It is often said that the world is changing to be more digital, and business opportunities grow online. Being able to market your business online can give you a significant advantage, especially if you are able to use the right techniques and platforms.
However, successfully marketing your business online can be challenging. As a business owner, manager, or employee, you may feel overwhelmed by the thought of marketing your organization effectively online. If this sounds like you, continue reading. We have compiled a detailed guide covering every step of marketing your business online, including the use of social media and keywords.
The Evolution Of Marketing
Over the past few years, marketing has evolved beyond physical advertising. Today, marketing can be done virtually anywhere, at any time, and through any available platform. This has made the process both challenging and rewarding at the same time.
Traditional marketing, such as radio ads, television commercials, and billboards, are still used to promote businesses and their products. However, the methods and means of marketing have changed. Today, brands must be accessible through different platforms and devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
In addition to this, customers have more choice in terms of what they want, which means you have to find ways to market your business that are unique to each individual. For example, if your product is geared toward millennials, you may want to put out a rap video featuring your mascot or logowhich represents the company.
The Growth Of Online Marketing
With so much competition, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd. One of the ways to do this is by being creative and developing new methods to gain or maintain market share. Successful online marketing is a result of both creativity and careful, methodical analysis.
For example, if you want to market your home cleaning business, you may want to consider using a platform like HubSpot, which is widely used by businesses of all sizes, from solopreneurs to corporations with thousands of employees.
If you can implement a marketing strategy that is effective, you will find that more customers are indeed interested in your product or service.
The Importance Of SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a process of improving the ‘dumb’ search engine to make it ‘smart.’ ‘Dumb’ search engines like Google simply follow a set of algorithms, which are based on what is known as ‘link popularity’ or ‘social media influence.’
‘Smart’ search engines, like those developed by Google, implement machine learning to rank websites according to a wide variety of criteria, including the quality of content and the popularity of that content.
As a business owner or marketer, you may ask yourself, ‘Why should I care about SEO?’ To put it simply, the higher your page rank (also known as ‘page popularity’) within the search results, the more exposure your website will receive, and the more potential customers you will attract.
SEO, along with content marketing and social media, make up the digital marketing blend, which allows you to reach your target audience via multiple platforms and channels.
Keep in mind that ‘page rank’ can be improved upon, and this in turn can increase your sales. Building and maintaining a high page rank within the search engines is a gradual process that requires a steady hand and the willingness to test new methods and strategies.
The Growth Of Content Marketing
While SEO focuses on attracting and engaging customers via digital marketing channels, content marketing takes this a step further by creating marketing content to attract, engage, and retain customers.
The term ‘content marketing’ can be applied to nearly all types of marketing activities, including creating and curating compelling content to attract, inspire, and engage customers; executing and measuring content marketing strategies; and creating and sharing content that is both informative and entertaining.
The concept of content marketing is not new. In fact, content marketing has been around long enough for businesses to learn from its past mistakes and make the most of it moving forward.
According to HubSpot Blogs, “89% of B2B buyers said their top digital marketing consideration was content marketing. So if you’re looking to attract more customers, consider creating high-quality content that educates, entertains, or inspires your audience.”
Why Blogs?
Although we have mentioned Google several times in this article, it is important to point out that not all ‘dumb’ search engines are created equal. In fact, there are a whole host of issues that marketers should be aware of when employing the ‘gaze’ of a search engine. For example, with Google, you will only see search results for queries that you have chosen to ‘curate’ in the past. If you want to reach a wider audience, you may want to consider using a different search engine.
Blogs are one of the simplest and most effective ways to create and curate content. Not only do they allow you to publish regularly, but you also have the opportunity to become more ‘organic’ in the search results, as you are the one who is actually writing the content. This means that the algorithm behind the ‘dumb’ search engine will have more positive things to say about your blog and its content, giving you a tangible edge over your competition.
Why Social Media?
In addition to search engine optimization and content marketing, businesses can gain a significant advantage via social media. With social media, you can gain a dedicated audience that has absolutely no interest in your product or service, but will happily engage with your brand on a regular basis, sharing your content and connecting with you.
Marketing through social media is extremely cost-effective, and almost all businesses, large and small, can harness the power of social media to connect with customers, promote their brand, and gain valuable insight into the manner in which they can better serve their audience.
The Importance Of Keywords
To effectively market your business online, you will want to choose the right keywords. When performing keyword research, you will want to enter your product or service name and compare this to what others are using. You should look for words and phrases that are both relevant and popular, which will help you to gain market share and increase your SEO.
Once you have chosen your keywords, you can use various tools, apps, and websites to find popular keywords and phrases that you can apply to your content, including blogs, websites, and social media posts. Simply find the right keywords and you will see results from popular search engines like Google, which will increase the chances of your website being found by both potential and existing customers.
The Evolution Of Marketing, Continued
Now, it’s important to remember that all strategies and tactics mentioned thus far are not one-size-fits-all. Your approach will be determined by your target audience and the industry you are operating in. For example, if you are selling clothing, you might want to put out fashion articles to attract male customers. If you are operating a landscaping business, you might want to consider creating informative blogs about different types of shrubs and trees, attracting potential customers who are interested in gardening.
Ultimately, the way you market your business can be changed and evolved over time to better suit your objectives, audiences, and devices. Above all, you want to be creative and find a way to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.