Why Internet Marketing is Critical to Modern Campaigns
No modern marketing campaign should neglect the importance of the web. Internet marketing, when done right, dramatically improves the scope of any campaign at relatively low costs. This is true even for local businesses that don’t have or think they want a global audience. Here’s why.
The Importance of Local
There was a time when most people turned to the phone book when they wanted to discover a local business. That time has come and gone. Today’s customer turns to Google or Foursquare to find local businesses. Consumers who are out on the town and looking for something to do now check their smartphone for the answer. These trends will only continue in the years to come, and the sooner you take advantage of the technology, the more established you will be.
The Importance of Social
Most people are now using social media, regardless of their demographic. The dismissal that this technology only appealed to young people or nerds is no longer valid. Everybody knows that the highest conversions come from word of mouth. A consumer who hears about the quality of a brand from a friend is far more likely to trust the recommendation than if it came from an advertisement.
Social media allows word-of-mouth to spread at a pace that wasn’t possible before. The most influential people are also the ones who are most likely to be using social media on a regular basis. These conversations will spill over from the online world into the physical one, resulting in trust and authority for your brand.
The Importance of Search
If somebody is looking for the products your are selling, they turn to the search engines. If they want to know if your business is reputable, they do a Google search. If they want to know what other people think about your business, they go online.
The search engine is the resource of default for the modern consumer, and this makes it incredibly important for you to be a vocal part of any online conversation about your or your products. A website and a blog are a must for any business today, even if they are only a local business. A website can be used to capture traffic about related subjects.
It can be used as a public platform to respond to feedback and to make announcements. It can be used to improve the visibility of your Google Places and Foursquare accounts, and ensure that people using these services will be able to find you.
Hot Leads
The hottest lead is a customer who walks into a store and asks the retailer where they can find a product. The only thing a retailer can do to lose that sale is offer a bad product or an unrealistic price.
The web is one of the best places to find these kinds of leads. When a user types a query into the search box, they are saying something about what they are looking for. Good keyword research can help you identify keywords that indicate an interest in buying.
A user who types “where can I find a cell phone” into the search engine already wants to buy something. SEO tactics make it easier for these users to find you when they perform these kinds of searches, which means that they can send you some of the hottest leads available.
Customer Relations
Nothing ensures long term success better than brand loyalty, and the web is now one of the best places to build it. The business who understands how social media works and knows how to respond to feedback is the business who will gain the most trust.
Trust is a currency. Trust not only assures loyalty from your customers, it encourages benefits that continue to promote your visibility. Information that you provide to your customers will be taken to heart, and industry influencers will link to and share your content. This, in turn, makes it easier for new people to find out about you through the search engines and the social networks.
In short, internet marketing has long term influence that goes far beyond the impact of an advertising campaign.
A Wealth of Information
Customer research has never been more available than it is today. Analytics make it possible for you to measure the direct impact of virtually anything you do online in a quantifiable way without relying on focus groups or surveys. Adwords campaigns offer immediate impact on ROI. Your SERP position can be directly tied to the amount of traffic you receive, and the effectiveness of your keyword choices can be directly measured based on the traffic to profit ratio.
The ease of access to quantifiable data allows you to respond to campaigns in real time and adjust your strategy on the fly. Online strategies can be adjusted almost immediately and changes can be rolled back if they prove ineffective.
This article was written by David Nance for EverSpark Interactive, an Atlanta SEO company that specializes in helping clients attain dramatic Search Engine rankings.
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