A Guide to Establishing Online Presence on a Budget

Getting started with a new small business can be an upward climb. But, as we all know the view from top is so rewarding. It’s certainly challenging when you have high hopes and goals you want to accomplish; only to realize you’re stuck with a tight budget.

Understandably you want to start making sales, gaining clients, whatever it is you do so that you can grow your budget and do more with your business. How do you get people to seek out your business? How do you get people to notice you?

While posters and handing out flyers might be the first thing you think of, it is a great idea however, since the print and design could get costly and only reaches people in that specific area. With a limited budget you want to extend your reach without spending too much to start.

Here’s how:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This is an internet marketing strategy that you will use to be found online through search engines like: Google, Yahoo, or Bing. To optimize your business’ organic search results will be based on how well your SEO strategy considers how search engines work. For example, the content on your website should contain keywords or terms that your targeted audience would be searching. For example, a restaurant in Niagara Falls would would contain content on their website that some way or another mentions key terms like, “things to do in Niagara Falls” or “places to eat by the Falls”.

Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Social Media marketing is an essential part of any marketing campaign. It is one of the most effective ways of marketing, advertising, or communicating with people and potential customers online. An important element of social media is the way people can follow and like your posts further increasing your social popularity online.

Blogging

Invest time into your website by creating intriguing content. Remember the purpose of content is two-fold:

  • It is engaging, educational, relevant and timely to the intended audience.
  • To ensure Google values the content that you have published by being SEO-friendly, to increase organic search results.

5 Reasons Your Website Needs to be Optimized for Multi-screen Browser

Do you know the top 5 reasons your website needs to be optimized for multi-screen browsing?

Have you ever tried to visit a business page to retrieve information or book an appointment and you find yourself swiping right, left, up, down, and everywhere just to read one page?

How much more convenient would it be to just find another business that has a website fully optimized for quick and easy mobile browsing or appointment booking.

There are many reasons your website needs to be optimized for multi-screen browsing. However, having a business website that is responsive to mobile phones, tablets, and screen sizes certainly makes a customer’s browsing experience a lot simpler but it’s not all about comfort. Here’s why multi-screen optimization is essential for your small business growth:

Over half of internet traffic is mobile

If your goal is attracting traffic to your website, you need to start thinking mobile. Everyone is on mobile, over 80% of internet users are browsing on their mobile phones or tablets. As a business owner, you need to get on board with what the majority of prospective consumers are doing or risk falling behind to competitors.

Mobile users behave differently

Mobile users tend to consume more visual media like, short videos and photos. Getting the attention of this type of traffic requires a well optimized design.

Google favours multi-screen responsiveness

Google will rank your website higher if it works on all screens. And customers will be able to find you faster if your website works on their device.

Differentiate your brand

However, if you’re website is not yet optimized, you’re feeling like you need to catch up with the growing needs of technology. The truth is that about half of small businesses still haven’t made the change to multiscreen optimization. Introducing a responsive design is a way for you to get an edge on your competition.

Grow your social media presence

Social media shares also tend to be higher from mobile browsing. Meaning people are more likely to share pages from your website across social platforms while browsing from their phone.

The goal should be to have one website that works on hundreds of different screens, browsers and mobile devices.

5 Essential SEO Principles To Master In 2017

I Believe, An Effective Keyword Strategies, Keywords Focus on the Website, Design for Optimal User Experience, With Good Quality Content and Crawlable Linking Strategy is The Foundation of a Successful Website SEO Campaign.

5 SEO Principles


Keyword Strategies: An Effective Keyword Strategy Start with Keyword Research and Selection, Selected Keyword and Keyword Phrase Should be used in the Website Content and Linking Strategy.

Keywords Focus on The Website: Selected Keyword and Keyword Phrase or its Synonyms or Similar Words Presence throughout the Website and Internal Linking.

User Experience: Site Loading Speed, Performance, and Security.

Good Quality Content: Fresh Content Focusing on Providing the Right Solution to Human Visitor with as much Information as Needed in the Smallest Possible Space.

Crawlable Linking Strategy:

  1. Internal Linking: Place Only Links that are Natural for the Human Reader. 
  2. Inbound or Incoming Links: All types of Incoming links that does not violet Google Link Scheme and Incoming Link Pointing to Live Pages.
  3. Outbound or External Link: Advocate site visitor to read related resource by pointing External hyperlinks.

How Blogger Outreach Can Grow Your Restaurant Business

Getting influential bloggers to feature your restaurant on their blog is one of the best ways to promote your business for little to no cost. After all, blogs are said to be one of the most influential digital resources people turn to when making purchases.

Have you ever heard of a “foodie”? It’s not just a person who loves to eat all kinds of foods for fun, it’s a food blogger, a person with an interest in gourmet cooking, blog writing, and photography. The notable ones are those with a substantial following and are desired to be enlisted by other successful restaurants. If you haven’t already, you should get started with a blogger outreach campaign for your restaurant.

