No substitute exists for a savvy understanding of the industry that you're in.   Your existing knowledge base primes you to drill down and connect laterally with stakeholders within the realm surrounding your business. 

Press into the topics and subtopics being discussed and provide answers, insights, and education in a creative way.

By networking with relevant sites, supporters, and superintendents you will have a plethora of targets to reach with your sales message.   Put simply, the more you know & integrate with your niche online, the more your business prowess will grow!

We all like to gaze upon the gorgeous! Every day potential customers flock the internet seeking satisfaction & solutions to problems.  Provide a visual experience that pleases your visitors and advance toward the clo$e!   A variety of content management systems, templates, themes, and page builders leave no excuse for bland and broken sites.   With a micro investment in photography, your site will sparkle and stand out on mobile and desktop browsers!  A good looking website will start every prospect out on the right footing!

Claim your profiles on all the major social engines and develop a simple & interactive game plan for one or two key platforms.  This is free advertising that alerts Google and your consumer base that your business or brand is in the game.   Create a handful of foundational posts and use a tool to publish them in perpetuity.   YouTube should be a focus for the majority of businesses.   Stake your claim and reserve your seat in the social media theater.

In Digital Marketing we say, "Content is King!"  With increasing pronouncements, Google is showing greater emphasis on the actual on-page content in the search results.   One way to win this battle is to produce deeper content (more words & images) that cover broad arcs of the topic at hand.   Tools can help you refine and optimize your content and you can use audio + transcription to harvest your knowledge faster than typing!

Social media is speeding towards an all video horizon.   In the near future, consumers will expect to be able to hear the personal voice of the provider they're considering for service.   With the escalation of voice search in homes and autos, doctors, dentists, and attorneys are no longer able to hide behind high end graphics and stale portraits.    Faces and personalities will be front and center.    Small businesses will be expected to demonstrate authority with video and audio across multiple platforms.      

Hearing a famous digital marketer continually weep in his podcast about the years he failed to collect email addresses highlighted this ironclad dictate for me.  You must have a clear flow for directing intrigued visitors onto your email list.   These days an email list is housed by an email marketing provider that provides legally compliant subscribe and unsubscribe access.   The essentials involve an incentive to join your list, a welcome message, and a "drip" sequence to grease your sales process. Start with a free plan and begin utilizing email marketing in your business.   

Unbelievable reporting and analysis tools are available (many at zero cost), so every business and personal brand should take the basic steps to monitoring and tracking.    Of course the complexity can quickly escalate, though the standard tools are accessible and legible for all!  Set up a Google Analytics account and connect to your website for key traffic data. Dial into to the Google Search Console for information and tools related to your site in the search engine.   With regular oversight and analysis, your online marketing will take off!

Doing SEO involves the offensive aspect of building backlinks and it is important that small businesses and new brands spend time manually building backlinks.  To ignore this aspect of SEO assures a website of weak search performance.  Special plays are strategic initiatives designed to boost your online presence with traditional "offline" marketing moves (don't worry we have a list of these to select from).   When scheduled over time each special play provides a dedicated path to a juicy batch of backlink sources (known in the industry as "referring domains").   

With flexible formats , and ad spend range tools ,EVERY brand and business should advertise online.  Covering your company name and key services with a micro budget is non-negotiable.   Scan your competitors' FB ads to scope their approach.   Online ad platforms provide oodles of actionable data, and learning how to scale your business via ads will prove priceless.  The secret is not diving down deep into the rabbit holes, staying alert and gleaning new strategies and best practices.   New avenues for ads will open up and by taking steps now, you'll be ready!

Always look your best!   A minor investment in a high quality brand sets your team up for major success!   With graphic design tools more prevalent today, it's all the more important to produce top level graphic assets for your brand.   Have a website icon, header logo and thumbnail that display real design + creativity.    Do not lose out because your brand looks basic and boring!   Consider the "icons" in your space and learn how to emulate them.  Brand strategy is critical!