having a website is too costly and they consider them an impractical investment. The initial cost of professional website development today for small businesses usually ranges from $500 to $1,000, which can be more or less depending on the specific needs and objectives of the business. Considering its benefits to the business, a wise entrepreneur should consider throwing a minimum of $500 to build a website for his business. If you can buy a luxury item for yourself, then why not a website for the growth of your business?

3. Utilize the power of a blog

By having a successful blog through consistent publishing of quality content, you can earn millions of readers (take this blog you’re reading right now as an example). Though it takes time and dedication to make quality blog posts, the reward is worthy. And if you are passionate about writing, teaching, and inspiring people, then blogging will surely fit you. A blog can also boost the authority and reputation of your business and website, and therefore can influence your customers. If you already have a website, you can build a blog within your website so that they will share the same domain name and brand.

4. Create a Facebook Business Page

There are many social networking websites where you can promote your business online, like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Foursquare. But we cannot deny that Facebook is still the most popular, most crowded, and busiest social media website in the world right now. Other small business owners, especially those that are not Internet savvy, may not hear about Google+ or Twitter, but they will always know about Facebook. Facebook gives business owners the opportunity to build a Business Page for free to reach their target market on this social networking site. There will always be potential customers who are Facebook users. Your neighbors, the people in your city, and your target clients overseas – most of them are users of Facebook. Thus, you should not miss that opportunity.

5. Learn how to produce quality information

Information is the essence of marketing. Your product, your price, your marketing channels, your promotion or advertising – they all communicate or deliver information to people or customers. Hence, make sure to create quality product so that it will tell good information to its consumers. Quality information is also important in online marketing. You have to create quality content on your website and blog so that the search engines and your readers will love them. Remember that quality content is important in search engine optimization (SEO). And when it comes to social media marketing, you should learn how to create interesting and useful information to share on your Facebook Business Page and other social media pages to get the right attention.

6. Connect with people

Quality information is vital in Internet marketing. However, if you don’t know how to communicate them to build trust and lasting relationship with people, these pieces of information might just be used in vain. Thus, don’t just create quality product, but also provide extra or post-sale services. Don’t just put quality content on your website and blog, but also talk with your visitors and readers. Don’t just share quality information on your social media network, but also interact and create good relationships with your friends, subscribers, and customers. Online marketing uses technology, but still it relies heavily on human behaviors and activities.

7. Analyze your performance

When we make a plan, we assess and analyze our condition to formulate the perfect game plan. After executing our plan, we should also assess and analyze our performance. Hence, don’t just execute your action plan, but also analyze how you are doing it. In online marketing, you can do this by analyzing your website and blog through Google Analytics, Bing Webmaster Tools, and other analytical tools. You can also use the information in your Facebook Insights to analyze your Facebook Page statistics and performance. In every marketing campaign you make, whether they are through search engines, social media or anywhere else, always check and monitor your performance to improve your weakness and maximize your strengths.

Online marketing may be hard, but it is challenging and exciting because it utilizes your talent, knowledge, and creativity. It challenges your brain in creating the best Internet marketing strategies and tactics. It also exercises your emotions in building and maintaining good relationships with people online. Therefore, as a business owner, take courage to explore the world of online marketing.

To learn more about Internet marketing, don’t forget to read my post about the 36 Ways to Rock Your Small Business Online. Finally, don’t forget to visit our blog regularly to read our past and future articles about everything that will help you grow your small business online and offline.