Last week, I participated in an interesting Webinar, which featured speaker Jay Byrne, president of V-Fluence Interactive, Inc. During the webinar, he pointed out several ways small business owners can boost their brand visibility through search engine optimization and public relations. Based on his background and knowledge, I thought Jay would be a great person to interview and introduce to all of you.
You can view my interview with Jay Byrne below:
1) You've published several articles on the use of interactive media and online communications. How were you introduced to online public relations and marketing?
I got my start in PR some 25 years ago working in politics. Campaign work is research-intensive, which required being an early adopter to technology and access to online databases (before there was a World Wide Web, a few of us were online connecting to gather and share data). In the early 1990's working in the Clinton Administration and later with Monsanto Corporation, as the online revolution began to take shape, it became clear that the Internet was going to redefine communications. In those jobs I inherited "the Web" as part of my broader media relations and corporate communications responsibilities and in both cases the Internet was a point of significant pain and consternation and there were few people, let alone agencies, which really provided comprehensive strategic advice (lots of tactic salesmen) and measurable execution support. As such, I had to find ways to understand the how's and why's the way the Web worked on my own and saw firsthand how the Web was really forcing a merger of the public relations and marketing disciplines. I read what I could, attended conferences, sought out experts; however and most importantly, I jumped in and participated directly myself.
2) Do you think in today's tech-savvy world, a small business in the U.S. can experience long-term success without having a website?
Today Joe's Hot Dog stand may not need a Web site, but it still needs a Web presence so people can find it and/or evaluate whether or not they want to eat there. As we move more and more into Web 2.0 (and 3.0) world where information flows with minimal barriers at all points of purchase/decision making I'd be hard pressed to think of any business that will succeed absent a Web presence. What that Web presence looks like may or may not include a Web site or a blog or a social network profile… Today it is so easy and inexpensive to create a simple Web site that has your name, address and any basic information your customers may need to make a decision about purchasing your products or services online that small businesses would be very short sighted to not take that minimal step.
3) Do you think all small business owners can benefit from online public relations and marketing? If so, why?
The Web is a great equalizer for small businesses. In fact, many small businesses are better able than their larger competitors to take advantage of the fast moving opportunities presented by the Web. Opportunities such as a heightened search interest in your product area due to a news story or blog buzz for which smaller more agile organizations can make decisions and get quick approvals for timely, low cost pay-per-click ads or micro-targeting content on your Web sites for low search volume, but high relevance sales opportunities. The Web presents many opportunities for small businesses such as enabling the replacement of high-cost brick-and-mortar storefronts and significantly expanded potential customer access. Numerous books have been written on these business benefits and opportunities - I personally like Bill Gates "The Road Ahead" and "Business @ the Speed of Thought" for the big picture overview of these small business opportunities and benefits.
4) How have you used online public relations and marketing strategies to build your business/brand?
We started v-Fluence as a virtual company. We used the Web to both enable our staff located across the country to work together, but to also define ourselves for potential customers. We are a word of mouth (mouse) company which gets clients largely from demonstrating our expertise online and from existing customers sharing their experiences. We share are knowledge and amplify our customers' praise through our Web site, our company blog, social networking profiles and multi-media channels. We further syndicate content with regular low-cost Web wire releases and RSS feeds to other online opinion leaders' Web destinations.
5) What are some free or inexpensive SEO and PR tactics that you'd recommend?
Search starts with language - your customers, not yours - so start there. Use (free) Google Adwords or (very low cost) Microsoft Ad Center tools to identify the terms people use to come to your product areas online. Don't just pick terms with the highest volume; focus on highly specific search term combinations for which there is less completion (these tool will let you know advertising competition, which will be a good indicator for how aggressively people are positioning organic/earned content placement as well). Include this language in your online promotional materials and Web pages and optimize your content to be found in top results those searches. If your Web pages are found in the first page of results and effectively address these search interests you will have a higher likelihood of attracting and converting those visitors into customers.
Us low-costing (like PR Web) or free (like PRLeap.com) with relevant keywords embedded with hyperlinks back to your Web site to increase your links (thus search optimization rankings) and to place content in highly valuable news portals. Take advantage of high interest due to news stories or events which will likely increase target audience interest in news that you can position your information against.
Create social network profiles in spaces like LinkedIn, MySpace and Face Book for your company. If you're able, enhance this presence using RSS feeds from your news room to automatically syndicate your updated content (such as press releases, product updates, etc…) to these destinations. Again, it will increase your links and extend your content reach into spaces where potential customers are interacting.
Multi-media consumption is one of the fastest growing areas of the Web. For free you can create a YouTube Channel with your company or product-type name. Using an inexpensive (less than $150) Flip Video camera you can record short video clips about your products or services and post them to this channel with links back to your Web site. There are 11.5 billion videos views on YouTube each month - no reason that some of them cannot be yours.
6) What marketing advice would you give to a small business owner who has had little or no experience marketing online?
First, keep it simple. Start with the basics and do them well, versus waiting until you can have all the bells and whistles. An easy to follow, clean and simple Web presences is better than none at all. Second, use the Web as a networking resource via easy-to-use social networking platforms like LinkedIn.com. Finally, think about where your customers will go to make decisions about your types of products and spend time there yourself - it will present opportunities for earned outreach or low cost advertising with high potential returns.
7) What are some of the latest online public relations and marketing trends?
Online video channel creation by companies and the mass syndication of multi-media content via YouTube and the various other online video sharing sites.
Social networking profiles with opportunities directly connecting companies with potential customers and other influentials.
Mobile content creation like WAP sites (Web sites designed for use on wireless devices like mobile phones) and mobile content distribution via services like Twitter.
If you would like to find out how to contact Jay or read his professional bio, please go to: http://www.mysolutionspot.com/JayByrne/.