Month: January 2014

  • The Basics of Online Marketing

    The Basics of Online MarketingWant to grow your offline business, start a business, or market your services? Online marketing is the way to go. It helps you reach a broader audience, sell, connect, and much more. While internet marketing may seem complicated, once you understand the fundamentals you can build on that knowledge as your needs grow and change. Let’s take a look at the basics of online marketing.

     

    Your Website

     

    The foundation for your business online is a website. You must have an online presence these days to succeed on the internet. It only makes sense. Now your “website” can take several different forms. It can be a blog, a brochure site, or even a storefront.

    The type of website you build depends largely on your business model. There are a lot of options so if it becomes too overwhelming we suggest you get the advice from an online marketing coach or a company that does website design. You can also use the web to do research on your own but this method might take you longer.

     

    SEO – Search Engine Optimization

     

    Great, you have a website. Now what? Now you need people to visit your website and you accomplish that with what’s called “SEO.” It’s a strategy that embraces keywords and keyword phrases to attract the attention of the search engines, which in turn helps your prospects find you.  This is what all online businesses strive for. You want to be found on at least the first two pages on any web search. After that it’s difficult to get the attention of people doing the search for your specific keywords.

    The Basics of Online Marketing 

    For example, if someone wants to buy a new big screen television they might type “Big Screen Television Reviews” into their search engine of choice, Google for example. If you’ve optimized your site for that keyword phrase, they may find your site and stop by for a visit. If your site is built for conversion then you have a good chance at getting that person to stay and possibly purchase from you and not your competition.

     

    Email Marketing

     

    What does a visitor do once they’ve stopped by your website? How do you ensure you are able to connect with them, motivate them to visit again, or trigger a purchase? You get their email address. Then you have the ability to connect with them on a consistent basis and build a relationship, sell products or services, and provide value. There are different ways to gather email addresses. You might offer a free report or book that is delivered digitally. You might ask them to become a free member or to subscribe to your newsletter. We recommend using AWeber as an option. 

     

    Social Marketing

     

    The Basics of Online MarketingSocial marketing involves connecting with your prospects on social sites like a blog, Facebook, Twitter, and even Pinterest. The key is to provide value in the form of thoughtful commentary, information, and sometimes by entertaining. You build a relationship of trust and authority which in turn motivates visits to your website and/or purchases.

     

    All of these elements are tactics that can work effectively together. For example, you can promote your newsletter on your Facebook page. The key to making them all work well together is to create an online marketing strategy. Online marketing is a powerful way to build any type of business. Learn the fundamentals and thrive! 

    If you are looking for assistance with online marketing, social media or website development contact us today. We offer both coaching and consulting and our experience will save you time and money.

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  • Tools to Attract More Life into Your Online Business

    Tools to Attract More Life into Your Online BusinessBusinesses, like everything else, need a refresher once in a while. If you haven’t updated your business or added new features and benefits to your website, it may be time. Often simple steps can help you attract more life into your business.

    VideoTools to Attract More Life into Your Online Business

    The majority of business owners share an occasional video. However, by creating a video channel on YouTube or Vine you can reach a new audience and add some life to your business. You can even use short video messages on your sales and landing pages to welcome visitors and connect with them on a more personal level.

    If being in front of a camera is not your thing I understand consider taking a Power Point Presentation and make it into a video.

    Consider creating a video series and a channel to add some interest to your business.

    Membership Features

     

    Adding a membership feature to your business model and your website can help you build a community. Membership can be free and provide a number of different features and benefits.

    For example, you can use a membership to share more content or more product offers and promotions. You can use a membership to help your prospects and customers connect with each other, ask questions, and build relationships.

    You can also use it as a means to provide a little more value to those who take the time and energy to join. There are a number of plug-ins that you can use to add membership to your blog or website. On our resource page you can find a link to WordPress eMember but there is also Wishlist, Optimize Press and Member Mouse to mention a few. You will need to check out the features and cost to determine which is best for your situation.

    Tools to Attract More Life into Your Online BusinessMobile Applications

    More and more people are buying smart phones. As this trend grows, so too does the opportunity to market with mobile applications. Just about any business model can brainstorm an application that provides value and draws attention to their website and business.

    For example, a business coach might create a mobile app that helps business owners track their goals. A virtual assistant might create a ‘helpful tip of the day” application. A fitness blogger could create a fitness motivation tool. Check out this post from Mashable it lists a variety of platforms for building mobile apps.

    There’s no end to what you can create. It doesn’t have to be complicated to provide value. In fact, some of the most useful applications are the simplest. Take a look at your audience and consider how you might meet their needs with technology. You can sell the application or give it away for free and profit from the advertising. Additionally, you’ll build awareness for your business and attract more life into it.

    Content, Events and More

    Finally, you don’t have to take extreme measures to attract more life to your business. You can create a new content series, free report, or hold a webinar to build interest. Look to your audience first and evaluate how you can provide the most value and benefit.

    I hope these ideas helped you to think about ways to make changes in your online presence. If you have some other great ideas please share them in our blog comments.

    At Strategize Your Success we help our clients make change with a variety of services to simplify their online marketing.

    If you need tweaks to your WordPress site, graphic designs, more attractive handouts for your presentations or even a new look for your social media covers we can help. Check out our services!

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  • Do You Have a Defined Purpose for Your Facebook Page?

    Do you have a defined purpose for your Facebook page?
    It’s a simple question. “What do you want to accomplish with your Facebook page?”

    Yet the answer isn’t always so simple. Ultimately you likely want to use your Facebook page to make more money and grow your business. But there are many ways to accomplish that and many directions to take. Perhaps a better question is, “How do you want to use your Facebook page to grow your business?”

    Don’t worry, if you don’t know the answer right now. However,  it’s important to have a direction – to have goals when marketing your business through social media. 
    Do you have a defined purpose for your Facebook page?

    So let’s take a look at some ways that Facebook pages are used to promote business.

    Keep in mind they may include but are not limited to:

    • Traffic generation
    • List building
    • Selling products/services
    • Announcements and promotions
    • Content and value
    • Building a community/strengthening relationship

    In fact, Syncapse.com surveyed 4,000 people who “Liked” the top 20 brands with Facebook pages.  They found that someone who has “Liked” a brand spends an average of $71.84 more each year on that brand’s products or services.

    So here is a little story about turning fans into paying customers…

    Company ABC created a Facebook fan page. Their audience is strongly represented on Facebook so they went all out and hired someone to maintain their page for them. They created a custom Facebook page that offered a ton of valuable content, promotions, news items and interactive tools and applications. They even included a Q&A page and a page where Facebook fans could learn about products and services and could purchase directly from the page.

    When a fan made a purchase they also tended to post a note on their profile about the great new product they purchased from Company ABC. The company gained more fans from these mini reviews. This resulted with an increase to their monthly sales by 10%.

    This story can easily be you. And if selling products or services on your Facebook page isn’t your goal and you’d rather build your opt in list, you can do that too through Facebook.

    If you would like to learn more about working with FaceBook Pages or other social media platforms please join us for one of our training webinars. You can check out our events at https://www.strategizeyoursuccess.com/events

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