Web Marketing Strategy Update

Content marketing has certainly given traditional advertising a run for its money. As a cost effective alternative to Pay per Click ads, its popularity has soared. But content marketers have a different set of rules to abide by. Simply paying for ad space has been replaced by a complex structure of give and take etiquette content marketers learned through trial and error.

They learned that content marketing must be more “real” than advertising, requiring an honest approach that provides value to others in exchange for the value of spreading the word about a website or building links to help the site rank well on Google.

The early days of content marketing are behind us. In 2013, there is no room for a trial and error approach. By following these tips, some on site and some off, you can make sure you keep your content marketing honest, real and effective.

Be Humble

Your blog content is designed to attract Google searchers looking for information on the niche you cover. But what happens when they find your site and click in? Many sites have screens that force users to join the site or fill in a form before they can reach the content. Don’t think your site is so special that it’s the only place offer the information being sought. It’s just as easy for your visitor to click out and try the next site on the search list.

Be Considerate

Pop ups have taken a new form from the early days of the web. Today, many sites have in-line text pop ups to generate ad revenue. While everyone understands you need to generate revenue, no one wants to be distracted by pop ups. It’s hard to imagine your content is so great that these little pop ups won’t distract from the reader’s experience… maybe enough to send them elsewhere.

Be Knowledgeable

Chances are, your website sprang from an area in your life that you know a lot about. If not, you’re on the wrong track. You should be able to back up what you say with facts, reliable sources and smart arguments based on real world experience. This naturally results in attracting those most interested in your niche, the ones that will be most loyal followers and possibly even evangelize your site to others.

Be Relevant

While some sites do well with a news format that allows them to discuss any topic, niche sites are more likely to develop a strong following that helps the site grow. Don’t try to write to every topic under the sun, but keep on track with your site’s theme and niche. Stay true to the topic and your readers.

Be a Collaborator

The beauty of the internet is the new way we interact with our competitors. In the traditional business world, the last thing you wanted to do was work with a competitor for fear they may steal some of your advantages or customers. But the internet opens the entire world as a customer base. There are more than enough leads to go around. The reach of the internet means your competitors can now be your collaborators, with each of you reaping the rewards of working together.

From this spirit has sprung guest blogging, a form of content marketing designed to build links, traffic and search engine rankings. But these alliances thrive on integrity and honesty. Deal with others as you would your grandmother…treat them with respect, honesty and caring. The articles you give to other websites should be superior in quality and content.

Don’t Be a Stalker

While real-time marketing offers new insights for outreach, it can also make others uncomfortable if you overstep your bounds. It’s perfectly fine to seek others with similar interests, to visit their sites, leave a comment or perhaps even a personal e-mail, but don’t spam them constantly with e-mail, tweets and Facebook posts to their walls. It’s just like courting the girl next door: Be available, be friendly and be helpful, but don’t chase.

Jessica Bosari writes about internet marketing for Perth SEO firm, White Chalk Road.

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• Why Content Marketing is So Powerful for Business
• Goodbye SEO, Hello SCM: The Rise of Search Content Marketing

If you are a business owner or manager today, your business will have an online presence of some kind. Many business owners are still satisfied to simply tick the online box. Often smaller businesses will have an online marketing add on such as an SEO or PPC campaign tacked on to their primary marketing strategy.

The bad news is that a single channel SEO or PPC campaign is not nearly as effective on its own. The good news about this is that it is not hard to integrate online and offline marketing strategies in order to get the most from each. It can actually be done quite simply, causing your sales to potentially increase very quickly. Below are a few simple ideas that you can begin implementing immediately to get things moving.

Synchronise Online and Offline Campaigns

For some reason many businesses do not promote the same products or services online as they do offline simultaneously. There could be any number of reasons for this, but the point is that it is not a smart thing to do. People are looking online for everything these days, even very high priced items and services. Even if they are not buying directly, they are researching and looking for the contact information of places that can help them. What you can do about this is simply promote all of your products in both places. Use your traditional offline marketing methods for these products, but also transfer them to the online world by using pay per click, SEO or whatever other Internet marketing strategies you find effective.

Advertise your Online Presence

Another simple idea is to prominently display your online social networking accounts on all of your offline marketing materials. This will let people know that you do have an online presence, and they will take note and look you up. This is especially effective now because of mobile technology. A person can see your advertising material and look you up on their mobile device in seconds.

Encourage Existing Customers to Follow You Online

Getting the offline customers online is an important way to build brand loyalty and your database. In store promotions can be used to obtain customers email addresses or to encourage them to follow you on Facebook or Twitter.

Use Online Data to Inform Your Offline Activities

If you have website analytics of any kind set up on your site, then that data is valuable beyond your online marketing efforts. This is a tactic that many business owners neglect to recognize. For example, if a product is selling well on your website and you are getting a lot of interest in it, make a special display or offer at your physical location for that same product. You can also use keyword research to identify where demand is by analysing monthly search volumes.

These are just a few of the many ways that you can quite easily integrate your online and offline marketing campaigns. Smart business owners are realizing the potential in this, so you should get in on the action as soon as you can. These are proven ways for increasing sales, spreading your brand to new potential customers and keeping in touch with those who are already loyal to you and interested in what you have to offer.

Dave Dunne is a freelance blogger and copywriter. He writes about marketing, small business, web development and SEO. This article was written on behalf of Forza Direct Marketing based in Cork, Ireland.

In the world of digital marketing, Facebook is perhaps one of the biggest double-edged swords there is. Sure, it has quite a hefty list of credentials for the job and it’s certainly not ineffective, but the problem lies in the fact that all too often it’s considered the ‘go to’ form of advertising – and that’s a very slippery slope to be standing on.

As soon as we forget to look any further than the social media juggernaut to promote our latest competitions or range of products we’re alienating a huge percentage of our potential audience; even if 100% of our target customers are Facebook users, studies show that only a remotely slim percentage will ever visit our page again after clicking that ‘like’ button.
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These days, brand awareness is an essential ingredient of online business success.

The key to generating an effective online presence is by repeatedly exposing targeted online audiences to your brand.

Consistent efforts in building brand awareness enable consumers to become familiar with your company.

This familiarity begins to build trust in your business, and in turn this generally translates into more sales and a host of other benefits.

Here are the 5 best marketing methods to build brand awareness:

1: Use Search Advertising to Increase Brand Awareness

A joint marketing study conducted by Levi’s and search giant Google discovered that paid search display advertising boosted customer awareness of the Levi’s brand by 23%. Ads didn’t even have to be clicked, simple exposure worked like a charm. Search display advertising allows businesses to obtain more exposure on a fixed budget, making advertising extremely affordable. Also, search advertising is more affordable and effective than PPC advertising.
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