Picasso Media Group launches its online marketing business this month on the back of great success already through word of mouth.

The Central Coast, NSW, business will help small businesses create a prominent presence online by building awareness and exposure through WordPress websites, social media and Search Engine Optimisation on Google.

Owners David and Nicole Hammett have built their new business after achieving success in the online space through existing virtual assistance business Little Miss Useful. They will officially launch the new venture at the Central Coast Business Expo on 22 June.

The couple saw a need in the market to make business easier, particularly for micro and small business owners who wanted to compete with bigger fish on the online pond, without forking out for expensive online marketing solutions.

With Picasso Media Group’s easy to customise and manage WordPress templates and websites, this dynamic online duo has created a simple, yet effective way for businesses to get started online.

“It was born to focus specifically on small businesses and entrepreneurs with the need for an online presence,” David explained.

“Our current customers love the flexibility the WordPress platform brings them,” Nicole said.

“They constantly tell us how they love having the control to make instant changes, update and add content themselves without having to rely on their web developer to do it,” she added.

Added to a customised website, Picasso Media Group works with small businesses to develop social media and SEO strategies, ensuring online success.

Even though it hasn’t launched yet, Picasso Media Group has already achieved organic growth for new WordPress website clients and projects through referrals and virtually no marketing.

“We value simplicity and transparency in all that we do, and aim to provide an experience for clients that results in the continued organic growth we have seen ourselves over the past year through word of mouth,” David explained.

Picasso Media Group understands how expensive it can be to get a business online when first starting out, so introduced the WordPress-based econosite! It is the ideal package for small businesses needing to get online quickly – without blowing their budget.

As a launch offer, Picasso Media Group is giving econosite customers free web hosting for the first year, making doing business even easier!

Picasso Media Group offers an end-to-end online solution including design, hosting and maintenance. It is the one-stop-shop for small business websites.

For more information about Picasso Media Group and its wide range of WordPress websites, visit http://picassomediagroup.com/ follow @nicole_hammett and @dave_hammett on Twitter or connect on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/PicassoMediaGroup

Successful marketing involves building a relationship with a prospect and turning them into a satisfied customer who will keep coming back to the business and encourage their friends to do the same.

Online marketing uses this idea, but the relationship is initially built via the Internet or email. Social networking websites – including Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn – are not just another way for teenagers to talk to their friends, but have already become additional tools businesses use to market themselves. In fact, LinkedIn is aimed at professionals wanting to create a business network.

These websites can be used to tell prospects a little bit about you and your business, leading them to your business website to find out more. Invite business contacts and friends to join and then link with your contacts’ networks as well – the potential is unlimited.

Sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn groups are best used regularly to build ongoing relationships, but not for sales pitches.

Email newsletters are another ideal online marketing tool for building relationships. They can be used to communicate with past, present and future customers – all that is needed is the contact’s email address and permission to use it.

Electronic newsletters can be done from the office using regular email programs or, even better, there are database management programs available that manage the whole process, including distribution, tracking and spam compliance for people who unsubscribe.

For those who love to write, try a blog. Search engines love blogs because the content is constantly updated and so this is a great way of ensuring you and your business feature in search results. Free blogs can be set up at www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.org.

Blogs build credibility and expert status because writing about your chosen topic puts you in direct contact with your target market. They also attract leads and begin the relationship-building process because prospects can read what you have to say on the topic.

Once in the habit of writing regularly, a selection of blog posts can be combined to produce an e-book that is published on your website or used as an incentive for people joining your business mailing list.

1. Encourage Web Browsers to Stay
Ensure your website is eye-catching and easy to navigate, giving browsers – or potential customers – every reason to stay and have a good look around.

2. Call to Action
This term is used often, but it works. Supply great content on your website and then encourage browsers to contact you via email or phone or, better still, buy!

3. Let Them Know You’re Real
Internet fraud is a huge concern, so people visiting your site need to know you are a credible business.Prove your reliability with:

• A physical address and landline phone number;
• Photos of you, your staff and premises;
• Testimonials and case study from happy customers;
• Consistent follow up of all enquiries.

4. Use Search Engines
There are ways you can jump the queue when it comes to search engine rankings:Search Engine Optimisation: include key words relevant to your business so your site comes up at the top of the list, ie if you sell hand-made furniture then make sure the words “furniture”, “custom”, “hand made” and “bespoke” appear on your site.Search Engine Marketing: if you don’t want to leave it to chance, try Google AdWords and pay for your site to appear at the top of web searches.

5. Email Marketing
This is a cost-effective way of getting your message out to your whole database of contacts and an excellent method of building relationships with your customers through enewsletters, special email offers and targeted personal messages tailored to their interests.

For more information take a look at my colleague and friend Belinda Jackson’s website: www.webchameleon.com.au.

6. Links and Advertising
Get your name out there by linking to related websites and getting links back from them too.Easy ways to do this include:

• Submit articles to other websites;
• Submit your site to online directories;
• Affiliate with complementary businesses, ie have a link to your legal website from a real estate agency.
• Use banner advertising on targeted websites.

7. Competitions
Your new and existing customers will love an online competition, which is a great way to build interest in your website. Consider partnering with another business for the prize and share the contact information you gain from the entries (with the entrant’s permission of course!).

8. Public Relations
It would be remiss of me not to mention public relations in this article, but PR is another cost-effective method of promoting your business online. Do this by letting your target media and customers know when you introduce a new product, relaunch your website or add new content.

9. Blogging
What better way to tell your customers about yourself and your business than through your own blog, just like this one. Position yourself as an expert on your given topic and write to your heart’s content. It’s an easy way to tell your customers what they want to know.

10. Tracking and Updating
Keep a close eye on all the statistics your web host gains from visitors to your site, including the search terms they use, where they are coming to your site from, how long they stay and which pages they like. Use this information to constantly improve your site.