So what every business owner wants to know and i pretty well
mean EVERY BUSINESS OWNER, is what the hell should they focus
on with their online marketing. Email marketing was for a long
time the bread and butter of companies who wanted to build
a new marketing channel. It still is very popular and certainly
done right with a properly managed database it will prove fruitful.
How fruitful? Well there are numerous factors involved, the quality
of the execution being the largest, an ideal mailing list is
“nurtured” not “used”, informing rather than hard selling, then once
the reader has got into the habit of opening and reading the emails
that is the time to start to sell to them and in a way that spells
VALUE.
More recently the Social Networking Phenomenon has taken the world
by storm, Facebook and Twitter being the 2 that the media have proclaimed
the kings from an enormous array of different social networking vehicles.
We are constantly asked by business owners about Facebook and Twitter,
they certainly have a justifiable place in a businesses Online marketing
plans but it has been seriously exaggerated. It would seem a Facebook
fanpage can work with the right setup and ongoing management to bring
your current customers and potential customers closer to your products
or services, however unless you have somebody to plough several hours
a month keeping it fresh and upto date it is very much a long term
exercise.
Social Bookmarking is an interesting genre, dominated by the likes of
Digg,Stumbleupon and Mixx, if your target market is under 35 this could
provide a worthwhile commercial pursuit hand in hand with growing the
content and quality of your website. Social bookmarking is all about
reccommendations, so is Twitter and Facebook, but with Social Bookmarking
third party reccommendations can hold more credibility with potential
consumers.
The new kid on the block is what is known as “Location Based Social
Networks” which turns the likes of the Twitter and Facebook experience
into a local environment so all useage and discussion is focused to one
area. My forecast is this will be big, very big, however it is only in it’s
infancy currently and useage is still low in the USA so unlikely to catch
on here imminently.
This brings me to our core service, Search Engine Optimisation, in my
view the cornerstone of all online marketing for a very simple reason.
Search engines are now such a part of our daily life from searching for
something at work to searching for something at home to searching for
something on your mobile. Search is efficient, instant, high quality
and as popular as owning a car. This is why if your website is not
set up so that you are found when somebody searches for the exact
product or service that you offer, YOU HAVE LOST. Being on page 1
gives you the chance to WIN, it’s that simple.
