The 411 on online marketing for beginners
As you already know, online marketing can be a great tool to utilize to promote your business on the Internet, but if you want to succeed at it, you have to make sure to use it wisely. Online marketing goes hand in hand with technology; therefore, anything that revolves around it is frequently being updated. At the end of the day, with online marketing, your money and business' reputation will always be on the line, and thus, it's important to know the 411 on it.
The 411 on How to Succeed with Online Marketing for Beginners
High-Quality Website
To attain a first class online site, you will need the aid of a professional who studied website development. This could run you a couple of thousands of dollars, but it will be well-worth it at the end of the day, as you don't want to opt for a website design that reflects a poor structure, because customers will assume that your products or services are of the same nature.
URL Search Engine Integration
Tell your website designer to integrate your business’ URL to every search engine that he or she can find. Yes, even in the less likely visited search engine in the world, as you never know . . . it can skyrocket in popularity, for no reason. In this day and age, anything can happen.
Newsletter Subscription Button
Your website should have a subscription option on the side. You have to make sure that it attracts their attention; therefore, adding that you will provide a discount to anybody who subscribes to your newsletter could make any visitor be more willing to share their email address with you. Or, you can offer very valuable content in exchange for their info.
Merchant Promotions by Google
So, you’re website is on . . . now what? If you’re selling a product, one of the greatest ways to get the word out there right away is through Merchant Promotions by Google. Let’s face it, Google is any business’ best pal, as it is currently ranked as the most visited website in the world; therefore, it should be one of your online marketing go-to sources. You can distribute your promotions on a number of Google properties, including Google Wallet, Google Offers, Google Shopping search results, and more. This can help you reach online consumers who are looking for what you sell, right away.
High-Quality Email Campaign
Once you have a list of emails, you want to opt to send high-quality newsletters that promote your products, through a top online email marketing solution that will allow you to manage contacts, send emails, and track results, like convertkit.
Opt for SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) could help improve your search engine rankings. You need content that states certain keywords throughout articles that you curate. There are definitely many writers who are experts in this department. You can hire them on sites like https://HireWriters.com.
Coupon Integration
Go to retailmenot.com and place your current business’ coupon along with some keywords so that anybody who is looking for what you’re selling can instantly find your coupon and thus visit your website and probably make a purchase. Just in case you were not aware, retailmenot.com is a very popular website that numerous of people who want to save a buck or two go to every day.
Sample and Coupon
Anybody who purchases from your website should receive a package that includes a sample and a coupon. This will continue your relationship with that customer.
Free Shipping
In order to keep customers happy, you should provide free shipping when they reach a certain amount if you sell a product. Obviously, you can offer something else for a service like a free analysis.
Top-Notch Customer Service
You never want your customer service to be mediocre, as this will cause your business to take an unwanted downfall pretty quickly. Emails should be answered within 24-hours and phone calls during business hours should be returned within an hour. It would also be a good idea if you opted for your website to have a chatting option so that your visitors couldconverseto a representative right then and there.
Be on the Lookout for New Popular Social Media Websites
Twitter, Facebook, Google +, and Instagram have taken the world by storm, but just like it occurred with Myspace, they’ll soon become history. There will be other more advanced social media websites that will take their place. For this reason, you should always be on the lookout for new popular social media online sites in order to engage with more potential and loyal clients.
Persistent Engagement
If you’re social media subscribers are not complaining, you should keep on posting. Always sound like you are an expert in your field, as you want people to respect your company in every aspect. Don’t only talk about the services and/or products that you are providing, but also give tips that go hand in hand with them. For example, if you sell house paint colors, you should provide information on when a new fresh coat of paint is needed, what colors are ideal for certain rooms, the history of paints, and etc. This will makepeople even more interested in what your company is all about.
Use Hashtags Adequately
The hashtag and the ‘AT’ sign, in particular, have been two marketing strategies that a lot businesses and marketers are beginning to implement in their social media accounts. If utilized correctly, they can help garner the attention of people and thus online businesses can keep on growing. A hashtag is phrase or word that is preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to identify messages on a specific topic. Massive use of the same hashtag determines a trending topic, which is why it is important for online businesses and marketers to know which ones are causing a buzz on the Internet in order to jump in and state a comment with one of them so that other people who are attentive to that particular hashtag can read it and know more about one’s business. Almost all social media platforms recognize hashtags. They are linked to a page that shows all publications that contain that particular hashtag. A hashtag can be created to group discussions of a group. There are some businesses and marketers who just jump into using hashtags without first analyzing the hashtags that are present and thus they can make the mistake of creating a hashtag that reads oddly, such as #thisismyreallycoolhashtag. That is not really a hashtag. It is often suggested that you first utilize a hashtag that it is already being noteworthy so that you can get the hang of how everything works, with your own eyes.
