Small Business and Web: River Pools and Spas

People love pools and spas. They remind people of fun and relaxation. Marcus Sheridan, co-owner of River Pools and Spas, provided some great insight into the ways he uses social media and inbound marketing to drive growth for his business.

Like many business owners, Sheridan‟s online marketing efforts consisted of a static website. Then, about two years ago, this all began to change. River Pools and Spas noticed that the needs and expectations of consumers were changing, since consumers are now expecting great content when they come to business websites.

In addition to consumer expectation, River Pools and Spas realized that companies that publish interesting and relevant content could build thought leadership and become leaders in their industries. Two years ago, River Pools and Spas set out to become the thought leader in the inground swimming pool industry through content creation and distribution.

It can often take a few months to start driving traffic from organic search marketing efforts, so many companies spend more on pay-per-click advertising in those months and reduce spending as organic search traffic begins to increase. During the past year, River Pools and Spas began to drive organic search traffic and lead results with business blogging and a long tail keyword strategy. Sheridan said it has blown away any traffic and branding expectations they ever would have had. He also explained that the company‟s blogging strategy has been to answer common consumer questions related to swimming pools.

The strategy is a simple one, but Sheridan pointed out that the real challenge is for businesses to put themselves in the heads of their customers. Business owners often talk in jargon and industry terms, instead of the terms their customers understand and are using to search for products and services. Sheridan emphasized that, in online content they create, business owners need to answer the basic and essential questions customers. Answering these simple questions has been essential in River Pools and Spas organic search traffic success. 

Finding the Balance Between Paid and Organic Search Traffic

Sheridan pointed out that when they first began inbound marketing, they started with pay-per-click advertising on Google because he and his team did not fully understand search engine optimization and how to drive organic search traffic. The company used AdWords to generate leads but found that costs for valuable keywords were increasing because of amplified competition, which subsequently Company Details: Name: River Pools and Spas Employees: 20 Website:

http://www.riverpoolsandspas.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/RiverPoolsBlog Twitter Followers: 1,060 Tweet this eBook Page 20 of 23 drove up cost-per-lead. Due to this increased competition, Sheridan saw the need to learn organic search engine optimization as a way to drive free search engine traffic and allow River Pools and Spas to reduce search engine spending

It can often take a few months to start driving traffic from organic search marketing efforts, so many companies spend more on pay-per-click advertising in those months and reduce spending as organic search traffic begins to increase. During the past year, River Pools and Spas began to drive organic search traffic and lead results with business blogging and a long tail keyword strategy. Sheridan said it has blown away any traffic and branding expectations they ever would have had. He also explained that the company‟s blogging strategy has been to answer common consumer questions related to swimming pools.

The strategy is a simple one, but Sheridan pointed out that the real challenge is for businesses to put themselves in the heads of their customers. Business owners often talk in jargon and industry terms, instead of the terms their customers understand and are using to search for products and services. Sheridan emphasized that, in online content they create, business owners need to answer the basic and essential questions customers. Answering these simple questions has been essential in River Pools and Spas organic search traffic success. 

Online Video for Small Business Marketing Success

Some businesses are more visual than others. When you think of pools and spas, your mind is instantly filled with many images. It is a visual industry. It is important for industries that are particularly visual to use images and online video to help tell stories. River Pools and Spas uses YouTube as a component of its overall marketing plan. The goal of video for River Pools and Spas has been to let potential customers see everything that goes into building and owning a swimming pool. Sheridan said these videos have worked wonders in terms of establishing his company as consumer advocates and thought leaders in the inground swimming pool industry. Sheridan uses these videos in blog posts and on his company website.

Building a Competition Barrier Using Social Media

Blogging and building a robust organic search engine strategy can build critical barriers to competition. If your business holds top search positions for important industry keywords, it will be difficult for competitors to position themselves as long as you continue to create relevant content. Inbound marketing rewards companies that take action first in an industry. Sheridan says many of his customers don‟t even consider the competition because they are overwhelmed by and impressed with his desire to teach, inform and educate. He attributes these factors to helping River Pools and Spas close the majority of their sales during the first in-home visit, which traditionally hasn‟t happened in the swimming pool industry.

Marketing Advice for All Industries

Sheridan, who has become a passionate advocate for social media and inbound marketing, has three pieces of advice for other small business owners looking to grow their business.

1. Start blogging today. He says, "If you‟re not blogging, you‟re dying." He indicated that blogging is such as powerful driver for improving organic search traffic and leads.

2. Focus on what works for your business. Sheridan believes that small business owners shouldn‟t try to do everything when it comes to social media marketing. Although his company uses Twitter, Facebook and Instagram those channels are not a major focus because they have found more business value in blogging and search engine marketing.

3. Use a content management system (CMS). As a small business owner, Sheridan believes that having control over your website is critical. He calls content management systems „Web Design for Dummies.‟ Not having to rely on a webmaster to make changes to his website has allowed him to take control and quickly and easily publish new content.

Source: Hubspot

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