Internet marketing is becoming the de facto way of promoting your business online and giving your brand much needed exposure. It’s fair to say that with internet marketing, the possibilities are endless. With the internet turning into such an integral part of people’s lives, many people can’t imagine life without it. For millions of people, it is more than just a way to communicate with friends or read the news from around the world. It’s the place they go to when they want to buy something, learn about a product, and get other people’s input.
For many businesses, it’s no longer a viable option to ignore online business and the lucrative market that the internet provides. But knowing about the potential of online business is one thing, and actually promoting one’s business online is something totally different. So what are the different types of internet marketing? And how do you know which ones are best for you? Here are some of the popular flavors of internet marketing and how you can put them to good use to promote and grow your business.
Community and Social Media Marketing
When your business is competing in a crowded market, getting the attention of the prospective customer is not easy. That’s when you need a company to enhance your brand, polish its image, and make it stand out. For example, if you’re hoping to build a reputable blockchain community, you should be outsourcing a crypto marketing agency that knows how to utilize popular media platforms and create social initiatives to foster that community.
Social media is a force to be reckoned with. No one can ignore the role of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others play in influencing people. If you can sway people’s opinions in matters such as politics, then surely you can convince them to use a certain brand or purchase a specific product. A viral post on social media can direct huge numbers of visitors to your website and put your business on the map, so to speak. The key thing to remember is the message should not be directly advertising your website or business. It’s a bit tricky but when done right, the results can be phenomenal.
SEO Marketing
SEO is another essential marketing tool. About two-thirds of organic clicks go to the top three results that the user gets from a web search. That’s something that digital marketing can help you with. With SEO marketing, you can put your business at the top of search engines and get a lot more web traffic at a relatively low cost. It’s a matter of organizing the web page elements such as titles, images, keywords, and menus, to make it consistent with your goal and message.
PPC Advertising and Content Marketing
The concept behind Pay Per Click (PPC) here is simple and straightforward. PPC is a system in which the business gets charged every time a user clicks the ad. The ads can be customized to show on certain geographical locations, or target a section of the society based on their age, gender, or interests. It’s a more targeted and focused advertising system than traditional media such as TV and magazines. PPC gives you accurate measurements of success, and you can use different metrics to know which ad campaign had the best results and adjust your marketing strategy based on these results.
One of the oldest and most reliable marketing types that have been in use since the early days of the internet is email marketing. With email marketing, the company creates a bond with its customers and keeps that bond going strong with every new email. In order to make sure the customers are willing to receive your newsletters, they must sign up for them, otherwise, it would be considered spam. Then you can send them emails about your products or services, preferably with discounts and promotions, from time to time.
With content marketing, your goal is to draw a lot of traffic to your website without being really focused on selling anything to the visitor. Instead, you try to offer informative and meaningful content to the user, who might or might not be interested in purchasing any of your products or using your services. Eventually, you hope that as more and more users come to your website and engage with its relevant content, some of them can become customers. Content marketing includes blog posts, infographics, video posts, and ebooks.
Affiliate Marketing is just another name for referral marketing. As a business, you set up a program that pays a commission to affiliates who send visitors or paying customers to your website. Everybody wins here. The affiliate wins some money, and you increase your sales and grow your business.
And then there’s Search Engine Marketing (SEM). SEM lets you get more traffic to your website by purchasing ad spots on search engines. An example of SEM is Google AdWords. It’s effective and has a decent return on investment. SEM is similar to PPC and both are usually managed by search engines.
With internet marketing, there’s no limit to what you can achieve for your business and brand. At a fraction of the cost of a traditional marketing campaign, you can achieve brand exposure and build your customer base. Digital marketing allows you to target niche markets and reach the specific demographics that your business is interested in.
