By Troy Humphrey
Troy Humphrey is a regular contributor
What is the best type of advertising for your money, especially if you have an online presence? You can spend thousands on radio ads, newspapers, the phone book and other media outlets. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. It depends on your niche that you are trying to promote. Believe me, I have dished out tons of cash for such advertising.
If you open a store downtown with the name “Hiffnago” and just expect drive-by traffic to stop in and purchase enough to pay your bills and provide you with an income, you’re sadly mistaken. You would want to consider advertising in local papers, maybe some flyers plus word of mouth. If you want your business to become an on-line store or website you will need to rely on more than just locals. You will need to promote your business “worldwide.”
To do this you have two options, you can either place an ad in every newspaper, phonebook, radio station and TV network; or you can use internet networking. Trust me, the latter of the two is much cheaper; as a matter of fact, it’s free.
You may have overlooked the internet options simply because they seem to be of no particular value to you. Blogging is, however, a perfect way to get your word out. Twitter and Face Book could be key to your company’s success and, as such, are to be considered very beneficial.
Twitter allows you to post new info for others to see. It may seem obnoxious to those who have heard of it but have not used it. With Twitter, you can follow anyone you want; bands, friends, businesses, actors or anyone else of interest. The more you follow, the more people will notice you, and then more people will follow you. If you updated info on your site, what better way to get your info out to 2500 or more people who are interested in your services, instantly? Try it, go to www.twitter.com/work207 to follow me.
Another useful tool is Facebook. I like Facebook because it is an online social networking website where you can post information, pictures, videos and a whole lot more. It is simple, free, and very easy to use.
Another one of today’s more popular and effective marketing on the web is video via Youtube as well as other websites. Think about it, would you read 4 pages of information and try to visualize what the writer is saying, or would you chose a video format that allows people actually seeing you describing you companies products or services? Video media is quite simply a great idea.
Have you tried Google Adwords? Let me tell you that it is not for the faint of heart. It can be very useful, but if not monitored and used correctly, it can cost you a lot of money with no results at all. If you are going to use it, visit Youtube and do a search for Google Adwords and watch how its works and determine if its suitable for your company.
As for forums, I use them every single day to research one topic or another. I have learned how to program in html, php, css and so much more by reading forums. I have also learned how to remove a heater core in my Dodge Durango, including pictures. My point is that posts on forums can be extremely helpful if you have questions about any particular topic. You will be able to interface with many people that can provide with answers or lead you in the right direction. Most of the time you can put your web address in your signature. Be careful, you can become banned from forums and entire websites for joining just to spam them with useless information.
Also, I recently started a website at www.Work207.com to help you in decision making or marketing, web development, social networking as well as what not to do. I write about scams and how to avoid them, junk emails and what a waste of time it is to read them, and the dangers of (MLM) Multi Level Marketing.
More to come next month.
