Content Matters To Minneapolis Local Business

Thank you! Our inaugural meeting on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at Master Communications Group was a phenomenal success. Thanks go to all of you who attended. We are nothing without your participation.

Minneapolis Local Business Forum Attendees

In attendance were the following business leaders:

• Bob Hart, Hart Law Office
• Catherine Flaherty, Money Mailer Twin Cities
• Cliff Hanson, Accord Benefit Resources
• Dave Wallace, Principal Financial Group
• David Carroll, Boomerang Barter
• Frank Bohlander, Best Wishes Floral
• John Branstad, Leadership By Design
• Larry A. Ford, Larry A. Ford & Associates
• Mark Hall, Best Wishes Floral
• Mike Schleif, MDS Resource
• Nina Stillman, Stillman Law Offices
• Paul Fox, Fox and Fox, LLC
• Ryan Purick, Purick Law Firm
• Stan Glasoe, StanLAN Computer Support
• Tim Lewis, Master Communications Group
• Tom Gleason, Pro-Tech Auto & Truck Repair

Get Your FREE Minneapolis Local Business Video

Several of you took advantage of our free video offer. Keep an eye on this website over the next week to see you and your business featured online. We may contact you to clarify details about your business so we promote you properly. Please, contact us if we need to correct information about you and your business online. Promoting your business on the Minneapolis Local Business Forum website benefits all of us. The more traffic we attract to this website, the more credibility Google and other search engines will give us — and YOU.

ABC’s Of Internet Marketing For Small Business

Tim and Mike presented the ABC’s Of Internet Marketing For Small Business which demonstrates the need for you to effectively promote your business online. If you want a copy of our presentations, let us know. We also captured the presentations on video and we are working on the best way to make this available to you. The most important takeaway from this is probably that your best prospects are online and looking for you and your products and services. Again, right this minute, right here in the Twin Cities, somebody is searching for what you do on the Internet. If they don’t find you, they will buy from somebody else.

Minneapolis Local Business Wants Solutions And Entertainment

Secondly, what these people are looking for is one of two things:

1. A solution to their problem, or
2. Entertainment.

Every search leads to a search results page. Those results, in and of themselves, are of little value except as links to further information. This is key to all Internet marketing; but, especially so for small business Internet marketing. Existing customers already know your name and your website. Eager buyers do not know you … yet. Remember how you, too, search to buy.

I, Too, Shop For Minneapolis Local Business

Initially, I don’t care about your name, your company name, your features nor your advantages. When I’m trying to solve my problem, I am looking for viable solutions to my problem. Once I find a credible solution, I want to know, “What’s in it for me?” How do you shop? Do you spend a lot of time familiarizing yourself with a website belonging to a company with which you have no intention of doing business?

Minneapolis Local Business Are On Search Results Pages

The search results page gives you the briefest of summaries of products or services. Clicking on one of these links ought to take you to a webpage that provides more detail. That is what I expect when I search and click on a search result. What about you? How do you shop online? How do you respond when the link you click takes you to a page that doesn’t meet your expectations? Statistically, the “Back” button is the 3rd most used button on the keyboard when it comes to Internet browsing.

Content Matters To Minneapolis Local Business

So, content matters. It matters a lot. DO NOT underestimate the value of the content you produce in promoting your business. Internet marketing for small business is serious business. You are a publisher. The content you publish, unlike newspaper ads, yellow page spreads and a magazine article — your online content never expires and does not go out with the trash. Think carefully about your online content, because it will still be there five years from now. Forever.

Minneapolis Local Business Feedback Is Valuable

We got great live feedback from all of you. There was considerable interest in learning about blogging. Blogging For Small Business Marketing will be the focus presentation at our next meeting on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 6-7 PM. We are planning to hold this meeting at Master Communications Group again. However, we are also socializing holding our meetings at a local restaurant. It will be good for you to be able to eat and drink. This will also be good for a restaurant to get business and new patrons.

Minneapolis Local Business Forum Wants You At Our Next Meeting

We look forward to seeing you all again soon. Furthermore, keep in touch with us and other members of the Minneapolis Local Business Forum. You are the reason we exist. You can teach us a lot from your experience and your expertise. How can we help you?