Digital Marketing Consultant

Standing out in the sea of Internet competitors is becoming more difficult as more businesses are using Internet marketing to promote their products and services.  The value of Internet marketing that gets your business noticed continues to increase as new company profiles continue to emerge on the Internet. 

Learning how to get your marketing voice heard over that of your competition is necessary for your business to get the attention of your market.

To get your marketing voice heard that are some things required in the Internet world today. 

• Blogging
• Social Media marketing
• PR and press releases
• Fresh content

Blogging is an effective way to keep your market informed as to what is happening.  In addition to your target market the engines index your blogs which will enhance your marketing efforts.   The key to blogs is to keep it current and constant.  Many business fail in their blogging efforts by simply not keeping it going over time, but give up after just a short period of time.  Daily blogging will produce the best results.

Social Media is accessed by most everyone today.  The search engines also access the various social media platforms which can prove beneficial if you have links back to your website along with information on your products and services.  Making your site seen and accessible for contact can be very valuable to your business.  It will do no harm and just may do a whole lot of good.

Press Releases and Articles are another great way to get fresh information out to the market and to the search engines.  They also provide a channel for links back to your website for both your market and the search engines.

Fresh Content should be planned periodically for your website.  Once again both your market and the search engines will be interested and reward you for keeping fresh content that is up-to-date on your website.

Remember you are not the only business online trying to get the attention of the market and the search engines.  This knowledge should fuel your energy to stay above the completion in the specific area for your business success.  You can get a good idea of how this can work for you if you study our free Wisdom Book.

Bad marketing is not difficult to recognize, but creating good Internet marketing strategies takes some consideration and creativity.  Where is the line between good marketing and bad marketing?

First, it is important to consider what signifies good marketing?   There are several questions you should ask concerning your Internet marketing strategies.  

Good marketing will talk directly to your market.  The line between good and bad marketing can be identified by how your marketing talks to your market.  Is the information provided based upon things of interest to your market?  Is the information effectively speaking to the needs of your market in an engaging manner?  The closer your marketing efforts target the thoughts and needs of your market, the more effective your marketing strategy.

Do the specials you offer reflect what your market in interested in.   Is a free product what they are looking for or would they prefer a discounted product or perhaps even free shipping?  The key in this area is to test and trial various offers to find what really connects with your market.

Market is really about the right promotions at the right time.  Do you have your timing right in your marketing strategy?  A marketing strategy centered around a Valentine theme probably will not be effective during the month of March.  Timing is everything when it comes to good Internet marketing.

Marketing that connects with your market is engaging.  Good marketing goes beyond just providing great information.  Good marketing encourages interaction from your audience.  Effective ways to build engaging marketing is to use open ended questions, market surveys, and market contests to gain insight to your markets ideas and thoughts on specific ideas.

Knowing your market and understanding how they think can assist you in creating marketing campaigns that are measured as “good.”  Good marketing produces good marketing results in the way of traffic and conversions.

If you want to see some good examples of "good" Internet marketing, see our free Wisdom Book.

You have a magnificent website with all the bells and whistles.  Are you engaging your customers?  After all, isn’t your website for your customers?

Engaging your customers is simply getting their feedback.  Yes, you can gain a lot of insight from your analytical tools online.  But what are you doing to get direct customer feedback?  Not only on the products and services you offer but also on new products and services in which they are interested?

To become even more engaging with your customers request their input on other customers’ ideas and suggestions.  Why should you come up with all the new ideas, which may or may not be in what your target market is interested.  Get their input right up front.

Customers tend to enjoy the opportunity to give their opinions.  When they see a company responds positively to their input, they become an engaged customer.  This fosters loyalty and word of mouth referrals for the business also.

The innovative business owner should be on the lookout for upcoming tools to obtain feedback from customers in an easier manner.  There are a variety of tools designed to obtain customer feedback.