Here are tips to reach restaurant bloggers:

Build Connections
Turn to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google + profiles, etc. Search for hashtags #foodie #FoodBlogger #FoodPhotography #FoodForThought #FoodDiary. This may bring up a ton of results but it’s a good start to finding the perfect foodie.

Start following the bloggers that share a lot in common with your brand, like their photos, and share comments. Get to know the types of food and beverages they tend to post about. This is a good way to get on the bloggers radar before formally contacting them.

Take note of the number of followers, likes, or shares the blogger may have. You’ll want to consider reaching out to bloggers that have established a good following. Working with a new blogger could also benefit you both mutually. You could never build too many relationships and connections.

Reach out
Your first contact should be personable, light, and conversational. Keep in mind that influential bloggers get a ton of emails and requests like this often. You’ll need to stand out from the crowd. Start with introducing yourself and tell them a little something about your restaurant.

Start your pitch with inviting them to visit your restaurant, mention some dishes, and beverages you think they’d love to try. Mention ways you both can mutually benefit from connecting.

Follow and engage with others in blogging communities of similar interests
While it is the bloggers role to come up with the content, it is always a bonus to suggest creative new blog ideas.

  1. Invite the food blogger to attend a special event: A wine tasting, oyster fest, taco Tuesday, etc.
  2. Ask the food blogger to post about a daily menu by inviting them to dine at your restaurant everyday (at no cost, of course). This way, you’ll guarantee a full week of posts by the food blogger, attracting all of their followers to take notice of your restaurant.
  3. Share a specialized recipe
  4. Suggest a “look-book” for food lovers. Similar to a fashion look-book, but for food. The food blogger could feature their best photography on your featured dishes, cocktails, and desserts.

If the blogger doesn’t show immediate interest, that doesn’t mean they won’t consider it at another time. There is a huge community of food bloggers out there. Just remember to show your personality, share your story, and be unique.

6 Lead Generation Strategies Using White Papers

It’s clear that white papers are a great way to open doors and make the sales process easier. At this point, you’re probably excited about using white papers. Once you have a quality white paper written, it`s time to use it to generate leads. Use these proven lead generation strategies to attract interest from qualified prospects.

Build an email list with your white paper.
Email marketing remains one of the most reliable ways to make sales. There`s just one problem: how do you get relevant prospects to sign up for your email list? There’s a simple solution: offer a free digital copy of your white paper to each person who signs up.

You can then reach out to each person who signs up for the white paper. Pro Tip: Experiment with different services such as the Hello Bar or SumoMe’s Scroll Box to increase the number of email signups on your website.

Introducing a new product to past customers.
How often have you heard the advice – which is absolutely true! – that selling to past customers than gain new ones? Yet many companies fail to make the most of this opportunity. Here’s how white papers help. Let’s say that you’re launching a new product and you think a few past customers would be interested.

How do you start the conversation? Offering a white paper to your past customers is a great move. Psychologically, you’re showing them that you can bring insight and knowledge to the table in addition to your products. This approach is especially helpful if the new product (e.g. a complex marketing application) requires significant background to understand.

Present a Seminar.
Delivering a presentation in front of a live audience remains an excellent way to build a business. How do you come up with what to say? Easy: adapt your white paper into a presentation!

How do you generate leads? On the last few minutes of the presentation – during the Q&A time – tell audience members how they can receive a white paper that summarizes the key points of the presentation. Pro Tip: Not sure where to present about your industry? Review the Association of Association Executives (http://associationexecutives.org/) website. There’s a conference and association for practically every industry category you can think of!

Present a Webinar.
Sometimes you can’t afford the time and effort required to present at a conference. Or maybe you just missed the deadline to submit your conference application.

Don’t’ worry – there’s another approach. You can give a web seminar (i.e. “webinar”) using tools like GoToWebinar. (https://www.gotomeeting.com/webinar/features) to your prospects based on the white paper’s content. For the best results, offer your white paper as a free download at the end of the webinar for those who email you to request it..

Following Up On Networking.
How do people make complex decisions when it comes to making major purchases? According to consulting expert Alan Weiss, referrals from a peer (e.g. one manager to another manager) are the top way to land high value business opportunities. Let’s say that you’re already proficient at networking and meeting new prospects.

How do you stay in touch without coming across as annoying? Add a step to your follow up process where you offer your white paper to prospects. Then, a week or two later, you can get in touch again to discuss the white paper’s findings. For this method to work effectively, it’s vital that you have a detailed white paper that speaks to the pressing needs of your market.

Enhance your Trade show Marketing.
Trade shows offer an interesting sales opportunity. On the one hand, you have the rare chance to meet with hundreds of potential buyers in one location! That’s hours of travel time and hassle saved. On the flip side, you may be seated right next to all of your competitors! That makes standing out from the crowd more difficult.

There’s a way through the noise by using white papers. Think about the tradeshow from your buyer’s point of view – they came here to stay informed about trends and share their insights with colleagues.

Listening to one more sales pitch doesn’t help them look good in front of their boss who paid to send them on the trip. What’s better? Coming back with a white paper – your white paper! – that provides valuable information about the industry.