One of the best ways for small business owners to build their brand is through ‘Online marketing’. You might not be able to match the budgets of corporate giants but the internet provides you with an opportunity to be known all over the world without having to invest so much in it. The only issue is the availability of several online marketing methods. If you try to search the internet it might turn out to be time consuming and expensive too. This challenge can be avoided by checking out these six top practices for online marketing by Niall O’Loughlin, marketing manager at 99designs as below:
Continuous blogging
By January 2015, there were around 221m blogs on Tumblr alone but a very huge number are now inactive. A lot of time is consumed while creating blogs on a weekly basis let’s say two but it’s worth the effort. Blogging is very important as it plays some major roles such as driving traffic to your website, improving your SEO ranking, helps you be seen as an industry leader and ensures you establish trust with customers. When you’re a writer, blogging won’t cost you anything other than time, but if you aren’t, there are several quality writers that can be found online. If you blog more, you receive more traffic and also add a call to action which is a lead generation tool. Furthermore, it’s good to consider guest blogging as it helps increase your reach and display your knowledge to a whole new audience. In addition, you are allowed to include an author bio at the end where the link of your blog should be added. This simplifies things for you as people visit your website and you are sure to have increased traffic.
Pay attention to one or two social media networks
An estimated 84% of business to business marketers use social media. It is perceived that even though you’re using social media marketing, you might be doing it wrong if you don’t pay attention to certain social media. It’s usual for small businesses to try and use different social media networks meaning that it keeps tabs on the following; Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin among others. The best ways to move forward is by selecting one or two social media sites and proceed with them to grow your brand there. Instead of having a light presence on several sites, pay attention on joining one or two sites where you join discussions, post comments and join a community. This enables you to keep your social media marketing efforts continuous and consistent, thus getting in touch with your target audience.
Use e-mail marketing
In regards to obtaining good returns on investment, there are a few greater online marketing methods as compared to email marketing. As of March 2014, it was estimated that of the 2.4bn email users at that time, 90% of them checked their email on a daily basis. This is a very affordable way to get in touch with many prospects and with the new software available; one can personalize their email messages for greater results. To obtain good output, combine your email marketing with other aspects of your marketing campaign. For instance, when you participate in a contest on social media site, ensure that your email subscriber list is aware. Also, when increasing revenue put reminder emails as they turn out to be great. Another winning method is by giving discounts and coupons through email.
Join the mobile revolution
In regards to the current research, many people visit the internet by use of mobile devices as compared to desktops and laptops. Approximately 80% of our viewers are owners of a Smartphone and this number is increasing at a higher rate. Consider that an average person has their mobile phone wherever they go which means that you have a greater opportunity. The best way to make sure that your website is mobile friendly is by creating a responsive design. For reduce costs, you can post your project on an online platform, where many experienced web designers can build a responsive masterpiece for you.
Initiate press releases
Press releases are a great way to enable small businesses to get almost the same level of worldwide exposure just like big corporations. PRWeb says that an estimate of 80m people receives their news online everyday and around two-thirds of journalists use Yahoo or Google to follow news. When press releases are posted on wire services, the content is picked up by thousands of websites, bloggers and journalists too. The right press release practices are as follows; positioning well targeted keywords in the entire piece and ensuring it reads similar to a news piece and not an advertisement. The gains include: increasing your website’s search engine ranking, gaining the attention of famous journalists, setting yourself as a professional in your particular area and attract customers who are ready to leave with their cash.
Build a quality logo design
If you want to be seen and considered competitive, invest in a logo that contains everything that you stand for. This also helps your company stand out as a logo creates a good first impression and directly ensures that people recognize your business as professional. Whenever a person thinks of the big corporations like Apple, Microsoft or Sony, you see their particular logos in your mind. A logo brings out the trust, so when customers are caught up between selecting companies, they mostly go for the most known or popular logo. The mix of familiarity, authenticity and professionalism leads to more sales and increased revenue. In short, designing of the logo is money well spent.