Imagine for a moment you live on a small island that for all intents and purposes can be considered an “isolated” local market. Now imagine that you own a small business on that island…let’s say, a sporting goods store. Presumably, the lion’s share of your marketing/advertising budget is going to be focused on that local market: people outside of the island are unlikely to travel there specifically to buy your footballs and sneakers, so why would you waste resources targeting them? This is where local business listing optimization comes in… Read More
Imagine for a moment you live on a small island that for all intents and purposes can be considered an “isolated” local market. Now imagine that you own a small business on that island…let’s say, a sporting goods store. Presumably, the lion’s share of your marketing/advertising budget is going to be focused on that local market: people outside of the island are unlikely to travel there specifically to buy your footballs and sneakers, so why would you waste resources targeting them? This is where local business listing optimization comes in… Continue reading →
While there are loads of “How To Advertise Online In A Small Market” resources out there, rarely do we see examples that address the determining factors which make a market “small” in the first place beyond the size of it’s population. Geographical borders, local culture and GDP, for example, all play a huge part in determining how best to market yourself online: even if a mid-sized town in the U.S. and a small Caribbean nation happen to have the exact same population, they’ll still require wildly different marketing strategies to take the habits of their respective audiences into account.
While there are loads of “How To Advertise Online In A Small Market” resources out there, rarely do we see examples that address the determining factors which make a market “small” in the first place beyond the size of it’s population. Geographical borders, local culture and GDP, for example, all play a huge part in determining how best to market yourself online: even if a mid-sized town in the U.S. and a small Caribbean nation happen to have the exact same population, they’ll still require wildly different marketing strategies to take the habits of their respective audiences into account.
For small business owners who fully embrace social networking as a marketing medium, one of the trickiest things to decide is whether to operate your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. by yourself or seek outside social media management services. While managing multiple platforms on your own may seem like the ideal path cost-wise, consider this: according to a 2012 usage report, 59% of marketers spend over 6 hours per week promoting their businesses on social, and 33% spent 11 hours or more. What this means is that if you’re going the solo route, you have to be able to commit at least six hours per week in order for your efforts to be minimally effective, otherwise you’re just wasting your valuable time.
For small business owners who fully embrace social networking as a marketing medium, one of the trickiest things to decide is whether to operate your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. by yourself or seek outside social media management services. While managing multiple platforms on your own may seem like the ideal path cost-wise, consider this: according to a 2012 usage report, 59% of marketers spend over 6 hours per week promoting their businesses on social, and 33% spent 11 hours or more. What this means is that if you’re going the solo route, you have to be able to commit at least six hours per week in order for your efforts to be minimally effective, otherwise you’re just wasting your valuable time.
A decade ago, before “blog” was a household word, it sounded more like a species of amphibian than a marketing tool, and businesses were skeptical of its value as an advertising medium. In 2013, however, it’s emerged as the most effective way for companies of any size to reach existing customers and obtain new leads, lending credibility to experts who’ve been banging the blogging drum for some time.
The numbers speak for themselves (see chart): businesses that publish a blog report higher returns on investment than those that don’t, signifying increasing trust in the medium as company “voice” that speaks directly to customers. This presents limitless opportunities for small businesses in decidedly “local” jurisdictions who already know their target audience and how to speak to them.
A decade ago, before “blog” was a household word, it sounded more like a species of amphibian than a marketing tool, and businesses were skeptical of its value as an advertising medium. In 2013, however, it’s emerged as the most effective way for companies of any size to reach existing customers and obtain new leads, lending credibility to experts who’ve been banging the blogging drum for some time.
The numbers speak for themselves (see chart): businesses that publish a blog report higher returns on investment than those that don’t, signifying increasing trust in the medium as company “voice” that speaks directly to customers. This presents limitless opportunities for small businesses in decidedly “local” jurisdictions who already know their target audience and how to speak to them.
Faced with so many competing advertising mediums, web users today are increasingly cautious about what type of content warrants their trust online. Spam, scams and Nigerian Prince-infused junk mail have eroded public confidence in the internet’s power as a reliable marketing tool and continue to hinder honest advertiers who have a genuine product or service to offer. Consequently, producing and marketing engaging web video has emerged as one of the most successful inbound marketing strategies for brands: not only does it present your offerings in a fluid visual medium, but encourages users to stick around and watch the whole thing, thereby keeping them on your site longer.
Faced with so many competing advertising mediums, web users today are increasingly cautious about what type of content warrants their trust online. Spam, scams and Nigerian Prince-infused junk mail have eroded public confidence in the internet’s power as a reliable marketing tool and continue to hinder honest advertiers who have a genuine product or service to offer. Consequently, producing and marketing engaging web video has emerged as one of the most successful inbound marketing strategies for brands: not only does it present your offerings in a fluid visual medium, but encourages users to stick around and watch the whole thing, thereby keeping them on your site longer.
Facebook affords small businesses the advantage of raw, direct interaction with their end consumers: the opportunity to spark brand endorsement and encourage feedback in a social setting via mutually sustaining client relationships. Simply put, it’s one of the cheapest, most effective ways to cut through the competition of traditional web advertising and quickly interact with target demographics in local markets.
Facebook affords small businesses the advantage of raw, direct interaction with their end consumers: the opportunity to spark brand endorsement and encourage feedback in a social setting via mutually sustaining client relationships. Simply put, it’s one of the cheapest, most effective ways to cut through the competition of traditional web advertising and quickly interact with target demographics in local markets.
If you’re involved with SEO in any way, you’re all too aware that 2012 saw an unprecedented shift in the landscape, fundamentally changing what were previously known as industry best practices. On April 24th 2012, Google applied the infamous Penguin update to it’s main search algorithm, causing thousands of websites with previously high rankings to drop off the map for their targeted keywords. Needless to say, lots of SEO professionals were caught off guard and panicked and downright confused as to what had changed so drastically. We had to regain our footing in an industry that has a knack for periodically turning itself on its own head aggressively and without warning.
If you’re involved with SEO in any way, you’re all too aware that 2012 saw an unprecedented shift in the landscape, fundamentally changing what were previously known as industry best practices. On April 24th 2012, Google applied the infamous Penguin update to it’s main search algorithm, causing thousands of websites with previously high rankings to drop off the map for their targeted keywords. Needless to say, lots of SEO professionals were caught off guard and panicked and downright confused as to what had changed so drastically. We had to regain our footing in an industry that has a knack for periodically turning itself on its own head aggressively and without warning.
