Online marketing is a broad field in which companies, charities, and even individuals use web-based channels. Raising awareness about a brand, launch campaigns, spread messages about products. And services, keep in touch with loyal customers and provide them with the latest offers. According to the business field, the online marketer should choose the relevant channels.
Frankly, there is an unlimited choice of online marketing channels; Including SEM, SEO, messaging apps, affiliate marketing, email campaigns, and Google AdWords.
Big companies, like Apple, use many platforms to promote their products. On the other hand, small and medium companies can use fewer means.
For example, marketers may develop a plan to market through Facebook, as it is the cheapest social media platform. Then after reaching 100,000 subscribers on their FB page, they can consider using other platforms such as Twitter and YouTube. Then, they can expand to use other more expensive means, such as creating mobile apps. This way, they are guaranteed to gain new ground in the industry with every success they achieve on each platform.
Other marketers like the concept of ​​“total immersion”; Spending a massive budget on promoting campaigns through different channels to get good and fast feedback from potential customers. Despite the plan that marketers prefer to use, there are five essential factors that everyone in this field must know to succeed. Next is a quick run-through of these principles.
You Must Launch a Web Site
Although some marketers initially prefer to depend on social media, the website is the core intermediary for your brand on the internet.
Put yourself in the user’s shoes; You just heard about a new company; What are you going to do?! First, you will type the company’s name on Google to get more info about it. So, the starting point for any internet marketing activity is to create a website.
This website must contain accurate info about your company, such as the address, tax number, and corporate structure. In addition, you can write engaging content about the most superior services or products that you provide to your customers through the site.
Also, you can dedicate a part of it as the blog to talk about the most important products /services the company offers.
Although websites importance has diminished in front of the social media dominance. We must not forget that both are beneficial to each other like the peas and carrots! And one cannot replace the other.
A website is your company’s business card in cyberspace, so it is vital to maintain and use it as a contact channel with your potential customers.
Always work on your site!
Some startups create a website within a day and never work on it after that; Of course, this strategy is very bad and will not enhance your brand presence in the competition arena. At the very least, you should publish a new post every week, and it would be better to publish regular updates, exclusive news and give your visitors extra incentives as well. That way, your relationship with Google will be stronger.
Initially, you do not need to use a CMS and create a complex site as there are a lot of ready-made and free templates that WordPress offers you.
Content Is the King!
Marketers are assigned many tasks, so focusing on quality content may be the last thing they do after a long and hectic workday! Worse yet, many companies do not believe that they need to hire a pro content creator. Instead, they depend on other people within the organization to create promotional content as an easy task. Yet, in fact, this may be the beginning of the path to inevitable failure!
Creating content is a difficult task that requires a person with great talent and long experience who can present the audience with attractive, engaging, and valuable content. So, they become loyal to the company’s website and social media pages.
Also, the content writer should play a juggling balls game to grab the users’ attention throughout the period of exposure to the marketing message. And, thus, reach the ultimate goal of influencing the potential customers and making them wish to have this particular good/service.
The task of the content writer is not limited to providing texts only. Also, he can provide motion graphics scripts, creative design ideas, and logo and slogans ideas. So, it is clear that you need to hire a pro content writer.
Online Marketing Needs Knowledge, Experience, & Time
As you know, online marketing is not a quick task that can be completed in one sitting; It is a full-time job! So, for example, if you own a large company, you should not assign online marketing tasks to an intern who does not have enough experience. Similarly, if you have a startup, it is essential to train yourself adequately. And in the strategies and basics of online marketing or entrust this mission to pro marketers.
Online marketing is an integral part of your business development. So, it should be managed by a highly qualified team who have succeeded with other companies before yours.
In addition, you should be patient and not pressure the marketing team! The results will not be achieved overnight; It may take months to get an initial outcome from your first campaign and catch the eyes of 100 potential clients only!
For example, when launching a website for your business, you must follow a good and consistent SEO strategy. Post high quality content weekly. And wait until a year or two to get initial successes! Further to this, the efforts must be sustained to get consistent results in the long run.
Therefore, the ideal mix of an effective online marketing plan is knowledge, experience, and time. Last but not least, you should entrust a knowledgeable team with creating and managing your company pages and website.
Performance Is More Important Than Design
Undoubtly, the design of your site, campaigns, menus, and files is very important factor to create and shape your brand. Providing visual content that expresses your company position in the marketplace. Target a specific group of consumers. In fact, designing can be the heartbeat of your brand. For instance, Apple doesn’t change the design of its iPhones since it introduced the first edition on June 29, 2007! As a result, if anyone worldwide sees the bitten apple, he will feel senses of quality, luxury, and comfort. However, it refers to the non existence of perfection!
With that being said, when you take your first steps on the online marketing path, you should focus on your website performance more than designs. First, your site must load fast; If it doesn’t, you must sacrifice some designs, to speed it up. In addition, the site’s navigating system must be handy and redirect users to pages and sections smoothly. Finally, the elements and tabs should be big, especially on the mobile version. In case if your website isn’t user friendly, you will lose many potential customers!
Get the Maximum Info About the Target Customers
Back in the day, retail stores were handling a limited number of customers. However, today, you can deal with your consumer base inside your country and even abroad on the internet! Fortunately, social media platforms, Google analytics, and other tools give you accurate data about your target audience. So, you can modify your marketing campaigns to be appealing to your clients based on data you have about them. For example, if you have a clothing brand and your primary target customers are teenagers; You can focus on the concept of being attractive to the opposite sex. And how your products can help them achieve this goal!
Conclusion
In summary, online marketing is a large field that requires a long time to get good results. Also, it requires a trained team, includes graphic designers, SEO content writers, and a well-experienced marketing manager. In the beginning, you can do some tasks on your own if you have adequate training and education. Then, you can delegate these tasks to other pro people as your business thrive.
