Email Marketing: The Top Marketing Tool for Small Businesses

Is Your Contact Information Easy to Find?

Have you ever gotten really frustrated when you're looking for contact information for a vendor, client or a local business online and can't find it?  Don't risk losing valuable business by making it difficult for people to communicate with you: include your contact information in as many places as possible! 

In addition to your business card and brochures, here's a list of online places to include your contact info to ensure that you'll be found:

1) Web Site

Your phone number should be readily available on every page of your website, especially your homepage, in addition to your contact page. Be sure all of your contact details (phone, email, location/address) are on your 'Contact Us' page.  If you use a contact form, also include your email address as an optional way to connect.

2) Google My Business

Register your business with Google so you're easily found when someone does a search.  Be sure to complete your entire listing so all of your business information can be distributed across all Google products (Google+, Google Search, Google Maps, etc.)

3) Social Media Sites

Every social media site is different but check each one of yours(Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) and be sure your contact information is complete and easy to find.

4) e-Newsletters

Your email newsletter probably contains lots of useful information and links but does it include your contact info to allow clients and prospects to easily reach out to you?

5) Email Signature

Create an email signature that contains your company name, office and mobile phone numbers, social media links as well as your mailing address.

You can't post your contact info in too many places. Make sure it's everywhere so people don't have to hunt you down!  What other places online should you include your contact details? Comment below.

10 Twitter Best Practices to Grow your Business

Twitter is a strong social media network for driving traffic to your website and for finding and engaging with key people in your industry or community.  Here are ten easy-to-implement best practices, tactics and ideas to make the most of Twitter for your business.

1. Curate good content through original info and retweets.

2. Tweet or retweet 2-6 times daily, throughout the entire day.

3. Tweet outside business hours-- on weekends and in the evenings.

4. Include links in most tweets (to drive traffic to your website). Check to be sure the links aren't broken.

5. Use relevant, researched hashtags (two per tweet).

6. Include images in your tweets to get noticed.

7. Review your new followers regularly. Engage with influential people who have a strong network.

8. Create custom images for important stats and inspirational quotes (Use free tools such as recite.com, quozio.com or quotescover.com).

9. Comment, Retweet or Favorite relevant Tweets  of those who you are most interested in reading and those you want to follow you (create a list of people and organizations you want to interact with).

10. Engage and network with your key influencers (clients, prospects, journalists, community leaders).

Gain Maximum Marketing Results: Develop a Communications Plan

A business communications plan is a smart idea for any company, big or small. The plan will establish how your marketing communication activities will support your business' goals. Take these simple steps to begin devising your plan:

1. Specify Your Goals

Depending on your type of business, your communications goals might be stated as targeted revenue, number of leads, product or service sales targets or awareness about your business and its products or services.

2. Identify Your Audiences
List all of the various groups that you need communication with: customers, prospects, employees, the media, etc.

3. Determine Key Messages
What are the most important messages that you want and need to convey to each audience?  Product quality, service benefits, employee value, customer service, etc.

4. Assess Your Communications Tools
Take a look at your Web site, signage, employee newsletter, marketing brochures, etc.  Are they effective at articulating your key messages?  Brainstorm ways to improve each of them to ensure that they consistently include the right communications.

5. Evaluate and Measure
Evaluate the success of the plan based on how your actual results measure up to the goals you set.  Test and change your messages and tools to optimize your results.