subject: Getting Started with Internet Marketing [print this page] Getting started with internet marketing Getting started with internet marketing
It the big picture, it wasn't that long ago that companies could only do business with those who were within the same area. One business might make clay pots. Another business might grow wheat. A third business might grind that wheat into flour. Because of limitations of transportation, communication, and storage (not to mention saber-toothed tigers), everything was local.
Over time, the wheel allowed for faster shipping over longer distances. Various methods like telegraph and telephone allowed for communication with over longer distances. Those elements helped to bring businesses farther away into the value chain.
Today, the internet has made the entire world a place to find potential clients and vendors. The web has given companies an explosion of new business opportunities and has dramatically shrunk the globe. Small businesses that are NOT on the internet are missing out. Big time!
A website isn't enough; just like having a storefront on a busy street doesn't bring customers in. You need to market. Because the web is a communication medium, there are many opportunities to market.
Ultimately, there are a few high level purposes to remember when developing an internet marketing plan:
- Be highly credible. Focus on how you can help your prospects and provide them with value for the money they spend.
- Show up in a lot of places so people can find you no matter who aspect of your topic or industry they search for.
- Point everyone to the same place - your website - you so can sell to them there.
- Generate links back to your website with great content distributed throughout the web. This will help you to show up higher on search engine rankings.
Here are some of the best opportunities available today:
Website: Of course you need a website. That is the first step. This could be a traditional site (which often has pages like "Home", "About", "Our Products", etc. For many years, this was the standard type of site that businesses had. But today, blogs are a legitimate type of site that businesses can use for their main site. Regardless of what you choose, a business needs some kind of place to direct people who want to know more. The website should be like a store, offering customers a place to see the products as well as a way to ask questions or get more information to buy later.
Blog: If your business chooses to have a more conventional type of website, you should also consider a blog. A blog is a lot more casual and far more interactive, enabling businesses to engage with their customers in a different way. While the conventional website is a little more static, a blog is very fluid. It should be updated constantly and give readers the ability to post comments and interact.
Twitter: Twitter is a microblog and should be treated in similar ways to blogs. However, it can be very informal and should be updated very frequently with engaging content. By giving helpful content, you can acquire followers, which is a devoted audience you can communicate with.
Newsletters: Newsletters are still a great way to get customers. That's because newsletters are a form of permission marketing, which means that prospects give you their email address to give you permission to send them a newsletter. When you send them a newsletter, you should provide helpful information but it's also okay to pitch a product or service to them. If your information is very helpful, they'll keep your newsletters, refer to them later, and perhaps share them with friends and family.
Articles: When you write and distribute articles, you're helping to inform the general public while you position yourself as an expert. And, you'll get backlinks to your site. Start with a few articles about topics that are relevant to your business (of course) but which are also topics that your target market wants to read.
Press releases: Press releases are news items and should only be used when your business has something newsworthy to say. But because they are a great way to get lots of exposure and into highly credible sources, your business should find newsworthy items to write about as frequently as possible!
While there are many other internet marketing efforts - and many depend on the type of product or service you're selling - these are six excellent "tried and true" methods that every web-based business MUST use.
