| In the current economic client, many businesses are | | | | 4. Social Media / Social Network Marketing |
| focusing on efforts that contribute to high ROI | | | | First, some numbers: |
| (return on investment). High overhead departments | | | | |
| and marketing campaigns are getting slashed as | | | | 1. MySpace boasts over 200 million users - greater |
| managers tighten their belts. This emphasis on "low | | | | than the population of Russia or Brazil |
| costs, high returns" can mean a shift in focus away | | | | 2. It's not just for college kids - currently, Facebook's |
| from traditional marketing & sales efforts (such | | | | fastest growing demographic is the 35 - 55 age |
| as maintaining an army of reps out in the field) and | | | | group. |
| towards interactive marketing campaigns. By | | | | 3. An amazing 120,000 blogs are created per day |
| interactive marketing, I'm referring to the collective | | | | As everyone knows, community-driven sites like |
| group of newer, "next-gen" techniques such as | | | | YouTube, Twitter, & Digg have exploded in |
| search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click or | | | | popularity lately - these user-focused sites, and many |
| cost-per-click (PPC or CPC, respectively) advertising, | | | | others, are referred to as "social networks" or "social |
| email and newsletter marketing, social media | | | | media," and they've become an important part of |
| marketing, and mobile marketing. | | | | maintaining a cohesive and strong brand identity on |
| So why is this industry one of the few currently | | | | the internet. Many companies tend to farm out one |
| experiencing growth? It's simple, really - when done | | | | person to create a Facebook page or LinkedIn |
| correctly, interactive marketing provides some of the | | | | account, but few understand the strategy or |
| lowest-cost, highest-yield returns. By and large, this is | | | | techniques behind operating a successful social |
| because of a) the ability to accurately & | | | | networking campaign. |
| precisely target the segments that will generate the | | | | Most users of social network sites are very |
| most revenue and b) the immense amount of data | | | | internet-savvy, and can spot a sales pitch a mile off - |
| that can be used to track, analyze, and refine the | | | | and, thanks to the open community-based format on |
| campaign(s). These two factors (combined with the | | | | most sites, they'll let you and everyone else know |
| relatively low overhead of running most of these | | | | what they think of it. Because of the personal aspect |
| campaigns) are why the web marketing sector is still | | | | of social sites (it's THEIR profile, THEIR friends and |
| growing. | | | | peers, and they've probably spent time & effort |
| But for folks that have limited experience with these | | | | building those two things up), many users will resent |
| marketing techniques, choosing the right avenue to | | | | what they see as a company trying to "cash in" on |
| reach potential customers can be pretty | | | | something that's so close to them. This is the reason |
| overwhelming. By forgoing research and strategy, | | | | why so many companies fail at constructing a |
| many companies end up choosing tactics that won't | | | | popular, successful social media presence - they lack |
| work because they simply do not fit the firm's | | | | the entertaining content, the conversational |
| objectives - in fact, sometimes folks forget to even | | | | one-on-one element, or just generally push people |
| define these objectives! | | | | too hard to buy. It ain't a used car lot, folks! |
| Below is a quick run-down of the biggest names in | | | | While it may take a while to see an impact on the |
| web, search, and mobile marketing. Many companies | | | | bottom line, many companies know that their current |
| apply these jointly, but the ones that are successful | | | | customers and millions of prospects use these sites; |
| know what to expect from each campaign. If you're | | | | this is an invaluable and low-cost link to market |
| just jumping into the stormy seas of interactive | | | | research & customer feedback. |
| marketing, read on - you'll get a brief description and | | | | Ideal for: |
| some examples of what you can accomplish with | | | | - Businesses seeking to build and/or maintain their |
| each technique, if applied successfully. | | | | reputation across the internet |
| 1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | | | | - Helping move customers from simply being a user |
| Search engine optimization is a comprehensive | | | | of your product to an advocate (the brand is |
| technique to move a website "up" in search engine | | | | internalized, becomes part of their lifestyle & |
| results pages for certain queries or phrases. The vast | | | | personality) |
| majority of search users never move past the first | | | | - Maintaining direct contact with current customers - |
| page of results (usually 10 listings) - for example, | | | | this connection to the market provides research, |
| Coca-Cola being listed on the 4th page of results for | | | | ideas, opportunities, and challenges |
| the search "best soda pop" would obviously limit their | | | | - Attracting new customers and brand followers |
| reach & visibility to potential customers. SEO | | | | - Firms willing to invest time into becoming part of a |
| work involves, among many other things, making a | | | | community by offering interesting, exciting, or usable |
| site simultaneously user-friendly and "search engine | | | | content |
| friendly." Use caution! Some firms or individuals | | | | 5. Mobile Marketing, SMS / Text Message Marketing |
