Seven Ways To Market Your Company Online
Seven Ways To Market Your Company Online
I recently created an article specifically designed to touch on the affiliate marketing side of using the internet to market your company or simply just a company online.
Here, we will touch base on multiple ways to drive traffic to whatever it is you are promoting. Whether you are an affiliate for another company and wanting to drive traffic to create leads, or you want to establish your own brand – these 7 ways to market will definitely be handy.
Now, with each one of these 7 concepts of marketing, we could delve into with much great detail. Here I am merely providing a thumbnail sketch of ways to market. In later posts, I will jump into to specific details of all.
For example: Social Media Marketing, that’s a monster all on it’s own that has had countless hundreds of hundred page books written on the topic. Do not worry, I am not going to write a 500 page book on each subject. I have taken 7 ways to market, and briefly expanding on each of them to point you in the right direction.
With that being said lets check them out!
1.Creating a Website.
This is honestly pretty much a given. If you do not yet have a website in this day and age, you may possibly should reconsider being in business…
(hope that doesn’t offend anyone, but lets be serious – how serious are you if you do not have a web presence)
There are a multitude of methods of creating a website.
1. You could buy a “How to Build a Website For Dummies” “How To Code HTML/CSS For Dummies” and “How To Code For Dummies” as I have once done aka the hard way…
2. You could hire a web designer. very pricey…
3. You could use many of the pre-designed templates available to you through many different mediums – google search “website templates”
4. You could shoot me a message here, and I can walk you through the process.
2. Advertising Online.
This could be broken down into so many different categories, and those categories a book could be written about each of them. I am simply going to touch on a few.
1. Banner Ads: An extremely popular choice of advertisers and marketers alike. I am sure at one point in your life you have clicked on one. There is a science behind these things, the major players know what they are doing. Typical there is a graphic (highly thought out) with text aside (also highly thought out – in the industry we call it ‘ad copy’). A user will click the ad, then subsequently be sent to your website. Higher traffic websites, will charge a pretty penny to place an ad. I believe to place an ad on About.com is around 10,000$ per banner…. :S
2. PPC: Pay Per Click – these are advertisements, similar to banner ads, that you pay for every-time someones clicks on the ad set to a pre-determined amount. The ad will link to wherever you want it to go – back to your website, or to a landing page.
These are merely 2 methods of “Advertising Online” which could be completely further broken down. There are many more… but lets continue
3. E-News Letters.
Remember when you were in grade school, and you used to get news letters once a month about whats going on with the school?
E-News letters are pretty much the exact same thing, but they are electronic, and sent via E-mail.
They may include such things as articles, quizzes, advertising, relevant information on your brand – you can fill them with whatever you want. But, there is a science to these as well! You NEVER want to send SPAM, and you want to keep a value sales mix at about 80/20. 80% of the time, provide free value, 20% sell your product/or the product you are an affiliate of.
If you even once come across as “SPAMMY” people will dismiss you, and you lost that customer.
4. E-Mail Campaigns.
These are very similar to E-Letters, pretty much the exact same – just in an e-mail format over a “news letter” format.
Once again, stay away from coming off as “Spammy” and the 80/20 rule still applies.
Your number 1 priority, should be to offer value NOT to sell. If you send E-mails with just sales pitches in them, no one will follow – start with value! I cannot stress that enough.
5. Search Engine Optimization.
Once again, another tactic of marketing that has had countless books written on the subject, and can be broken down many ways. Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short, is optimizing your website for being ‘ranked’ in the search
engines.
(here is a great article regarding SEO and a checklist you can use on your site to help improve your rankings)
There are many facets that are involved in what determines your rank in the eyes of these search engines. Google/Yahoo create algorithms, that they do not disclose to the public, which has a certain criteria of what qualifies a website to have a good ranking on their site when users search.
Top ranking websites, websites on the top 10 spots on the search results, generally receive the most traffic. How many times have you went to google, and gone to the second third fourth or fifth pages to find something you were looking for?
Here are 3 ways to increase your ranking on Search Engines:
1. Back-Linking: Having people/yourself share you website link on other websites/pages/forums or blogs.
2. Social Proof: This is relatively new, but the more people who share your content via Twitter/FB/YouTube/Google+ will have a positive impact in your search engine rankings.
3. Optimizing your websites images: With whatever means you have created a website, whether WordPress/Template Site – whenever you post a photo, be sure to place an “alt tag” where it asks you. Without going into great detail, this “alt tag” will be picked up by the search engines, and will help your rankings improve.
Remember, these are birds eye views on each topic to help you in the right direction of marketing your business online
6. Social Media Presence.
Here are 5 Creative Time Saving Tips For Using Social Media for your convenience
The presence of Social Media, has become an absolute powerhouse in opening up business owners abilities in marketing, branding, and building relationships.
*remember, Social Media is not the ‘be all end all’ it is merely a part of your entire marketing mix. Social Media is not free, it costs your time – be weary!
(I have a few awesome time saving tips for using social media to help you streamline the process – simply click here)
Social Media is great, because as a business owner/marketer, you now have the ability to place yourself right in the conversations of your target audience and foster relationships without a dollar amount!
Consumer feedback, placing offers & promotions are all benefits of Social Media.
Keep in mind, every social media outlet out there has their own specific way to properly operate, it is a science to be learned.
7. Blogging.
If you click this link right here, I make a great case for why you should have a blog on your website.
Blogging is essentially one of the greatest ways to build yourself an organic audience.
The premise of a blog is to provide valuable content on your website, in the form of “posts,” which help to solve target markets problems/answer their questions or entertain.
Consumer feedback/social sharing – which have their obvious merits – are great benefits of running a blog on your website to help market your company online.
CONCLUSION
Internet Marketing is extremely simply, but there is a large amount of information that goes into it. Keep in mind that it is a skill, like anything, and it needs to be learned. Just as someone would learn to be a plumber.
There are many different avenues to marketing online, I stated the 7 main ones above, and there are many more.
If it is a skill that interests you, click right here to contact me, and we will work towards your goals! Whether you are promoting yourself, working for a company, promoting a company, or working for yourself – this program will teach you HOW to take it to the next level.
Just remember, it takes no special talent to learn, just a willingness to want to grow!
Take it and run with it…
