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Online Small Business Promotion
The sluggish economy has hit small businesses hard
. The easiest and cheapest way to grow your business is to leverage the power of the Internet.Even the most curmudgeonly (If that's a word.) curmudgeon would have to admit that the Internet isn't a fad that will fade-away any time soon.
So if the Internet isn't going away, then why do so many small businesses pretend that it doesn't exist?
The first part of the answer is simple. The majority of small businesses do not have a marketing plan at all. Once a year the "yellow page man" comes around and sells them a display ad and that's about the extent of their marketing.
The second reason is that most small business owners have absolutely no clue as to how to market online. And why should they? They got into business to providing products and services to their customers. Not to learn marketing.
Here are some easy and cheap ways that you can promote your small business online.
Social Media Sites
Facebook recently exceeded 500,000,000 active users. With a half a billion users it is simply too large to ignore.
If you have a Facebook account, you can create a "fan page" for your business in just a few minutes. This page is absolutely free to set up and gives you an excellent way to stay connected with your customers. You or a staff member can easily do this between customers.
The key is to be consistent. Facebook is an interactive medium and while you don't have to spend a lot of time connecting with your fans, you do need to connect with them regularly.
Once merely a place for kids to post their silly videos, YouTube has become a social media powerhouse. With high quality video cameras costing under $100, you should make YouTube part of your online marketing plan.
People go to YouTube for information and entertainment.
You can buy the equipment to start making videos for less than $100. Don't worry about making "slick" videos. Quick and dirty videos work just as well and in many cases work even better.
Your customer list is one of the most valuable assets your business has. You should be collecting emails and other contact information as if it could mean the difference between your business succeeding or not. Because that is absolutely true.
Email is the cheapest and easiest way to stay connected with your customers. At the time of this writing a first class stamp costs $.44. Add in the cost of printing and mailing and you could easily spend $1 each to send a mailing to your customers.
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