| offering SEO services often make guarantees or | | | | As the two worlds of desktop computing and mobile |
| promises that seem too good to be true - choose | | | | device converge, businesses are taking advantage of |
| wisely. | | | | consumers' "need it now" usage of cell phones & |
| Ideal for: | | | | smart phones. SMS or text campaigns can alert |
| - Businesses seeking high visibility & credibility in | | | | subscribers of special offers or deals, or provide |
| the minds of potential customers | | | | reminders, news, or other information sent directly to |
| - Companies attempting to gain long-term visibility, | | | | cell phones. Like social network marketing, companies |
| especially in a highly competitive market | | | | can build brand identity with contests & games, |
| - Firms interested in being viewed as an authoritative | | | | or gather market data by allowing subscribers to |
| source in their field or industry | | | | vote for their favorite products. A strategic approach |
| - Can be deployed on both national and regional | | | | to this effort (encompassing mobile site design, |
| scales | | | | mini-site design, mobile-friendly PPC advertising, and |
| 2. Pay-per-click/cost-per-click (PPC or CPC) | | | | SMS campaign management) can ensure that your |
| Pay-per-click (also called "PPC" or "CPC" for | | | | customer base receives the right information and |
| cost-per-click) advertising is based around sponsored | | | | message. |
| links to your site that typically appear alongside | | | | Ideal for: |
| "natural" or "organic" search results in search engines | | | | - Attracting customers through the use of |
| such as Google and Yahoo. These links can consist of | | | | easily-digestible, informative or entertaining content |
| a few lines of text, or can include images and even | | | | - Maintaining contact with interested subscribers via a |
| video. Companies bid on which search queries they | | | | SMS or text campaign |
| would like their ads to appear, and are charged every | | | | - Promoting user-friendliness to encourage purchases |
| time a user clicks on the ad and arrives at their site - | | | | (IE, a grocery store offering a mobile site where |
| hence the "pay per click" name. However, this | | | | users can shop, choose items, then pick up in-store) |
| relatively simple bidding system can get very | | | | - Businesses wanting to promote brand awareness, |
| expensive when inexperienced advertisers bid on the | | | | credibility, and close connection to customers |
| wrong keywords or don't craft their ads properly. | | | | 6. Comparison Shopping Engines / Online Malls |
| Ideal for: | | | | This is usually a form of pay-per-click, but it's unique |
| - Quickly gaining visibility near the top of search | | | | enough to warrant it's own number. Sites like |
| engine results pages. | | | | pricegrabber.com, nextag.com, or Yahoo! Shopping |
| - Seasonal products or time-sensitive campaigns | | | | are often referred to as shopping engines, online |
| where SEO may not be effective | | | | malls, or price comparison sites. Typically, these sites |
| - Like SEO, can target customers on a national level, | | | | are not retailers, but aggregators - that is, they |
| down to an individual city | | | | accept product listings from multiple retailers and |
| - Often used in conjunction with SEO services to | | | | direct visitors to those specific sites, usually charging |
| extend reach | | | | the retailers using a pay-per-click model. Different |
| 3. Email Marketing, E-Newsletter Marketing | | | | shopping engines target different product segments |
| Email marketing & opt-in electronic newsletters | | | | and demographics, so picking the right ones can be |
| boast some of the highest purchase rates amongst | | | | difficult. Additionally, most sites require retailers to |
| online shoppers. When customers make a purchase | | | | submit their product listings via a specialized template |
| or visit your site and sign up for your company's | | | | file - and, of course, each site requires a different |
| newsletter, you immediately have a highly-interested | | | | format! Search engine optimization tactics can also |
| segment of potential customers. By harnessing | | | | come into play here, in order to have your products |
| graphic-rich messages, dynamic content and | | | | highly ranked in each site's internal search results. |
| advanced segmenting tools, newsletters can deliver | | | | Ideal for: |
| the right content to the right people. The best email | | | | - Established online retailers looking to broaden their |
| management tools boast extremely high deliverability | | | | reach through a new outlet |
| rates and provide a great deal of power & | | | | - Expanding visibility using an existing site with a |
| flexibility while still remaining extremely user-friendly. | | | | demographically similar customer base, and is already |
| Ideal for: | | | | trusted by a number of repeat visitors |
| - Businesses that want to engage customers and | | | | - Obtaining highly qualified traffic through product |
| encourage repeat purchases | | | | listings in extremely specific categories |
| - Maintaining "top of mind" in potential customers | | | | This should give a broad level overview of the |
| - Companies that want brand consistency and close | | | | different options available for newer, |
| contact with subscribers | | | | technology-focused marketing efforts. And |
| - Low cost, high returns - but building up a subscriber | | | | remember - decide your objectives first, THEN |
| list can take time, especially if there's no incentive to | | | | implement the strategy! |
| sign up | | | | |