Online marketing strategies are changing the way that businesses do business. Unlike ever before both exclusively online companies as well as brick and mortar businesses are needing to develop fresh, new strategies for marketing their products and services online. The problem is that not every strategy is as effective as the other.
What Online Marketing Entails
Internet marketing is a lot more than having a website. A lot of key components go into this form of marketing, including:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Blogs
- Affiliate marketing
- Email lists
- Landing pages
- Pay per click ads (PPC)
- Keyword optimization
In addition to covering any relevant online marketing mediums, businesses should then also take it upon themselves to be able to measure the results of these marketing mediums and then tweak them when necessary.
Taking the First Step
The first and most important step to online marketing happens before you even develop an online presence. A large part of being a dominant force online is having a strong brand. Business owners must develop a brand name and image which will communicate their business message before starting anything online. While you’re at it, pick out a letterhead, a website, and develop a business plan.
Check In on your Competition
Studying your online competition will help put things in perspective for the business owner. You will be able to see what works, what doesn’t, and it will likely inspire you to come up with creative ideas and solutions which the competitor hasn’t even thought of yet. Write down what you like about their online marketing strategies, what you hate, and how both can be either incorporated or avoided in your own strategy.
Decide On Your Target Market
This may change as you progress, but every business needs to have a base understanding of who they are supposed to be catering to. Study your market and try to get an understanding of:
- What age you’re catering to
- Which gender you are catering to
- Where you target market resides geographically
- What the income level of your target market is
Most importantly, you’ll want to uncover what your target market’s pain points are and how your product or services will be able to help address those issues. Even if you are not able to directly help, you can create content which comes round circle and helps promote your business and what it is that you are selling.
Choosing Your Strategy
It’s not necessary for an online business to engage with every type of online marketing on the first day they launch. However, there are a few areas which must be mastered before going live, such as:
- Your website should be up and running
- You should have some content on your site to keep people engaged
- You should have a social media presence
From there, you can observe how your visitors behave, get a feel for who they are and then respond with the appropriate online marketing strategies.
