When it comes to marketing in the Internet Age, the fundamentals still hold true
Well, folks, it’s 2014. Yep, it’s a new year, which means everyone is talking about new year’s resolutions, new directions, new beginnings, new, new, new.
To be honest, all this emphasis on “new” can get old, particularly for businesses looking to promote themselves in today’s Internet-oriented, social-media-fueled marketplace. The world of Internet marketing changes by the minute, literally. It’s a lot to keep up with, and it can get overwhelming. In fact, you may be wondering, “Where do I even begin?”
Fortunately, the more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s a cliché, but it’s true. In today’s Wild West of social networks and search engines, the traditional fundamentals of good marketing ring as true as ever. To promote your business effectively, you need to identify a target market, connect with that market and carefully nurture leads through a well-defined sales funnel. Nothing about that model has changed; we just use different tools to make it all happen.
Internet marketing is simply good marketing, done via the Internet. As a business looking to promote itself in the Internet Age, you don’t need to keep up with every network functionality shift or search engine algorithm update. Leave that to us geeks who live and breathe that stuff every day. Instead, focus on what you do best.
With all that in mind, here are five pieces of old marketing advice for the new year. Okay, don’t think of them so much as “old advice”—instead, let’s call them “good fundamentals.” These are truisms of marketing that remain the same whether you’re broadcasting your message through Facebook or a carnival barker. So let’s start off 2014 right, by going back to basic in a world that is anything but.
1. Communicate with your market in a genuine way. Whether you’re buying radio airtime or reaching out to people through social media, your audience wants to be spoken to sincerely. They crave information that is relevant to their lives. If you can provide this, they will trust you. They will view you as an expert. They will seek you out when they need products or services in your field. Today, we have so many more opportunities to reach people through social media, blogs, e-mail and other low-cost Internet avenues. Use these opportunities to speak genuinely to your audience, and you will reap the benefits.
2. Do what you do best and outsource the rest. Were you a traditional marketing expert, versed in branding, graphic design, copywriting, direct mail, public relations and media buying? No? Then you’re likely not an Internet marketing expert either. Just because it’s free to sign up for a Facebook page, that doesn’t mean the media doesn’t require a certain expertise to use effectively. Sure, you can have a front desk person update your LinkedIn page and tweet for your business, but if you want to market successfully, it’s best to contact a professional. Then you can get back to doing what made your business a success in the first place.
3. Integrate your efforts. Marketing works best as part of a cohesive campaign. Businesses rarely see results from a single piece sent out into the world on it’s own. This is just as true for traditional media as it is for social media. In the Internet Age, integrating your efforts means designing a campaign that hits people in multiple online venues. It also means connecting your social media accounts to your website, blog, personal profiles and the rest of your Web presence. It means setting up your Google Author profile and claiming as many professional, industry specific profiles as you can. Social networks can branch out exponentially, so use the power of the media by connecting everything into one system that broadcasts your message as widely as possible.
4. Focus your efforts where you get the best results. Sure, you can cast a wide net and see what you drag in. However, unless you’re McDonald’s or Coca Cola, whose target markets include, well, everyone, then you probably want to zero in a little more. In traditional marketing and advertising, this meant choosing one or two media that reach your target market most effectively—maybe TV, maybe radio, maybe direct mail or print ads. The same principle works for Internet marketing. While it’s good to maintain at least a modest presence on all the major social networks, there’s no reason to spread yourself thin across every social media out there. Instead, determine where you’re getting the best traction and then go deep. If you’re a purveyor of professional services, your best bet might be LinkedIn. If your products/services have a broader appeal, then maybe Facebook and Twitter will work for you. If you have a visually appealing project that you can represent with great imagery, Pinterest and Instagram may be ideal venues.
5. Don’t forget the final piece of the puzzle, you. All the inbound marketing strategies in the world won’t make a lick of difference if your internal sales and customer service efforts aren’t up to par. You can spend a fortune on lead generation, but then what? If you want those dollars to yield real results, then you need to be able to close the deal. So don’t just invest in branding and marketing and lead generation; put some resources toward sales and customer service training. If your Internet marketing company leads that horse to water, you need to be able to convince him to drink.
What do you think? Have you noticed more traditional marketing fundamentals that are alive and well in today’s Internet marketing world? Connect with us via the links below and get the conversation going.