There are a multitude of options and ways to market small businesses on the internet. Nowadays it’s important to think about the whole internet as your “playground” – rather than just your website!
Most people are familiar with the concept of having a website to market their businesses but it’s important to consider social media and blogging as well. Read on for some tips on how to use each effectively.

Social Media

There are 3 main social media platforms that each small business should consider.
All of them are FREE.
Twitter is great for all businesses – whether B2B or B2C. It’s best to be yourself on Twitter rather than a “faceless company”. There is a unique language spoken on Twitter so we provide 1-2-1 training to help people get used to it.
Linkedin is the most “respected” of social media platforms. It’s really a must for all professionals, as there is huge value in your existing contacts. The biggest mistake people make is not paying attention to their Linkedin profile and not filling it in thoroughly.
Facebook – if the business in question is retail, commercial or visual (eg a gallery, photographer, fashion designer) then Facebook is a brilliant way to market yourself. But you do need to be active regularly and post a variety of different things up there.

Websites

Our websites range from single page sites to small brochure sites to full sites with case studies, galleries, blogs and social media integration.
Each site is different but here are some things to start you thinking about your next website incarnation.

• A professional, well thought out design
• No more than 7 main navigation links – and sublink organised within these
• A clear homepage which draws people into the most important parts of the site
• Case Studies
• Testimonials
• A blog
• Link to your Twitter page
• Well written “plain English” text – and not too much
• A press area
• Newsletter sign up

Consider incorporating strategies tailored to your business.

Suppose you’re in the solar industry. Make sure you implement strategies to generate quality solar leads. This can be done through engaging content, targeted online campaigns, and seamless integration of renewable energy solutions into your website’s narrative.

If your business has a website you can be proud of and gives a great first impression, and if you are active on social media and blogging regularly, then you will really stand out.

Blogs and Blog websites

Blogs can be within the website itself, as in many of the websites we have created – or separate. It’s best to be very organised and plan your blog posts in advance. This means there is fresh content on her website all the time which means it’s a more interesting site to go and visit. You can also have  a feed from your latest blog post
Having a regularly updated blog on the site is also great for SEO. Each time you add a page to your blog, you create another page on the internet, and this means search engines are more likely to find your site when people search for you.
You can also create an entire website using “Wordpress” which is the system that blogs are built on. This allows you the ability to update all the text yourself without needing to know any special coding.
What do we do to help? If you want us to help just get in touch – we are very experienced with setting up and providing training on social media, websites and blogs. In January we will be holding an education session on blogging and if you would like to enquire about attending, please get in touch by emailing keren@topleftdesign.com.