Whether you hire a marketing expert for your small business or manage your online presence yourself, building and maintaining a good online business reputation is important if your small business is to thrive.

To be able to promote your business online you’ll need to decide which online tools to use. If you will be creating an online marketing program yourself, you may want to choose the tools you are most familiar with and those you can see yourself monitoring regularly.

If you are unsure of what online marketing route to go, you may want to hire a social media marketing expert. You can either have them create a program for you that you will manage, or they can do it all for you.

Possible Online Formats to Choose From

So what platforms will you use to promote your small business? From Digital Marketing Services to free online tools, and even pay-per-click advertising there are so many to choose from that it can seem to be a little overwhelming

You can have a website built, start a blog, use online advertising, create a Facebook business page, or use multiple other tools. You can put your company on Google maps, create Facebook ads, and open Twitter and Instagram account if you think they will serve you.

Alternatively, you can start building your online presence simply with just one of these formats and grow organically and systematically.

Add Your Business to Directories

To increase your small business’ presence online, you might also want to place your company name and address in one of the umpteen online directories there are. You can add it to specialty directories in your field, or place listings on Yelp, Google, Trip Advisor, and other niche websites you feel would be of assistance to your type of business.  

The wonderful thing about most of these online formats is that they are free to join. Some tools, though, like Facebook ads require payment.

These multiple online tools have certainly stolen the scene from the newspaper and radio advertising methods of yesterday.

A quick option to display your business in hundreds of directories in minutes and to also ensure that you have accurate information for your business online is to use listings management. It’s a cost effective way to keep your listings up to date and not have to spend hours at the computer researching which directories your business should be listed on.

What about Reviews?

Most of these sites mentioned above provide avenues for product or business reviews to be given by the public. The question becomes: Will having reviews help or hurt your business?

Reviews are tricky. There are always overly critical people or those who will write fake reviews for the fun of it. For these reasons, it’s important you monitor reviews on an ongoing basis weeding out those that can hurt you.

It may be tempting to get your friends and relatives to give your business high reviews or even to hire people to give your business good reviews. Some organizations bribe customers for five-star reviews in exchange for goods and services. These methods, though, lack integrity. It’s better to be known for providing genuine five-star performances than it is to be caught stuffing the reviews in an effort to create a good impression.

Simply stay on top of new reviews and respond kindly. If you are at fault, admit it. Offer compensation and correction. If you sense a review is fake, appeal to the website to have it removed.

Review averages are based on the total number of reviews so it makes sense that you would desire some higher ratings to balance out any lower ratings. Even if you have some low reviews, your response to the reviewer will demonstrate to readers whether their issue is legitimate and correctable or not. Answering the review with honesty will show readers how dedicated you are to reversing a potential repeat of a described problem.

Another option for getting more reviews is to use review generation. Review gen is a marketing tool that take a review software, attaches it to your software or POS and sends the customer a review request via SMS text message or via email. While sending reminders days or weeks later at your request to receive more reviews so your business can be found online. 

Stay Updated

Once you set up an online tool, it is important to keep it updated. Either hire help or make a point to update it yourself. If you set up a Facebook page, check it regularly for inquiries or comments. Create posts often so visitors know you are still in business.

If you have a website-dedicated email address as one of your contact methods, log into your website dashboard control panel regularly to ensure you don’t miss a message and lose a potential customer. Most customers expect a quick response.

If you can’t think of enough good content to share in your blog, on your website, or in your other social media feeds, hire help. There are many resourceful people who are skilled with social media management skills who can write articles, upload photos, create videos or memes, and do posting for you.

 The technology field changes rapidly and there is no way for a small business to totally avoid being part of it if they want to thrive. Social media and other online tools can help bring the customers your small business needs.

Don’t delay in experimenting with some of the more affordable online marketing tools that are available to your small business to use. As a small business owner, you wear many hats, and the marketing side of things tends to fall on the back burner. Instead of waiting for customers to walk through your door, using these marketing tips & tools allows you to take a proactive approach in acquiring new customers. Twinning Pros is here for you and your business with all of your marketing needs.

Small Business Promotion FAQ