Stephen December 11, 2015 4 Comments

 

What Is Online Marketing Strategies?

In the days before the internet, a store owner would put a sign out front and purchase advertising the local paper, radio or TV station. However, the internet is a different animal because reaching customers requires a different approach. So it is important to understand exactly what is online marketing strategies and which ones work best for your particular business.

When it comes to running your online business, the most important aspect is reaching new customers so they can purchase the products or services that you offer. This will mean employing marketing strategies designed to pull in interested parties who will then see what you have and decide if they want to make the purchase.

An online marketing strategy is the approach taken to find customers for a particular business and bring them to your website. You may have heard terms such as “web traffic” for example, but the key is bringing in the right type of people who are most likely to purchase what you have to offer. Unlike traditional advertising which reaches a broad swath of people both interested and not interested in what you have to offer, the internet is more controlled in that you can target those who are interested in your products or services

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The advantage of the internet is that you can reach potential customers around the world. However, the disadvantage is that unlike traditional advertising when most people read the paper, listen to the radio or watch TV, the audience on the internet has no singular entity which can reach them. You will need to deploy the right types of online marketing strategies to find the ones interested in what you have to sell.

Six Common Marketing Strategy Methods

Each of these methods are proven and are often used together to create the most effective means of finding and selling those interested in your products or services.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This is arguably the most popular form of passive advertising available on the internet and the good news is that it is inexpensive and will work for months, if not years at a time. However, the SEO approach will take time to generate as it slowly reaches out into the web so the emphasis will lean more towards long range goals than short term gains.

 

Maximize Content: Selling isn’t just about bringing potential customers to your site, it is about providing them with the information they need. Good, solid, informative content is really being emphasized by Google search engines which means that creating this type of content will not only hold your readers’ attention, it will probably bring more of them to your site. It is important that the content be frequent and substantial so that you will generate regular
readers who will keep coming back for more. Blog often, update your site, add relative informative content.

 

 

Social Media: Arguably the biggest change to the internet over the past decade has been the introduction of social media. Site such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and others combined have over a billion accounts belonging to people around the world.

 

 

Simply tapping into a fraction of that audience means building a massive customer base, however it can be problematic as the straightforward sales approach is generally rebuffed. Instead, most successful online businesses market their products or services in an indirect manner where they build up the trust and confidence of potential customers by producing good content and keeping them informed on the latest events in the industry. By being present, answering questions and providing good information is a very effective marketing strategy when using social media.

Creating & Nurturing Leads: If there is one potent marketing strategy that comes from traditional sources, it is the establishment and buildup of leads. A lead is someone who has expressed interest in a product or service, but has not made the purchase. Building leads can be as simply as offering a free newsletter as part of a free report or other information that the customer may enjoy.

 

Email newsletters and social media postings can help nurture a lead who will become more tempted to buy. Remember, a typical customer will reject a purchase offer five times on average before they accept.

Be Generous: This may sound counterproductive at first, but being generous in terms of giving away information, providing hints or perhaps giving access to tools and the like can be very beneficial when it comes to creating new customers. This is because the more you give that is good, the more likely your efforts will be shared by those who receive them which in turn build up your customer base.

So, when you give, be sure that it is something which is wanted and desired in order to get the best results possible.

 

Video is King: Next to social media, the advent of YouTube has created a revolution in online marketing. Before, it took a professional video company using equipment costing thousands of dollars to create a 30 second commercial.

 

 

Today, thanks to the combination of YouTube and inexpensive, but high quality video production equipment you can create an endless supply of videos that will help boost your sales.

Plus, if just one of them should go viral thanks to be shared on social media sites, you can expand your customer base exponentially.

Employing Effective Online Marketing Strategies

Being persistent is the key as you may find the urge to give up which will only put you back where you started. Instead, employ solid marketing strategies and see where they will take you when it comes to making profits. While not everyone can become successful, it is important to remember that success can come from anyone as long as they persist and never quit.

Success will not come overnight even if you fully understand the question of what is online marketing strategies. However, with some patience and persistence you will gain traction and start seeing more potential customers visiting your website. Basically, you should always track your results and make adjustments when needed to maximize your success.

I hope this post has given you some insight as to how to go about your online marketing strategies. Please leave a comment or question below. I’d love to hear from you and I’d love to help! 

Everything I’ve learned about online marketing strategies, I’ve learned by using the  Wealthy Affiliate platform.