When it comes to blowing our own trumpets, the British can be a bit modest. But when you consider that we are responsible for some pretty big hitters in the business world we really should stop and ask “why?”. There is no harm in saying “I’m good at that”, and you are unlikely to be judged if the occasional “Yes, we have lots of experience” slips out from time to time; after all, we are familiar with pitches and we have all been to an interview.
Obviously, face to face meetings are not always going to be possible, so dazzling wit and charm will have to go on the back burner for the purpose of this blog and instead we will focus on tips for remote tactics that can specifically promote the services you do.
One of the simplest things you can do is to add testimonials to your promotional material and website. Whenever you undertake a new job or client, ask them for feedback you can use in turn for mentioning them and adding a link to their website or the project you did for them. This may include a scripted video, an ad campaign or even a complete website rewrite. Something like this: www.cabercoffee.com
This has the benefit of directly showcasing your work to potential clients, plus it adds credible links which Google loves.
This is one for the bloggers. Feature your blog in as many places as you can. Tweet about it, add it to your Facebook page if you have one and you should definitely be putting it on LinkedIn and my personal favourite, Aberdeen Business Network http://aberdeenbusinessnetwork.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=32rihq5fh91fs
Ask readers to comment, interact with them and really get to know your audience. Similarly, read and comment on others’ blogs too, this can give rise to potential business partnerships and connections. Give guest blogging a go as well, both from a featuring and submitting point of view. This will increase your visibility and the mutual links work well for SEO also.
Give visitors to your platforms a taster of what you can do. This is a great, homegrown example. This insight into what they will gain from attending a course will encourage customers to make bookings and help establish you as an authority in what you do.
Bolster your previews by adding any relevant awards and achievements to your website and advertising.
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Re-tweet and ‘favourite’ complimentary tweets and keep on top of current musings by grouping together similar followers and those you follow. Début Marketing uses Hootsuite for this.
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Attend exhibitions and events and have plenty of promotional material ready to hand out. You will most likely do a lot of talking to new people at such occasions and many of them will have varying needs so this is your opportunity to really shout about your repertoire.
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Be sure to incorporate specific phrases and keywords into your website content. This will help you rank for the things you are good at and encourage traffic to your site. Remember however that it is unlikely you will be able to rank for everything so focus on your main areas of expertise.
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PPC (pay per click) advertising is another great way for SMEs to be seen in search engine results.
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Join groups and be active in discussions, after all, this is like a form of networking and lets people know you have something beneficial to add.
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Attend courses to keep up to date with your specialist field and to meet similar business people who you can turn into connections and advocates.
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And finally, try using an independent review site if you have received particularly good service, it’s a great way of giving and sharing testimonials.
Which methods do you currently use to shout about what you do? Please leave comments to this post, I would love to find out. Next week, in light of Facebook’s new competition revelation, I thought it would be a good idea to have an interactive blog on how you use Facebook for your business. Tweet me @carolineFW and you may just get a shout out next week.