Two of the most volatile worlds collide when we mix business with the Internet. The former has to heavily depend on the latter to grow, stay afloat and survive in the competitive world of marketing.
Online marketing has become one of the most popular and efficient ways to not just reach new customers but also to understand and evaluate current trends and requirements. The modern business owner cannot assume a website is the only thing a company requires to tide through this digital era.
Social media is a powerful weapon in the field of marketing and is a double-edged sword at that. If used correctly, it can lead to enormous growth and positive publicity; whereas, if left unsupervised and unmonitored, it can be the cause for a downfall in no time.
There are a number of things one must keep in mind while investing time and money in online marketing. The few truths of the ever-changing world of social media, which one must abide by, are noted in this blog post.
Planning your marketing strategy
Out of the main giants of social media, the one that is often the most neglected is the one that may have the most potential if utilized in the right way. Google Plus must be used optimally when planning your online marketing strategy. It may still be in its infancy, even now, and is usually overshadowed by bigger fish in the social media field like Facebook or Twitter, but it has amassed a niche crowd in a short span of time.
Google Plus has the advantage of being linked with other Google services and will ultimately be able to provide your ad campaign with a wider audience with less investment of energy and resources.
Google Plus allows a company to start off its social media campaign in fresh light and with a clean slate. It has unique features such as “huddle” and “circles,” which allow for the grouping together of like-minded people, creating a ready consumer base for your idea/service/product.
Building your brand online
The reach provided to companies by social media platforms is unimaginable. Ranging from the youth right up to centenarians, everyone is taking to these websites and online portals to connect, share, debate and discuss events and ideas.
While it is not an easy task to get noticed and make a dent on the shiny, polished exterior of this world, once you do manage to crack the code to what catches the eye of your target audience, you will sail through. In order to do so, you have to be well aware of what makes your product(s)/service(s) better than your competitors.
Every day you do not use social media platforms, your rivals are getting the better of it and, ultimately, gaining from the exposure — not just in terms of reputation but also regarding consumer base and loyalty.
Building your brand online is the way to go in this day and age of flux. Review reporting is an ingenious method to gauge your growth and study trends which could become a rage in the future. This can only be done if you are a part of the cult that believes in social media advertising.
Increase your digital presence
Many people, if not most, who use the Internet usually have Facebook and/or Twitter and Google Plus accounts. This ready customer pool is always accepting of unique things or ideas that have potential.
Keeping your brand visible in these circles will increase your digital presence by multiple folds. Social media spreads across laptops, tablets and smartphones. This not only improves your visibility but also increases your reach. The number of people using smartphones has increased; and, simultaneously, the digital market has expanded.
Boost traffic with SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is another important aspect of maintaining your online presence. Many SEO experts say the easiest way to hide a dead company is in the third page of Google’s search results, and those words couldn’t be truer.
If your company doesn’t get listed on the first page then you automatically lose against your competitors who do. Once you begin to get clicks on your website and climb the rankings, your focus should shift to ensuring that the clicks are converted into actual customers. This will boost the traffic on your website and help your business grow.
Combine traditional and digital marketing approaches
While engaging in social media, the tertiary benefit is that your offline play becomes much stronger. This marrying of traditional and digital marketing is the key to a successful campaign.
The online strategy will increase your visibility and keep your product/service fresh in the minds of your target audience, so that the traditional methods of advertising can build on a pre-established consumer base.
Grow your customer base
The biggest, and possibly the most underused, advantage of marketing via a social media platform is that every single share, like or comment creates a channel for your product/service’s page or post to be featured on the newsfeeds of thousands of people you didn’t even know had the potential to become your customers.
This vast untapped pool of virtual population can be used to not just boost click rates on your website but also, in the long run, increase the number of loyal and happy customers your company serves.
Engaging in conversations on posts over social media with those who take the time to give you an appraisal, and taking concrete steps to solve their grievances, will help you receive the goodwill of people you did not even know would stumble upon your post.
Social media marketing is a tough nut to crack; but once you realize how powerful a tool it can be and how gigantic the potential is, you will waste no time utilizing this approach as a main method of advertising. Social media has sealed its position as one of the most important ways to reach millions of customers — and with minimal resources and investment needed. It allows you to reinvent your marketing strategy every few months, or years; and the best thing about the Internet is that, although it can be ruthless at times, it is also very forgiving. You can’t help but be noticed when you use the Internet as a tool to grow your business, if you do it right.
Joel Cordle is CEO of Review Leap and a medical marketer. He is serious about his online presence. He likes to be active in the social media market, so he always keeps himself updated about the strategies used for presence. As he enjoys reading and writing about marketing and online reputation, his hobby is to write different blogs about reviews, ratings, negative feedback, review reporting, etc. He is a good advisor, and he keeps telling people about how one can develop his or her online personality.
