Daryl Willcox Publishing is a company which helps small businesses raise their profile in the media. In the lastof a series of five weekly blogs, its founder and chairman Daryl Willcox gives his thoughts on ‘How to monitor results’.
5. Monitoring Results
In previous weeks we’ve talked about who your potential customers are, the importance of having a website, conducting social media campaigns and writing press releases.
But there is little point in putting in all that effort if you don’t know how effective it has been in raising your profile. Has the number of visitors to your website increased? Have you got more Facebook friends or followers on Twitter? Have you appeared in the press? Have you made more sales?
Following press coverage online has never been easier with Google Alerts, and always follow-up any press releases with a keen eye on printed publications.
On Twitter and other social sites you can use free add-on tools to create permanent searches for whatever is important to monitor.
Building an online community around your business may not have led to a sales spike but over the longer term it could mean more loyal customers. Alternatively, a good piece of press coverage may have led to more visitors to your website who then subsequently bought from you.
As the business owner, you have to be the judge of what’s been successful and what has not.
For more in-depth advice and a series of podcasts on how to begin or improve your own PR and marketing visit www.dwpub.com/smallbusiness
