3W Design Group - Media

These four items are tried and true and inexpensive to do. Enough rhyming, here are my 4 critical ideas to get your business noticed online in hard times (kind of an other rhyme…sorry):

1) Start a blog. It will help you in organic search engine results. Organic is yet another jargonistic word online but essentially refers to the search engine positioning you end up with without Paying Per Click to Google or Yahoo. Why does it do this? Constantly changing content helps your position in search engines. Contextual stories, meaning stories that match the rest of the text in your website/blog about your business. Plus it gives you a casual conversation with your clients or guests at a very small price - the price of the time it takes you to write or “post” new content.

2) Place banner ads throughout your website. Announce special web-only deals and invite readers to opt in to your RSS feed or your FeedBurner email subscription service to receive your blog or newsletter.

3) Add testimonials to your website. In some cases a good testimonial can win over the person who is on the fence about your good or service. Utilize former clients, or even employees who give a pitch about how great your restaurant, motel, professional service is. If you use an employee, make it seem as if they are waiting to do a good job for any new prospective clients.

4) Send out press releases. Press releases can be generated in-house, collectively by a group banding together in a community or by hiring a professional writer. I recommend using a professional (we have two amazing writers we work with) so the writing is tight and concise, engaging the journalist on the other end (be it a blogger, newspaper or magazine writer) to perhaps write a bigger story. Plus press releases can be recycled to your website after publication. And most importantly tell an engaging story with a good hook and a call to action ending.

So these are my 4 top ways to get started marketing your business in a down economy. All involve the option of utilizing a professional or the spirit of DIY. More next week on some higher end yet cost effective solutions.

Ciao!