You’ve probably heard the phrase “internet marketing”. If you own a business, you probably know that you need some type of internet marketing. Heck, you may have even decided that this year was going to be the year you doubled down on it.
But here’s a more important question: do you even know what internet marketing is?
Most people have a vague, generic idea that involves ads on websites and random pop-ups. But when push comes to shove, they really have no clue what’s involved. If you’re trying to implement internet marketing or looking to hire an internet marketing company, this is a problem.
Consider this post your intro to internet marketing. We’re going to introduce you to some of the most effective internet marketing techniques that you use immediately.
Email Marketing
Ah, good old email marketing. You’ve probably heard people say that email is dead. That social media is all the rage these days. That the best businesses are using Facebook Live and Snapchat.
And while there’s certainly some truth to that, email marketing remains one of the most powerful marketing tools out there.
Direct Access To Consumers
With social media platforms, things change all the time. Algorithms evolve, policies are updated, and people don’t see all of your content. In fact, Facebook has recently been making huge changes to their algorithm so that posts from business pages get very little exposure.
But email gives you direct access to your followers. You can target exactly whom you need to and know how many people see your content. You know that you have their attention, even if it’s just for a second, when they see your email in their inbox. If your subject line is catchy and you can get them to open the email, you’ve got even more of their attention.
Stay Front and Center
A general business maxim is that people need to see something at least seven times before they’ll take action on it. In terms of your business, it means they need constant exposure to you in order to stay connected to your company and continue purchasing your products.
When it comes to social media, there’s a really good chance your customers might not see your message for weeks.
Email, however, lets you keep your business front and center in the minds of customers. Every email they receive is a reminder of who you are, what you do, and why they should purchase from you.
Email Data Is Your Friend
As you probably know, data is crucial to the success of your business. And the data you can collect through email marketing is clear and measurable. You get delivery rates, open rates, click-through rates, and even revenue stats.
As you monitor the links they click, what emails drive revenue, and which emails get the most traction, you can begin to develop a robust idea of who your customers are, what they like, and what will generate the most sales.
The ROI Is Huge
It’s estimated that for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you get a $44 return. That is a massive ROI. And the great news is that email marketing is cheap. It costs very little to get into if you use services like MailChimp, meaning you can get up and running fast.
Create SEO Friendly Website Content
Assuming you have a website (and you should), one really simple way to attract new customers is to create content that will rank high in Google searches. Optimizing the content you create for search engines is called, appropriately, “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO).
Here’s why this matters. When a person finds your website through a search, they are much more likely purchase from you than if they click through from an online ad. Why? Because they’re actively searching for an answer to a problem, and your business can be that answer.
By simply creating SEO friendly blog posts and web pages, you can get much more organic traffic coming your way.
How To Optimize Your Website For Search Engines
Here are some simple suggestions for how you can start optimizing your existing content and creating new SEO-friendly content immediately.
Use Keywords Appropriately
Keywords are words that occur throughout a piece of web content that let Google know that content is about. For example, if the word “Pekingese Terrier” shows up on a page multiple times, Google will assume that’s what the page is about.
To help Google know exactly what your page or post is all about, use the most important keyword multiple times in the body (without overdoing it), at least once in one of the headers, and in the meta description.
One thing to note. If you’re trying to rank a page for a hugely searched term, like coffee, it’s going to be almost impossible unless you can throw millions of dollars at it. Why? Because you’ll be competing against companies like Starbucks to own that term. Instead, focus on more specific terms, like “shade grown cold brew coffee”. You have a much better chance of getting search traffic that way.
Make Your Content User Friendly
More and more, Google is concerned about giving searchers exactly what they want. They want to be sure that the content is appropriate and that it’s user friendly and easy to read. If Google sees people clicking on your site, glancing at a page for less than 10 seconds, and then clicking away, they’re going to know that your site shouldn’t be promoted.
