Once your structure is built, you’ll need to connect to your customers.

You can connect in multiple ways. First is to attract visitors to your website, Second is to accumulate email addresses, and the third way is to gain Facebook fans.

There are a variety of methods you can use to accumulate connections in each of these categories.

For a website you want to make sure you build a site with great content that is optimized for SEO. Which stands for Search Engine Optimization. This includes making sure your content contains the keywords that you want to come up for in a google search.

This allows Google to index your site so that when people are searching for the needs that you satisfy, you’ll come up as high as possible in the results. Keep in mind that if your site doesn’t have the keywords you want to rank for, you’re virtually invisible to google.

Next, is to collect email address, a simple technique follows the principle of Give to Get. For example, if you have a restaurant, you can put out a counter display with an offer in exchange for a customer sharing their email address. We work with a Pizza place that offers a FREE slice of pizza when you sign up. A coupon for the slice is emailed that can be used on the next visit. In addition, an auto responder email is sent to the customer for a free dinner entree on their birthday and anniversary.

We have a mechanic that simply lets you keep the pen that you sign up with. Sometimes the smallest of gestures is all you need. Most of the time, the person signing up already has an existing trusted relationship with your business.

This technique has proven to be very successful. With it, time is on your side. Each week we stop by and grab a handful of sign ups out of the sign up box. Before you know it, using this technique your opt-in email list is in the hundreds.

For facebook one of the first things you do is to do what you did as kid selling fund raisers. Hit up the friends and family. Most friends and family are more than willing to give your facebook page a supportive like. Each friend and family member is connected to an average 100 people. Once you begin sharing content on facebook, your posts that friends and family like will begin to be seen by their friends and your facebook fans begin to grow. They key is to continue to post content consistently hat has value and is relevant.

Additionally, you can leverage each of your marketing components to boost the other.

For example, Once your email list grows, send out an email blast with a simple invite to like your page. On your facebook page, make a post asking people to sign up for your email list. And on your web site, we include both a place to sign up for your email list and a facebook feed showing visitors your latest posts directly on your web site.

Each of the areas has a strength. Your web site is a way for new customers to find you in a web search. It also acts as a directory. Email continues to be the workhorse of the internet. Although not everyone may use social media, they are checking their email. And you also have your die-hard facebook and social media people that are constantly checking in on their facebook page. There will be an overlap of course where some people are accessible all three ways.

The best thing to do is to start. The sooner you start connecting, the sooner you’ll begin to building members of your online network.
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That concludes the second C "Connect" in the 7 part series - Grow sales through the 7c's. How to build an effective Online Marketing Program.