Internet Marketing Online Strategies | Small Business Online Marketing

Business owners know there’s more to success than selling a good product and being knowledgeable and passionate about their field.  It takes Marketing and Advertising to succeed. After all, no one is going to buy anything from you if they don’t know your business exists. Your restaurant might have the best Rocky Mountain Oysters in the Rocky Mountain Region, but if no one hears about it, they won’t know how good they are.

For decades businesses of all types have been using very traditional channels of advertising and marketing: magazines, newsletters, flyers, business cards, newspaper and TV ads, etc.  Please don’t get us wrong, all these techniques are great and correctly applied and managed can work very well.  These avenues get your business’ services and product into potential customers’ line of sight, and if you use them correctly they will certainly bring more people in through your doors.  However, we have to ask ourselves the following questions.

• Are our customers and potential clients using digital avenues and if so which ones?
• Are our customers using Social Media like Facebook, YouTube, and others?
• Is our company giving our customer every opportunity to find us through Internet marketing?

Over the last 15 to 20 years the Internet has, very simply, revolutionized everything. Most experts in this country agree that just about every industry has somehow been affected by the rise and growth of the Internet.  It has even caused the creation of new industries and jobs and eliminated the necessity for others. Businesses of all types use the Internet to expand their footprint and to increase impressions to the audience of choice; hospitals use it to share patient information; restaurants use it to take reservations and delivery orders, and now YOU will use it to market and advertise your business at a fraction of the cost.

 Easy Ways You Must Use the Internet to Market Your Business

1.Dynamic Business Website with a Blog: Whether you already have a website or need to start one, this is absolutely the first step.  Once outlined the advantages are endless when it comes to websites and digital marketing.  A website has infinite more reach than any kind of printed physical advertisement and can be developed at a fraction of the cost.

If you don’t already have a website set up for your business that is absolutely the first step. A website has infinite more reach than any kind of physical, printed advertisement, and it is much easier to develop than you think. Billboards can only be seen if you pass in front of them, TV ads can only be seen if you happen to be watching at the exact moment they come on – a website is available to anyone looking for your product at any time. 24/7, anyone your product can find it.

Now, with the advancements of today’s programming and sources, developing, designing and managing websites is becoming easier and easier.  If you are of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) type, you can have a functioning entry level website up and running in a few hours with very little cost (hosting and URL).  What this also means is that if you are NOT of the DIY type then having a website designed and developed pretty inexpensively, depending of course on the functionality desired.   If you are interested in having credibility on the internet then a professional website is a must, if you are interested in a dynamic and living presence then you want to do your homework on a blog as well.

2. Syndicated Social Media: Social media is a phenomenon that only exists because of the internet. Social media is a website that connects both people and information, a la youtube.com, facebook.com, twitter.com, etc. What better place to advertise your business than a website that connects millions of people, and connects them to information?

Sites like twitter and facebook, originally designed for personal/ individual use, have recently developed business pages which allow businesses to connect with the millions of people on their networks. You can create an entire page for your business, describing who you are, what you offer and where. You can easily send out messages and quick updates to keep your customers, friends, and fans informed.

The amazing power of the internet is that it connects people and it brings information together. As a tool for business marketing, it is an absolute must. If you embrace the internet it can transform your business and give you an edge over the competition. Internet marketing is the greatest innovation is advertising since the television commercial, and it is the next crucial step towards growing your business.

3.Lead Capture and Email Marketing: Email marketing is a form of direct marketing that reaches out to former and prospective customers directly via Email. It can be an incredibly effective business marketing tool. Have you realized that big retail stores have begun asking for your Email address during checkout, and then you receive an Email from them about special offers a few days later? That’s Email marketing.

When you collect customer information like name, phone number, and address, simply ask for their Email address and if they’d like to receive Email offers; this is a great way to keep up with customers and keep them coming back.

There are also companies and services that Specialize in Online Marketing. They can help you create a list of prospective targets and help you craft an effective newsletter to send out. A business newsletter, or Email newsletter, is another tool to keep people in touch with new events and products at your business.