Have you noticed that internet connections are becoming as common as phone lines? And phone lines are becoming less common? Our cell phones can surf the web now. Almost every business no matter how big or small needs an online presence. Businesses need to start thinking about their marketing plan to look at how traditional marketing (newspapers, magazines, post card mailings) measures against NEW MEDIA and INTERNET MARKETING.
Businesses are realizing that online advertising is more affordable, trackable, and extremely profitable.
For instance, a client of ours has been marketing her business by using traditional techniques such as newspapers and magazine advertising. Her quarterly cost to put a 1/2 page ad in a magazine was about $2000. Her newspaper ad costs were $1000 per quarter. Her yearly marketing expenditure comes to a whopping total of $12,000!!! For all of that money and very little effort, she received only a handful of inquiries. And the most important aspect of her marketing effort that was missing was the TRACKABLE DATA. She didn't know who was viewing her ad. The only data she received was the number of people who bought the magazine and the demographics, but she knew nothing about who was looking at her ad.
Now, no one says that once you put your web site up and make those fancy web videos that it will become easier. Internet marketing has to be consistent and you have to work to get the business.
You have to create a consistent internet marketing strategy that will make the internet work for you. When it comes to internet marketing, a functional website should include a content management system that lets you do routine updating automatically.
Nothing cements your relationships with your customers or motivates them to make new purchases like an informative, frequently updated, well designed, website. Search engines are very important in this regard. So is SOCIAL NETWORKING that gets your business front and center attention. You can also get feedback from your clients.
There are tons of effective marketing programs on the internet but, you first have to identify your target audience. Mostly all consumers will use "keyword searches" to find what they are looking for and interested in. This is very important to keep in mind when doing your keyword research. Make sure your business is listed in Google Local, Yahoo Local, the yellow pages and other local search engines. Listing is free, although you can pay for more prominent ads.
The biggest difference between traditional marketing versus internet marketing is, you not only have access to a massive audience you can reach in a relatively short period of time, but you will keep your overhead expenses reasonably low. You are also marketing to an audience 24/7.
So our client decided to get a web site, do social networking, and post videos of her business on-line. Her expenses for web site $1500. For a social networking profile $0 and her time, of course. For videos of her business $5000. That comes to $6500. Of course, she will have to spend her time and some money working on SEO programming, social networking and spreading the word. However, she is rewarded with trackable data and increased sales from an audience that is loyal.
She has also used her video to:
-Post on her blog and social networking pages
-Send to potential clients
-Send to current clients
-Embed on other web sites pertinent to her business
-Asked other web sites to post her video
-When asked for media from the press, she just sends them a link to the video instead of a DVD
-She no longer advertises in "traditional" magazines and newspapers. Now she's advertising online with magazines and newspapers that have a web presence so that her video is embedded in their web site.
So, look at your marketing plan and decide how you'd like to market--traditional or the internet.
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