How Small Business Owners can Build Web Marketing Buzz in the Current Scary Climate

Lorrie Thomas

April 15th, 2009
by Lorrie Thomas

SUCCESS COMES IN CANs, FAILURE COMES IN CAN’Ts…
I am sick of talking to small business professionals who tell me what they CAN’T do in this scary economic climate.  Yes, I know we are in a recession, but last time I checked, our brains still worked…right?
Fear is debilitating.  Let your competition be fear-stricken, rise above the “can not’s” and fears.  This is the BEST time to get smart with your marketing and INVEST in the future of your organization.
Small business owners need to take advantage of economic downturn times to get creative and implement smart marketing that will sustain them through tough times but be armed and ready when times pick up.
So, what’s a small business to do NOW when consumers are cutting back and marketing budgets are scarce?
Well, get yourself on the web marketing therapy couch and keep reading to find out!!
1. Remember that marketing means maximizing relationships (connections, leads, re-selling) to grow revenues and profit.  Web marketing is NOT about the tools (blogs, banner ads, paid search, social media) Web marketing is about HOW you use the tools, strategy is how small businesses build awareness and boost business.  Think about marketing not as “spending” but instead “investing” and make your investments count.  Put dollars into “marketing capital” that will sustain and work for a long time.  Web marketing collateral is a brilliant place to invest, (it’s low cost or no cost) and lives forever (unlike print ads, online ads, direct mail or TV/Radio that die when you stop doing them).  Websites that communicate who you are, what you do and why you are worth working with are great supporting capital to a small company.  This is a stressful environment, so consumers are more conscious – they need to 1. know 2. like and 3. trust before they buy…does your web marketing evoke trust?  Invest in marketing that supports these points and it will be an investment that carries you for years.
2. Tap free web marketing tools.  Small businesses can win BIG with web marketing.  If a company is based in a particular geographic location, then they can get listed (lots of times for free) in local search directories or yellow pages that come up high in search engine results pages.  I wrote an article on local SEO secrets that has lots of great how-tos that you can read on www.wilsonweb.com.   Buzz can also be built brilliantly with social media – blogs, linkedin.com, facebook, yelp, squidoo, are all free to implement, you just need time to develop content and create community.

3. Be an educator - teach to build trust and credibility. When small businesses are experts in their field, they can offer value with educational materials, content and tips.  Being an educator via online content can help you go from being experts to AUTHORITIES and that is where credibility and buzz kick in.   A great positive web marketing role model is Michael Rozbruch,  the nation’s leading expert in tax resolution.  He posts content on web article sites (like topics about things small business owners should know about payroll tax problems on Squidoo) and his educational tax help blog because he is passionate about his profession and is dedicated to helping people resolve their tax problems (he’s dang smart and helps so many people!)
4. Be authentic, differentiate your company. Tap the power of personality to position yourself as the expert you are.  Our “wild web woman” team differentiates our web marketing services at Web Marketing Therapy and www.lorriethomas.com by using the power of our personality to educate and dish out “tough love” and stage “marketing interventions” with “Web Marketing Therapy” on our blog – it’s fun, the content is good client service and we stand out in the sea of other “internet marketing consultants”
Eggology, the purest, freshest egg whites have a brilliant blog that oozes their “punny” personality.
Being yourself, having an opinion and voicing your true self builds trust, builds content (and search engines loooooove content) and creates a connection with your current and prospective customers.
5. Re purpose your marketing assets and collateral online.  Videos can be edited and hosted on video-sharing sites, photos can be posted on your blog, and great content can be re-purposed on your website and shared on ezine sites, newsletters, blogs, sites like eHow.com and more.  If you are in the news, populate your press page with news and write your own press releases that share company news, awards, events, new services and push them out to free PR wires.  You can use what you already have to build buzz and boost credibility and content = search results.  No need to reinvent the wheel, be creative and recycle marketing collateral!
6. You want to tweak nerves and open wallets?  Last tip – stop SELLING and start SERVING. Build a community.  Customer service via well-managed websites, educational content, helpful tips, easy to find contact, frequently asked questions pages, blogs, email newsletters, etc that have VALUABLE content vs cheesy-does-it sales blah will rise above the clutter and allow you to do what marketing is really all about, build relationships.
Be helpful, THINK, then execute. It’s that simple.

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Categories: Local Web Marketing, Search Engine Marketing Help, Small Business, Social Media Marketing, Web Marketing Best Practices, Web Marketing Tips

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Comments:

  1. Celebrity Archives
    (April 15th, 2009 at 10:38 pm)

    [...] Web Marketing Therapy » Blog Archive » How Small Business Owners … [...]

  2. Web Marketing Therapy » Blog Archive » Business & Economy: Healing Our Invaluable “Circle of Trust”
    (April 17th, 2009 at 12:35 pm)

    [...] Build your “Circle of Trust” by aligning with companies and individuals of integrity.  For your target market, identify and collaborate well with those who are already part of your customers’ trusted circle.  Also, since the web is a low cost/no cost way to help connect and collaborate with others, create co-promotions/links, affiliations, social/professional groups or fan clubs. Seek meaningful ways to build customer relationships and earn their trust.  Lorrie Thomas, WMT’s Marketing Therapist, wrote in her blog about how small business owners CAN move forward in this scary climate. [...]

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