Like Produce, Website Content Should Be Fresh

If you've ever gone to the produce section at your local supermarket looking for fresh strawberries only to find pints of over-ripened, browning fruit, you know what a turn-off that is.  It's pretty much the same thing with your website. Attracting visitors is only one part of the equation, getting them to come back again and again is the other.

Keeping your website updated takes commitment and a little extra time, but is well worth the effort.  Here are some tips for maintaining a website that will keep your visitors (and potential) customers coming back for more.

1. Content is king.  Offer as much useful content as possible.  If you don't have one already, consider starting a blog.  Because this can be time-consuming, you might want to consider occasionally inviting a guest to write on a special topic.  Another great way to expand your content is to add a podcast and videos. 
2. If your business involves frequently changing information, you should regulary update your website to reflect these changes. Such information might include prices, stocks or inventory.
3. If you use white papers, articles or abstracts, add to or replace these items every couple of months.
4. Be consistent.  If you change your marketing materials, are adding or discontinuing a product or service, make the necessary changes on your website.
5. Adding an industry-related news feature can also be another source of fresh content.

I realize that frequently updating your website can be a costly endeavor if you are using a web developer to make the changes.  You might want to consider re-negotiating the terms of your agreement, perhaps extending the service contract in exchange for more flexiblility in making changes to your site.

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It's Loco Not to Be Local

Here's some good news for SMBs:  According to a recently released survey from American Express, an overwhelming majority of Americans place a high value on small local businesses.  Of those surveyed, 89% said they believe that small businesses contribute positively to their local communities; 93% said they believe it’s important for people to support the small businesses they value in their community, and 87% believe that small business success is a critical element of overall U.S. economic health.


But the survey respondents also offered more than warm and fuzzy feelings towards small businesses.  The study also indicates that consumers are putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to spending at local small businesses.  Nearly one third of monthly discretionary spending is done at locally-owned, independent businesses, with just over $100 per month spent at their favorite store.


Consumers are clearly demonstrating a commitment to local SMBs, so take every opportunity to utilize marketing streams that are local-centric. Register at sites that showcase local commerce and can influence a buyer's decision such as Yelp, Yahoo Local Listings, Google Places, Citysearch, MerchantCircle, Insider Pages and many more.

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Market Your Business By Sharing Your Knowledge

How often do you find yourself taking time to read about or listen to information that can help you improve your business?  I bet it's quite often.  In fact, you're probably reading this blog because you want to learn more about marketing and advertising your business.  You're not alone.  There are millions of people surfing the web, looking for answers that can help them to do everything from cooking gluten-free meals to studying for state certification. 


You can gain valuable exposure for your business by offering your expertise to a highly targeted market of web surfers.  As I discussed in a previous post, sharing can be a very important step in building your business. Offer your expertise as a free service, whether its answering questions directly, posting how-to videos, writing articles, blogging or producing podcasts.  Helping others to learn can be an important part of your marketing strategy.   


I'm not speculating about the benefits of knowledge sharing.  For years, marketing gurus have used this technique to build name recognition and grow their businesses (think of the many free videos and ebooks that are available). Creators of good quality free content not only position themselves as experts, but build trust for their brand, and can increase conversion rates from website visitors to customers.


Give it some serious thought.  And don't fret about giving away too much information.  The important thing to remember is that you want to be able to share in a way that helps others and creates interest in your business.

Facebook Launches Another Interesting Ad Option: Featured Stories

(Happy New Year! Having completed my latest project, news-op.com, it's time to get back to sharing information that can help small and mid-sized businesses enhance their marketing and advertising efforts)

Facebook, (which in my humble opinion is one of SMBs greatest web resource) has done it again.  By now, everyone is familiar with the recently launched Sponsored Stories.  These are similar to regular Facebook ads, in that they are fee-based, but they differ because they are about your Friends' and Pages' activities on Facebook--stories that are already eligible to be in the news feed.  However, Sponsored Stories are almost always in the ticker, and identified as being a  "Sponsored Story".  But still, Sponsored Stories are a step above a regular Facebook ad.


But wait, there's more. Today, Facebook launched it's Featured Stories. Now we're talking about ad exposure!  Featured Stories will be embedded in the news feed and will not be identified as an ad.  In other words they will look like any other posts.  Users will only be able to determine the "post" as ad by the word ‘Featured’, which is greyed out underneath the post. When you hover over the word it will show you exactly why a particular post has been featured in your feed.  Facebook is guarding against flooding users' news feeds with paid ads by promising that just one Featured Story will appear each day in a users' news feed.


Undoubtedly, this new advertising option will drum up debate, both pros and cons. But for the small and mid-sized business owner, let's welcome another opportunity to advertise on a larger, yet comparatively inexpensive scale.

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