How a Small Business Can Market Like the Big Boys: 5 Steps to Success

I've just started doing some guest blogging over at my friends from Small Business Edge. In this first blog post I talk about what small businesses can do to even the playing field against companies with larger budgets. Here is an excerpt:

"1 - Start a Blog - There is no better way to consistently get valuable content out to customers as easily than through a blog. Look to wordpress or Typepad for starter accounts.  Both can be integrated within your current websites.

2 - If you’ve started a blog (or once you do)…get active in the community. Find the top 20 blog sites in your industry or local area and start commenting. Every time you comment, a link is created back to your site. This generates traffic to your site, builds on your Google Page Rank, and increases your reputation in the community.

3 - Create a regular opt-in communication piece. For many, this will be an eNewsletter, where you can highlight content from around the web and your own original content that is relevant to your customers.

4 - Develop your keyword list. I always recommend spending about 5 hours with a search engine optimization (SEO) expert to help you define your keywords.

5 - Utilize NEWS releases - Send them not to get coverage, but to expand your link building and web presence. Make sure the releases focus on the customer, not how great you are. Services like PRWeb are great."

Check out the Small Business Edge site when you get a chance. Although not content marketing, here's a good article on creating a print ad that works.

Comments

[Jay Ehret]

Joe, I'm on board with blogging for a lot of small businesses. But I find myself wondering if this is a good strategy for most small businesses.

Let's say that you own a local fast-food chicken place. I can see that maybe blogging would be useful. But just how much? Blogging can take a lot of time and I wonder about the ROI.

[Matt Ambrose]

A strategy I'm trying to develop for my clients is getting useful articles posted on industry websites featuring their contact info. Normally I'd approach bloggers to write a guest post, but for some of my clients a blog community covering their industry doesn't really exist. However, many industry news websites are crying out for content and so long as the article is providing useful insight rather than just a blatant ad then there's every chance of it being accepted.

[Joe Pulizzi, Junta42]

Thanks for the comment Jay. I definitely agree...blogging is NOT for every small business. The business may not have someone to champion the cause and dedicate time. The organization may not be set up for a blogging culture (complete openness). And to your point, they may own a local chicken place where the online benefits aren't as great as other businesses.

That said, I still think you can make a case for any small business and the core benefits of blogging (if done right). For the local-chicken example, I'd figure out what is really important to my customers and form a content strategy around it. Is it roam-free chickens, fresh ingredients, service...whatever. Find what's important to them and discuss. It will not only increase the odds of getting that business found on the Internet, but improve their reputation across the board over time. It will also position the person and company as experts. If someone needs to do a local story, who are they going to call on? Probably you, the online chicken expert. :)

Blogging is not a fool-proof solution. It's just one tactic of many. If you only did blogging, you would most likely fail. But, the opportunity is clearly that we are in such an early stage in the Internet...no one knows the true impact the web will have on our businesses over the next few years. You gotta be in it to win it.

Thanks

[Joe Pulizzi, Junta42]

Matt...love the strategy. This is especially timely since some traditional publications are cutting back staff and are in desperate need of content.

Question...if a blogging industry doesn't exist for their industry, can your clients help to create it? Sounds like an opportunity.

Thanks
Joe