In the last few years, the world of online service marketing has evolved a great deal. Gone are the days when you would simply post flyers, pamphlets, and billboards across the city to get people in your neighborhood to stop by and enter a drawing for a free iPad Mini! Now, with the power of the internet, your business can exist anywhere in the world and gain access to anyone, anywhere, anytime. So how do you go about marketing your business online? What platforms do you utilize to market your services and what tools do you use to attract, engage, and convert potential customers? Where do you position your ads, and how much do you spend on each campaign? These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself before you begin your journey into the online service marketing world.

Which Platforms To Use?

Even if you have the best product in the world, you’ll never make a sale if you don’t have the right platform to reach the right audience. You can’t simply publish a blog article and hope people will flock to your store just because you’re an established business with a lot of experience. You need to make sure that your chosen platform provides the features you need to successfully market your service.

Are There Any Special Tools I Should Use?

There are plenty of tools you can use to make your life as an online marketer much easier (and less stressful). One of the most valuable tools you can have on your side is a good digital marketing agency. These agencies will have the experience of working with top-notch brands and knowing exactly what tools to recommend to take your business to the next level. They will also be able to provide the expertise you need to understand how effective certain platforms are at delivering results. For example, do you know what tools work best for SEO, PPC, or content marketing?

Am I Limited To Just Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

In theory, SEO is a great way to generate leads and increase revenue. You only pay for results, so if somebody searches for a product or service you provide and then visits your website, you’ll earn a commission. However, depending on the volume of searches your target audience makes, you may not see a significant return on your investment. Do you want to invest your precious marketing dollars in SEO? Consider alternative strategies.

Does Google Pay Me For Each Impression I Make?

In theory, yes. When you load a Google ad on a web page, you’ll see a little + next to Google’s logo at the top of the page. Each + denotes a potential click. If somebody clicks on a Google ad, the company will pay the publisher (you) a certain amount of money based on the type of ad they clicked on. While this amount varies by advertiser, it is usually somewhere between $0.05 and $0.15 per click.

Will YouTube Help Me Grow My Business?

For years, YouTube has been the go-to platform for people looking to learn something new or to enjoy a quick visual guide. Thanks to the platform’s massive audience, you can bet businesses large and small have taken note (and utilized YouTube to drive traffic to their websites and grow their brands). Don’t underestimate the power of a video as a marketing tool!

Include valuable information in your videos and you’ll enjoy increased engagement and higher click-through rates. When done right, video marketing is extremely effective (and much less expensive than traditional advertising). Is YouTube the right platform for you? Think about other video-based platforms like TikTok and Vimeo.

Should I Opt-In Or Opt-Out?

This is a question you need to ask yourself when deciding which type of email marketing to pursue. Do you want to opt-in with your email list to receive regular promotional emails or would you rather opt-out so you don’t get any more emails from the company? There are pros and cons to both options and you need to consider what’s best for your business.

If you decide that opting-in is the way to go, make sure you follow-up with the subscriber soon after they sign up (so they don’t forget about your promise). Also, make sure you update your list frequently with new information (good, bad, or otherwise) so that your subscribers always have something new to look forward to.

On the other hand, if you decide that opting-out is the best route for your business, you’ll need to find a way to get on the list of people who have opted out (so they don’t receive any emails from you). This could be difficult if you don’t have access to their email address (i.e. you email them but the company they gave you their email address from opted them out). You could try contacting them via social media or through their website’s contact form but you’ll need to make sure you do this immediately after they opted out so there aren’t any unpleasant surprises when you follow-up (and you can consider this a spam email if you don’t follow-up promptly).

Do I Need To Use A Paid Platform Or Can I Develop My Own?

You don’t need to use a paid platform to do online marketing but it is certainly the best option. There are many benefits to using a paid platform like Google Adwords (cost-per-click model) or Facebook Ads (cost-per-acquisition model). The biggest difference between a free platform and a paid platform is that with the free platforms, you’re on your own to figure out the best way to integrate marketing into your site (and you’re also responsible for maintaining the account). With paid platforms, you don’t have to worry about generating traffic because the company you’re working with will have the tools to get the word out there.

Where Do I Post My Ads?

This is another question that needs to be answered before you begin your online marketing journey. Do you want to run your ads on popular social media platforms like Instagram or Twitter? Or do you want to try something new and post your ads on a different platform? Each of these platforms has its perks but you need to determine which one is the best for your business.

Running ads on social media is a cheap and easy way to get the word out there but it’s also very passive. People are much more likely to see your post on social media than they are to click on a Google ad. However, if you’re running ads on social media, make sure you follow-up with the user to see if they’re interested in what you offer (by engaging with them on their turf — not in the comments section of a blog post).

How Many Ads Should I Place?

This question has two parts: how many times do you want your ads to appear and how much do you want to spend on each ad? If you want to appear on the Facebook or Instagram feed of somebody who has thousands of followers, you’ll need to spend a great deal of money to achieve that. But if you’re only looking to gain a small amount of interest, you may not need to spend as much (the exact amount will depend on your personal budget — what’s affordable to you!).

Do I Need To Design My Own Template Or Can I Use Pre-made Templates?

The answer to this question largely depends on how experienced you are with graphic design. If you’re looking to create a marketing template for use in the future, you don’t need to use pre-made templates but you can find a decent amount of online free templates that you can use (however, you should always make sure the template you choose is suited for internet marketing — not just for printed materials). If you don’t have the time to invest in designing your own template or don’t feel confident enough, you can also opt for a pre-made template.

Creating a marketing template can be a tedious process so if you’re looking to save time and effort, you’re better off using a pre-made template. Is there an existing template that embodies everything I need for my marketing plan?

The answer to this question will again depend on how much you want to spend on each campaign and how experienced you are with design. If you have a limited amount of funds and you can’t spend a lot on a template, you’re better off using one of the hundreds of free templates available online (you can also find a decent amount of pre-made templates that you can use for free on the internet).