Acclaimed Web Development & Online Marketing Blog

Promoting your website through social media marketing can be a lot of work.  It’s no wonder that many companies outsource the job, but if you are just starting out or have a small budget you can still promote your company using social media marketing. These are the steps you can take to become your own social media expert.

1. Content
The best way to promote yourself online is to provide interesting, original and informative content. It’s important for search engine optimization and email list subscribers. It’s also important in social media marketing. You have nothing to market without original content. A blog is a great way to continually add value-added content in a meaningful way for the search engines and for returning visitors.  A blog gives you something to talk about on search media marketing sites too.

2. Create a facebook page
Create a page for your business on facebook. Facebook pages can be promoted with an ad on facebook. Make sure you put information on your page to make it interesting.  As an example, here is a link to Acclaimed Web Development & Online Marketing’s facebook page: http://cli.gs/9TsTt7

3. Setup a Twitter profile for your business
Setup a Twitter profile in your business’s name or in your name so you can become known in your industry.    Follow people who are exports in your industry.  Here is an example: http://twitter.com/acclaimedwebdev

4. Post updates to your facebook page, twitter and bookmarking sites
Post updates for your fans and for the search engines by posting at least once daily to facebook, your twitter account and to bookmarking sites such as digg, Delicious, Stumbleupon and others.

5. Create a linkedin profile for you and your business
Create a linkedin profile to show off your skills with other professionals and network online with old clients and co-workers.  One of the extra benefits of linkedin is the ability to use your company profile to market yourself to potential, new employees.

6. Use groups on facebook and linkedin
Use groups to share information with other in your industry and find new customers by starting and joining groups that would be of interest to your target audience.

Social media marketing, much like email marketing, is a great way to keep your message fresh and new and in front of your customers and potential customers on a daily basis.  Your facebook fans will see all you updates on their facebook homepage on a daily bases, so you are only limited by the interesting and relevant information you have to share with them. While customers can get annoyed with receiving marketing emails from you on a daily basis.  A status message on facebook or twitter is much less intrusive as long as it is interesting and informative.

If you’re not sure how to get started or feel it’s just too much work for you to do on your own, Acclaimed Web Development & Online Marketing offers professional social media management services.  Request a quote to get started today!

I’m still surprised by the number of small businesses today that still don’t have a website. A recent research study released two days ago from the UK showed that 46% of Britain’s small businesses are still without a website. Even more alarming is that 47% of firms that were still off-line believed that a website could NOT benefit their business. This errant thinking was in direct contrast with a further study that showed that 80% of similar businesses with websites gain revenue from those sites.

It feels a lot like the whole ostrich/sand analogy. I’m not sure how companies of any size these days can justify not having an online presence. Even without going as far as eCommerce applications or social media marketing, having a website seems to be the most elementary of requirements for doing business these days.

Having a small brochure-type website truly is better than having no website at all.  If you aren’t on the web, potential customers are currently using your competition because they can’t remember you phone number or email address and they can’t find your non-existent website.  Social media marketing has quickly become another alternative to having your own website.  Facebook, for example, is a great way to connect with customers and potential customers and allow them to share your message with their friends.  Retaurants, retailers and many other businesses are now using facebook to keep their message current and in front of customers.

Phone books are very quickly being completely replaced by internet searches.  Without an online presence, many customers will never be able to find out.  Do you feel like websites just don’t work in your industry? Have you had a website that just didn’t work and you’re fearful of trying again?  A basic website should be a part of every companies successful marketing plan, but having a website is not enough.  You have to use internet marketing to put your website in from of potential customers.  That includes, not only social media marketing, but email marketing and search engine optimization and paid search marketing.

Acclaimed Web Development & Online Marketing can help you develop and brand your new website and marketing it on the internet and bring targeted traffic to your website.  We can also design print marketing materials to advertise your business.  Request a quote to get started today!

I am a big believer in multi-channel marketing. I have always said market your products and services online and in print and if appropriate, radio, television, bill boards, etc., but now I believe there are so many ways to market yourself online that the phrase Multi-channel Internet Marketing is what we are going to be hearing more about in the future.

Nothing beats being number one on the first SERPs (search engine results pages) for the phrases your customers are searching for, but search engine optimization is supplemented and even improved by having a complimentary paid search engine marketing campaign and vice versa.

Email marketing is another way to keep prospects “on the hook” and customers coming back to your site. It’s a great supplement to other forms of internet marketing because it does what no other form of internet marketing can do. It allows you to not only target customers, but allows your customers and prospects to ask for your advertisements and opt-out if they are no longer interested. If your customers can get your advertisements in the form they want them, at a time when they are most likely to read them and only as often as they want them, they are more likely to look at your advertisements and remember them when they need your products or services.

The newest addition to our arsenal of internet marketing services is social media marketing.  Marketing on social media sites can allow you to reach millions of customers through sites like Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Delicious and Linkedin.  Posting your messages on these sites allows your follows to repost your content allowing you to get a lot more links to your website and blog, so social media marketing has search engine optimization benefits as well.

In marketing, one of the most important pieces of advice I can give is to always keep your company name and your brand in front of people’s faces.  All the methods of internet marketing can be used together to show that your company is well-established and experts in your field.