Where to Start with Online Marketing

We recently met with someone who is starting a consulting business. She is just at the beginning of her business and wanted some advice on where to start with marketing herself online. Here are the tips we gave her:

1. Decide on a Company Name

  • When considering a name, check that the related domain is available. We suggest using godaddy.com.
  • Ensure the name is professional enough for your field.
  • Consider any themes associated with the name that you can use in your design of your logo, website, etc.

2. Purchase the domain

  • Purchase the domain straight away. We suggest getting 2 years for the .com and co.uk domains. If you think you like a name, but aren’t entirely sure, think about purchasing the domains anyway. They do disappear very quickly and it is usually not a big expense. Again, you can use GoDaddy.com to purchase domain names.

3. Set up Facebook and Twitter

  • Create a Business Facebook page with the company name
  • Create a Twitter account with the company name
  • You may not use these for several months, but if you create them now, you ensure you will have the names you want when you are ready to start your social media marketing

4. Take a Picture of Yourself

  • You need a picture of you to use in your website and across your Social Media

5. Update your LinkedIn Profile

  • Complete as much information as you can. Upload your new picture too. This is the ideal place for your online resume and initial business description

6. Create a logo

  • This is usually the first step in designing your online/print identity. You will want a strong simple logo that connects with your business name

7. Create an online presence

8. Develop Your Identity

  • Develop your copy and descriptions of yourself, your services, etc.
  • Request testimonials from key people you have worked with to add to your profiles

 

Marketing Your Business

We recommend using Social Media to network with people in your field and with those who could use your services. Elements of this could include:

 1. LinkedIn

  •  Request to connect with people, if they accept send a brief “Thank you for connecting, this is me description and links to your website”.
  •  Join relevant LinkedIn groups and comment on discussions.

2. Twitter

  • Follow people who may need your services and interact when possible (e.g replying to tweets, retweeting them, etc.)
  • Follow leaders in your field and interact with them too.

3. Facebook

  • Search for companies you may like to work for and Like their pages, again interacting and commenting where possible.

4. Your Own Social Media Channels

  • Develop your own Social Media pages where people can connect to you and learn more about you. Post on Facebook and tweet regularly. Also post updates on your LinkedIn profile.

 5. Start a Blog

Ultimately, a blog is a great way to keep your website nice and active and to develop your reputation as an expert in your field.

  • It provides great content for your Social Media.
  • You can blog about your experiences, your opinion on things in the news, thoughts about a particular technique/method in your field, etc.
  • We suggest blogging on a regular schedule (e.g. weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.)
  • If you allow comments on your blog it gives people another opportunity to interact with you.

6. Search Engine Optimisation

  • Make sure the Meta Data on your website is well written and includes the key search words you would like to be associated with.
  • Beyond that, the networking and commenting above should help you get real clicks that search engines will like.
  • SEO is a complicated subject and if you are not seeing your site ranked as you would like, we can discuss it with you further.

7. Email Marketing

  • Begin to capture Names and Email addresses for your email marketing. You want to build up a database that includes Name, Role, Company, Email, Phone, etc…
  • You can use a free service such as Mailchimp to store the information and to send any email campaigns.

If you would like more advice or help with marketing yourself online, please do get in touch and we would be happy to schedule a one to one business consultation. Your first online (skype) or phone consultation is free.