small business marketing tips – Page 2

December 29, 2011December 29, 2011

Google+: Why Small Business Must Get Involved with Google Plus

Google Plus is Google’s new social network launched in June 2011. Google+ will be an integral element in small business marketing into the future. It will not only enable you to build your personal profile but also build your business brand online. Google Plus membership has already reached 62 Million and is growing at the rate of 625, 000 new users per day.

Why bother with Google Plus?

Google views Google Plus as extending its capability (and value) beyond its traditional search engine focus to social networking. However, these two major arenas of Google’s activity should not be seen as separate. Google has already made it clear by its own words and actions that the Google + social network will feed search engine results. It has also shown the intention to rapidly integrate other Google applications into Google Plus, its new social network.

Google has already integrated Google+ into its toolbar as shown in the images below:

This icon. ‘+Ron’ , provides a direct link to my Google+ account. In the following toolbar image, you can see how Google integrates ‘notifications’, ‘sharing’, ‘profile” (thumbnail photo) and ‘settings/help’ icons for ease of access:

As we progress through my blog posts about Google Plus, you will see that Google is deadly serious about this new social network – it is not just a new ‘plaything’. Wherever you go on Google, including the search results, you will see increasing integration of Google+. Google played around with its early social network, Google Buzz, but has since canned it to build Google Plus – all the time using Buzz as a learning laboratory. If you have any doubts about Google’s long-term commitment to Google Plus, just check out Google’s own announcements re its ongoing Google + updates.

Integrating Google Plus into your small business marketing will no longer be a nice option (initially, Google+ was invitation-only), it will be an essential element. Otherwise, you will see your online marketing progressively vanish into the background as Google takes over the foreground with its Google Plus social network.

As mentioned in my earlier post on the major changes for small business marketing in 2011, Google+ is one of Google’s strategies designed to wrest back the Number One web traffic position from Facebook. The similarities between Facebook and Google Plus will hit you immediately, so this new social network represents head-on competition with Facebook. As a small business owner, you can stand on the sidelines and watch the battle or you can engage with both these giant networks and ensure that you have a sound footing online – this is where the action is and where the people (your customers) are.

What is significant about Google Plus?

Google Plus has already been lauded for its ease of use and flexible privacy settings (addressing one of the key problem areas of Facebook). As Google+ is in its early stages, it is also possible to get access to people you would not normally be able to link to.

So here is a list of key things you can do (explained in detail in later posts):

create a comprehensive personal profile
build ‘circles’ (add people to different circles/groupings and control the access and distribution of your information via your circles)
share photos and videos
develop your ‘stream’ (similar to Facebook’s ‘News Feed’ – integrating ‘status updates’ and content such as photos or videos)
private message other people in your circles
create a hangout (an evolving facility to engage others in live conversation via video and text chat – considered by many to be the real technological breakthrough for Google Plus)
create ‘sparks’ – recommendations
build business pages (sound familiar?).

Some commentators are suggesting that with these features and the growing integration with Google’s own applications, Google Plus represents a combination of Facebook, Twitter and Flickr rolled up into one state-of-the art social network.

How to Join Google Plus

You can join Google+ via a link on the blog/website of a Google+ member. You will see the image displayed at the top of this post and the sign-up box as shown in the following screenshot:

Alternatively, you can go directly to Google Plus and click on the following image and this will take you to the signup page indicated in the above image:

Note: You will need a Google account to join Google Plus (with either sign-up option).

With each advancing day as we move into 2012, Google Plus will become more critical to small business marketing and this will be progressively explained in succeeding blog posts (which symbolically will take us into the New Year).

December 26, 2011

Google Local Places: Critical for Small Business Marketing

Google has created over 49 Million websites for businesses around the world in the form of Google Places. These Google-generated websites contain basic information such as business name and address and a Google location map. They contain Google’s “best guess” about relevant company information and location.

However, the latest stats show that only 2% of these websites (Local Places) have been claimed and verified by business owners.

Local listings (Google Places) are increasingly valued in Google results. More recently, some local listings appeared ahead of other organic searches on Page 1 of Google results for relevant keyword terms. The resurgence of Google Places is one of the 7 major changes that impacted small business marketing in 2011.

Another key consideration about Google Places is that they are optimized for mobile to facilitate mobile search. There is a considerable fusion between local and mobile marketing occurring now, so creating mobile compatible sites is becoming increasingly important.

If you have an offline business, now is the time to claim your Google Places website using the guidelines provided below.

Creating your Google Places and Google Map

The process of creating your Google Places website takes three basic steps, as simple as A, B, C.

