Check Out These 5 ways Small Businesses can get with online marketing tips for marketing your Small Business

Congratulations! You’ve decided to take your business online, now it’s time to get about some marketing. We’re assuming that you’ve got the basics: a website with your own URL, not built on anyone else’s platform. (i.e. Blogger, Wix, etc) You want to own your business, not have it exist at the whim of someone else.

Online marketing isn’t a dark art reserved only for those wearing Black Hats and frequenting hacker forums. The slick SEO consultant who comes calling will want to charge you a lot of money for many things you can easily do yourself.

It’s really not rocket science, however, many are scared to make a mistake. Let’s dispel some of those fears by taking a look at 5 steps new marketers can take to get going with online marketing your small business.

5 Tips for marketing your small business online

Start Blogging

Blogging is easy, and carries with it some inherent benefits for a small business. It will help you establish your brand, build authority, and start gaining a following, all essential elements of online success.

Take social media seriously

We live in a world where social media rules the day. That’s where the people are, and if choose to not be there, you’ll soon be eclipsed by your competitors.

Monitor your online reputation

Set up alerts so that you can be aware of and respond to any social or website mentions of you or your company. It’s far easier to do this and catch something when it’s a small spark before it ignites into a firestorm.

Begin building an email list

The top thing successful online marketers say when asked if they could do one thing differently, is that they wished they’d started building an email list from Day One.

Make use of online directories

Get your business listed in all the major online directories for small businesses, such as Yelp, Google My Business, Merchant Circle and others. One very important must-do on this is to be sure that your NAP info, (name, address, phone) is consistent over all of these sites. Make it easy for people to find you!