Thursday, October 10, 2013

Eight Ways To Make Sure Your Internet Marketing Efforts Pay Off

By Gary Flory


A good online marketing campaign can do a lot for your small business. Read this article to learn more about the most successful internet marketing techniques.

Email marketing is a huge strategy, as you can reach millions of people with special offers, promotions, and other information with the click of a button. It takes awhile to build an email marketing campaign consisting of targeted visitors, so be patient. One thing you don't want to waste time and money on is sending out emails to the masses without targeting customers.

When you don't have the financial resources to conduct costly marketing tests and focus groups, turn directly to your target market for feedback. Look for opportunities to collect reviews, suggestions, comments and complaints from prospective and current customers. Invite feedback by including a link in both printed and digital materials; for optimal response, offer a discount or promotion to those who complete your survey or form.

After you create a URL for your site and business, make sure that you create a social media page for your site as well. Since everyone is on social media networks these days, you can make it easy for you to advertise online by posting on your social media page with new updates. The great thing about social media is that people are always on social media so they are exposed to your update on a daily basis without having to go out of their way to see it. This can draw people naturally because they don't feel pressured by you when you advertise.

Facebook is the world's largest social media website with nearly one billion users. Facebook users tend to be open to intermingling with brands, but first and foremost it is a personal network. Any business entering Facebook, then, needs to avoid the hard sell, as it is very much shunned by Facebook users. Businesses also need to find the fun side of their brand to succeed on Facebook. Developing a brand page that is enjoyable and even viral can really help you cut through the clutter, and there is a lot of clutter. With that many potential customers in one spot, Facebook attracts nearly every major business. The competition is tough.

Once customers buy something from you, they do not want to feel like they are no longer important to you. Following up a purchase with a thank you email is the perfect way to make customers feel appreciated. It does not have to be a long, drawn out email. The point is to let them know that you appreciate their business and you would love it if they did more business with you. Offer them some type of discount in order to give them more motivation to return.

Use your competitors to help figure out your own marketing. Chances are, the competitors that are in place have already done the market research, the surveys, and the soul-searching to find out what people want. You do not want to copy them, but you do want to make sure that you understand what they are doing so that you can get ideas of your own. Find out if they aren't doing something that you can do excellently, and find out what they are doing that you want to avoid.

Target a specific niche and find out what these people do online through studies and surveys. Use your findings to develop a campaign that is adapted to your audience. For instance, if you find that your typical customers use emails to communicate with friends or family rather than social networks, create a quality newsletter. Find out which sites, blogs or publications are popular among your audience and get your content featured where potential customers will see it. Paying for links or to get your articles featured is a good strategy only if you are sure this will draw targeted traffic to your site.

Make sure to link to your main web address and include your company information on every page of your website. Have a comment section or a forum where customer's issues, problems and complaints can be addressed and encourage visitors to leave both negative and positive comments. You may be able to use some of the negatives to improve your website. Give visitors several different places where they can leave their own contact information. This will help you build a customer e-mail list for future marketing.

Whatever industry you are in, Internet marketing is the best way to reach new customers. The possibilities truly are endless. The Internet offers multiple ways to reach customers, interact with them, and build loyalty and trust with them. Follow the tips laid out in this article and you are sure to build a business you can be proud of.




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