Brilliant Concept In Online Marketing Silences The Critics
By now, it might seem like marketing is old news. Marketing has been around for as long as commerce, but it may have finally reached its saturation point. As a result, marketing has become harder and more costly to do, with diminishing returns on investment. Luckily for marketers that want to stay relevant in today’s world of information overload and technology innovation, the Internet can provide a way to reach prospects with smarter messages that are more likely to be shared or acted upon.
Online marketing can provide a way to reach prospects with smarter messages that are more likely to be shared or acted upon.
According to a recent survey of small business owners by Small Business Trends, 87 percent of respondents said they would use social media for marketing in the next 12 months, and 89 percent agreed that “social media is an effective way to market a business.” If that hasn’t convinced you yet, then keep reading. The following blogger does an amazing job at explaining why online marketing is so important for businesses today.
Online Marketing: How It Can Strengthen Your Brand and Build Your Business
For the last ten years I have been dedicated to helping small businesses succeed online. I have learned a lot in this time, including some of the biggest mistakes that business owners make. Following are the top five common mistakes that I see and advise my clients on how to avoid.
5. Not having a custom website made specifically for your business or company
Your first visit to any business is typically your first impression of their company. If you want a positive contact with customer, then you need to make sure that your initial experience is appealing. When visiting a brick and mortar retail location, it’s the store’s job to keep you interested and get you in the door so they can try to sell you something. Online, it’s not so simple. You, as the business owner, are responsible for keeping your visitors interested. Do enough of these and you will end up converting them into customers.
4. Avoiding Internet Marketing because you think it’s just “shotgun blasting”
If you have ever run any type of advertising before, you know how much time goes into planning and writing copy for an ad campaign to bring in new customers. Internet marketing is no different. The tools available online allow you to run efficient campaigns that grow your business, but you have to be smart about it. This means knowing who your ideal customer is and being able to speak directly to them through a well-crafted and targeted message.
3. Failing to present yourself properly on Social Media
This happens a lot and it’s probably the biggest mistake that small business owners make when using social media for marketing purposes. Several times a month I have clients come to me with their social media accounts in disarray and ask me what they can do about it. Often, they are embarrassed or feel like they are losing ground in their business because of something happening on social media. Once everything is analyzed, I’m almost always able to find a way for them to clean it up or restore things. It’s almost always the result of laziness or not having any social media presence at all.
2. Not Using Video Marketing
It’s time to get more aggressive with what you are trying to share online and get into video marketing. While YouTube is a great place to start, there are a variety of other sites now where you can upload your videos, as well as embed them on your own site. A recent survey showed that 55 percent of marketers said video was the most effective form of advertising they were using.
1. Not having a plan and not knowing what is next
I truly believe there should be a business plan for every business. It really is the red-headed stepchild of planning, but it should be given time to develop and hard work to succeed. The good news is that with all the tools available today, it’s easier than ever before to plan a marketing strategy that takes advantage of your social media network while also taking into account your customers and their needs. Without a plan, you are just shooting in the dark. With one, well then you are headed in the right direction.
Allen Huddleston is a small business owner and the founder of Epidemic Marketing. Follow him on Twitter @EpidemicMarketing.
Image: Shutterstock.com
Title Photo courtesy of ignogroup.com. Used under a Creative Commons License.
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Conclusion
It’s never too early to start planning for the future!
Add to all the benefits of a strong online presence by offering your customers or clients a place to do business that is both professional and customer-centric. This can only be accomplished when you take the time to plan your business’ marketing strategy properly. Doing so may not have seemed to be important before, but it is now. Your reputation depends on it and by having a strong marketing plan in place, you will be able to determine exactly what you need in order to produce an effective campaign that will assist your brand in achieving its goals.