In this episode of The How of Business podcast we interview Janay Oliver, founder of My719Moms.com. Janay shares his insights and knowledge about online marketing and social media practices for small business owners.

Janay Oliver has over 15 years of successful sales and marketing experience. Seven years ago she decided to branch out and start her own business. She launched My719Moms.com which was the first resource website for moms in Southern Colorado. Today My719Moms continues to lead the “mom” market in Southern Colorado. Janay works with small to mid-sized businesses to develop marketing strategies that achieve results.

Online Marketing & Social Media for Small Business with Janay Oliver:

• What are consumers looking for from a business online? Consumers want to engage with brands. Online you now have the opportunity to truly engage with customers. The consumer is asking “what’s in it for me?” Since you have about 10 seconds to capture your audience’s attention, your message needs to be on point. On-line reviews are also very important in helping a consumer determine who to buy from.
• Consumers don’t trust company messages as much as they once used to…they want to know what their peers think, because they value those opinions more.
• Why are moms such an important market? They are typically the decision makers over their household spending. They are a more powerful market than ever before. Women are the top demographic on social media platforms.
• Where are moms going for information online? Facebook, micro-sites (niche websites in a geographic area) like My719Moms.com, on-line groups (which have taken over for traditional forums), Instagram, Twitter, e-mail Marketing (this marketing method for small business has experienced a resurgence…it used to be saturated but it’s becoming more effective, particularly when customers “opt-in”), and Pinterest.
• Small businesses can benefit by plugging into these existing on-line communities, and sharing customer experiences, tips and techniques.
• The type of business you are in dictates which online platform may work best for you. Carpet Cleaners, for example, might be better suited to focus on Pinterest (with before and after pictures that get seen when someone searches for “how do I get that stain out of my carpet.”)
• Creating engaging content – You have to be flexible with the content. Keep in mind your target audience, what you want them to do, and then track the response.
• Relevancy and timeliness is key to effective and engaging content. Even the time of day that you post is critical. Use tools like Facebook Insights to determine when your audience is online and listening.
• How do you leverage “mommy bloggers”? Janay’s advice is to find bloggers that have a broad reach within your target market, like the My719Moms blog.
• My719Moms is not just a singular voice, which is another key to finding the right type of “mommy blogger” for your business, they have a team of writers who express different perspectives and reach a much broader audience. For a small business owner the important thing is to find out what their reach is.
• My719Moms is a also a marketing company – they help small business owners define their overall marketing goal.
• It’s essential that you picture who you are trying to reach through your marketing efforts. Who is that target person and how will you best reach them?
• Janay recommends that you consider leveraging experts who stay up to date on the ever-changing online platforms.
• She also believes it’s critical that you have a marketing plan and a marketing budget.

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