How Do You Market and Promote Your Small Business, Products and Services on the Internet?

As we've moved into the Web 2.0 world with the likes of blogs, online communities, discussion forums, social networking sites, and the like; how are business owners or professionals marketing their business, their products and services, or even just their expertise?

This is becoming one of my favorite subjects.

For starters, I am finding that a clean, simple website that is clear, to the point, functional and informative is a great way to go.

From there, its all about content. At first, I didn't build my website with the idea to excel in SEO. I wanted to be low profile, and use the website to sell itself as a credibility resource as I discovered my way through being a business owner.

When it comes to internet marketing, there are dozens of good ways (if not hundreds of ways or more) to promote your website URL. Blogs, social networking and internet advertising are all sound approaches.

It really is a game of capturing one's attention, and guiding them to and through your website, and leaving them with a favorable impression so they will want to return, time and again.

Everyone is soooo busy these days. The name of the company game is to be on the cutting edge of marketing. Here's a "marketing niche" .... devote your website to be an information resource on your "market niche" .

Blogging has evolved to become an active part of my business strategy, on multiple fronts. Differentiating my company from competitors is key, so I've zeroed in on competitors websites and see they are often planned out to the extreme, and so darn uptight. My website is designed to be flexible, ready to adapt with the times, professional, and down-to-Earth.

The business environment of today is so different than it was just a few years ago. We're all so interconnected now, and one of the first things people do when they learn about a new company, is to check out their website to get a feel for a company's energy, offering and personality.

Social networking is such a buzz. Finding that the best way to take advantage of this trend, is to approach social networking while creatively utilizing your brand on the social networking medium's terms, while putting your own company personality slant on it.

Self promotion is so 2007. Part of the game is to promote, without self promoting. A fine line to cross, but a smart approach if done right, and with integrity.

Marketing is a catch-22 anyway.

I want to touch on one key area that needs to be mentioned: content.

In the interactive advertising industry, content is king. What you are providing to your potential customer without a catch, fee, or other gimmick is critical. It must be honest, useful, and targeted at a specific group to be effective.

One way of looking at content as the foundation for a successful online strategy is cost per customer. The old way of looking at business was how much money it takes on advertising and sales to get one customer. In the new Web 2.0 world you must rethink this concept. What content can we provide a potential customer free of charge to get one minute of their attention. In other words, your content is your capital investment and your return is not necessarily a customer, but a potential customer's attention.

That being said, there is much more to answering the question. Creating a interactive advertising experience for your potential customers will require throwing out much of what you know about marketing and embracing some scary - but effective - new ideas.

Remember - there is no one silver bullet that will get a successful online response. The new customer is savvy, hungry for information, and desires meaningful online connections before making a brand decision. Be prepared to make the required investment in human and financial capital to vault forward into the new world of advertising before you are left behind.