You may have been in your industry for years. You may have been doing this for a few weeks. But, no matter how long you've been in your industry, you've got to market yourself well. Here are some tips to help you market yourself well this year.
Make Sure You Look Professional Online
If you have the design chops and about 20-60 hours to create your website, go forth and design one. If not, you should pay for website design, development, and SEO-friendly content. Outsourcing will help you save time and from a headache. But, don't deal with various people when you don't have to do so. If you stick with one vendor, you will have an easier time keeping your brand look consistent.
You will also have someone by your side who becomes more than a vendor but a partner. If you decide to build your website, be sure it has your logo, business name, and grammar-free content.
Nurture Your Network
When you meet new people, follow up with them within 24 hours with an email expressing your desire to keep in touch with a monthly letter. In your letter, tell the person what your emails will include and the value to them. Let the person know that they may unsubscribe at any time as well.
And when you see content that you think they would like to read or a virtual event you think they would like to attend, share it with them.
Use SEM and SEO for Your Business
Search engine marketing (SEM) is when you pay for clicks on advertisement placement on a search engine results page (to have a sponsored ad). Search engine optimization (SEO) is when you add keywords or phrases multiple times on your website in a natural way to rank higher in search results pages for relevancy.
Both methods involve researching keywords or phrases others will use to find you online. You want to use these keywords or phrases in your site content for SEO. For SEM, you select terms or words you would like to target so that the clicks you pay for are from decent leads. The cost will vary depending on the marketing demand and terms chosen.
Educate and Be Relevant
You should also focus on becoming a thought leader, even if you are not confident writing, speaking, or in front of a camera. If you want your company to grow, you will have to step outside your comfort zone. Educating others or sharing your opinion will help build your reputation as an expert. People like and trust experts.
Create a Realistic Budget
I know you may want to do everything yourself to cut business costs. But are you willing to do your dental work? If not, why create a website without knowing that a site has to be more than pretty.
There are many things to consider, like gestalt, whitespace, color theory, reading flow, readability, and more. Paying for a website created using a web designer who knows all this is the cost of doing business. Creating a realistic marketing budget considers website costs.
By the way, the average cost of a 7-10 page website can be about $3,500 - $6,500. So keep this budget in mind when creating your budget. Also, chew on this. Nearly 95% of people see companies as more trustworthy if their site is put together well. Therefore, think of your website as a complete reflection of your work.