online marketing

As someone who works with many businesses, especially those that fall under the SME umbrella, I am always astounded to learn that owners do not have some kind of digital marketing strategy in place. My job in this situation is to motivate them to see the light and invest something, be it time or money, into an online marketing plan.

Just last week in fact I was speaking with marketing mastermind Joe Ciancotto, who like me is regularly bemused by the amount of businesses that fail to see the power of online marketing. And so, whether you run a shipping company in Arkansas or a clothes shop in New York, here is just a few points that should motivate you to change your mind about digital marketing.

The Internet Is Here To Stay

The internet is not a technological flash in the pan, it is not something that is seasonal, in fact, it is very much permanent and here to stay for a very long time. The internet outshines any media outlet, is overshadows traditional marketing forms and its growth has been, and will continue to be, widely exponential. This means that investing in this form of marketing, is going to be like a gift that keeps on giving.

Targeting

A billboard, a radio ad or a local TV commercial may very will give you enhanced visibility, but there is no telling who will see these ads about your company. This means that you could very well invest money on traditional marketing techniques, which will end up being directed at the wrong people. With online marketing, this simply is not the case and you can target your precise demographic of customer to ensure maximise visibility and maximum sales.

Reach

Let’s assume you have a billboard on the freeway that celebrates your company, now, perhaps 50,000 may drive past that each day, whether they see it or not is unclear. Over the course of a month, you may have around 1.5 million impressions, not bad going. Post an ad online however, let’s say n Facebook, and invest the same amount of money in the online ad as you would have paid for a billboard, and you can probably hit 1.5 million impressions in the space of 48 hours. The reach of the internet is incredible and in the click of a button, you can showcase your business to a gargantuan number of people.

Speed

The speed with which you can turn your marketing investment into actual functioning marketing strategies, is almost instantaneous when you do so online. With online marketing there are no barriers to overcome, there is no negotiation table to sit down at, nor is there any kind of time to wait around for you advert to go live. When you market online, you an count on blistering speed and in turn, highly productive results.

Don’t wait any longer, get marketing, and do it online.

The greatest opportunity the Internet has given is levelling the playing field that even start-up companies can compete with big corporations without shelling out money for billboards, flyers, or posters. But digital marketing is a feeble thing; one minute algorithm says long tail keywords work, the next minute, it doesn’t. So as business owners, not only do we have to supervise operations, but we have to be on top of trends.

Creating digital marketing strategies start with setting goals. Do you want to drive more traffic to your website? Do you have a new product to promote? Do you want customers to share their experiences with your product through a hashtag? And so on. But this assumes that you already know what you are lacking in terms of strengthening your online presence – what if you don’t?

Honestly, if this is your first real foray in online marketing, being confused is a natural reaction. So in this article, we will explore some best practices that will form the basis for some of your online efforts.

Website creation

Start-ups don’t usually have a team yet specifically for online efforts. If this applies to you, don’t worry about not knowing website codes, CSS, Java or any development language. When you purchase a domain from an Internet registry like Crazy Domains, you will be given an option to create a website using the website builder. A website builder is basically a template in which you can drag and drop elements you want on your website.

Creating a website is almost an imperative because it solidifies your online identity. Yes, your Facebook page may already have all the likes and engagement, but your website adds value to your social media page and tells Google that you are a legitimate business.

Always do tests when making changes

A/B testing is a key practice all digital marketers should know. Basically, if you want to know how responsive your audience is going to be when it comes to button colors, call-to-actions, or even website navigation — A/B testing can run the experiment and show you which gets people to interact with your page more. If you are going to make explicit changes like relocating certain tabs or CTA buttons, always do tests first before finalizing.

Learn how to study the analytics

Another way to make sure you are making the right decision is to check analytics. This is data that records visitor behavior on your web page, and by studying it, you are getting a glimpse of how your customers use the Internet. You will see search words where your website appears, demographics, common interests your visitors share, and so on. This will help guide you if you plan on taking out a product or introducing a new one into the market. You can anticipate their reaction and then create strategies that will further good reactions and dampen bad ones.

Be creative with content

The problem with some of the online creators right now is they are pandering to their audience, incessantly using trends and memes in their content. Be bold, don’t succumb to it. Always prioritize relevant and good content. If your online identity is someone who is witty, then be funny and creative. If you are an expert in a certain field and would like to maintain that reputation, then produce informative content.

The most important online marketing best practice is being patient. Yeah, a little on the cheesy side but it bears repeating. Results from your strategies will vacillate between really well to astonishingly bad, and sometimes it is because of the season. Maybe people are just not into the product that you are offering now, but they will be in the next month. So always give yourself 3 to 6 months before making a final change.