How to Pick the Right Online Marketing Strategies
You probably have no idea that your online advertising strategies may be archaic. Banner ads have a clickthrough rate of 0.1 percent, notes HubSpot. Pop-up ads are irritating web browsing barriers that are blindly closed. Reach audiences by providing marketing strategies that are actually valuable to consumers.
There are two main types of marketing on the web. Inbound marketing focuses on value, whether it’s a discount or information. The idea is to draw in customers by providing something of value to them. Outbound marketing is more traditional – put your ad out there to attract customers.
Use the following guide to learn about different methods you can employ to get the good word out about your business.
Inbound Marketing
Content Marketing
What It Is: Provides relevant content, such as articles and blogs, that also feature the products you’re selling or services you’re promoting.
Example: “How to articles” about buying a home on a real estate agent’s website.
How It Helps: Updated content will keep readers returning and exploring your site. You’ll get to know your customers better and tailor your business to their needs.
Social Marketing
What It Is: Creates an active and branded presence on social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Example: A store that promotes discount codes and campaigns on social sites.
How It Helps: Wishpond created an infographic based on Social Media Examiner’s “2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report.” Results included that 89 percent of respondents believe social media marketing increased business exposure, and 64 percent experienced lead generation growth by using social media for six hours a day or less. Not bad for services that are free to use.
Email Marketing
What It Is: A series of opt-in emails from a company to a group of customers.
Example: Creating fast, short and personal emails that pique curiosity and makes promises, whether you’re featuring a blog post or special discount.
How It Helps: By 2017, 78 percent of American email users will access their email via mobile. Send mobile-friendly emails and keep subject lines personalized, 30 or fewer characters, and snappy with one or two words.
Outbound Marketing
Ad Retargeting
What It Is: Displays your ads to people who have already been to your website or searched for you.
Example: A single man visits a dating site, then see dating site ads on every site visited.
How It Helps: According to Intuit, ad retargeting increases traffic by 726 percent among people who have received retargeted ads from sites they visited within the past month.
Paid Search
What It Is: Paying to get your site listed at the top of the search engines.
Example: A Google search for pet stores returns normal results as well as sponsored links on the top and side of the page. Paid search gets you in those sponsored links.
How It Helps: Most people don’t go beyond the first few pages of search results. Paid search will get your ad seen before people lose interest. You can also take advantage of online reputation sites that specialize in ensuring negative reviews aren’t the first results people see when they search for your company.
Product Feeds
What It Is: A list of products you sell submitted to Google.
Example: People who search for a DVD player are greeted with Shopping results. Results come from product feeds.
How It Helps: Product feeds boost search rankings, but also promote noteworthy elements about your product, such as a low price, unique design or innovative idea.
Affiliate Marketing
What It Is: Partnering with a website or network to advertise your product through them.
Example: A sporting goods company strikes a deal with ESPN.com to display their ads.
How It Helps: Narrow down advertising opportunities on the Web by limiting advertising to just a few pre-selected partners. You’ll target your ads to a desired audience and build a relationship with potential for future growth.
