10 Free Ways to Promote Your Local Business Online

10/2/2011

Over 85% of people contact businesses they find in local searches. That's why 100% of businesses need to be online! Your local business has many options, to remain current online such as a website, business facebook page, social networks, videos, blogs, online ads, etc. Even for businesses with a limited marketing budget, there are ways to promote your business online. Here are 10 free ways to promote your business online:

Google Local: Create an account... Enter your company name, address, phone number and website. Verify the information with a postacard or telephone call. In a few weeks you get a map listing for your company name or industry and town.
Google Coupons: Coupons are a great way to bring new customers into your business or remind old customers that you’re still around. Google has a free coupon tool that puts your coupon on relevant local searches.
Yahoo Local: Yahoo local is a directory organized by category and geographic location. You can get a basic listing in Yahoo Local for free. People searching for your business or industry can find your listing.
YellowPages.com: Yellow Pages have a strong brand name and recognition, and are still used by many people today. They offer a few levels of listings the most basic is free.
Press Releases: Doing something newsworthy? You can always submit a press release to PRWeb or PRLeap.com. Be sure to check out their tips like 25 Action Words for Writing a Newsworthy Headline and Why Localizing a Press Release to a ZIP Code and City Matters.
Free Blog Promotion Tools: Does your company have a website or are you thinking of adding one? Websites like Technorati.com and mybloglog.com can help you gain exposure, visitors, readers, and subscribers to your blog.
Free Directory Advertising: It doesn’t get any easier than trying free advertising. Go to BOTW.org and sign up for a free 60 day advertising listing.
LinkedIn: Join LinkedIn and get connected with people you know and make connections with people you don’t through introductions. Look at the new Questions and Answers section and try and be genuinely helpful. Follow the axiom of ‘Givers Gain’ and you may generate a few leads for yourself from your goodwill.
Email Signatures: Be sure to add your URL to all of your outgoing email. Try adding your mission statement, network links, or a catchy phrase to help people understand what you do. Change it a several times a year so people notice it again.
Syndicate Your Content and Ideas: Take advantage of article distribution Services like EZineArticles, ISnare, and IdeaMarketers to spread your message and approach. Use them to bring leads to your site by offering things like free ebooks or PDF’s that they can download after entering their contact information.

0 Comments

Blogging Tips To Build A Better Business Blog

10/1/2011

0 Comments

Here’s a good tongue twister for the day? Say “Build a Better Business Blog” three times!

This mantra can be difficult to say but small business blogging shouldn’t be that big of a deal. There are blogging tips and guidelines to help your small business create not just a blasé blog but a successful internet marketing tool that will ultimately bring more business.

Here is a basic checklist to review each time you are just about to publish your blog:

Is the subject matter newsworthy? Would your target audience even care about it?
Does the lead paragraph give the reader an idea of what to expect in the rest of the blog?
If someone accidentally found your blog, would they have a clue what you are talking about? Don’t use jargon. Not everyone speaks your language.
Have you peppered your article with keywords to help with search engine optimization (SEO)?
What about links? Have you included links to related posts (internal) and related sources (external)?
Don’t forget about tags. Are you assigning the right tags and not too many (about 3 to 5 is good).
Is the K.I.S.S. method in effect? Keep It Simple Stupid is important in blogging. No one has time or wants to read a novel. People read blogs for entertainment but mainly to obtain information quickly!
Make sure your headlines stand out and include your keywords. Keywords are like gold. Use them wisely.
Use bullets! Your reader may not read everything you blog but they will read your bullets. It’s hard to resist following those black dots!
Do you have anything else to add besides text? Pictures and videos are great additions to blogs. Use them.

These days, it seems everyone blogs about something. Most won’t follow any type of rule. But if you want your blog to help grow your small business, you need to do it correctly. With guidance from these tips and plenty of practice, just like the tongue twister, you are bound to get it right.

0 Comments

10 Free Ways to Promote Your Local Business Online

Blogging Tips To Build A Better Business Blog

Archives

Categories