More and more companies are discovering the power of online marketing. This form of marketing can be an effective tool to grow your business, regardless of the size.
Thanks to the success of businesses like Shopbop and Nordstrom, as well as the rise of influencers and content creators, people are discovering the advantages of online marketing–and why it should be a part of their business strategy.
If you’re considering leveraging the power of online marketing to grow your business, then you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to teach you everything you need to know about online marketing and how to use it to drive customers to your business.
Why Online Marketing Campaigns Work
Let’s begin at the beginning: What exactly is online marketing?
Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective customer for a moment. What do you know about the company you’re planning to work with? How much do you trust their products? How well does their website reflect their brand?
When you’re searching for a company or product online, you’ll see some content and social media posts. A lot of times, this will be the company’s website, social media accounts, and any other content that’s designed to be accessible to the general public. This might be TV commercials, online articles, or even some product reviews. It could also consist of images, infographics, and video content.
Depending on the platform, you’ll also see either “sponsored” or “paid for” posts at the top of your social media feed. These are posts that cost money to promote. When an influencer posts about a brand, they’re usually required to disclose that they’ve been paid to promote a product or service. However, you may see “sponsored” posts where the brand isn’t necessarily disclosed. In these cases, the brand probably pays for the post. But it’s still considered online marketing because, as we’ve established, content that’s available to the general public is considered online marketing.
In addition to the content that appears online, businesses also use offline marketing to generate interest in their brands. This could mean putting up signs in the windows of their shops, handing out free samples, or setting up displays in malls. All of these tactics are considered forms of online marketing because they utilize digital platforms to get the message out to as many people as possible.
What makes up an online marketing campaign?
At this point, you might be wondering what makes up an online marketing campaign. To better understand this, let’s take a look at each platform, starting with social media.
On Facebook, a marketing campaign is made up of everything from a brand’s page to the content they share. So, if you want to create a marketing campaign on Facebook, you’ll need to set up a Facebook page for your business. When a potential customer comes across your company’s content on Facebook, it gives the business credibility because they have a social media presence.
Along with the page, you’ll want to set up a Facebook campaign. This is a tool used to execute your marketing strategy on Facebook. Essentially, a Facebook campaign is a collection of activities designed to engage audiences and encourage them to take action.
Instagram is similar to Facebook in that it allows businesses to have a presence on the platform. However, unlike Facebook, you can also have a more informal, “mini-me” sort of relationship with your audience on Instagram. This is because the image-based content on the platform allows you to connect with your audience even though you may not always be using formal language.
Similarly to Facebook, you can have a business page on Instagram and then associate those pages with a campaign. Furthermore, you can also have multiple campaigns on Instagram. In fact, Instagram encourages this practice because it encourages users to discover new content even though they may already be following multiple accounts.
When creating a campaign on Instagram, you’ll want to follow the same guidelines as you would on Facebook. This means creating a brand-appropriate page, setting up a profile image, and using appropriate hashtags. In addition, you can use the platform to drive traffic to your website or other social media accounts.
YouTube
YouTube is one of the most popular online platforms. Furthermore, it can be a great place to gain credibility for your business. When a customer sees a figure that they deem to be credible, they may trust that said figure’s opinions or advice. So, if you want to establish your business as an expert in your field, you should consider using YouTube.
Similar to the other platforms, you can create a YouTube business page. However, you can also have a more personal relationship with your audience on YouTube by using the platform’s various personalities.
When using YouTube to promote your business, you should consider creating relevant content that will encourage viewers to take action. For example, if you’re a nail polish company and you create a how-to guide on applying nail polish, you may see a surge in interest from customers who want to learn how to do that themselves. When creating video content for your business, think of what you can do to serve the most amount of customers. So, if a customer is looking for information on your area of expertise, you may want to consider creating a video that answers their question. Doing so may generate leads and help increase sales. This is why YouTube is considered a valuable platform for businesses.
Twitter is where we connect with friends and follow strangers. If you’ve ever used the platform, you may have noticed that certain public figures’ tweets can go viral. Essentially, this is because people choose to follow those figures for the constant stream of content they provide. So, if you want to attract followers and have them engage with your content, you should consider using Twitter.
Like the other platforms, you can have a business account on Twitter. However, unlike Facebook and Instagram, you can’t add hashtags to your tweets. Instead, you’ll want to use the # symbol to indicate that your content is relevant to a certain topic. For example, if you sell swimwear, you may want to create a campaign on Twitter where you use the #swimwearretailer to get relevant content that discusses the needs of the swimwear industry. As you gain popularity on the platform, you may choose to create several campaigns to get the most out of your efforts. This is why Twitter is also considered a valuable tool for businesses.
LinkedIn is similar to Twitter in that it’s a place for professionals to connect and share content. However, if you’re looking for a more formal relationship with your audience, LinkedIn may not be the best option. This is because the platform is mostly used for business purposes.
Similar to the other platforms, you can create a LinkedIn business page associated with your account. When doing so, you’ll want to add a profile image, descriptions, and links to your web pages and social media accounts. In addition, you can also engage with your audience on the platform by using the profile’s various tools. These can be found at the top of your page under the heading “Get More Power.”
What are the most effective strategies for marketing on social media?
In our previous section, we discussed the value of each platform and how to utilize it effectively for marketing. Based on this, we can develop a strategy for marketing on social media. Let’s take a look.
1. Create a brand-appropriate page
With all of the different platforms, it can be difficult to have a single, unified strategy for marketing. So, as we discussed above, each platform will require a different approach. On the subject of creating a brand-appropriate page, this is something you’ll want to consider on Facebook and Instagram.
As a general rule, you should avoid using keywords in the page’s content because you may end up with an over-optimized page that doesn’t perform well in organic search. This can happen if you use the wrong keywords throughout the copy of your page. Instead, you should use a combination of the following:
- Metadata: Keywords, descriptions, and other tags that provide context to the page’s content.
- Content: The actual text on the page.
- Images: Photographs, illustrations, and other images.
- Video: Videos posted on social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
- Links: These are the webpages, blog posts, and other online resources that can be used to learn more about your business or engage with potential customers.
What makes up a brand-appropriate page on Facebook and Instagram?