Many companies, regardless of their size, are starting to get more involved with marketing themselves online these days, as it’s often a cheap and effective way to reach prospective customers or clients. However, owners often may not know exactly how best to go about doing so, and therefore might wind up devoting effort and resources to strategies that aren’t optimal.
A great way in which small businesses can market themselves in this way is by having a blog on their websites, and updating them regularly, according to a report from CIO. The reason for this is that a blog gives outsiders a closer look at a company’s inner workings – such as products a business may be introducing, or other projects it’s working on – without feeling like it’s trying to sell something to the viewer.
“One of the best marketing strategies for a small business is blogging,” Maren Hogan, chief marketing brain at Red Branch Media, told the publication. “By providing your prospects and clients with informative, non-salesy content that you can house on your blog, promote socially and offer to other networks to supplement their strategy, you and your team can quickly establish yourselves as experts in a desired field.”
Interestingly, too, this can actually help to bump up a company’s website in terms of its online rankings, because it adds new content to a site regularly and therefore makes it appear more active to the major search engines, the report said. Companies that commit to putting up even two posts a week will likely see a major improvement in this area.
Social media is also important
As many owners probably know full well at this point, the use of Facebook, Twitter, and other such sites is vital to companies becoming better-recognized, the report said. However, experts suggest that companies should actually only focus on building a presence on one of these sites at a time, so that they get a feel for it and are better established more quickly. The more that can be done to establish a following on just Facebook, for example, the better off a company might be to then branch out to other sites later.
Of course, it sometimes takes financial resources to make sure that social media and blogging efforts are effective, and companies can prepare for that eventuality by cutting costs, including those for small business insurance. Reducing premiums for liability insurance can often be a great way for companies to save thousands annually.
