In The Current Climate It Is More Important Than Ever For The Marketing Spend of Small and Medium Businesses To Produce Greater Returns. So Why Aren’t Design Agencies Leading Businesses Down This Path?

One of the biggest problems that small and medium sized businesses face when they come to us is something they never realised. Not only have they invested in a website presence, but they now need an even bigger wallet to set about marketing it. And without realising the opportunities available to them, they just accept this. Why should this be you? With a little forward planning you can see how by following a few simple steps it is possible to create a website that works hard at generating returns, so it pays for itself. And on top of this, there are lots of free and very low cost marketing opportunities out there that will enable you to sustain returns in the longer term.

So Why Isn’t Everyone Doing This?

The problem lies in that it takes people to live, breath and experience this from the perspective of a small and medium business, to really understand how your type of business operates and there aren’t many of those about. And this is something that makes us unique. So let me share some of our experiences with you. But before we do, I’d like to explain one more thing.

With all the best intentions, many design agencies do not understand the needs of creating a return on investment for small and medium businesses. Whilst they are often excellent at giving the right impression when your potential customers get to the site, they often leave it in your hands as to how you are going to get people there in the first place, what are you going to do with them when they get there? and how you will convert them into being loyal and enthusiastic customers?

For starters, here are a few useful tips to help you make more out of your website:

1. Twitter, Facebook and Linked can provide powerful ways for you to connect with your target market, build relationships and build word of mouth. Our Social Media for Small and Medium Businesses Series gives you some really useful tips.

2. Video acts as a really powerful way to engage with your audience and get your personality across. See how you can get up and running with video with these powerful video tips and introduction to YouTube Video Part 1 and introduction to YouTube Video Part 2.

3. When looking at how to get visitors to your website, it is important that you put your efforts into ‘qualified’ visitors. Here are 25 top tips for generating qualified visitors to your website.

For many small businesses, time is of the essense. If you would like to save time on a huge learning curve and commission a website that acts like a sales rep for your business in just 5 simple steps generating greater returns for your business, then you may be interested in Karl 5.

In the final video covering Twitter, Jamie Dobson of iNet insights covers how to build your Twitter followers and how to engage with your followers. He also uncovers what small businesses should be looking out for as well as the impact on their bottom line. And watch out for your videos on Linked In coming very soon. Visit social media marketing for small businesses introduction for all videos in the series.

View PDF Transcribe of Interview

< Back to the full social media series

Related Posts:

50 Power Twitter Tips

I did some videos recently around YouTube and how to utilise YouTube to market your business effectively. Kevin Lycett of CDS Studio, Leeds, West Yorkshire knows his stuff when it comes to YouTube and having run his own production company has a good idea about creating video. But you don’t have to be an expert. Just get on and do it, it’s fun and the more you do the better you become. Nothing beats practice (just like for me).

Watch the video series right here, with some further recommended articles below:

Using YouTube to promote your business effectively Part 1

Using YouTube to promote your business effectively Part 2

Further Related Posts:

Priceless Video Marketing Tips

By Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett is a very unique experience as a book. It is highly practical with tools and techniques for implementation from two experienced bloggers who share their insights and experiences with you. Darren and Chris also run the ProBlogger blog together,complimenting the book, sharing further insights in how to make money from blogging. This book is a must read for any business thinking about monetising a blog or if you want your blog to be working harder for you. You will also learn a thing or two from the book if you have or are seeking to incorporate a blog into your website to establish yourself as an expert within your industry.

Apologies for my funny voice. I’ve got a cold today too.

In this short Twitter video, Jamie Dobson of iNet insights gives you a brief insight into tips and tricks for getting to grips with Twitter.  Jamie talks about some of the third party tools available to your business such as hootsuite and Tweetdeck and how these are important for managing your Twitter account.  Visit social media marketing for small businesses introduction for all videos in the series.

View PDF Transcribe of Interview

< Back to the full series

When I had the pleasure of getting together with Jamie Dobson of iNet insights recently he shared his insights into how Twitter can benefit your business.  Pay close attention as Jamie describes how you can user Twitter to your advantage particularly if you are targeting a market based within a particular locality.  This is the second video in our series of Social Media for Small Businesses, but the first video on Twitter.  Visit the social media marketing for small businesses introduction for all videos in the series.  My questioning technique perhaps could be a bit more polished, but the essence of the message comes across perfectly.

