What does it take to have a successful business? Well-planned and viable marketing strategy more than anything else. Building a business from the ground up is hard, takes time, effort, and a lot of money. But before you invest any of that, you need a practical and achievable idea or a product that will pique the interest of potential consumers.
Once you have that, a sound marketing plan needs to come in place in order to be competitive in the market. With the flood of social media platforms, blogging, search engine optimization, and advertising, marketing has become a tedious task that requires plenty of research to churn a profit and stay afloat.
Many business owners are caught up in everyday operations that they simply don’t have the time to come up with a marketing plan that will boost their sales and sustain the profits. Looking at all that takes for a business to reach the financial goals, like getting to the audience and achieving visibility on the internet, we must say it does sound like rocket science sometimes.
The main postulate in business is that you have to spend money to make money. Now, that’s all dandy, but what if you’re barely making ends meet as it is? It’s a vicious circle that carries a lot of risks, but also huge potential. Maybe you can start small, on a string shoe budget, and then work your way up to larger audiences; or invest something else but money – like time. The truth is, even with the unlimited budget, it would take a lot of time and patience to build unique, personalized relationships with consumers that will hopefully become returning customers.
So, where to start? Here are some guidelines to help you navigate through the turbulent waters of online marketing.
1. The power of social media
For your business to be seen the best tool is at your fingertips – social media platforms. With billions of people visiting different ones every day it represents an opportunity for savvy business owners. If you don’t have experience with Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and any other available today, you might want to consider hiring a professional team that can point you in the right direction or does it for you.
Blogging
Consider starting a blog. Posting your own, original ideas could attract some customers, audiences, or other businesses offering you cooperation. Just blogging on your website isn’t enough though. You would have to get busy with answering questions on different forums and platforms that are related to your field to attract them to visit. It’s a way of standing out among the millions of similar blogs. When writing try to look at your website from the consumer’s perspective and create interesting and engaging content that will offer information that’s scarce on the internet or other bloggers are shy of tackling. Be bold and persuasive since people are naturally attracted to authoritative personalities.
Influencers
Building an audience is an uphill battle. It’s a learn-by-mistake system until you get the vibe of the people visiting your site and present them with the content that they’re interested in. However, there is a way around it. Influencers. Yes, it’s an actual profession. They already have huge crowds on their platforms that soak in everything they talk about. The only thing you need to do is choose the right one with whom you have something in common businesswise. An influencer can bring massive traffic to your website and launch your business to new levels.
LinkedIn is another platform that will make your company visible to an enormous number of people. If you don’t have a profile, you need to make one right away. LinkedIn profile will expose your business to other potential business partners that are looking for someone to share their ideas and connect with others. It’s a fantastic opportunity to tell your story about the paths you took and the challenges you faced along the way. Many people can relate to that and will respond. It’s a great place to market your products or services to consumers and business people alike.
2. Search Engine Optimization
SEO sounds scary to many people. It’s an area of internet marketing that for many is uncharted territory. It can be frightening, but it can also be the most powerful tool when used appropriately. Some are brazened enough to trick Google with some PBN (private blogging network) schemes creating linked websites with the sole purpose of getting more exposure in search results. It’s a shady business so stay clear of it since it can cost you dearly.
Do the SEO properly by creating meaningful and interesting content that will be picked up by the search engines. Write for humans, not bots, while subtly and logically mentioning the keywords that will get your website seen. Add value to your site or blog by offering unique and captivating texts, tutorials or analysis. Keep in mind that humans are going to read it, while still keeping in mind that your content must get to the audiences.
3. Giveaways
In the marketing world, this is called the lead magnet. Actually, these are all the free stuff that you can offer to your customers. It can be a discount, or two for the price of one offer, or anything else that you can add to their experience to make them want to come back. Customers need to feel happy when leaving your website for getting such a great deal. What can it be? Again, try to think from the consumers’ point of view. If you’re selling pajamas throw in some slippers for 80% off, for example. If you have a roof replacing business, post a video on how to protect the property from snow and ice giving away some of the small secrets of your business that can pay off big time in the future once the customers gain trust in you. Just remember that you are someone’s customer too and think about what attracted you to buy or use the services of a certain company and you’ll have your answer.