A. Setting up Google Places

If you have not yet created a Google Gmail account, now is the time to do so. If you are working on behalf of a client, then you can create an account with their business name in the email address.
Log into the Google account via http://maps.google.com and check if a company listing exists by searching for the company name (with location) in the box provided.
If a Google Places listing exists for your business (or that of your client) click the “edit this place” button and proceed to edit. If a listing does not exist, click “My Account” and choose “Google Places” to set up your listing.

B. Updating/editing your Google Places listing

1. Business Name

Google recommends you use the actual business name, not a keyword rich made-up name. This is to assist verification purposes. If Google cannot verify the business and your association with it (or that of your client), you will not be able to edit your Google Places.

2. Physical Address

It is vital that you give the physical address of the business (or if working from home, your home address). The physical address is necessary for Google to employ its Google Map technology as part of your listing. If you do not want the physical address disclosed, there is an option to suppress it later (along with the specific map location). The address is critical because Google Places is designed as a local business locator and Google needs this information to verify the listing.

3. Phone Number

This should be the direct local number so that clients and customers can contact the business directly. The last thing you want to do is send a customer on a “wild goose chase” trying to find someone to talk to on the phone.

4. Email address

Google has expressed a preference for you to use the email address that incorporates the company domain, This is preferred to a Gmail account or other derived address, as it aids the verification process.

5. Website address

This has to be the URL for your company (not a specific product or service). Google uses this for validation of your listing. If you have no website you can leave this blank.

6. Business description

You can make this description keyword-rich, provided you explain to potential customers exactly what the business is about (otherwise you are wasting your listing).

7. Business category

Google provides a drop-down list of suggested categories. You can type in the business category you think should cover your business (or that of your client). Google will suggest something close to this, if it does not exist. Unfortunately at the top level, you have to accept one of the Google suggested categories. You then have the option of adding four more customized sub-categories.

8. Optional Information

What you complete here will depend on the nature of your business. Possible information includes hours of opening, service area and payment options. Hours of operation can be critical for some businesses, e.g. there is nothing more frustrating than trying to locate the hours of operation of a retail store when in a hurry.

9. Photos

You can upload up to 10 photos provided they are associated with your business or products/services.

10. Videos

You can upload up to 5 videos (via their YouTube addresses) that are associated with your business. This is a great opportunity to add multi-media marketing on a page created by Google itself (that it wants to give priority to).

11. Coupons

Google Places also provides the facility to offer coupons and other special offers.

C. Activation of your Google Places

Once you submit your listing to Google, you will be given the option to receive an activation code by phone or by postcard (2 -3 weeks). When you receive this code, you need to use the PIN code provided to activate your Google Places Listing (access via the link provided or via “Dashboard”). If you don’t activate your listing, your (edited) Google Places will not be published.

Google Places is an important component of small business marketing and offers the opportunity to have your website listed high in Google search results with an attractive display.

December 26, 2011

7 Major Changes in Small Business Marketing in 2011

As 2011 comes to a close, it is instructive to reflect on the massive changes to small business marketing that occurred during the year and to look at their implications. These changes were driven by a number of landmark events that spawned innovations.

One of the key drivers of the changes that small business marketing confronts today, and into 2012, is the direct competition between Google and Facebook for Number One position on the Internet (and all the revenue that goes with this position). The impact of this competition is being felt throughout the Internet marketing world and in social media. There are many people becoming disengaged by the endless changes created by the two Giants of the Internet as they try to outpace each other. One possible prognosis is that this could open up the arena for another player who undermines the customer base of the both the big players, as Facebook did to MySpace.

I want to focus on seven (7) key changes as a way to highlight the impacts from a small business marketing perspective. This approach is in line with my suggestion to write blog posts in sets and sevens. So here are the seven key changes in 2011 affecting small business marketing:

1. Google Places upgrade and resurgence

Google introduced improvements to Google Places, the platform for local businesses to highlight their location, hours of business and their products/services. Along with these changes, Google gave new prominence to Google Places in local search results, changing the display and increasing the value of a Google Places web presence. Sadly, very few small businesses understand the value of this change and have failed to take up their allotted Google Places website. In 2012, Google Places will be an absolutely essential part of your small business marketing. Without it, you may find yourself dropping deeper and deeper in the list of local search engine results as your competitors make full use of this facility (one which Google itself hosts!).

