The internet is bursting at the seams with online marketing tips. But how do you know which tips will work for you? Part of the answer lies in knowing the people who are redefining online marketing. This way you are learning from actual results, not theory.
But before we get started looking at five marketing best practices you need to win online, I want to spend a moment to review the criteria I used to decide which practices to follow. First off, don’t waste your time with pretenders. For this reason, I only looked at those who are verified as experts on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.
Next up, you want to look for a combination of quality and quantity. Sure, anyone can write one brilliant article on internet marketing but someone who has 50 or more brilliant articles to their name is most likely a subject matter expert.
A few other things I look at when deciding which sources to choose include the size and level of engagement of their social networks, awards, and whether they are working with well-known brands.
Without further ado, here is the list. By the way, you want to stick around for the end as this might be the simplest best practice of them all!
- Going Viral Doesn’t Happen on its Own
Everyone wants to be the next internet sensation. However, it just doesn’t happen on its own. According to online influencer John Rampton, it requires the same level of planning as a major military operation.
While great content is key, you also need to make sure it is trending with your intended audience and that it is shareable. While organic reach is a great way to get to your customers, the reality is that you can only grow so fast organically. As such, you might want to consider paid ads.
Lastly, timing is key. If you are too early then your content won’t generate too much interest and if you are too late, well everyone would have moved on to the next big thing
- Provide Help to Generate Leads
Generating sales leads through the internet has become a game changer for many businesses. But for most business owners taking advantage of this trend is akin to chasing rainbows.
How can you turn this around and make your website work for you? According to Grant Cardone, businesses who win give info which will help potential customers with their research.
This can be accomplished by setting up providing information via social media and then by setting up your website to help people those who are still researching and those who are ready to buy now. Just asking if a lead wants more information can make it easier for them to navigate your site and will result in more sales.
- Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees
Look, big companies have massive marketing budgets which they can afford to waste on paid placements. But if you are like most small business owners, you need to be strategic when deciding to use paid placement.
As such, you want to focus on organic reach first. Some of the best ways to accomplish this are to continually update your feeds, going live on Facebook, Periscope, or YouTube. Or you can even shoot a quick iMovie to show off what your business can do.
Money doesn’t grow on trees and you want to use the power of social media to reach as many people as possible. In fact, Gary Vaynerchuck has a great article on the keys to small business marketing in 2017.
- Stay Connected
Marketing is no longer one way. Social media and other online tools allow everyone inside your company as well as your customers to communicate directly. Think about it, just about everyone you know is online. The best companies know this and they look for ways to make it easy for customers to engage with anyone in their company.
You can use this to your advantage. Get connected and then leverage your company’s online presence. If you want to be sure your brand is represented properly, then a web presence management system may be the tool you need. These systems can continuously monitor and audit your social media accounts while finding new accounts that are using your brand name.
- Map It!
Google Maps may well be the most important online marketing tool available to businesses today. At least that is the view of Niel Patel. Also known as Google My Business, this tool is the yellow pages for the 21st century.
But unlike the yellow pages of yore, Google Maps is a dynamic engine which will link your business to customers. As such, you want to make sure your business is listed locally, if not then you are missing out on the cheapest and easiest online marketing best practice today.