View PDF Transcribe of Interview

< Back to the full series

The idea of getting involved in social media for small businesses can be quite daunting. Questions I am often asked are … should I jump on the bandwagon? which social media tools should I use? Or plain and simply it seems just too complicated…I just don’t get it!

Jamie Dobson of iNet Insights knows his stuff when it comes to social media and as he works extensively with small businesses we have delved into his expertise and put together a video series to help you get used to the idea of social media for your business if you are not already using it or give some pointers and direction if you are delving into the depths of social media but would like to know more.

Download PDF Transcribe

Watch your next video in the Series on Twitter. Coming to you very shortly.

Social Media Series Links:

Social Media for Small Business Series – Twitter Part 1 How Can Twitter Benefit Your Business

Social Media for Small Business Series – Twitter Part 2 The Trick To Getting To Grips With Twitter

If you are a small business owner and you were to catch me in a lift and ask me what Buzz Internet Marketing was about in the time it takes to get to the 3rd floor, you may be at risk of me knocking the alarm button getting the lift stuck and getting an enthusiastic rant about all about the excitement and challenges I have faced as a business owner over the last 10 years (now also raising a young family) and how this can translate to help your business. And you would probably come out again feeling weary….and with a big to do list.

But thank goodness that @problogger have saved this pain and have come to the rescue with their 31 Day summer challenge. Today I have been asked to create an elevator pitch for Buzz Internet Marketing and this gives me the pleasurable task of condensing this scary scenario into a few short words.

Short Pitch: Buzz Internet Marketing helps small businesses to own a website that works hard for their business and bottom line.

Longer Pitch: “If you own a small business then Buzz Internet Marketing can help you learn from successes and challenges in a hands on way”. Overall you get frank and honest advice to create an online presence to boost your bottom line profits.

Expanded longer pitch

You get

• Advice on how to do all the ‘difficult’ bits on your website that many design agencies avoid i.e. how to attract visitors, convert customers and bring customers back for more.
• Simplified online marketing insights which are relevant to small businesses.
• Practical implementation steps to help ensure positive improvements in your business.
• A translation between what you as a business owner truly needs your website to do to affect your bottom line and what a design agency creates.
• Lots of this away for free.

The result … you can realise your online marketing potential through focused action and you can save money by not falling into the same traps as  so many small business owners.

P.S. Now that I have read some other fantastic pitches I think this needs to change and condense.  Would love to have your feedback below.

“Ten years ago, your marketing effectiveness was a function of the width of your wallet.  Today, your marketing effectiveness is a function of the width of your brain.”

This is a quote taken directly from a page that opened automatically this morning from my next read – Inbound Markieting, Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah.

The point here is that as a small business owner, there is so much at your disposal now to market your business effectively without the need to spend lots of cash.  Register for my updates via Email, via the RSS feed, or follow me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn and I’ll share my expertise in an easy to understand way for free.

Here’s an [affiliate] link to the book in case you would like to investigate it further:

Does anyone want to pay for a business listing in Facebook?

I am writing this post because plain and simply you are a smart business owner and I do not want you to get ripped off by companies who want to baffle you into a sale. Today I received a cold call from a company who were proposing to sell me a business listing in Facebook. This raised alarm bells on a number of fronts because…

a) They contacted me as part of my other website business Izziwizzi Kids and assumed that as a small business owner they could baffle me with the idea of Facebook. They had no idea that I also have an Internet Marketing business. This raised alarm bells that they will be preying on other small business owners who might feel a need for reliance on their expertise.

b) Facebook is free to any business and you have opportunities to promote your business through pages, so why should you pay for something that is available to you for free.

c) The idea of a business listing is totally passive. Let me explain. The whole social media thing (and marketing in general come to speak of it) is about reaching out to people and adding value to their lives. ‘People’ like you are not interested in a listing somewhere on someone’s Facebook, they want to know how you can help to solve their problems. You can do this on Facebook through your own account.

Needless to say as soon as I asked any questions, they hung up on me.

If you own a business, want to understand more about how you can use the Internet to build relationships with your customers with lots of free easy tips and advice from good, honest people, then make sure that you register for my emails, subscribe to my RSS feed or follow me on one of the social networks and I’ll show you how.

What do you think?  Give your comments below.