Four Ways to Easily Market Your Business Consistently

As small business owners and entrepreneurs it isn't difficult to get into the habit of feeling you're too busy to promote or market your business. Of course, this can be compared to stating that you're too busy to invest in your ongoing success. Find out the key 4 ways to help you make time to regularly and consistently market ' so that you can experience long-term success and growth in your business.

I think it's human nature to forget about our marketing when we've got clients coming in but as soon as the flow slows down a bit (which it will), we panic and start looking frantically around for ways to get more clients coming in.

By making time on a regular basis and continually to market, you ensure that you continue to find and maintain your most profitable clients. This is just what will give you success in the long run and growth in your business.

So, just how do you make marketing the # 1 priority?

Here are 4 tips to try...

1. Make sure you have a marketing action plan

When you have a roadmap which tells you where you're heading and ways to get there, then actually doing it gets easier. When you have a plan of action, you don't have to waste time scrambling around every time you try a new marketing activity.

A marketing action plan allows you to spend less time with your marketing and be more focused in the process.

2. Create a marketing action calendar

Having a calendar that plots out each marketing action acts as a great visual roadmap. You can see instantly any "holes" or overlaps of approaches and timing. I plan almost everything on my marketing action calendar - from newsletter submission dates, blog posting schedule, social media postings, special email reminders, networking events, teleseminars and so on.

Having a marketing action calendar enables you stay on top of the marketing you've committed to.

3. Set up marketing appointments with yourself

Set aside at least a day a week to work on marketing your business. Schedule this into your calendar and don't break it! Consider it as important as client appointments . Take this time to evaluate and track your marketing activities, research new opportunities, adjust your sales goals, write an article or blog post, conduct a client survey, and so on.

By booking appointments with yourself, you MAKE your marketing a priority.

4. Do bite-sized marketing chunks during the day

You can deal with the more extensive chunks (planning, writing, tracking, etc.) of marketing during your weekly scheduled marketing appointment with yourself. Bear in mind, there are plenty of little bite-sized marketing tasks that you can do between appointments or when you need a break from working on a large project.

Here are some bite-sized marketing tasks that can be done in 5 - 10 minutes:

* call up a client and ask for a testimonial

* sign up for your next networking event

* call a program chairperson about setting up a speaking engagement at an organization you're interested in

* email a potential referral source to set up a meeting

* jot down an outline for your newsletter content

* call a new client to find out if they have any questions on their recent purchase

* send an article, with a note, to a client you know is interested in the topic

* order a thank you gift, on the web or by phone, to be sent to someone who just referred a client to you

* submit an article you've written to an article directory website

* send a handwritten note to someone you met at a meeting recently (you can automate this process.

* write up something for your blog and post it

* check out a company's website that you are interested in possibly doing a joint venture with

Incorporate these 4 tips into your everyday work schedule and you'll soon find it easy and profitable to make marketing a priority.

Cool Tools to Market Your Small Business

I've lived in the Phoenix area for almost two years now.  I had no idea that moving would change the platform of my business, nor did I realize business would take a hit because no one knew me.  That’s all changed in the last six months since I’ve learned more about social media marketing.  Just yesterday I was on the phone with a prospect and when I looked at his social media profile while we were on the phone, I recognized someone who I recently met.  Knowing someone in common helped us make that connection on my cold call.  It makes sense to be in the know to who your prospects know, doesn't it?  Social media warms things up!  Is it heating up the climate for your business?

Fact: More than 1 million businesses have some integration with Facebook on their website. 

Fact: 40% of marketers use Google+, 67% want to learn more.

Did you know that Facebook and Twitter are a couple of the top social media websites.  You may even have your own accounts, but are you using them to get the maximum business benefits, or are you simply wasting your valuable time? (Such as when you log into your Facebook account planning to just "check-in," only to later realize that hours have passed. Urgh!!)

These full-of-potential marketing tools are relatively easy to use once you know how to take full advantage of your social media marketing initiatives.

Put simply, "social media" is an organic online relationship. These relationships might take place on social networking sites (like Facebook and Google+), business networking sites (like LinkedIn), blogs (like WordPress and Blogger), microblogs (like Twitter) and a variety of other up-and-coming sites like Pinterest. Therefore, when you take part in "social media marketing," you are using these tools to promote your business, with the ultimate goal of increased sales thanks to the exposure you receive.  

You -- as a small business owner -- will likely also use social media to feature your expertise, connect with others in your industry, and meet like-minded people across the planet. The good thing is, social media marketing is easy to use, at your own pace. Let's begin with some benefits of using social media marketing for your business.

• Build brand/name recognition. The more visible you are in the online community, the better. Getting your name out there is easy on the web, and at virtually no cost. Always use your logo, tagline, and photo on these sites to build your brand.

• Establish yourself as an expert in your area.  Share what you know. Teach your followers.  Become the resource for invaluable ideas.

• Increase website traffic and search engine rankings. On your social media sites, include links back to your company website. Invite people to visit your site to get more information and to sign up for your newsletter. Bonus: The more links back to your company website (especially from established sites like Facebook and Google+), the better your search engine rankings!

• Increase sales and profitability. The ultimate goal for most: By bringing in qualified leads, you'll hopefully attract new customers and clients. They get to know you on your social media sites, then they visit your website to learn more, and the relationship grows from there.

If you want to get more focused on your social media, email me for a free market analysis of your business and one competitor.  You'll quickly see where you stand in the marketplace.  We can then choose the social media websites that are right for you, how to figure out what to write about, how to strategize and organize goals, and how to analyze your results.  2014 is going to be an amazing year. 

In the meantime, now that you understand social media marketing a little better, give it a try. Visit my sites at http://twitter.com/annemcgurty,  http://www.linkedin.com/in/annemcgurty, http://www.facebook.com/strategizeandorganize.   Join my network and invite me to join yours! Let's learn more about each other!