Do You Have A Big Tent Digital Marketing Strategy?

Being a smaller, local firm in Louisville we are able to work with a lot of start up or new companies and local non-profit organizations. Often times I meet with people who might market their company through an e-mail campaign, using a platform like constant contact; they might promote their company or event through a Facebook Fan Page or another social media site like Twitter or even Linkedin, and more recently they might be using an e-mail coupon site like Groupon or Living Social. All of those are an easy, affordable and even fun way to market a local business, non-profit organization, or fundraising event, but is it enough?

When I meet with a prospective client, especially one who might not have a large budget for a website or might not need that complicated of a site. Someone who doesn’t really think they need a separate website from the social media tools that they are already using, I typically explain our “Big Tent” marketing philosophy, meaning yes, you should market your company on Facebook or Twitter and yes you should stay in touch with your customers, clients and donors through an e-mail newsletter or e-mail coupons, and definitely you should have you use social media review sites like Yelp!, Angie’s List and other blogs but without a “big tent” under which all of these great online platforms can link up or refer your “Followers” turning them into clients it can be a lot of work with little return. That tent where your followers can congregate is a separate, independent website that fully integrated with the various social media platforms you are using to market your business or organization.

Your website doesn’t have to be expensive, flashy, or extremely complicated. It should be informative, easy to navigate and as my favorite advertising professor used to say, “Slick”.

Besides bringing your followers back to a central location, your tent can help new members of your target audience you didn’t know you were targeting. Your website’s content should written to maximize your site’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by including relevant key words and content. Search engines like Google don’t recognize e-mails and if people are searching for you locally just having Facebook page or a Twitter account won’t help you outrank your competition that has their own separate website.

What makes Social Media sites like Twitter, Facebook, or Youtube and their social review site cousins like Yelp! And Angie’s List so popular is the freedom in some cases anonymity it gives its users. If someone Tweets a nasty comment about your business or even worse give you a bad review on Yelp! or another internet forum, it could cause you to lose potential and current customers. By having your own website you can automatically combat the bad P.R. you are getting online. Google ranks your own website higher than it ranks Facebook pages and other social sites, so having your own Facebook page and your own website you are getting a leg up on anyone who would wish to do your online reputation harm.

Staying on top in this current economy means staying one step ahead and finding customers, donors, clients, and followers anywhere you can. By keeping your marketing strategy big enough to encompass everything you should be able to navigate the rough economic currents with a little more ease.