As I’ve stated before, marketing and advertising are generally items in small business which are not noted as holding high priority. Small business owners often simply throw money at this endeavor. Think of the aspects of your business which you pride yourself on. It is highly likely that those which flourish are the ones which have been carefully planned and thought out as an integral part of business strategy. When it comes to marketing, the same principles apply. Here are just a few techniques which small businesses can employ in order to optimize their advertising strategies:

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - Search engine optimization is something which is rarely considered in the realm of online marketing, and it is easily the most important. Do not be discouraged. Most small business owners do not incorporate these strategies because the techniques and knowledge are not of the common variety, and hence, are not freely handed out. In fact, most do not even realize that there is a system to ranking on the major search engines. Common beliefs are that you need money to be at the top, or that sites are published on search engines based upon when they were created, and so on. Know that this is not the case. Developing a strong SEO campaign could be the difference between marketing success and failure. Keep in mind that most web surfers will not venture beyond the first page of their search results, so it is of utter importance that you get yourself to that first page!

Social Networking - The popularity of social networking techniques has created a global surge in marketing capabilities. With over 20 million unique visitors per month, social networking is an asset which no small business can afford to pass up! And do not make the mistake of thinking that this tool is only for those marketing their products and services worldwide. These sites have specifically incorporated means of targeting LOCAL people in order to drive targeted traffic to you, and to your website. Social networking is a revolution in advertising capability.

Email Marketing - In all of the research that I’ve conducted concerning small business advertising and marketing, there is one thing which drives me up a wall like nothing else. This is the fact that MOST small business, once receiving paying customers through their doors, do not do what it takes in order to ensure that these customers repeat that business! If you are not doing anything to keep your business in the front of their minds, then what is to stop them from simply pulling out the phone book again the next time they require similar services or products? Email marketing is the solution to this issue. With email marketing, you give yourself a cost effective way of STAYING in touch with your customers and offering them that extra professional touch which other business are not! Always be building your relationship with your customers.

Email marketing is one of the most overlooked and most effective facets of marketing online today! Websites are good. Pertinent information is good. Outstanding operations and customer service are a must. But realize that there are tools out there which can optimize the capabilities of your company.

Most companies don’t realize that email marketing is a supercharged way of incorporating your customer’s needs into your marketing strategy, thus effectively promoting ‘repeat’ business! What if I told you that just by simply sending out a simple email, you could generate a spark which would ultimately lead to a massive increase in business? I hope you’d as me how!

Auto-responders are an effective tool in today’s marketing economy. And the beautiful thing is that so few know about them, especially smaller companies and local businesses! You can incorporate an auto-responder directly into your website which will allow you to directly advertise, at any time, to local clientèle both new and old!

So few companies take advantage of email marketing , even though businesses have doing it for years. Remember when businesses would hand out cards to fill out complete with name, address information, and phone number? The primary purpose of this was to be capable of contacting existing customers in the event of promotions, to receive their newsletters, and so on in order to generate repeat business.

Email marketing takes this to a whole new level! Through the use of auto-responders, companies can now target not only existing customers, but new customers as well. And they don’t even have to walk through your doors! If I could suggest incorporating only one new tactic into your marketing strategy, it would be none other than email marketing !