The internet has disrupted almost every industry, and nowhere is this more evident than in online marketing. Thanks to the internet, all you need to know about any product or service can be found within a few clicks of the mouse. With customers often discovering products via online reviews and videos, it’s essential to ensure that your web content is of a high quality. The following will guide you through the basic steps necessary to reach an audience of potential customers through online marketing.

Set Up A Blog

A blog is a great way to establish authority in your industry while also providing helpful information to your audience. A blog can be used to share detailed, in-depth information about your industry, as well as provide valuable tips and tricks for your industry. If you want to learn more, check out these 5 ways a blog can help your business.[Blog article]:

Blogs Help Build Trust

When someone clicks on a link to read an article on a blog, more often than not, they’re assuming that the blog is a legitimate source of information. This makes establishing trust as a blogger a lot easier. Instead of having to worry about whether or not your readers are going to be honest about your content, you can put your mind at ease knowing that they are being presented with honest, valuable information on the subject matter.

Use Keywords

When you’re creating content for online marketing, it’s important to keep in mind the keywords you’ll use to find your content (e.g., buy, sell, product, etc.). If you want to ensure that your content is found when potential customers are searching for it, you should use keywords in your content. If someone is searching for information on your product, they’ll most likely be introduced to your content if it includes keywords relevant to the product they’re looking for. Using the right keywords will help your content stand out among the millions of other pieces of content online. You should aim to include at least three keywords per piece of content.

Diversify Your Content

If you’ve been blogging for a while and have built up a decent amount of content, you might start to see some themes reoccurring throughout your blog. After all, the more you post, the more you’ll begin to notice trends and themes emerging. One great way to engage your readers and establish yourself as an authoritative voice in your industry is to occasionally shift gears and publish content on an entirely different subject. By regularly publishing content on a variety of industry-related topics, you’re helping to prove that you’re an expert in many different areas. When you connect with your audience on a personal level (e.g., sharing your own experiences as a working professional), you give your content a little bit more credibility. Additionally, this type of content helps to establish your expertise as an authoritative source in your industry. If you want to learn more, check out these 27 hacks to make your blog posts more persuasive.

Offer Live-Chat Support

In a world full of bots, humans are still needed to provide live-chat support to customers. Live-chat is a great way to provide support to customers who are having difficulties finding the information they need or want additional explanations about the products you’re selling. While it might be tempting to simply provide responses to customers’ questions through automated email replies, live-chat allows you to provide more detailed information and instructions in real-time.

Get A Professional Web Developer

If you’re looking to really take your online marketing to the next level, you might consider investing in professional web development services. Hiring a web developer can help you to put a professional face on your blog, increase your blog’s SEO, and produce engaging content that draws in and retains visitors. If you want to learn more, check out these tips for choosing a web design company.

Build A Following On Social Media

If you’re not already active on social media, now might be a good time to get on board. Establishing yourself as an authoritative voice in your industry on social media will put you in touch with a massive audience of potential customers. The following are some of the most popular social media platforms, and it’s important to establish yourself on these forums if you want to be found when potential customers are searching for answers.

• Twitter – If you have a massive Twitter following, you can use this to your advantage. When tweets are indexed by Twitter, they appear above other content in the search results. If you want to grow your Twitter following, consider using one of these proven techniques for generating organic growth.
• Facebook – Facebook is one of the biggest and most popular social media platforms around. If you’ve got a Facebook account, you can use this to your advantage by setting up business pages for your company. From organizing contests and challenges that encourage users to “like” your page to using keywords in your posts and videos, all these actionable items will help to drive traffic to your page. Additionally, you can use Facebook’s inbuilt advertising platform to promote and monetize your content.
• Instagram – Instagram’s algorithm promotes content that is highly visually engaging and often times, viral in nature. If you’ve got an Instagram account, consider using this to your advantage by posting regularly and engaging with your followers.
• LinkedIn – LinkedIn is one of the largest and most popular professional networks online. If you’ve got a LinkedIn account, you can use this to your advantage by connecting with other professionals in your industry.
• YouTube – If you’ve got a YouTube account, you can use this to your advantage by posting videos explaining how you use your product or providing valuable tips and tricks on your topic of expertise.
• Google+ – If you’ve got a Google account, you can use this to your advantage by publishing content on the platform. Just remember, content that is engaging and of high quality will perform better than content laden with keywords and low-quality images.
• Pinterest – Pinterest is one of the most popular and versatile social media platforms around. If you’ve got a Pinterest account, you can use this to your advantage by creating boards devoted to your industry and pinning relevant articles, images, and videos.

As you can see, there are many ways to increase engagement on social media. If you want to get your content out there to the world and be found by a large audience, establish yourself on social media.

Get Linked To Experts

Just because you have content that is valuable and helpful to your audience doesn’t mean that everyone is going to want to link back to you. Sometimes, you’ll need to go outside of your network of contacts for help. Experts in your industry can help to establish you as an authoritative voice by linking to your content. Not only will they do so for free, but they can also help to push your content up to the top of the search results on their behalf. Don’t be afraid to ask for links!

Guest Post On Influential Blogs

If you want to become a guest blogger on influential blogs, consider doing so for free. After all, the more quality content you have available, the more you’re able to offer to potential future employers or business partners. If you want to get started, simply search for influential blogs in your industry and reach out to the admins to see if they’ll give you permission to post on their behalf.

Build Your Email List

Creating and distributing valuable content is great, but how are you going to get people to pay attention to your content if you don’t have an email list? The answer is quite simple – you’ll need to build one. Everyone has a phone now; therefore, you can easily distribute short-code apps that allow people to sign up for your email list. A simple and free tool like HubSpot’s Free Edition will give you a jumpstart on creating an email list.

Include An “About Me” Section

People love to learn more about the authors of articles and ebooks they read or purchase. If you’ve got a sizable audience on social media, consider creating a bio section for your blog. Include some interesting facts about yourself that will make your audience want to learn more. For example, did you grow up in a big city or a small town? What are your hobbies? What are your passions outside of work?