In order to cause the response that you want, make sure that you integrate an eye-catching phrase or words that go hand in hand with your online business. 'I just jumped at the weekend and now I have to go back to work. #Ihatemondays' This particular hashtag wouldn’t do your business any good. There is no way you can work around that if you are a business, but if it is #fridaysrock, you can state before it that your website always has rocking deals on Fridays. Now this will certainly cause attention, especially if you mention one of the current deals. You utilize the ‘AT’ sign when you want to garner the attention of a specific individual and when you retweet messages of a specific user. Contrary to popular belief, retweeting can really help you garner the attention of people. Make sure to retweet messages that go hand in hand with your field. Unlike hashtags, the ‘AT’ sign is utilized in order to grasp the attention of someone. Whether they follow you or not, you can send an ‘AT’ sign message to anyone. Always be on the lookout for the hashtags that can work to your advantage and messages you can retweet. Not only that, but always make sure to always stay on top of everything new that is occurring in social media online sites. Staying in touch with what’s happening can help you keep causing a meaningful splash on the Internet with your products and/or service(s).
YouTube
Having a YouTube channel is a must. It has become like the go to television, but with a twist. In each video, you can integrate buttons that link to your social media websites and your business’ official website. Just like you are going to do in your social media accounts, your videos you should talk about a variety of different things that go hand in hand with what your business is all about. ‘Work with whatever you have.’ This is a phrase that’s often used for those just starting out in online marketing, but if you can, you should always use the best of the best, like when it comes to the camera that you will be utilizing to film your YouTube videos. Listen, at the end of the day, quality does matter. The quality of a video can either denigrate or raise the credibility of your business. If you have a pal that’s a professional photographer, or you know a bit of the background of cameras, then good for you, but if you don’t, it would be a good idea if you paid a visit to Amazon.com and browse around. Read the customer reviews and look at the stars that the camera that has caught your eye has. A good camera can run you for a couple of hundred dollars. Of course, if you don’t have any issues in splurging, you can always hire a professional photographer to film you or your crew every time you think it’s time to post a new video on your business’ channel.
Twelve Types of Video Marketing Formats
>Expert Interviews
Find experts in your field. People tend to love listening to those individuals who know the 411 on something. Don’t be afraid to reach to someone to interview them. You’ll be surprised how many are more than joyful to accept, as they’ll feel flattered that you've taken them into account.
>Video Demonstrations
To find out how to do a certain something, people like to tune in to how-to videos rather than reading how-to books, as it’s easier to understand how things are done when your eyes are witnessing the process.
>Face Videos
People enjoy looking at somebody just talking directly to them, which is why face to camera type of videos is very common; therefore, you should definitely do some of these.
>Live Events
Let your viewers ask you questions on Google Hangouts, and record the live event so that you can post it to your channel. You will get more viewers live, as well as when you post the recording.
>Slide Shows with Voice-Over
Videos that contain a slide show of images with voice-over to explain to the viewers what they are looking at have also been noted to be very popular because they are able to capture their attention.
>How-to-Videos
Begin telling people how they can get something done, specifically something that you are good at and know the 411 on. This is a great way to use your past blog posts that inform on how to do something, once again.
>Video Tips Series
Another great way to keep your viewers interested is to make a video that contains a list of tips. Go through them really fast, and then you can make a tip series to explain each tip with much more detail.
>Sales Videos
This type of video goes hand in hand with sales pages and landing pages, as they utilize ideas, terms, and words that can be found in written sales pages, which is why they don’t go on YouTube, but they are quite popular.
>Testimonial Videos
If you are selling products and/or service, you can ask your clients for a testimonial video so that you can share it on your channel. Yes, it can be a bit scary at first to ask your clients for one, but it has been noted that most customers don’t mind. How could they . . . they’ll be on YouTube! A testimonial video can bring your products and/or service to life even more.
>Videos That Review
You can make reviews videos on tools, websites, products, and other things. This can help you get a lot of views on and off your online site, as people want to know what you think; therefore, it’s important that you let them know.
>Videos That Explain
Those videos that have a hand drawing while there’s a voice-over present explaining date, stats, or etc. are definitely very popular. They are definitely a great way to attain more viewers, as they explain concepts that are difficult.
Be the First to Know about the Talk of the Town
Compared to how it was a couple of years ago, you can now know when somebody is talking about your business and where. There are different monitoring programs that you can opt to utilize, like Meltwater Buzz, Topsy, Hootsuite, TweetDeck, Social Mention, Google Alerts, and Fresh Web Explorer.
Splurge on Somebody Famous
In addition to regular publicity campaigns, large companies often resort to the sponsorship of important figures and events to achieve greater popularity. It is common to see popular people sponsoring companies via a YouTube video or social media post. (You can always opt for a YouTube star.)
Blog
It is definitely not a secret that the world of blogging, which was introduced in the early 1990s, has revolutionized the world we live in. Thanks to them, a great percentage of humanity is better informed. In order to make your business skyrocket in popularity, contact the big guys of the blogging world. You can opt to advertise on their website and even pay them with money or a free service or product to talk about your business. Don’t forget to have your own blog to fall onto, as well. It’s important for every business to have a blog.
Google AdWords
As previously mentioned, Google is the most visited website in the world; therefore, it wouldn’t hurt to advertise on it. Visit google.com/ads to get started.
What about Amazon?
Even if your business has its own official website, you can alsostill opt to sell your products on Amazon under your business’ name. This is a great way to introduce people to your products.
Add Your Business’ Signature
Shipping boxes should have your website’s URL written all around it.
Change Your Website’s Layout and Promotions from Time to Time
By doing so, you will keep customers interested even more interested.
Get Started!
Try to take the previously information into account when jumping into the online marketing wagon, as they can save you meaningful time and money in the long run.