With the advent of social technology, it has become increasingly difficult for small business owners to get their hands around all of the information online. Not only do you now have to manage your website, but you probably also have a blog, Facebook Places page, numerous local directory profiles, and more.

So who has time to monitor and manage it all?

There is also the subject of your online reputation – did you know you should be monitoring that too?

The task is simply overwhelming for many business owners. However, it is critically important that you get your hands around it if you want to survive and thrive online. Fortunately, there are a number of tools becoming available online that let businesses manage their web properties and reputation online through a single portal. Want more info?  Give us a call at 864-288-6162.

Whether you realize it or not, every person and company has a resume’ on Google.

No, it’s not a traditional resume’ that you compile, but it’s your digital resume’ as seen by Google or other social sites…and anyone else that searches for your name or company. Perception really is reality and people can quickly form opinions based on what they find online. It’s your online credibility and you need to take control of it.

Here’s a worst-case example from United Airlines.  All Dave Carroll wanted was for United to acknowledge the damage to his guitar and replace it. United wasn’t listening and it is estimated this bad PR cost them as much as $180 million in shareholder value.

Ouch! This is an extreme case, but the point is that consumers will talk. You can’t prevent it but you can control it if you’re listening.

Go to Google and do a couple of quick searches for yourself and your company, i.e. ‘doug fowler greenville sc’, or ‘wsi webworks’. You might be surprised at what you find or don’t find.   If you’re are the face of your company, don’t you think it would be pretty important to know what others see on your resumer’.

I personally Google new prospects, employees, vendors, etc so I can see what others say. It’s an easy way to get the scoop on an individual or business before you engage them.  With the rapid rise of social technologies, the amount info available is only going to continue to grow exponentially.   Don’t you think it would be a good idea to know what others are saying about you and your company – both good and bad.

It all starts with monitoring your resume’ and listening. Find out what’s out there initially and then put a plan in place to manage it…yes, you can manage your online reputation.   So, go Google yourself.

Next, start listening. There are many advanced tools to assist you in managing your online reputation, however all you need to do is start small if you’re not doing anything.  If you’re not doing anything, then start small and start listening. Google Alerts and SocialMention.com are free tools you can use to setup alerts on yourself and your company.  You can use these tools to notify you whenever Google and other sites add something new to your resume’.

NOTE: If you find things on your resume’ that are less than favorable, then it’s time to take action. You can repair it but its not an easy task and you’ll probably  need the help of a ORM (online reputation management) professional.

There are essentially three conversations taking place online today.  All three of these conversations should be addressed as part of your digital marketing strategy. The conversations are:

1. SEARCH – Consumers SEARCH online.
2. SURF – Consumers SURF online.
   
3. SOCIAL – Consumers SOCIALize online.
   

SEARCH represents a Consumer to Business Conversation. SEARCH is the #1 resource consumers use when looking for a local business.  Consumers have a specific need and are initiating the process with businesses. People only spend around 5% of their online time doing SEARCH. However, these consumers are looking for information, product, businesses, etc.  Having visibility online at this stage is critical for local businesses and the return is high.  If you own a local business, it is now critical that you’re being found in search.  Here are three simple to ask yourself? If you cannot answer YES to all three, then you should quickly address any deficiencies.

• Do you have a professional web design that is setup to convert / sell?
• Are you being found for your key services and product?
• Are you measuring your results and return so that you can continually improve them?

SURF represents a Business to Consumer conversation. SURF is often overlooked even though consumers spend more than 40% of their time online SURFING.  Many people today use the internet as their primary source of news and entertainment. The opportunity for businesses is to create awareness of your brand so your business will be the one they remember when they are ready to buy. Display advertising can be a cost effective method of brand advertising. The return is more difficult to measure but the intent is to be where the eyeballs are online.  And yes, you can target display advertising locally.

SOCIAL represents a Consumer to Consumer conversation. SOCIAL Media is a very important method of marketing, sales and branding for many businesses. It does work, and is a communications medium that should not be ignored. Consumers give and get referrals through online conversations and reviews on tons of social sites like Yelp!, Google Places, City Search, Merchant Circle,  Trip Advisor and more.  Some simple objectives with SOCIAL should be to leverage social sites to promote your online referrals, create brand awareness and manage your online reputation.  A simple way to measure your return and progress is through customer reviews and referrals.

So what?  Where do you start?

The simple answer is — your website. I know that sounds obvious but I see too many businesses getting caught up in the euphoria of SOCIAL media while they neglect SEARCH and SURF. Your website is your storefront and often the first thing consumers see about you. You should absolutely have a strong web presence and be found for consumers doing SEARCH.  These consumers have a need and are looking for a solution. The return on investment is very measurable and generally much stronger than SURF and SOCIAL.

Once you have your web presence in order, then you can address the SURF and SOCIAL as part of your overall digital marketing strategy.

Internet marketing, digital marketing, and interactive advertising revenues are expected to grow to $62.4 billion in the US by 2012 according to a forecast by The Kelsey Group. This represents a 21.3% annual rate when compared to 2007 revenues of $22.5 billion for the US.

Compare this with traditional advertising and marketing, such as the Yellow Pages and you will you notice that they are expected to decrease by 1.4% annually over the same period. It’s not surprising that Yellow Books are now trying to aggressively get in the online game.

Forrester Research is projecting similar growth rates for digital advertising in their projects through 2014.  Forrester claims that interactive budgets will grow at the expense of traditional marketing.  Sixty percent of the respondents said they will grow their digital marketing budgets by shifting funds away from other marketing channels.

Newspaper and magazine advertisements, radio ads, yellow pages, outdoor and telemarketing advertisements are all expected to decline while internet  marketing is expected to grow.

Categories expected to grow the most (Data from the Forrester Research revenue estimates for 2014)

• Search Marketing : $31.6 Billion (15% annual growth)
• Display Advertising: $16.9 Billion (17% annual growth)
• Social Media Marketing: $3.1 Billion (34% annual growth)
• Email Marketing: $2.1 Billion (11% annual growth)
• Mobile Marketing: $1.3 Billion (27% annual growth)

Search marketing will be the major marketing area that companies will be investing in to market their business online.  This will be a combination of SMM (social media marketing), SEO (Search Engine Optimization) organic search and PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising.  Overwhelmingly, companies are moving their advertising funds from traditional marketing to online marketing methods.

Leave a comment below if you require more information regarding the growth of internet marketing.