To avoid this, be sure that both your site and your content are user friendly. It should be easy to read both on desktop and mobile, and should feature plenty of headers, subheaders, bullet points, etc. It needs to be easy on the eye.
Google is smart, and they know when people don’t like your content.
Create In-Depth Content
Because Google wants to give searchers the most valuable information, they are increasingly favoring lengthy, in-depth content. Short, fluffy articles that contain little information of value are unlikely to show up in Google searches.
On the other hand, if you create a fantastic piece of content that gives a searcher everything they need to know, there’s a much better chance of Google favoring it.
Additionally, longer content tends to get shared more. Moz recently reported that though 85% of content online is less than 1,000 words, pieces that are longer than 1,000 words consistently get shared more, which in turn generates more traffic for the site.
Bottom line: create great content.
Utilize Social Media
Social media is one of the best ways to engage with your audience and draw them back to your website. If social media isn’t in your internet marketing strategies toolbox then it needs to be … ASAP.
But where to start. So many platforms, so many options, so many things being changed. Here are some tips on how to use the top social media platforms to market your business.
Facebook:
- Facebook Live – Facebook loves anything that keeps people on their site. Which is one reason it loves videos, especially Facebook Live videos. Facebook shows your Live video — while you’re filming it and after you’ve saved it — to more people the more viewers it has and the longer it runs.And if you create engaging and creative Live videos that attract eyeballs, that means more people may visit your Facebook Page and, in turn, your website. Facebook Live videos have a 4.3% engagement rate compared to non-live videos, which have a 2.2% engagement rate.
- Facebook Analytics – With your business page, you can get a huge amount stats on what type of people looked at your posts, when they typically see your posts, how engaging your posts are, and so on. You should be looking at your business’ Facebook Analytics every day and adjusting as needed.For example, if you see that the majority of engagement on your posts comes from men aged 25-30, you should shape your content so that it appeals even more to that demographic.
Twitter:
- Keep it short — Even though Twitter recently changed the character limit of a tweet from 140 characters to 280 characters, that doesn’t mean you always have to use all 280 spaces. The shorter, the better. According to Twitter, “Tweets below 100 characters are more attention-grabbing and engaging.”
- Use images — Internet people are drawn to eye-catching images, so it’s a good idea to use them in your tweets.
- Polls — Run a poll, see what people think about a topic related to your business. Engage with your followers. Once the results come through, talk about them on Twitter and answer questions from your followers. Ask them why voted the way they did and then respond appropriately.
- Show some love — Retweet, reply, follow back — all things that can boost your customer engagement and your overall brand.
Instagram:
- Hashtags — Although both Facebook and Twitter have hashtags, Instagram’s hashtag underworld has taken off with more strength. Find the most popular hashtags related to your industry and use them on every post. At the same time, you can use more specific but less popular hashtags to bring in a more targeted audience.
- Use stories — In an effort to topple Snapchat, Instagram introduced their “Stories” feature, which is a clone of the feature Snapchat invented. Nevertheless, Instagram Stories have become a monster hit, with millions being created each day. In fact, within one year, the number of Instagram Stories surpassed the number of Snapchat ones.
Online Advertising
Online advertising, in the form of Facebook, Google, and banner ads is a powerful way to connect with a very targeted audience.
For good and bad, Facebook, Google, and other sites have thousands of pieces of data about each of their users. When you advertise on Facebook, you target your ads based on age, gender, interests, location, other pages they’ve liked, and dozens of other options.
In other words, you can target exactly who you want, ensuring that they see your ad and are exposed to your brand.
Conclusion
Now that you know the strategies you can use, it’s time to put them into action. It’s time to start marketing your business to the masses.
Unlike the old days, when your marketing options were limited to things like newspapers and billboards, now you can target very specific audiences using a variety of online tools. They’re cost effective, highly engaging, and allow you to connect with your customers in a one-on-one fashion.
If you’re not implementing these strategies, it’s time to get started.
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