Online Marketing Strategies That Work

Today’s small business owners and emerging enterprises are more successful when they incorporate marketing strategies into their online marketing.  The best strategies are those that are easily incorporated into their existing marketing staff’s capabilities, budget and niche.  Some of the facets we will discuss are:

• Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, etc.)
• Search Engine Optimization  (Google, Yahoo, etc.)
• Content Marketing (articles, blog posting, eBooks, etc.)
• Pay Per Click advertising (PPC)
• Metrics (Google analytics, inbound marketing software)

Online marketing is not a once and done methodology, and leadership must be cognizant of that.  Online marketing strategies must be well defined, succinct in their approach, and measured for a return on investment.  Without a well-defined marketing plan, your success will be limited.  You’ll need to determine niche, goals, frequency, staffing, budget and more.

If  a small business is just beginning to explore the online marketing strategies, there is a lot to consider.  Traditional marketing is a broken concept.  Customers have learned to tune out all forms of marketing and advertising through the use of voicemail for telemarketing, Tivo and the DVR for television commercials, they get their news in other ways besides newspapers.  

Today’s customers are sick and tired of being sold, and are looking to do business with firms that they feel good about. The online marketing strategies that work will provide targeted consumers information that is helpful without being pushy, offer specific advice in a general fashion without ever trying to sell something, and create a level of trust.

Marketing strategies for the internet come in a variety of platforms. Just using these social media platforms will do little if anything unless they are reinforced with a company web site, a blog and specific calls to action. There are other tactics that can be blended into the marketing plan such as pay per click, but a firm just starting out should shy away from them until they are better acquainted with the entire concept of online marketing strategies.

If your company goal is to increase the level of leads generated from your company’s web site, there are several things to consider.  It may not be necessary to revamp your site, but you may consider the addition of landing pages offering free information in the form of informational articles, eBooks, White Papers, Video clips and the like. These must be crafted with the sole intent of offering valuable information, to develop a relationship with the recipient.  The secret to this is to capture the name and email address of the inquiring party, so that you can communicate with them for additional information and tracking their return visits.     

Touching on metrics, it is crucial that they be meaningful, reliable and understandable, as well as regularly monitored and managed.  Trend analysis will help with marketing plans being adjusted so that the online marketing strategies can perform at the level intended, or additional steps to up the frequency, minimize social media participation, niche refinement, and so forth.  

Where does one go to get started in online marketing?  The internet boasts of a million or more SEO experts and online marketing experts. Conversely, there are traditional marketing and advertising agencies everywhere as well.  Determining which vendor can assist is a delicate process, and those that provide a full service solution, including web design, copywriters, ghostwriters, analytics software and have a list of satisfied clientele are the ones with which to start your search. Beware the firms that offer bill per hour service, as they are more than likely traditional agencies trying to catch up to the digitally knowledgeable smaller agencies.