I am trying to market my consulting firm, and not sure if I should create a blog or a website. Which one would be more effective?
I am in the process of expanding my consulting firm and am struggling between blog or website, as well as if it is advantageous to create a facebook, twitter, instagram or other social media options.
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Nov 19, 2014
Okay,same here.Iam into web marketing for for my Web and Graphics Design development company.Let see,you have an company called:ABC.
1.You need site:www.abc.com/hosting and domain(not much cost here)
2.web development for website
3.Then create FB pages for your website.
4.You have to have an origin.The origin is your website.It tells what you are.
5.your email when you are emailing business contacts cant be:
William albright205 at yahoo.com
You will want to use it:William.Albright @abc.com not yahoo or any free mail.(it is another thing if hosting company gives you free hosting.As long as your email has @abc.com)
6.You need a good Logo.If you dont have get it designed(we provide the services)
7.Say your abc company sell advice,then you have to SEO.
Say you want in London,then you to have SEO your site.
So a person searches google.com. "London+ some consulting)
he will see your Company in Google reasults 1st page.
We do provide all these services:
Web development
Social Integration and marketing
SEO
Graphics design.If you need these services we may be able to help you.
Regards,
Abbas Mandal
Jun 4, 2014
Hi William,
To summarize pretty much what a lot of the responses have outlined for you, rather than trying to decide which is more advantageous, a website or a blog, you should be focusing on integrating both. A website can give your blog a platform to live on and in turn having a blog that lives on your website will drive traffic to the rest of your site. WordPress is the easiest CMS you can work with to do both that can be SEO friendly. I suggest building with a Genesis framework because they have one of the cleanest codes you can find and they have some of the best templates to integrate that framework with, that come with a lot of options for a beginner. If you will be hiring someone to build you a custom wordpress site, they will most likely use a Genesis framework as well and just design a template that fits your exact vision. I would suggest getting the SEO plugin by Yoast so that you can easily manage some basic SEO features as well. I highly recommend killing two birds with one stone.
However, if you want something right off the bat that will not require some of the minimal start up costs of getting a clean powered framework for Wordpress or maybe even a designer to custom build your site, then social media is definitely the way to start.
In the end you should be incorporating every single element into marketing your consulting firm anyway. It's really just a matter of where you feel more comfortable wetting your feet.
Jun 4, 2014
Yes! You should create a website WITH a blog.
Social media isn't a good fit for everyone. It depends largely on the type of relationship that you would like to (and are willing to) provide to your customers.
~:-)
May 15, 2014
I would always recommend a website with blog capability. A website looks more professional and you have control over exactly what you would like to present to your current and future clients.
As to social media it really depends on how much time you are willing to allocate to each medium. It looks terrible to have a lot of social media platforms to which you rarely post. Better to have one (usually Facebook) that you update regularly and use to present your blog posts (which then lead them back to your website!)
What type of consulting do you do?
Apr 29, 2014
Hi William. In today's world, you never know from which source your prospective client might find out about you, so it is advisable to have a presence across all those online services which are relevant to the type of business.
Being in consulting myself, I'd suggest a website, LinkedIn, a blog, Twitter, SlideShare, and Facebook, perhaps in that decreasing order of priority.
What is more important than having accounts on all these social networking platforms, is being active on them, and posting relevant content.
Nothing bores me more than a corporate blog that was last updated sometime halfway through last year. But that said, there are a lot of services online which help update multiple platforms [Facebook, Twitter, etc.] simultaneously via a single service interface. You can also schedule posts, etc. so that you or your team don't waste precious time in constantly moving from core tasks to post things across various social media.
Hope this helps.? All the best.!
Apr 29, 2014
I would say yes to all of the things you have mentioned in your question! There is no single best way to market a company or a product. You just have to do everything at this moment. 8-10 years ago it would be SEO and PPC but now its not enough. You have to add relevant content and social media in the mix. Take the devices consumers use also into consideration. Consumer behavior has changed over the years because of technology and companies need to also change how they market to people. Its now more about data, psychology and statistics that are the core of marketing.
In my line of work, i have to do consumer behavior analysis, segmentation, behavior targeting, testing, remarketing and personalization to increase conversion for my clients and grow their business.
Apr 28, 2014
I you have enough resources you should build and maintain them both.
The other point is in how exactly do you plan for your sales funnel to look like.
If you are planning to have a lead generating campaign, with gathering potential clients info and later trying to sell your services in a direct contact with them, than you should maybe start with a website and a direct response campaign first until you reach a ROI % you are satisfied with.
In other words, do not overstretch your resources for an online business start up, use them vilely and expand your efforts one step at the time, as you reach a certain ROI thresholds.
Apr 25, 2014
Website with an integrated Blog that you post articles to, add a widget that automatically posts out to social media channels when you upload an article..
That way you feed fresh content to the web and ideally it returns prospects to your website to read more and then they take a look at how you can help them.
Ideally have a lead generating capture on your website too.
