Getting Discovered

50 years ago, before I was born, there were fewer advertising options and I suppose that made it easier for new businesses to find customers, or for customers to find them.

30 years ago when I started full time in the radio business, the advertising options were growing as consumers had many more media choices.

Fast forward another 20 years. The birth of Google. The internet was still in its infancy and home computers used AOL to connect to the internet over a dial up connection that tied up your home phone line.

Now let's look at 2008 with an eye on 2009 and beyond. The challenge for businesses remain the same. Getting Discovered by your customers. But the options continue to expand. Or have they?

Earlier this month I met with two separate entrepreneurs that are involved in online start ups.

I asked each of them, how are people going to find you, how are you going to get discovered?

They said, I have a website. So what? According to the research I did recently, there are estimates ranging between 87 million and 4 billion web pages on line as you read this. So how are you going to help people discover you web page?

Currently the best answers are:

• Use Mass Media to promote your website.
• Use Mass Media's websites to draw people to your site.
• Define your Niche and focus on Niche Media and Niche websites to draw people to your site.

One at a time.
Use Mass Media to promote your website. Television, Radio, Newspapers, Billboards, Direct Mail and even Phone Book advertising are still getting lots of eyes, ears, and bodies paying attention to them. These are also Local, so if you have a Local business, you can target the local community. Mass Media is also the most expensive, if you do it right. The rewards and R.O.I. are also the best if you do it right.

Use Mass Media's websites to draw people to your website. Newspapers and Broadcast Media in your town should have websites. There are ways to discover how much traffic local websites are getting by going to Compete.com or Google Website Trends.

Use Niche Media and Niche Websites. This is good if you are able to do business worldwide. It can also help you to narrow your focus within your local community.

The Bottom Line is you need to Get Discovered. You need to get the word out. Too many times, I have seen businesses set themselves up for business, but they do not have an effective advertising plan to bring in customers. It's like planning a party and not sending out invitations.
No amount of planning will bring people to the party unless you invite them.

The other lesson about getting discovered is that all media is not created equal. You need to match your business with the right media to get the word out. Click here for more on matching.

And click here for a few more tips on how to promote your local website.