The Purpose of Online Marketing Strategies

What’s the difference between traditional and online marketing strategies?

Simple. Online marketing strategies are executed entirely on the web.

Of course, that’s assuming it’s happening at all. Plenty of business owners and website managers are wandering around and handing out blank business cards. They are failing miserably at marketing their products and services online, even if they’ve established some kind of online presence.

The goal of having an online presence is to get people to visit your website, to drive traffic to the site and then convert those visitors into paying customers. That’s what online marketing strategies are all about. They have the same set of objectives as any other type of marketing strategy:

• Establish and build brand recognition
• Determine pricing and make offers
• Run advertising campaigns, promotions, discounts, and specials

In order to do all that, you need a strategy, even though…

Sometimes it Just Happens By Itself

Today I was visiting a relatively new blog, which has quickly become one of my favorites, and I noticed that the comments have just about tripled in the last couple of weeks. The blogger isn’t doing a whole lot of marketing or promotion, but people are starting to whisper and nudge each other and say, “Hey, have you been to that guy’s blog? It’s pretty cool.”

That’s what can happen when you’ve got stellar content. A buzz ensues and next thing you know, you’ve got word-of-mouth marketing working for you, and it didn’t cost you a dime.

But there are three things to keep in mind when it comes to word-of-mouth advertising: 1) The blogger wasn’t actively trying to gain a larger audience, 2) It’s completely organic, and 3) It rarely happens.

Sometimes it Never Happens

Ironically, I was visiting another favorite blog today and noticed the exact opposite thing was happening. Even though the content is strong, there has been little to no growth since I first started reading it on a regular basis about a year ago. How do I know? The blog has its subscriber count displayed and it shows less than 100 subscribers.

Most blogs will see more growth than that without carrying out any online marketing strategies. So, I poked around and realized that this blogger was doing absolutely nothing to promote the content on her blog. There wasn’t even a distinguishable brand. The site’s title was sort of sitting there doing nothing and although the content was stellar, the way it was organized, presented, and packaged had no appeal whatsoever.

Even a minuscule online marketing strategy could help this blogger. She could probably double her subscribers in a month by investing nothing more than a little time: leaving comments on other blogs, submitting a few guest posts, setting up a social media profiles with links to her blog. She could also throw a few dollars at the problem and get a decent logo and tagline, and then follow up by buying ad space on relevant sites.

Most of the Time You Make it Happen

In order to get people to your site, you need online marketing strategies that are going to work. In traditional marketing, you can do something as simple as stand on the corner of a busy intersection holding up a sign that has your business name written on it. On the web, you can invest in ads, set up social media profiles, harness the power of search engine optimization, and practice smart networking.

You can spend your time or you can spend your money. Either way, every business should invest in online marketing strategies that will drive traffic, convert visitors, and make sales.

The first step is to ask yourself how do I get people to my site? Once you pose this question, you can start looking for answers, and that is when you’ll start to uncover a whole world of online marketing strategies. One of them is sure to be the perfect fit for your products and services, your website, and you.

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Building Brand Recognition with Online Marketing Strategies

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Branding and marketing professionals understand the power of image. Think about the Apple logo, the Nike swoosh, and Starbuck’s emblem. These symbols are burned into our minds and they immediately trigger brand recognition as well as the feelings and attitudes we hold individually or collectively toward the companies and products that they represent.

We’re used to seeing logos and image-based branding on business cards, television and print ads, and product packaging. However, there is no medium more powerful for propelling brand recognition than the internet.

In today’s technology-driven world, online marketing strategies are the foremost method for promoting your company’s brand. That means building brand recognition by depicting your logo and maintaining a consistent image along with a clear message.

The core of your image is your company’s logo. The first and most obvious placement for this image is on your website. Next, create an email signature that includes your business’s logo. What comes after that?

As you travel the information superhighway as a representative of your business, whether it’s a one-person entrepreneurship or a vast enterprise, there are countless opportunities for displaying an image – that key symbol that identifies your brand. And the more you display that image, the more familiar and recognizable it will become to your associates, competitors, and customers.

Social Media Outreach

Sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace provide ample opportunities for logo display and online marketing strategies. Some social media experts make a living using these platforms to promote businesses on the web. Many small business owners and independent professionals sign up for these social media networks but forget to harness the outreach they provide. Embed your brand into your Twitter background (don’t forget to include your website address). Use your logo as your Facebook picture. List your site on your LinkedIn profile.

Two Ways to Build Your Brand on Blogs

There are two ways to build your brand on blogs. First, launch your own blog and incorporate your company image in posts, images, feed footers, or email subscriptions. Be careful not to overdo it, though. Next, use your image when you visit other blogs. You can do this easily by using Gravatar, which automatically inserts your image beside comments you leave on other blogs.

Promote Yourself in Forums

Forums are an ideal way to connect with others in your industry, including prospective customers. This is a more subtle form of online marketing, but through connections, you can develop a functional network that will lead to more business. Most forums allow users to to create a signature, and many, like blogs, use avatars, images associated with your profile that appear alongside each message you post.

Commit to Online Marketing Strategies

The key to building brand recognition lies in identifying opportunities as they arise and then seizing them. Keep a copy of your logo handy and use it in situations where you are asked to upload and display images online. Always insert your company name, tagline (or slogan), and website address (URL) in signatures and profiles that you use around the internet. That way, you’ll be able to propel your online marketing strategies at a moment’s notice.

Tip: Try creating a folder with all the information (don’t forget your elevator pitch and company bio) and storing it on your desktop for easy access! Be prepared at all times, and keep copies of your logo in traveling media like a memory key or stored in your inbox, so you can access and use it anytime, from anywhere.

Start finding those opportunities now by looking for innovative places on the web where you can display your brand. Go through all your online profiles and cyber haunts and make sure you’re promoting your business appropriately!

How do you incorporate your business brand to expand your online marketing strategies?