Making your mark on the internet.

         With businesses sprinting onto the internet to claim their territory, it is becoming harder and harder for small businesses to make a name for themselves among the swarms of content that is flooding the internet. One of the main reasons for this is larger businesses throwing money at the internet to gain rankings and visibility, which in some cases allows them to be on top.

What are small businesses to do, in order to make a name for themselves and stand out from the crowd? This is a question a lot of small business owners ask themselves while thinking about making their small business visible on the internet. Below we will list a few necessary steps in order to create worthwhile content that will attract viewers and ultimately gain you customers for your small business.

·         Know your target

o    Knowing your target audience is one of the most important first steps. Not knowing who your target audience is like firing an artillery shell randomly trying to hit your mark.

·         Know your goals

o    Settings goals is the only way you have of judging your businesses performance on the internet. Aside from knowing your performance, goals allow you to keep track of what you are working on.

·         Branding

o    If you do not already have branding for your small business, you need to. Branding is one of those key features that allows customers to identify your business out from the rest of the crowd. If you look at any successful business they have their own brand. Your branding will consist of a name, logo, slogan and/or a theme for your small business to name a few.

·         Social Media

o    Social media is one of those services that is exploding with popularity all around the world and the best thing about it, is that it is FREE! Do yourself and your business a favor, sign up. Ensure that when you do sign up for these services that you stay active with it. Do not and I repeat, do not neglect it. This is extremely important, it shows your potential customers you’re engaged and dedicated to your business.

·         Website

o    Having a website is another one of those major assets to have when making a name for your business on the internet. This is the place that you ultimately want your target audience to flock to from your social media outlets. It is impossible to deliver all of your content on social media websites, which is where your website kicks in.

In conclusion, when trying to make your mark on the internet. Know your target, know your goals, have a brand, use social media and have a website. Probably the most important tip out of everything above, is staying active. If you neglect the internet, your potential customers may neglect to click on your website, Twitter and/or anything else your may have on the internet. The last piece of advice I can give is to just use the internet. It can be your best friend, if used properly. There are an endless number of resources available only a click away, start using them.

-Travis Sloneker