In my day job, I’ve been reviewing a list of sample internship projects that were recommended in the area of communications and marketing. One, in particular, stumped me and cried out to be revised or deleted altogether. It read:

Utilize social networks to develop strategies for creating communities around [our office's key areas].

The problem lies with the thought that social networks should be used to develop strategies, when in fact, people develop strategies. Some of those strategies may involve using social networks to connect with and engage people. 

The truth is that…at the heart of any marketing strategy–no matter what the vehicle–is solid content that speaks directly to your customers’, clients’ or partners’ problems, needs and questions.

Social media and networks are merely a way to share that content and engage your customers, clients and partners. Before you can share and engage, you must have something to say. And remember…that something isn’t just anything. It’s valuable, relevant and compelling content that establishes you as a thought leader and trusted resource.

Before you go jumping into the social media sphere, realize that it’s not a one time deal. Engagement is ongoing. You must continue to regularly provide your target audience with this content.

The reality is that although social media is appealing and can definitely be an effective tool to communicate directly with your market and develop a community around important issues, it is not right for every business or organization right now.

I always recommend that before someone decides to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, SlideShare, Flickr or any of the other social media tools for business, that they first use them personally. Get your feet wet, look around, read, observe, join…gain an understanding of the culture.

With any aspect of technology, you can read about it and talk to people about it for days, but you won’t have a chance of really “getting it” until you jump in it.

There’s no danger lurking after you join. You won’t break anything. You don’t have to commit to being there for the rest of your life. Just take the time to try it out and see what it’s all about–for yourself.

I hope this is helpful as you develop your website marketing strategy and if you have been reading my newsletters and blog and already “get” these concepts, please share this with others who may not.

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And if you’ve already been through my course, you’re ahead of the class anyway.

Here are the questions:

1. I have a website, but I don’t think anyone’s visiting it. How do I find out? 
2. How can I market my business online? 
3. How should I market my website offline…in the real world? 
4. What is Twitter and how can it help my business? 
5. I have a Facebook account. Can’t I just post links about my business there? 
6. I have a LinkedIn account. How can I use it to market my business? 
7. I’ve never heard of SlideShare. What is it and how can it help my business? 
8. Should I start a blog? 
9. How do I get people to come back to my website over and over again? 
10. How do I get my site to rank #1 in Google?

Have I left off any? If so, let me know and I’ll add them ASAP!

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Here are a few highlights:

1. Twitter is about sharing value in a fairly narrow band. For me that band includes ideas about marketing, selling, and succeeding as an Independent Professional. So when I tweet, that’s mostly what you’ll be hearing about.

2. My focus will be on sharing value with you, not talking about me. This will include links to blogs and other web content, ideas, tips, strategies, information and inspiration. If I share anything about me, it will be about insights that I think you’ll find useful.

7. I’ll ask questions and use my followers as a resource, if that’s OK with you. There’s still a lot I need to learn and with Twitter I can tap into this amazing network.

Yes, Twitter is an amazing network and one reason that I like it so much is that it’s okay to “do business” on Twitter. Unlike other social networks, promoting your business (from my observation) is understood, accepted and even expected at times.  Tomorrow I’ll give you a few key ways that you can specifically use Twitter, that I learned at a workshop last week.

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I made the switch from the special report to the course to give you more value and to help you actually implement the theories presented. The new format includes much of the original information in the special report plus new information to provide even more depth. I’m also giving you assignments….everyone loves homework, right? Well, I think that with a lot of website marketing information you can easily get overwhelmed and stuck because you don’t know where to start. Website Marketing 101 takes away the guesswork and tells you exactly which steps to take to begin moving forward with your new and improved website marketing strategy.

So, if you’re new to website marketing and need some direction, go ahead and sign up for the course.

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They are driving traffic guys. Anyone who watches the show is curious to know if the people are still organized today and if the strategies they learned on the show stuck. Well they are definitely doing a good job at driving traffic, but I tell you…when I got to the website, I wasn’t sure where to go. I scrolled to the bottom to see the link to the show and then clicked around. I didn’t see the link to find out how the show participants are doing today.

Then, I clicked on the logo, which took me to the actual home page of the show and there is a video that you can watch to find out if Sue stayed organized. 

In my opinion…unless I didn’t click on the right link…the tv call to action didn’t materialize the way I imagined when I actually went to the website.

So, the takeaway for you is…

When you send someone to your website, using a link, take them directly to the page where they will see what you promised them.

When you send someone to your home page verbally, make sure you have a prominent link or image that is linked to the information you promised them. Don’t make them think, read or scroll. Despite what you may have heard, people don’t really like to do that online.

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In my special report, that I hope you’ve had a chance to read, I mentioned 2 ways to spread the word about your website offline:

1. Print the website address on business cards, flyers and coupons.
2. Announce it at meetings and to other organizations.

Here are 6 other ways to market your website offline…

But before I begin the list, I have to remind you to always ask for permission to add someone to your mailing list.

Don’t do what many retailers do and just ask for your customers’ email addresses without telling them what you will do with them. Explicitly ask for their permission to send them emails.

Okay, here’s the list…

1. Place a sign and a sheet of paper near the checkout area of your store.
2. If you are at a speaking event or conference, place a sheet of paper at your booth or table.

Don’t forget…Make sure that anytime you present opportunities for people to sign up for your list that you provide them with an enticing, irresistible offer:

An example of this could be a free gift, raffle entry, discount or a free trial.

…back to the list…

1. Place the link to your website on handouts, emphasizing the irresistible offer.
2. If customers call your business, request their email address when they call. Tell them you would like to send them a survey about your customer service. In the survey, request explicit permission to add them to your email list.
3. Add a field for email address and a checkbox requesting permission to email them–about your great products, services and useful information–on forms, applications, bills, receipts and invoices.
4. Mention your offer on your telephone hold message

So there you go…a total of 8 ways to market your small business website offline. Take advantage of any opportunity you have to engage customers and prospects and encourage them to visit your website to see more of what you have to offer.

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Let me know what you think in the comments.

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Let’s think about an important question: What does increased traffic do for your business or organization?

You may think that increased traffic equals:

• More people walking through your door.
• More people visiting your church.
• More new clients.
• More donations to your organization.

Well, that’s not necessarily true. Yes, you read correctly. That is not necessarily true. Increased traffic does not automatically equal more visits, more customers, more
clients or more donations.

Let’s explore another question: Are you giving them a reason to visit, buy, test your services or donate money?

To revisit a point made in a recent blog post about the most important copywriting tip you will ever learn, ask yourself:

Are the words on the pages all about you or all about your prospect?

Do you have a compelling offer that not only gets their attention, but also gets them to act?

Are you communicating that you understand what keeps them up at night? Are you speaking directly to how your products, services or organiztion can provide them with relief or solve their problems?

Are you providing them with information that begins to give them that relief or solutions? Does your information say, “Hey, we know how you feel and we have the expertise to help. Try this and if you like it, we have more.”?

So before you say to yourself or your webmaster, “I need to drive more traffic to my website,” give serious though about what your website provides that will make someone hang around and enjoy their visit, even better–walk away with something valuable and relevant to their lives.

Taking it one step further, if they come and hang out for a while, what are you constantly changing on your website to make them come back and get more valuable, relevant information?

Give these questions some thought and objectively evaluate your website to see if you have what it takes to drive traffic to your website.

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