Three methods are the top of the list include:

• Newsletters
• Social Networks
• Micro-blogging
• User ratings and user feedback

Each of these methods support innovation and product development.  The methods used to obtain feedback and insights do not have to be complicated to be effective.  In reality the simpler the process, the more engaged the customer will tend to be.

Over the next year it is expected that mobile channel investment will be a focus for many companies.  It will be interesting to follow this development and see the impact it makes in the area of customer engagement.

Engaging customers leads to improved retention and conversion rates along with increased participation and traffic.  See our series on social networking that started last February.  And if you need help, don't hesitate to ask.

When you are engaged in an online business, gaining recognition is important to your business success.  Digital Marketing strategies are all about gaining recognition for you business expansion and growth.  

There are several methods that can be used to market your business in a digital manner.   Just how can a small online business stay afloat in an extremely competitive Internet business world?

Recognition will only follow a presence or listing on the Internet.  Products and services are either offered on a business owner’s website or on ads on related sites.   A site or ad that is specific regarding the products and services offered by use of keywords is necessary to get a high level of recognition with your target market.  

These keywords should align with words used in Internet searches by your target market.  The strategic use of keywords in website content, ads, products, and services is key to obtaining high recognition on the Internet.

The key to your business success on the Internet is directly related to your target market searches and the return of your information based upon the keywords used in the Internet search.  Keywords should be very specific rather than broad in nature.   A site that sells imported leather handbags will have much better success with imported leather handbags as a keyword instead of just handbags.

It is essential that your website is developed and built in a manner that will allow your target market to find your site when they are searching the web for products and services. 

If you want to know more, see our free book.

Too often an Internet Digital Marketing strategy is too complicated to ever get off the ground for successful implementation.  Like so many other things in life your Internet Digital Marketing strategy should include KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

Keep a focus on the things that really matter and you will gain favor.  Simplify is a magically word that can provide you with a real competitive edge. 

Some areas of marketing that can get to complex are noted below:

• Blogs with cluttered irrelevant or not important information can be distracting.  You should only have things on your blog that are essential and what you want the users to engage with.  Clutter prevents your customer from focusing on anything.  A simple blog allows everything to pop out on the page.
• You users are busy and would prefer to have your information in a simple format that is not too wordy.  Keep the fluff out.
• Pitch your marketing to your niche, not to the whole world.  If you try to target the whole world, you will not reach anyone at all.
• Less is more when it comes to website design.  Make sure your message is clear and concise on your website.
• Keep your management streamlined without additional layers that just get in the way of progress.  Simplicity coming as a surprise is seen to be elegant while complexity is observed as standard and expected.

Designing your Internet Digital Marketing business, your industry blog and business processes and methods with a simplistic approach will set your business above the competition who fail do so.

Social Media is the power drive for Internet Marketing.  Sharing of information has been enhanced by the use of Social Media.  

Search engine optimization still plays a very important Internet Marketing role.  But the truth is Social Media has emerged as a new source of power for online businesses.

Social Media has the power to convert visitors to buyers.  One of the most economical methods to increase traffic and sales to your online business is Social Media.   Social Media has the power to promote your products and services on a global basis.

Social Media offers a platform supporting interactive videos.  Videos have the opportunity to allow a personal approach to the Internet Marketing efforts.  Videos are also well liked by the search engines.

Social Media and mobile browsing continue to be increasingly popular.  This popularity paves the way for Social Media to be an excellent choice when it comes to product and service promotion. 

Social Media is not a standalone approach to Internet Marketing but should be utilized alongside your other marketing strategies.  Social Media takes your products and services directly to your target market.  

Email integration with Social Media is an excellent way to communicate one to one with your target market.  Starting to utilize Social Media in your promotional activities will take some time initially but the returns on these marketing strategies can make all the effort worthwhile. 

Social Media marketing allows business owners to reach the mass of their target market in a individual and personal manner.  Interacting with your target market can make the difference between merely traffic to your site and a sale.

If you want to know more about Social Media Marketing, look at the series starting in February.

