You've always been told that first impressions are important. Having the proper attire, and being prepared for a first time face to face is a priority for any business. In today's digital environment, your first impression on any client is typically your website. Yet a company website is typically the least polished part of a company's image.  

Most startups and small businesses don't have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on online marketing.  Bootstrapping your website, however, is a cost effective way to present yourself professionally online. Here are my tips to getting an awesome website for $500 or less.  







Tip # 1 Use Facebook 

Facebook offers a free business Page if you have a free personal page too. The platform is standardized, and no coding skills are necessary.  Fans can send you messages, find your company address, and even purchase your products online. 
 If you spend any money at all getting set up, spend it on professional graphics for your cover page and profile photo. Simply upload those graphics and a well written company description, and you are on your way! A slightly more advanced page, which builds in ecommerce features, would let customers make purchases from within Facebook. Once your Facebook page is setup, your company will have a brilliant online presence until you budget for a full blown website.  You can also promote your page to people and help educate your target market on your products.  The Facebook platform is actually offers a wide range of features that are suitable for anyone just starting out online. See examples of Facebook based ecommerce sites here



This is the first part of a two blog series on how to Bootstrap your website. For more information on building a Facebook page for your business, send us a message. 

  Ini Augustine is the CEO of SocialWise Media Group. Follow her on twitter @mrsmadbiz

By Ini Augustine
Think your social media is hopeless? Go from a social media zero to a social media hero in 2 minutes or less! If you can use Microsoft office, you can start marketing your company online using social media.  Yet many companies avoid using this powerful tool due to 2 common myths: That social media is complicated, or that social media is magically easy.

Being successful in social media means covering your basics, as well as being creative. Regardless of whether the platform is LinkedIn or Facebook, the basics must be covered Make sure you include contact information about your company, like address, website, phone and your business name and logo. You’d be surprised how many company’s forget to do this.

Myth # 1

Social Media has to be complicated.

Trust us, it doesn’t have to be. Your corporate social media does need to be very visually appealing so mix in pictures and video on your pages.


SocialWise Secret # 1
Don’t post long url’s or  articles on social media. Nothing turns off readers faster than block after block of text.  Ow.ly is a free url shortening service.
Time it takes to shorten a url : 45 seconds, and that’s if you don’t have an account with ow.ly .

Myth # 2

Social Media is magically easy.

It takes 5 minutes to get set up on most social platforms. However, setting up a Facebook page or twitter account is not an enough; you need to post regular and interesting information that fans relate to. If no one is interacting with your social, it might as well not exist.

Your company’s social media is only as good as the people behind the page.  Your front line staff will have a huge effect on your campaign’s success. Training your staff on company guidelines, promotions, and expectations will help them help your company be successful. Social media is about building a relationship with your customers.

SocialWise Secret # 2: Ask! 
It’s a simple step to ask customers to check- in  on Facebook during checkout. Most people will if you offer a discount for their next visit.
  Time it takes to ask for a check in: 20 seconds or less.

A  great Facebook page you can be leveraged  into great relationships with old and new customers. But you must use it, and that can take time.

For example, if your company is  a local clothing store(Say, in Des Moines ;-) ), talk about how shopping locally keeps money in Des Moines. Give readers information about events you might be having at your store, including sales. Posting locally based photos  at the downtown farmers market or the valley junction would be ideal.. Help  customers post pictures of themselves wearing or using your product to enhance visibility in Facebook’s news. friends will want to see where the post came from and then you get more views on your page.

Learning how to do social media can be an overwhelming process for many companies. Have questions about using social media?Feel free to ask us on twitter @mrsmadbiz, or call us at 1-800-343-4864.