Introducing Myself: Small Town Digital

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Suzanne Watson. I have been the Online Advertising Sales Coordinator for the Kingsport Times News for 2 years now. I am a tech geek, a photographer, a mom and a wife. I live in a small town in East Tennessee near the Appalachian Mountains.

More than anything I cater to my inner nerd. I love technology, gadgets and the Internet. I feel very lucky to be in the field that I am in because of my overwhelming passion for all things Internet and Marketing. It's ridiculous really. If you have never seen someone get excited looking at Analytics or helping a client put together creative and helpful online advertising and marketing strategies, then you've never met me.

I wanted to take my first blog to introduce myself before I simply started babbling on about the things I love. I decided to start this blog because after having spent 2 years out in the field and on the streets talking to small business owners about the benefits of online advertising and having an online presence (yes, there are several business owners out there who don't even understand WHY you need to be online never mind how and where to start), I felt that there may actually be a need for someone to try and layout the basics to someone who may have the same questions and quandaries when it comes to all "this technology stuff." I don't pretend to be an expert or to have years of schooling behind my ideas. I am someone who is simply taking what I've encountered in real life and putting it to text in the off chance that maybe others out there can benefit from my experience.

What I do is fairly simple. I assist Account Executives at my newspaper in explaining to their customers what our online advertising can do for them. That's the short answer. The truth of the matter is, the conversations inevitably lead to talk of the customer's website (or lack thereof), the customer's understanding of the Internet in general, who is looking at the Internet, how does this relate to my business.... etc. I get handed statements like, "Oh, I don't mess with that computer" or "I have no need for all that stuff" or "My customers aren't looking online for me." - All of those things couldn't be more wrong. YOU don't have to use a computer but know that your customers ARE! And yes, they are even looking for YOUR businesses products or services.

I read somewhere that 60% of all searches are local. That means, not only does the Nike's and Fords and the other major brand names need to pay attention to how they appear online but even Joe Smoe's painting service in small-town-USA does! Because people are looking for you too! And if you don't have any presence online, then your competition is getting all of your business. Which, most likely, is quite a bit of business.

Long gone are the days of folks grabbing the phone book to look up what they are looking for. More and more they are sitting in front of their computers (at work, sorry employers but it's true) with their Google screens up ready to type in what they are looking for. Small local businesses have to learn that having that presence online can make all of the difference in the world to the success of their company.

But what kind of presence do they need? How do they get it? How much does it cost? How do they compete in a search engine war with the big boys? Heck, where do you start?

Well, that's where I hope to shed some light on the subject in my future blogs. Again, I am not the top-of-the-food-chain SEO executive or some genius web designer but I am someone who has been helping clients figure out, on a small and local scale, where they need to be online to be competitive in their local markets. This is a niche that seems, at least in my area, a lost topic. I could be wrong. But now I've committed my thoughts to this blog and now you all have a chance to tell me where I go wrong. I look at this as not only a way to open dialog and help small businesses grow their online market but also as a chance to learn from all of you more about what you know and your experiences.

So, until next time...