WORCESTER – At the Woostapreneurs Forum, Fern Nissim from the Round Pond Group presented options to advertise, market, and promote a small business. Most small businesses have very limited resources for marketing. She explained why it is important to develop a marketing plan to maximize the impact on limited resources. Below are a few highlights from that discussion.
“You should put a live Facebook newsfeed on your website so that conversations going on there can also be seen on your website. It’s not an icon; it’s actually alive and helps your ratings on search engines.”
“Make sure you put a blog on your website that is actively changed on a regular basis.”
“Email marketing is one of the most inexpensive ways to reach your customers these days through Constant Contact, Salesforce or Mailchimp by designing your own newsletter. But how do you build that email list? Go to tons of chamber events, and use a smartphone app [like the Camcard app] that lets you take pictures of business cards that can then go direct through a CSV file direct to Mailchimp.”
“Instant and text messaging mobile marketing is becoming the new frontier in terms of reaching clients via their cell phones.”
“Print and web advertising can be very pricy. But if you decide to do print advertising, make sure you don’t do brand advertising because you can’t afford that.”
“If you are doing direct mail, maybe you are doing a postcard with a magnet on the back teasing a free give-away.”
“You need a call to action on everything you do to market a small business and it needs to reflect your personal image.”
“What are you going to do when you go to a trade show? Everything you do for your business is a commercial and relationship building.”
