Tag Archives: women business marketing

3 KEY THINGS THAT WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES MUST DO TO KEEP THEIR WEBSITES COMPETITIVE IN 2018

Posted on Wednesday, 04 April
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

With the digital marketing world getting highly competitive there is a vital need to optimize your website in order to keep it visible in search engine searches for your customers.

Here are 3 things that you need to pay attention to for your website to rank higher against your competitors:

  1. Ensure your website is updated

With Google now planning to use the mobile-first algorithm to rank websites it is highly important that your website is mobile friendly.  If mobile users quickly navigate off your website it implies that your website has a higher “bounce rate” and that users are not finding what they are looking for. To ensure that the mobile audience is engaged on your website your site needs to have a higher “site speed”, i.e. it should take less than 3 seconds to load. Avoid large files and flash images on your website. Additionally, it is important that your website is easy to navigate on a mobile device without the user having to click multiple buttons such as ‘see more’ or ‘next’ to get to the required information. Lastly, as obvious as it may seem, make sure your website is free of any loading or 404 errors. Mobile users are fast and savvy and any such errors will be penalized by the search engines.

 

  1. Post Content Regularly

Google crawlers are hungry for new information; they crawl your website hunting for new material and content. The best way to get higher search engine rankings is by regularly posting fresh content. Start by creating a blog section on your website. In this section, you can start posting weekly blogs about your products and services as it relates to the customer. Also writing informative and knowledgeable content on topics within your related niche or industry encourages readers to visit your website regularly. Both of these factors —fresh content and increased visitors will yield a higher a search engine ranking for your website.

 

  1. Create Backlinks

Links are of two types, outbound and inbound links. Outbound links are sites that you link to as part of a source or referral for information on your website. Inbound links, on the other hand, are links created when other websites link to your website. Quality and organic inbound links, i.e. links from influencers within your business niche, will greatly boost your search engine rankings. Be prudent in getting backlinks, as low-quality links (such as those bought from link farms), can adversely affect your rankings and your website could even be penalized for such black-hat SEO techniques.

Search engines have come a long way since their inception in the 1990’s and are regularly updating their algorithms to rank websites. Hence it is best to regularly update your website by designing it on a search engine friendly platform, keeping security updates up to date, writing quality content and linking with other key players in your business space.

3 Questions That Keep Women Business Owners Up At Night

Posted on Thursday, 15 February
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

What are some of the issues that you are confronted with daily in your business?

There are many dynamics that women business owners need to look into when analyzing their business. Some of these may include time management, work-life balance, marketing strategies, creating a positive impact and more.

Let’s explore the top 3 questions that keep women business owners up at night:

1. Why am I constantly working round the clock?

Do not attempt to be all things to all people.  If you keep working on your weakness, at the end of the day what you will be left with will be a ‘stronger weakness’.  Develop your business model around your weaknesses. If you are creating your small business website, working on client acquisition as well providing service/product, chances are that you are juggling a lot of things at the same time. This is an absolute sure-fire way to burn yourself out even before you get your business running. It is advisable to do a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis.  Put your natural talent in the forefront and delegate or automate the other stuff.

2. Do I need to use business systems?

Yes, business systems do sound intimidating to women business owners who are just getting started. But, having automated systems to support your business will free up a lot of time for you to actually do business and not just be a full-time administrator. As you are acquiring business and developing long term customers, you will also be faced with the added responsibility to maintain and educate the customers as well. Business systems technology now allows you to manage customer relationships, automate e-mails and also send weekly newsletters to your customers.  For example, seasonal discounts and marketing flyers could all be incorporated into automated business systems.

3. Am I creating a positive impact to the bottom line?

When women are asked about assets and liabilities they come up with a very detailed list for their business. Often the most important asset that does not make it to the list is ‘YOU’. It is best to invest in educating yourself and keep abreast with everything that is happening in your industry and your supporting business systems. Successful women business owners recognize the need to be guided by a team of good counsel, coaches and consultants. Also, investing in yourself means blocking time on your calendar for self learning, which could be via an online course, an e-book or a mentorship program.

So, to sum it all up, if you do not wish to burn the midnight oil, remember to work on your strengths, develop automated business systems and invest in yourself.

Five Proven Ways Women Business Owners Can Promote Their Company

Posted on Friday, 27 January
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

Are you a woman business owner looking for new clients? For any business lead generation is key to ensure a constant flow of clients to fuel business growth.

You may have a great brand, wonderful staff and a passion for what you do, but without promotion you can only grow to a certain point if you don’t get in front of those who want to do business with you.

Here are 5 proven ways women business owners can promote their company:

  1. Have a Responsive Website: This one may seem obvious, but there are still those who don’t have a website. With the world going digital having a responsive website (optimized for mobile phones and smart devices) is essential today. Make sure your web address is included on all printed material such as business cards, catalogs, invoices, packaging and more. Also be sure to include it in online publications, newsletters and social media to drive people to visit you online.
  2. Press Releases – It’s important to shout out and perhaps send out a press release when you have something to announce, such as a new and improved web experience, a new product or service your company has introduced, an important member of staff or perhaps a new technology your firm has adopted. Make your announcement to the media, targeted mailing lists of potential clients and be sure to include all of your current customers and clients.
  3. Business Networking & Social Media – Attending networking events and Business Matchmakers are a great way to meet new business owners and potential clients and build connections. But why stop there? Setting up a company page on some popular Social Media outlets can get you seen globally, not just locally. One thing to note however is that when you’re marketing on social media make sure your messages reflect your brand identity which can take years to build, but often just one mistake to destroy.
  4. Multi-channel Business Marketing – Still handing out business cards at conferences and using direct mail to distribute brochures? Just like everything else, business promotion has also evolved. There are many automated marketing solutions in the market that will send out email, SMS, voice messages and even surveys on auto-pilot for you, so you can focus on your business while the software helps you generate new leads.
  5. Getting Certified – Getting certified is a critical step towards business promotion. Organizations like WBEC-West make sure their WBEs get ample exposure by showcasing them in their quarterly newsletters and sending out an email to their large list of WBEs and Corporate Sponsors. This one step alone can get you the potential eyeballs you need to get your business noticed to procure key contracts.

Do you have more marketing tips to share? Let us know in the comments below.