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Posts Tagged ‘Online Marketing’
In spring of this year, Facebook started allowing Facebook pages to be customized more heavily with Facebook Markup language (FBML). This customization allows for greater control of messaging on a company or organization’s Facebook Page.
Toys R Us has provided an example of a particularly shrewd deployment of this functionality with a Black Friday-specific Facebook Page offering. The page gives a preview of the Black Friday promotions Toys R Us will be running, but only to fans of the page. Users can then click through to Toys R Us’ main site.
Corporate blogs are common enough to be found on websites of Fortune 100 companies, and simple enough to be executed by small, family-owned businesses. The concept of a company directly communicating with its customers online and having a personal voice has taken off, and with good reason. But it’s not as intuitive as you may think, and there are tips that should be kept in mind when publishing your company’s blog.
Smile and have fun – Blogging is known for being more personable than other company communications, so show the fun and interesting side of your company. Take a cue from Kodak (1000words.kodak.com). Their chief blogger tries out new products and writes about her experiences, instead of just trying to market them. Which brings us to the next point…
Converse, don’t market- Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is the place for advertising slogans and generating testimonials. Let your customers tell their stories with your products, like Carhartt does – blogs.carhartt.com/blog/carhartt – by letting its fans post pictures of their kids in Carhartt, or tell stories about their tough jobs. Blogging is not always about what you have to tell your customers; that’s what traditional advertising is for.
Accept criticism - We know it’s a scary thing when you open up your blog for comments. There is the possibility that people might have a complaint. But don’t shy away, instead listen to what your customers have to say and let them know you’re listening.
Even if you are familiar with the term social networking, do you know what it means and understand everything it entails? Every day you hear about major brands and big name companies succumbing to this new form of advertising. How are they doing it and is it working?
We’re all familiar with the most popular websites for social networking, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and now Twitter. The key to social marketing is to remember that it should be used as a two way communication street. No one wants marketing messages being constantly blasted directly at them. Keep these principles in mind when starting out:
1. Be authentic and human. Feel free to share fun and entertaining info, and even some annoying aspects of your workday. Tell people about your latest big event, or complain about the weather. Anything that opens up a chance for conversation. Just stay away from things that would paint a negative or derogatory image of your brand.
2. Be consistent and choose the right networks. Just like in high school, you didn’t feel the need to be friends with every single clique. Find the ones that make the most sense for your business and your consumers. And remember to keep the same messaging and personality across each network. You shouldn’t be reinventing your marketing approach specifically for online traffic. Stay consistent with the values and principles of your business.
3. Set realistic goals and measure your progress. Don’t make it all about the numbers, but more about making an impact. You want your customers to feel like they have a connection with you, and ideally you want them to include their friends into your clique. That means that you will have to put some time into this venture. Don’t start off hot and heavy and then let your communications dwindle.
If you’re interested in starting a campaign, the best advice we can give is to jump right in. In the beginning it might be a slow process, but the more time you put into it the more it will pay off for you.
We’re all familiar with traditional marketing methods – advertising on TV and radio, direct mail, personal selling – but what does online marketing mean to you? You might be familiar with the terms “pay-per-click”, or “Search Engine Optimization”, but how does just being aware of those terms benefit you? The truth is that online marketing is just as diverse as its traditional counterpart, and can be even more impactful in today’s marketplace.
All methods of online communication with your customers and potential clients fall under the umbrella of Online Marketing. Some techniques commonly used are SEO, paid advertising, banner advertising, email marketing, and even Web 2.0 strategies. To get the greatest return on your Online Marketing efforts, Media Genesis recommends combining methods and trying different approaches of online marketing. To follow the old business adage – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Even though all of these new methods can draw influences from your traditional branding and marketing efforts, there are some major differences.
1. Better point of contact – Online marketing can give you better contact with your future customers in that the customer is actually searching for information, not just receiving information.
2. Measurable results – As opposed to old advertising methods, almost every aspect of online marketing can be tracked and analyzed. How many people read your email? How many visited the website? How many contacted you directly? All those questions can be answered.
3. Budget friendly – Don’t have the budget for TV Ads and direct mail flyers? SEO campaigns and email marketing can be implemented on some level for almost every budget.
Everyone knows that times are tough, but it’s important to remember that finding new customers is vital to your business. Don’t hack off your whole marketing budget just save a few bucks, but strategically mix traditional and online marketing to gain the greatest advantage over your competition.
For more information on the benefits of Online Marketing, contact Media Genesis at inquiry@mediaG.com. We’ll be glad to help determine the best solution for you.