2. Changes to Facebook Pages

The big news of 2011, was that Facebook had more web traffic (visitors) in March than Google and took over the Number One position in terms of search engine volume. The race is now on and Google and Facebook are involved in a head-on tussle to capture (or retain) the number one position. This competition has generated many changes on both sites. Facebook has made major changes to its Facebook Pages to make further inroads into the business market. These changes have complicated the scene for small business marketing. It has meant that many small business owners have had to ignore Facebook or engage small business marketing consultants (who are struggling themselves to keep up with the changes). But how can you ignore the Number One source of web traffic that is also a social media site with over 700 Million members?

3. Introduction of Google Plus and Google +1

Google quickly responded to Facebook’s resurgence with the introduction of its own social network, Google Plus. It also introduced an equivalent to the Facebook “Like” in the form of the Google +1 button. There are other major changes in Google’s search algorithm and results display that accompanied these changes. The challenge for small business owners is, “How can you keep abreast of these changes and their implications for small business marketing?”. Again, you cannot afford to ignore the Google changes or your competition will be appearing in a much more prominent way than you as Google attempts to “reward’ those who get on board with its new social network and related changes.

4. The resurgence of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s largest online network focused on business and in 2011 grew to over 130 Million members. LinkedIn is a new and growing force in small business marketing. Depending on the nature of your business, it can be a critical component of your small business marketing, particularly in the light of the overall growth of social networking which looks like continuing unabated in 2012. The introduction of status updates by LinkedIn is an attempt to utilise its growing power to move into the Big League occupied by Facebook and Google.

5. The growth of local marketing

During 2011, there was a massive switch of focus by Internet marketers from affiliate marketing to local marketing. This was driven in part by two influences, (1) the decline of affiliate income owing to the depressed economy in the US and (2) and the recognition that around 80% of business for offline businesses comes from within a 5 kilometre radius. The changes to Google Places and the emergence of social networking ‘review” sites, intensified this new focus. What it means for your small business marketing is that you have to make the most of online local marketing tools because your competitors are being courted daily by Internet marketers who see this area of consulting as a the new “goldmine”. The new superstars of Internet marketing generate their income from monthly retainers paid by businesses, small and large, for local marketing services.

6. The massive growth of mobile marketing

With the advent of the Smart Phone and the associated growth of mobile usage, mobile marketing has taken off as the new frontier for Internet marketing. This growth is being aided by the focus on local marketing and has spawned the development of thousands of apps for mobile phones. Two new areas of online riches are emerging, (1) the creation and sale of mobile phone apps and (2) the development of mobile marketing strategies and tools (software). As a small business marketer, you are going to need mobile compatible websites and mobile marketing tools. One advantage of Google Places discussed above is that it is already mobile-compatible – which is another reason why it is so critical for small business marketing.

7. 2011 – The Year of the PlugIn

With so many changes on so many fronts, WordPress developers have had a field day. There has been a massive growth in WordPress Plugin development in 2011. I receive an invite every day to purchase two or three new plugins. It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep abreast of these software innovations. However, the WordPress plugins are designed to make it easier for you to accommodate your small business marketing to the changes that are occurring in Internet marketing. Many of the plugins help you to automate your small business marketing process.

In succeeding posts, I will further explain these 2011 changes and highlight their implications for small business marketing moving into 2012.

December 23, 2011

Online Tenders: The Lifeblood of Business to Business Marketing

Business to business is a tough arena for small businesses in slow economic times and the online tender process may prove to be the lifeline for many such organizations. Small businesses engaged in consultancy, such as our human resource consultancy business, rely heavily on the business to business market and hence the tender process is critical to their survival.

Business to business (b2b marketing) involves supplying goods and services to other businesses rather than to individuals. In slow economic times, other businesses may limit their purchases of goods and services thus making the business to business market even more competitive than normal. In tight economic times, the tender process can make the difference between survival and going out of business.

So, if your small business is engaged in business to business marketing, what can you do to improve your success with the tender process? Well, the starting point, is to reframe your view of the tender process itself.

The tender process: chore or opportunity?

Having to complete and submit an online tender can become a real chore. If your success rate is low, you will have to do multiple tenders. So the first thing that happens is that you tend to rush the tender process, use generic templates, slap something together and hope for the best – all activities guaranteed to increase your failure rate. There is a parallel here to people who use generic job applications when applying for job after job.

One way to reframe the task of having to complete and submit a tender, is to see it as one of the purest forms of marketing. This is hard to imagine as you work late for many days to complete the multiplicity of forms and answer the endless questions.

However, when we look at the definition of ‘marketing’ (vs selling), we can see that the tender process has a lot to commend itself for small business marketing. One way to look at marketing is to define it as:

Providing a target market (group) with a needs-satisfying offering.

