Marketing Tips for Online Businesses

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Running an online business is a very lucrative opportunity in today’s era of virtual connectivity. Almost all businesses today have a website online where they share information with customers and prospective, and some even have online purchase options. Millions of people today rely on the internet as a source of information for all kinds of things. Before going out to eat at a restaurant, most people will log online to red reviews about it, visit the website to see the kind of items on the menu and even make reservations online.

The internet is a very competitive marketplace nonetheless and extensive marketing is necessary to capture the attention of the audience you are targeting. The following are some of the things that you can do in marketing to make your online business more successful

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is an industry in its own and the best way to get people talking about your business online. Search engine optimization puts your brand in front of your prospective clients and generates leads back to your website. There are various SEO techniques used to achieve a strong internet presence. However, the most important factor when it comes to SEO is choosing the right keywords. You need to find keywords that are most likely to be used by your target audience and best address the kinds of products and services that your business deals with.

Good SEO involves well selected keywords, good link building and the creation of quality and optimized content. You can get content writers to come up with interesting bits about your business niche that you can use to optimize your website. The higher the search engine rankings, the better the online visibility and the more sales you can generate.

Blogging

Blogging is one of the easiest and best marketing strategies even when working on a shoestring budget. You need to constantly create informative and interesting pieces to add to your blog regularly. Many ecommerce ventures have been established from blogging along even before creating a branded website. By giving prospective clients an interesting read packed with lots of useful information, you can create more loyal and trusting relationships and these blogs can be shared socially. The impact of blogs on search engine optimization is also quite impressive. By blogging twice every week, you can greatly improve your rankings on the leading search engine. Remember to include a call to action in your blog so you can generate some business leads from there as well.

Another aspect of blogging that you should consider is guest blogging as it is also an effective marketing tool. You should contribute regularly to relevant blogs where you can expand your reach and even show off your expertise to greater audiences.

Use social media

If you do not have an account on social media then you need to get one as soon as possible. Social media can generate tons of leads back to your website and even result in some great sales. Through social media, you can communicate openly with prospective customers, collect opinions and eventually improve your product based on the constructive criticism you get. Almost all major social media sites today allow for sharing and reposting and you can expand your reach by encouraging your followers to share and repost your page to their friends as well. The right targeting on social media can give you amazing results.

Social media can be quite overwhelming, especially if you are managing your own pages. You should choose one social media account where you can focus your marketing efforts and share the posts on the other social media sites. Keep your social media posts frequent, relevant and helpful to your prospective clients.

Email marketing and email reminders

There is great potential in email marketing because it is a great way to engage with customers with targeted and customized content. You should combine email marketing with your other marketing campaigns. You can share information about promotions or time limited special offers using email reminders to your clients. People can be quite forgetful considering the thousands of brands and products available online. However, when your client receives a custom email in their mail box, they are more likely to act on it.

Online directory and review websites

You can use online directories and review sites to improve your visibility as well as manage your online reputation. Go to influential websites that already have a large following of internet users interested in your particularly niche. One of the authoritative website that you can use includes Google My Business which lists your business on Google search and maps. Customers can review your business and this eventually leads to better visibility online. You can also create listings on popular review sites such as Yelp, Angie’s List and yahoo local, among others.

Webinars

Conducting webinars with rich and relevant content to your target audience can help generate leads for your business as well as building your mailing list. Webinars can compromise the internet users who view the live broadcast, as well as attract new clients. When preparing webinars; ensure that the host is experienced in conducting webinars as well as knowledgeable about the discussion topic for the best results possible.

Press releases

Competition for visibility is always intense for most online businesses. You can use press releases to advertise your brand across various local and international channels. Press releases can give small and midsized businesses as much exposure as the much larger brands. Press releases create interactions that form lasting impressions about your brand with journalists, bloggers, and get the product directly in front of the customer. When using integrated marketing strategies, you need to combine various techniques including press releases for the greatest impact.

You can post the press release through a wire service such as PR Newswire and PR Web, often costing about $200 to $300. The releases will be picked up by major search engines and many other websites. Press releases are great for marketing newly launched products and services, promotions and special deals or even when rebranding the business.

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Jack Dawson is a web developer and UI/UX specialist at http://BigDropInc.com/. He works at a design, branding and marketing firm, having founded the same firm 9 years ago. He likes to share knowledge and points of view with other developers and consumers on platforms.