Apr 23, 2014
First off, congratulations on your expansion. Building a consulting firm can take time, I know. Blogs and websites tend to be used at different stages of the sales cycle, so like many others here I would recommend both.
I see that you added "restaurant" to your search terms. What do you do in the hospitality space? My answers below are generic, but based on your feedback I might have other suggestions for you.
Blogs are used to publish insight and establish you as a thought leader. Customers or potential customers search for insights when they have issues that they are trying to solve.
Websites are reviewed when customers are in the vendor selection process. Essentially, once the customer has established that you offer a solution that they need they will evaluate your website in addition to other sources.
I personally do not believe that business to business brands need to be engaged on Facebook, and unless you are providing some sort of visually oriented consulting (store fronts, displays, CAD, food styling, etc. than Instagram isn't particularly relevant in the B:B space either. However, if you are a food stylist or designing restaurant spaces, by all means use Instagram.
Twitter is a great vehicle when you have customers to manage and provide service to. It is also great for building credibility, however the latest statistics show that the most effective users Tweet 22 times per day. So if you don't have the energy or the time to curate enough content then I would stay away from Twitter while you are growing.
LinkedIn is a fantastic vehicle to promote yourself and your company. And since they have opened their new publishing platform to all users, there is nothing stopping you from expanding your network and posting your blog directly from your profile.
Apr 22, 2014
All of the above! Well, do as much as you can on social media (it depends on your target where you will get the most return). You cannot survive in business without a fully developed web presence!
Apr 22, 2014
The basis for any quality Web presence is a good, clean website that answers the visitor's question "What does this guy do?". Here you list all your services and references, and use it as a landing page for many other online marketing tools, like a Facebook Page or an Instagram account. Also, it's very important for good positioning on search engines, which can bring initial clients looking for a company offering services like yours. Writing a focused blog can answer the visitor's next question: "is this guy any good?" Here you can display your expertise and experience in the simplest way. As you see, the two are interconnected, so the answer would be to create both, and then continue to build your digital identity through additional tools, like social network accounts, podcasts, presentations on SlideShare etc.
Apr 21, 2014
In this digital age it's easy to get sidetracked by the options - but I would always see a website as absolutely the first step in marketing any business. It is the 21st century replacement for a good office location/address - the place where peple go first to check you out and judge if theyu want to know more about you!
Apr 21, 2014
A website, blog, email marketing and a strong social media standing is pivotal in the digital age. These investments will be well-worth your time when done right. But if you create a website that isn't appealing and have a terrible social media presence, you're almost better off without them.
Apr 21, 2014
You'll attract customers with a blog (or you articles on a blog) and most customers want to read a "brochure" with is your website.
However, what social networking sites you land on, and what you do marketing wise, is determined by your ideal client profile and where they "hang out" or look for you..
Apr 21, 2014
Hi William. This is a good question.I agree with everyone who has said create both a website and a blog. Your website showcases the professional side of your business and should include testimonials. With 68% of searches conducted from mobile devices, it must be a 'responsive' site that automatically adjusts for smartphones and tablets.
A blog gives you credibility as an expert in your areas of business. By choosing topics that your potential customers would be interested in reading you are highlighting your expertise. This gives you the content that is important in SEO rankings. If you use Worpress as your website platform, there is an SEO plugin that will help you with SEO for your blog.
Private message me if you would like more details.Good luck with your project.
Apr 21, 2014
Looks like there are already 35 answers to this question. My first browse through showed that the comments would be what I would agree with. The best method is to have both. If you had to choose one, though, go with a website. A website is going to do a lot better job at selling you than just a stand-alone blog would (If done correctly). Make sure you choose a web designer that has strategy in mind when building your website. Otherwise you'll just get a pretty looking website with no conversion of sales. The strategy of the website is SO important.
Apr 21, 2014
Every business needs a website. In regards to whether or not to have a blog integrated into it, you need to be honest about how much time you're willing to put into creating the content on a regular basis. Blogging requires an editorial-driven mindset, and if you're just approaching it from a sales perspective, you will most likely be disappointed. The majority of clients that I have worked over the years on their corporate blogs - they don't struggle with the technology, they struggle with the ongoing commitment.
Start with the website first. Then grow into the blog.
Apr 20, 2014
Create a website and integrate blog on your website. And start posting on your on-site blog. Then start Seo and social media marketing for your website.
webgreeter.com
Apr 20, 2014
Your website outlines who you are, your education, your background, what makes you skilled and the ideal partner.
Your website outlines your experience, your clients, your testimonials, and samples of your work.
A blog on the other hand showcases your opinion, or expertise. Examples of your thought process in how you attack a problem, business case examples, and discussions about important relevant technology, topics, etc. in your field. I would use your blog to outline specific problems, challenges, real world business issues.
So what I'm saying is, I would do both- they are different tools and are utilized differently.
Make sure that you have a) contact us information clearly defined b) a way for those who might not want to use your services right away, to get more from you. Be it a newsletter or RSS feed.