In todays highly competitive commercial environment, its more important than ever for firms to capitalize on every marketing opportunity available to them. In particular, the huge growth in popularity of the internet in recent years has completely transformed the traditional marketing mix and allowed companies to reach out to consumers in ways never previously possible.
Establishing a strong online presence is now a pivotal part of corporate marketing and promotion, and could see your company expanding into new markets locally, nationally, and even internationally. However, planning an online marketing strategy can seem a daunting process if youre not familiar with todays digital landscape. If that sounds familiar, read on for a few tried and tested tips that will help promote your company successfully online.
Go it alone or choose to work with an agency
Before discussing the key elements of internet marketing, we should probably address the elephant in the room – namely, should you attempt to launch a marketing campaign yourself or pull in the expertise of a professional firm. Specialist web marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firms like clickintelligence.co.uk have many years of experience of working with firms just like yours and will first perform a full audit of your company, your target markets, and your current marketing (if any) to work out a bespoke strategy tailored precisely for your company. They will then set about implementing these measures on your behalf, leaving you free to get on with the important business of running your company.
Going it alone is clearly an option, but you should be warned – internet marketing is a highly complex process that is beyond the scope of the average web user. Unless you have experience in SEO, online advertising, and the vast array of other facets involved in web marketing, youll likely see mixed results.
Pivotal elements in any online marketing strategy
Regardless of whether you choose to take the DIY approach or partner with a professional web marketing, here are five elements you should consider (if you work with a specialist firm, make sure they at least cover these bases):
The importance of content: In 1996, Bill Gates famously wrote an essay entitled Content is King, and, despite being 25 years old, Gates message still stands true today. If youre to have any chance of success online, you need to ensure youre offering your website visitors quality, informed content. Often, youll find some articles dont sit comfortably on your main showcase site, so consider starting a sideline blog site to help with your content marketing.
Make sure your site is responsive: Over 50% of all internet use is made on mobile devices, so its essential your site scales to fit on any size screen cell phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop.
Optimize everything: SEO is a deeply involved process with many different components – one of which is optimizing your sites text, images, navigation, and tags to help search engines understand and prioritize your content above your competitors. The starting point for most SEO projects is to first make sure your site is optimized.
Promote your firm on social media: These days, customers expect companies to have a strong social media presence, so get onto the platform that best suits your company to start making a positive connection with your clients.
Consider email marketing: The vast majority of people (around 97%) wont make a purchasing decision on their first visit to a website so think about setting up a mailing list to foster relationships and encourage sales further down the line.