If you’re looking for a proven way to grow your business, you’ve probably considered exploring online marketing, especially given the explosion of platforms and channels that now exist online. Whether you’re a small business owner, a marketer for a Fortune 500 company, or the head of a digital marketing agency, there are many ways that you can use online marketing to connect with customers and generate business growth.

For my own company, La Kelion, a physical fitness company, connecting with potential customers and engaging with them online is a crucial part of our strategy. Being able to analyze and optimize our online marketing campaigns has helped us gain a lot of ground, so let’s dive into how we’ve leveraged online marketing to grow our business.

Traditional Offline Marketing

Our first port of call for attracting new customers is, you might assume, traditional offline marketing. While this might include things such as broadcast advertising, magazine articles, and flyers, the most effective (and certainly the most expensive) method of garnering new customers is to actually go out and meet them in person.

In addition to this, we’ve also heavily invested in local advertising, mainly due to the lack of data that exists about our target audience. For example, we don’t know exactly how many people in the area are seeking fitness guidance or have an interest in our services, so we’ve relied on trusted sources such as the Yellow Pages and local newspapers to spread the word about us.

The Rise of Online Marketing

It wasn’t too long ago that we didn’t really have the luxury of focusing solely on offline marketing. Thanks to the existence of search engines and online directories, such as Yelp and Google, we were able to find plenty of resources to inform our decisions about where to attract potential customers.

Yelp, in particular, has become a really important tool for us, as it provides a lot of visibility into what other businesses are saying about our competitors and about our brand. This visibility can greatly improve our chances of gaining support from existing customers, as they can see how our services and products stack up against those of other, more established companies in the same industry.

While we continue to rely on Yelp and other directories for customer research, we’ve also discovered many valuable resources online, such as social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which can be used to attract potential customers and engage with them on a more personal level.

The Valuable Role of Online Marketing

It’s crucial to remember that while online marketing can be a powerful tool for garnering customers and gaining support, it’s always going to be an extension of your existing offline marketing efforts. That being said, the truth is that we as marketers have never been more armed with tools, knowledge, and resources, as compared to when we first started out. Moreover, the cost of online marketing has decreased as well, which makes it more affordable for even the smallest businesses.

If you’re interested in exploring the role of online marketing in growing your business, here are some useful resources that I recommend. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to leave us a comment below!