ONLINE MARKETING IS ONE OF THOSE catch phrases that means very different things to different people. For me, online marketing is about using a specific set of tools to reinforce the activities you’re undertaking in the real world. So, why does it get a category all to itself? Well, because the tools are used and experienced in the online space. This does not mean that they stand alone. In fact, online marketing generally brings big results to a business when it is carried out within the context of other vital marketing activities. This isn’t always the case, of course, but it very often is.
Nonetheless, because these tools are specific to the online world, it can be useful for us to think about them within this context. This may be well known to some readers already, but here then are the recommended ‘Big Five Online Marketing Tools’:
1. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) must be a staple of any online marketing activity. In a nutshell, SEO involves making sure your company appears on search results on portals such as Google and Yahoo.
Here are a few of the benefits that result when this happens:
SEO maximizes your company’s visibility to browsers who are actively searching for your type of product or service.
Dollar for Dollar, Rand for Rand, SEO delivers a high Return On Investment. It may take some time, but it is one of the most cost-effective ways of raising public visibility for your company.
A well-designed and search engine-optimized website stays in the rankings for a long time. This is especially important when compared to other forms of marketing (advertising or event promotions) where costs are significant, but the visibility achieved only happens over a specific time frame.
SEO works 24/7, 365 days every year.
No matter what your business sells or offers as a service, there will be other companies doing the same thing. You need to stand out from the crowd. Done properly, SEO can help you to do exactly this.
2. GOOGLE ADWORDS
GOOGLE ADS IS GOOGLE’S ADVERTISING PLATFORM. It is a very efficient method for attracting targeted traffic to your website, and therefore to your business. Its flexible targeting options allow you to personalize your message to suit changing requirements.
As with any other PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising approach, with Google Ads, you only pay when a visitor clicks on your ad.
It works like this:
– A prospect performs a search on a specific keyword you have chosen.
– Your advert will simply appear on the search engine results page.
You decide which keywords you want to advertise, and you can modify this choice as and when you want to. If you are a bike rentals provider, you will probably want to advertise using keywords such as “bike hire”, “bike rentals”, and “cheap bike rentals”.
You decide on a maximum bid (the maximum amount you are willing to pay, in other words) for a click. You will never pay more than this set amount. You can define the reach of your campaign as widely or as narrowly as you like. You can choose to target a city, a country or only the neighborhood where your business operates.
Google Ads can be adopted in isolation, but it is advisable to use it as part of a wider, multi-channel approach, which will add full value to your overall online and offline marketing efforts.
3. SQUEEZE\LANDING PAGES
SQUEEZE PAGES ARE WEBSITE PAGES THAT focus specifically on collecting personal information from visitors – who are of course potential clients – and asks them to agree to be contacted later.
Unlike other data collection methods, squeeze pages use enticing content to convince visitors to submit their personal information. This doesn’t mean false or misleading content. Rather, it means genuinely useful content. The more useful the content, the more likely a viewer is to agree to give you their contact information.
Although there are other ways to extract visitor information, squeeze pages are one of the best, because they don’t just accumulate information. They also act as an effective advertising channel.
Squeeze pages, if designed and executed properly, can play a significant role in enhancing revenue cycles. They offer a foundation that gives you handy information and data, from which you can develop effective communications campaigns.
The key benefits of squeeze pages include:
– EASY COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
Squeeze pages offer visitors something they can’t resist, such as free software, free reports, and eBooks etc. For the visitor to get full access to what they want, they must submit personal information (email addresses, name, profession etc.). If the content is genuinely interesting to them, they will happily submit their information.
– COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Once you have valuable data about your industry audience (as well as contact details), you can use this information to start communicating with your target audience. You can use it to begin building a digital relationship with them.
– LEAD GENERATION
Visitors who want the content you are offering are your target audience. Once they give you their details, you have a list of highly targeted leads. When you go on a sales drive, this list is a massively important tool.
– POWERFUL ADVERTISING
Squeeze pages are powerful sources of advertising. Why? Because enticing and informative content is the best possible form of advertising around; much better, in fact, than a banner blinking on a web page or a spread in a magazine. When people engage with your content intellectually, they are far more receptive to you and your product than when you are telling them how great it all is.
4. EMAIL MARKETING (AKA MARKETING AUTOMATION)
IT IS NOT UNUSUAL TO HAVE STRONG RANKINGS ON SEARCH engines and still experience low sales conversion rates. In fact, often another company that falls lower on Google’s search results could be converting visitors into sales at a much higher rate that you. So, what’s going on? Why does this happen?
Let’s assume that other things are almost equal. Both players have good sales copy, good web design and quality products. If this is the case, it is highly probable that the other business has an effective email marketing campaign in place.
Businesses that succeed at so-called “online marketing” are often masters at email marketing.
Not many visitors will buy your service or product on their first visit to your website. Some may indeed purchase immediately, but the majority won’t. In fact, many will never return to your website. If they don’t have a need to return, you will lose a substantial number of potential clients.
Regular emails to subscribers offer a very effective follow-up approach that gives your business the opportunity to touch base with clients, business partners and others, at almost no cost.
Regular emails will help your business to:
– Customize a message for each customer segment;
– Build trust and credibility through continued contact; and
– Advertise and communicate new products and services to your database.
Sales statistics show that most customers need to be exposed to an offer seven times or more before they purchase. If your customers don’t come back to your website, email marketing can be your silver bullet, allowing you to maintain vital contact.
It is equally important to consider customers who have already purchased from you. Email campaigns can go a long way to ensuring that they become lifelong relationships.
5. SOCIAL MEDIA
HOW DO LOCAL CUSTOMERS FIND YOU? A lot of them go straight to Google. Research shows that more and more people look for vital contact information, and conveniently located service providers, by going straight to a search engine such as Google. Having a website that ranks well on Google is a vital tool. However, with search engines, you’re essentially waiting until your customer is ready to find you. What happens when you want to take the initiative and find the customer yourself?
Enter social media…
As I said at the beginning of this book, to find your local market, you must go where they are. A lot of them are online, hanging out on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc.
Crеаtе an ассоunt on Fасеbооk, Twitter or LinkedIn, if you have not yet done so. Then, link your business wеbѕіtе and blog to your social media accounts. Now you’re ready to tap into the viral power of social media.
Note: Most website developers (or friends/colleagues with a natural tendency towards technology) can assist you with the above if it’s too technical for you. To integrate social media into your website, you simply add Fасеbооk, Twitter and LinkedIn buttons at the top of your website (or anywhere else) so that your visitors can see them easily. These buttons will allow them to follow you on those networks.
LET’S USE FACEBOOK AS AN EXAMPLE:
• When a visitor to your website enjoys one of your blog posts, they will click the “Like” button on this page on your website.
• This article will then be posted onto their Facebook wall, for their network to see.
• Some of those friends will click on the link to see what their friend liked. If they like the content too, they might just join the conversation you started on your blog.
• If they “like” the post on Facebook as well, then we have the beginnings of a chain reaction, where their friends will see the shared link, and may also visit your website.
• There’s always the chance that your website, blog or videos will “go viral”, but this isn’t the true objective.
• The most meaningful benefit is a group of people (regardless of size) engaging in a conversation that you have started.
• Why is this meaningful to your business? Because you’ve created awareness of your company in the public space, and that awareness is qualified. It’s not based on the size of your logo, but rather on the quality of your thoughts and ideas.
