Business Owners: 10 Steps On How To Be Found Online
You own a business.
You know about Small Business Saturday.
You have an online shop.
BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO FIND YOU.
Deep breath. It’s common.
You are going to have to do a little work on your end to get the ball rollin’. Once that happens, people will catch on.
The good news? It’s all free.
10 Steps To Getting Your Business Seen This Small Business Saturday
1. SOCIAL MEDIA MAKEOVER: Make sure you have all of your social media accounts updated with your current logo (or look), your website, a good tagline or your store’s mission.
2. HASHTAG YOUR ASS OFF: Start using (or teach yourself) the hashtags #SmallBusinessSaturday and/or #SmallBizSaturday. This is what people can and will be searching for on Saturday. Plus, it gets you into the mix of all the other people doing the same thing. Hashtags work on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
3. SEARCH AND CONNECT: While you’re on social media, start searching for hashtags that apply to your product or brand. Do you sell clothing from an online boutique? Start searching #leggings #fashion #whattowear #sweater #gifts. Once you find people who have pinned, tweeted or put on Facebook about something you have – WRITE A COMMENT!
4. PROMOTE YOURSELF: Don’t be shy. This is a time for self-promotion. There’s no shame in this game. In order for your business to be successful, it has to be promoted so people know you’re here. Ask anyone and everyone to get the word out about your business.
5. BLOG: Whether you do it regularly or you remember only during times like now, write a blog. You don’t have to do in depth research, just write about what you know – your business. Include many keywords, include the words Small Business Saturday and start off your blog with a quick summary of what the blog is about. Think of how a news article is written.
6. SPRUCE UP YOUR SITE: Take a peek at your website. Is it easy to figure out who you are? Can people navigate quickly? Can they read the text? Have you included an “about me” section so people know who they are shopping with? Did you explain what you sell and why it’s the best? Do you have a “contact me” section? Do you mention shipping? All of these things are important for the new customer to know. Remember, you are very familiar with what you do but not everyone else is.
7. DISCOUNTS AND SPECIAL OFFERS: Offer a discount. Give something, anything. Perhaps you have a special gift you can add to purchase or maybe you can offer customers a discount for shopping with you on Saturday. We all love a discount…especially this time of year.
8. SHOW WHAT YOU’VE GOT: Be active. Post pictures of what you have available online. Post it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, the home page of your website, your forehead, the neighborhood, the mall Santa. WHEREVER!
9. PIN IT ALL: We’re convinced that Pinterest is magic. If you don’t have it already, add a Pin It button to your website. Just go to Pinterest and an option will become available to you (or you can look in the top menu bar of Pinterest for more). If you make a Pin It button available, others will do the work for you in spreading the word about your business. Let their passion speak to their network. This is an invaluable way to be connected with people you wouldn’t have had an opportunity to connect with otherwise. You can also pin everything from your site. We’re all in a hurry so if we can find what we’re looking for quickly, you’ve become our best friend.
10. START A GANG: Enlist the help of others you admire. There are a ton of very successful small business owners. In fact, I’d argue you can’t even call them a small business because they are doing so well. That’s the magic of the game. They technically still qualify and are kicking serious ass doing it. Ask for help. Ask for tips. Ask if they will help you grow by giving you a mention. Does that make you nervous? There are two things that would be the absolute worst case scenario: 1. You don’t get a reply. 2. They say no. Those don’t seem so bad, do they? Get to it!
See how impactful #SmallBusinessSaturday is and read even MORE suggestions
on how to be active in promoting yourself. Find it HERE.
Side note: Take a look at this blog post that you just read. Do you see how many times ‘Small Business Saturday’ was mentioned? Do you notice how many “keywords” are used that got your attention as a business owner? Do you see how you’re reading this right now?
We attracted you. Now go attract others and tell us who you are so we can follow you!
This is a fun game, isn’t it? Congratulations on your future success! We’ll be playing the role of emotional parents applauding you from the sidelines.
