Want to grow your offline business, start a business, or market your services? Online marketing is the way to go. It helps you reach a broader audience, sell, connect, and much more. While internet marketing may seem complicated, once you understand the fundamentals you can build on that knowledge as your needs grow and change. Let’s take a look at the basics of online marketing.
Your Website
The foundation for your business online is a website. You must have an online presence to succeed on the internet. It only makes sense. Now your website can take several different forms. It can be a blog, a brochure site, or even a storefront. The type of website you build depends largely on your business model.
SEO – Search Engine Optimization
Great, you have a website. Now what? Now you need people to visit your website and you accomplish that with what’s called SEO. It’s a strategy that embraces keywords and keyword phrases to attract the attention of the search engines, which in turn help your prospects find you.
For example, if someone wants to buy a new big-screen television they might type ‘Big Screen Television Reviews’ into their search engine of choice, Google for example. If you’ve optimized your site for that keyword phrase, they may find your site and stop by for a visit.
Email Marketing
What does a visitor do once they’ve stopped by your website? How do you ensure you are able to connect with them, motivate them to visit again, or trigger a purchase? You get their email address. Then you have the ability to connect with them on a consistent basis and build a relationship, sell products or services, and provide value. There are different ways to gather email addresses. You might offer a free report or book that is delivered digitally. You might ask them to become a free member or to subscribe to your newsletter.
Social Marketing
Social marketing involves connecting with your prospects on social sites like a blog, Facebook, Twitter, and even Pinterest. The key is to provide value in the form of thoughtful commentary, information, and sometimes by entertaining. You build a relationship of trust and authority which in turn motivates visits to your website and/or purchases.
All of these elements are tactics that can work effectively together. For example, you can promote your newsletter on your Facebook page. The key to making them all work well together is to create an online marketing strategy. Online marketing is a powerful way to build any type of business. Learn the fundamentals and thrive.
Tips Before You Begin Using Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is one of the most powerful tools business owners have access to. It allows you to connect with your audience. You can engage and build a community around your business. Business owners can also use it to learn more about their audience so they can better meet their needs.
It’s enough to make you want to jump right in, right? However, before you create a profile page and start marketing on your favorite social media site, there are a few steps to take and considerations to make.
Identify Your Purpose and Goals
Why are you using social media and what do you hope to accomplish? There are many different reasons to use social media. You may use it to sell products, to build your opt-in list, or to drive traffic to your landing page. Do you want to generate new leads or build relationships with your existing prospects and clients? Consider both long-term and short-term goals.
For example, if you want to build your opt-in list with social media marketing, how much do you want to achieve by the end of this month and what are your three-year goals? Setting the right goals for you and your business will help you create a social media marketing strategy that’s effective and productive.
Identify Tactics to Support Your Goals
There are different tactics to consider based on your business goals. For example, if you want to drive people to your opt-in page then you may want to hold a contest or sweepstakes that motivates people to sign up. You may want to create a content marketing strategy specifically for social media that identifies you as an authority and promotes your opt-in offer. Once you’ve identified the correct tactics, create an action plan and timeline.
Identify Your Brand Message
What message do you want to convey on your social media pages and how do you want to communicate it? Keep in mind that your message and brand should support your other branding efforts. However, your approach can be different on social media.
Finally, assess your resources and leverage technology. Identify the tools and technologies that can help you achieve your social media marketing goals. For example, some services automatically publish a link to your blog post on all of your social media accounts. Some plug-ins can be added to your website or blog that helps visitors connect with you on social media. Use technology to help you achieve your social media marketing goals.