So with a tender, you have a respresentative of your target market (a public or private sector organization) spelling out what their needs are (their requirements), identifying their desired target group and offering you the opportunity to put forward a “needs-satisfying” offering (product or service).

When you think about all the information and resources on market research and the time you spend on trying to identify the needs of your target market, it is hard to acknowledge that a tender gives you all this “on a plate” – it specifies needs and ideal target sub-group and spells out ‘delivery’ expectations.

How, then, can you capitalise on your new mindset that enables you to view a tender proposal as a signifcant small business marketing tool?

How to win that tender – mastering this element of small business marketing

A tender gives you a unique opportunity to present your capabilities and your offering to a really interested party. This could lead to a new client and substantial long-term work. I know this for a fact as one of our successful tenders led to AUD $1.6 Million worth of work over four years.

A tender always takes longer than you expect (even allowing for computer or printer breakdowns at critical points). [I think sometimes even the equipment feels the strain of meeting the tender deadline.] So it is essential to develop a plan of attack for tenders and have appropriate processes in place.

Lessons from managing the development of proposals and submission of tenders

Here are some key lessons we have learnt (and are still trying to implement):

Allow plenty of time for development of the proposal (start when the tender arrives, not a week or two later)
Keep the profiles of staff/consultants up-to-date
Read the Tender Document or Invitation to Offer (ITO) very carefully and highlight signifcant points
Read documents recommended by the Client (e.g. strategic plan) and thoroughly research the Client’s website (for future directions, organizational values and goals and fundamental philosophy).
Identify a proposal coordinator (someone to get information off all parties involved)
Identify a proposal collator (someone to get all the bits and pieces together in the format required by the Tender Document/ITO)
Have a meeting of all involved parties at the outset so that everyone knows what the focus of the proposal is and what information is required, in what format, by when
Collect the routine information while people are writing the more creative bits of the tender proposal (you don’t want to leave this routine stuff to the very end – for example, start collecting copies of qualifications, insurance documents, etc at the outset)
Make sure you address the Ciient’s expressed needs (goes without saying) and carefully craft your statement about “your undersanding of our needs”.
In the proposal, demonstrate the fact that you have read and understood the reommended documents and the information on the organization’s website
Set your subnission deadline to be at least a day ahead of the actual final deadline date and time (to allow for any unforseen circumsatances)
Allow plenty of time for upload of your tender proposal in online tendering situations (eveyone tends to leave it to the last minute so there is often an overload situation) … the dealine time is becoming increasingly immovable and the online tendering system typically closes down immdiately the deadline is passed, thus blocking any further submissions.
Ensure that your website reflects the area(s) of competence that you are tendering for (increases your credibility).

When you come to the tender process, you will appreciate even more the good work you have done in creating a professional website and maintaing a regular schedule of blog posts around your areas of competence and the products/services you are offering.

Tender submission is a critial element in small business marketing in the professional services sector, as this sector often relies heavily on business to business marketing.

December 22, 2011

Leverage Your Blogging: Create a Small Business Ezine

One of the easiest ways to leverage your blogging, is to create your own small business ezine. An ezine is basically an email newsletter where you share articles, news and blog posts with members of your mailing list (customer list). This approach to small business marketing serves multiple purposes and achieves leverage on a number of levels.

Your regular small business ezine enables you to maintain contact with your customers, educate them about your products and services and offer free information and advice. Most email service providers offer ways to further leverage your ezine via RSS feeds and automatic posts to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

If you are blogging regularly, you are creating the content for your ezine. If you blog daily, you will be able to provide a small business ezine of considerable substance.

How to use your blogging in your small business ezine

If you blog regularly, you can easily create an ezine from your blog posts. Since I blog daily, I send a weekly ezine to my mailing list covering a number of posts around a theme, e.g. Squidoo or LinkedIn. You need to decide the frequency of your small business ezine based on the regularity of your blog posts, the nature of your business and the kind of information you are offering.

Most autoresponders will replace the blog links in your email with their own generated links (if you specify that you want open rates and click-through-rates measured).

Another option is to use the URL shortener bitly.com to shorten your blog links. The advantages of this approach are that you can share each individual shortened link automatically with your Facebook and/or Twitter account and you can also get statistics on click-through-rates on the Bitly link. It is a good idea to add a comment (like a status update) before you share your link on Bitly.

Blogging has lots of benefits, not the least of these is that it provides you with content to share with your mailing list via your small business ezine.