Increasingly the Internet continues to grow and command the attention of billions online. So much so that Internet usage is approaching television viewership in terms of personal consumption. Major advertisers are flocking and positioning themselves in front of the current groundswell of online users.
Local businesses can now promote and sell their products and services with targeted precision thanks to advances in geo-targeting technology.People are logging on with countless hours at popular social networking sites like MySpace, FaceBook, and YouTube. If your business needs to survive in the new Internet 2.0 digital environment this article is an excellent primer to do so.
In the new Internet 2.0 business environment there are some old standbys like search engines and email marketing, juxtaposed with newer media mainstays like social networking sites. It may be confusing navigating the broad range of Internet marketing options and deciding on the best road to take to drive online sales and profits. Below are 7 secrets to effective business promotion in the age Internet Marketing 2.0.
1. Search Engines are the starting points for online marketing. This is because researching search engines can tell you if you have a viable internet marketing opportunity.
Smart usage of search engines starts with research and ends with split testing and web analytics. Reviewing search terms on web applications like Word Tracker or Keyword Discovery is crucial to determining how people look for information related to their products, services, or industry.
Whether you are planning to use search advertising or natural search engine listing (organic search) knowing which search terms to use is crucial to the success of your Internet marketing campaign. You also need to learn to do split testing on your landing pages and analyze your website statistics to gauge the effectiveness of your search engine marketing campaign.
2. Email Marketing is the Internet's first killer app. Although email isn't as dependable as it once was due to filters, this old warrior in Internet media is still a critical component of online marketing.
Email marketing can be a great pre-seller of your products or services. People are increasing reluctant to share their email addresses so you have to make them a compelling offer to get them to submit to your list.
Usually you have to offer something free or at a low cost to get them to sign up for your email list. However, once you do get them to sign up you can market to them with the soft sell of useful information.
Offering a free course or newsletter of interest in your industry is the way to go. For instance a chiropractor might offer a free email course like 7 ways to ease back pain. Or a contractor might offer a free course on 7 ways to enhance your real estate value.
Think about ways you can help your potential customers with good information. This way you position yourself as an expert and trusted resource to your prospect.
If you are pressed for time create an evergreen ezine or ecourse which is powered with an autoresponder backend. This will automate your marketing efforts and help you develop trust and rapport with your email subscribers.
Don't overlook your established customers with your email efforts. When you get sales enter your customers into your email list or use shopping cart software to automate this process.
3. Use blogging & RSS feeds. While there are questions around on the web about whether there is blog burnout. People still enjoy reading blogs from good and provocative writers.
If you establish a blog with a RSS feed on your site you will notice the search engines will send you more traffic when you do it on a regular basis. Word Press is a good blog software to use. Blogger is the way to go if you aren't very technically inclined.
The search engines and blog directories should be pinged by the blog. Pinging will signal the search engines and they will send out retrieval programs called spiders to index your new blog posts.
4. List yourself with specialty directories. Never underestimate the importance of getting listed in authority directories in your industry. Your industry may have a major trade association your business or website needs to be listed in. Find out and get listed in vertical of specialty directories online related to your business.
5. Participate on social networking. YouTube, MySpace, and FaceBook, are getting hundreds of millions of people to signup and log-in on a regular basis. In one month YouTube received requests for 1 billion video downloads.
You should think creatively and constantly test and review your efforts on popular social networking sites. Customize your member's page on these social media sites.
Join groups within these sites and make friends. Share your insights and knowledge with targeted groups within these social networking sites.
Blog within these sites and make sure you link back to your web pages. Use videos and audio where possible to personalize your membership page.
The more you participate on social media sites the more you will see the fruits of your labor.
6. Develop ancillary media. Create media to compliment your promotional efforts online like podcasts, videos, and web applications. Creating this unique, entertaining, and useful content can make your web destination more popular, sticky, and viral in nature.
7. Take control with online management. With all of the different options to market your business online you could get confused with which ones offer the most bang for your buck. You will have to test and constantly review which ones are most effective for your kind of business.
You have to manage your Internet marketing efforts effectively to get a good return on your investment in terms of time and bottom-line results. Rather than wasting your money or time with experimentation you may do better employing a good Internet marketing advertising agency or marketing firm with expertise in these areas.
For most businesses these days, whether worldwide or locally focused, the Internet is an essential tool to grow and maintain a competitive advantage in your industry. Making smart decisions and leveraging the insights of Internet professionals will put you on the road to do effective Internet promotions for your business. by InterRep, LLC
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