Internet communications has opened up a whole new world to those who want to reach buyers directly. The power of the Web is an incredible resource in the expansion and promotion of your business. Gaining visibility online is the wave of the future and essential if you want to reach more people in your target audience.

Print advertisements and press releases sent the traditional way—through journalists, no longer have the same impact. Relying solely on the media and on print ads can also be frustrating and costly. Mainstream media is still an important component to getting your message across; however, the Web is a direct access that reaches your buyers quickly.

A wealth of resources are available that promote business, including blogging; Internet mailing lists; professional development Web sites that distribute press releases to appropriate Web-based media; Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, a relatively new technology that enables subscribers to access Internet-based news; social and business networking sites; and podcasting, a medium that reaches a world-wide audience through audio content feeds.

Social networking sites like Facebook (www.facebook.com); MySpace (www.myspace.com); Twitter (www.twitter.com); and Linkedin (www.linkedin.com), have revolutionized global communication. While these Web-based services connect people around the world, they also build relationships among those with common interests and activities, and provide services to individuals with specific needs.

Online public relations practice has become more widespread and people are taking advantage of this fact. More reporters are doing their research online and accepting press releases via e-mail. There are literally dozens of links to Web sites that provide information and enhance public relations and marketing. Below are a few good ones:

· www.online-pr.com

· www.prweb.com

· www.ereleases.com

· www.newswise.com

· www.prplace.com

While all the tools on the Web are there for the asking, a good public relations and marketing professional, as well as strategic planning, are essential to the success of your business.

Written by Karen L. Bonnet, Vision 2 Market – Public Relations & Catherine Flores

Market them in a smarter, more creative way.  You may want to consider revaluating your existing marketing strategy and target customer. Do you have options to make different decisions regarding your advertising plan?  You bet you do and there is no better time than now to re-examine your advertising expenditures or take a good hard look at your target customers buying patterns.  Repositioning your business in the marketplace is essential to surviving in tough times.

How are your advertising vehicles working to increase sales as compared to 3-5 years ago? Once you’ve looked at your advertising expenses and investigated opportunities to redefine your target customer, prioritize the possibilities that can drive immediate sales. Here are a few low cost suggestions:

Call existing customers especially ones that you have serviced within the last year.  Ask if they are happy with the products or services that they received from your company.  If you’ve done a good job, you’ll get great feedback and open the door to doing more sales.  Mention a current promotion or ask if they would like to set the wheels in motion by discussing some particulars on their next project.

Placing a simple call gives you the opportunity to problem solve and be proactive in addressing any client concerns.  How may times have you wanted to call a vendor or supplier about a problem but it was a hassle, or you didn’t have time so you kept putting it off until your sales rep walked in the door? By that time you unleashed on your sales rep. Well, don’t let that be your customer.  View the phone call as an opportunity to improve your business and preserve your reputation. At the very least, you’ll make a memorable impression.

Send your customers your company brochure or most current promotion so they can see the full line of products and services you may be offering at a special savings.  Handwritten written thank you notes can help you stay on the radar screen too.  Nurture your existing customers if you cannot afford to invest in marketing to new customers and they just might help you spark sales now.

Check back next week for more low cost marketing opportunities and suggestions.

Constant Contact offers a reasonable price program and it’s fairly easy to use. They have very easy templates where you can customize your message to customers or hire a professional to create a design that will complement your brand image. Visit www.constantcontact.com for more information.

It’s also a good time to work on projects you’ve been putting off such as your company website, brochure, point of sale displays, etc. You might say, “I cannot afford to invest in these business building concepts at this time”. And you might be right but don’t discount the preparation you can do now by outlining what you would want to feature on your site or in your marketing collateral materials. Chip away at your projects while you have time to devote to them. Seek out companies willing to support your efforts by asking for flexible payment plans or use your good credit to defer payment while you are working to increase sales from your existing customers.

Consumers view businesses as more viable than their competitors in the marketplace when they have invested the time and resources to articulate consumer benefits in a professional website and brochure. There’s no reason to stop investing in your business unless you’ve decided to throw in the towel. In the long run, these steps will help build your brand and create new marketing opportunities for new and repeat customers.

Lastly, if you’re feeling overwhelmed take a day off. Why? Yes, because you can and you just might come up with a few different ideas that may empower your entrepreneurial mind. Step back, take a deep breath and reflect on the emotions you first had when you went into business. It was exciting and pretty scary all the same time right? Not really all that different from the political and economic climate of today.

Check back next week for more low cost marketing solutions and suggestions.

Author: Catherine Flores

Click here for more information about Catherine.

Generally, we think of traffic as a negative concept but when discussing traffic in terms of the internet, it’s a necessity. Once you’ve built and launched your website, what is the next step? Generate website traffic that will increase sales. Marketing and advertising your website is equally as important as the website design and build.

It’s important to budget for costs associated with marketing and advertising your website. Below are a few traffic building concepts that you might want to consider:

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

PPC (Pay-per Click) on search engines such as Google & Yahoo

Press Releases

Landing Pages

Affiliate Links / Link Building

E-Mail Marketing & List Subscription

Internet Marketing – Banners Ads, Pop-Ups, Selling Ad Space On Your Website, Videos

Another traffic building technique is to create a blog. The length of the blog can be between 100-250 words. If you incorporate repeat keywords into your blog the search engine technology is likely to crawl through your site and index it. This will help your website show up when users type in keyword phrases relevant to your industry. Be sure to ask your web designer to name your URL pages appropriately, as well as your post titles and category names.

Ask about these traffic generating techniques when building your website. Some website companies offer incentives to help market your website once it’s launched online. Vision 2 Market recommends incorporating your website marketing and advertising strategy into your annual marketing plans.