When it comes to digital marketing, it is important not to get the cart before the horse.  You must put first things first to be successful.   The first step in developing an Internet Marketing program is to determine your market segment or segments.

In order to determine a Market Profile for your business, you must do adequate research.   Having a targeted campaign is essential if you want to be successful.   Research provides a proven track record for success when compared with a strategy of just taking a chance on a product or service.

You will want to look for keywords and also review your competitors websites.  Knowing who is the competition is one of the most valuable steps you can take to assure your business success.  The better the research you perform the better your site will become.  

Just the word research scares a lot of people away.   Market research does not have to be difficult.   Once you start doing research on your niche  you may be amazed at the amount of information available to you.

You may find you need to pare down your segment or number of segments to get to the numbers that can bring you success online. You might want to consider specializing in a particular style or size to get your segment narrowed down enough to be effective.  

There are many new online businesses everyday on the Internet.  The majority of these new business will fail.  Don’t let the business failures prevent you from taking the time and effort to build a strong Internet company. 

You can do a little research and determine the marketing campaign that will be most beneficial to you in the long run.    Finding a good product and then, with the use of keywords, pulling and directing traffic to your products and services is the first step in your business success story.

A warning: THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST STEP.  You have to convert visitors to customers.  Read our free Wisdom Book for more information.

I am going to repeat something that I have said just a few days ago: The majority of website businesses do not succeed.   In fact, most end up in miserable failure.  A lot of websites have a pleasing appearance, even great features, and lots of traffic, but the real purpose for a website business is to produce income. 

 

The purpose of the website is obtained by several different methods including:

• Direct product sales
• Affiliate promotions
• Generation of leads

Regardless of the method used, the bottom line goal is to convert the traffic into paying customers, i.e. Conversion Architecture.  A lot of websites fail to obtain the necessary conversions.

I repeat a few of the most common reasons conversions do not occur with one additional  reason:

1.   No compelling sales copy on your website.  Your content should provide information about what you do.  The content should urge and suggest to your customer the reason why purchasing now is best.  

2.  Failure to establish the call-to-action.   Think about what you want your visitors to do once they arrive on your site.   This may be to purchase something, subscribe to something, or to contact you directly.   The key here is do not leave it to the imagination spell it out for them on your.  You job as the owner of your website is to help others.  You should provide the directions your market will need to follow to take the action you desire them to take. 

3.  Make navigating your website easy for the newbie visitor on your site.   People tend to leave websites quickly if they are difficult to navigate.  If you are not sure if people find your website easy to navigate, listen to what they have to saw.  Just by listening, you can discover the challenges people are having on your website.

4.  Have not understood how SEO and SEM all works together.  If you are not spending your life working to make your business website work, you are probably only getting some of the information you need to make your on-line business succeed.

These are just a few of the main reasons some websites fail.   By taking care to know all the reasons, you will probably understand that you need full-time, qualified help and, finally then you can attain the success for your online business you have dreamed of having.

Over the past couple of years with the struggles of the economy, Social Media has done very well and has actually been increasing during this time.  More business owners have turned to blogging and social networking during this time.

Hard-sales-approach marketing does not work as well as attraction marketing on the internet.  The goal of internet or digital marketing is to get your potential customers to visit you at your site rather than your going to them. 

The social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter have changed how business is done.  These applications allow you to build relationships with your potential customers.

You will build relationships as you provide solutions to your customers' needs.   Don’t be afraid to give away some valuable information.   This will help to build your reputation.   This is referred to as "paying it forward."   The last thing you want your reader to feel is that it is all about you. 

You will want to paint a clear picture for your business about how others will benefit from your products or services.   When you make the center of attraction about others, you will discover success.

Social Media has weathered some storms regarding security, but it is still one of the best opportunities around to build reliability, goodwill, and ultimately a successful internet marketing business.  Make a difference in your digital marketing by engaging in various social media platforms.