The Vital Importance of Consistent Online Marketing for Success
We hear it very often… the reasons to delay online marketing or to halt it.
“I will start doing it when business picks up.”
“The clinic is slow, so I must halt marketing plans and campaigns.”
“I will market when we start seeing revenue regularly.”
Why Is Online Marketing Important?
The truth is simply…without consistent and strategic marketing, it will be hard to thrive and exceed and reach any of goal of success. Furthermore, marketing works similarly to your work ethic…from the second you start, the ball starts rolling and takes time. If you stop working (or marketing), how will that impact your business growth? How will it get you ahead of competitors?
This is the thinking that should come with online marketing. It’s imperative to grow your online presence and keep it there.
What is Involved In Online Marketing?
Take some time to construct a clear, detailed strategy for promoting your products or services to your ideal prospects. Write it down and don’t be afraid to revise your plan as you learn what works and what doesn’t.
Testing and tracking campaigns is key to winning in online business.
When we ask our clients about online marketing, most of the time, business owners say, “Oh, I have a website, and I post on Facebook once or twice a week.”
Sadly, a website or a couple of social media posts isn’t good enough to create substantial results. You need to actively promote it, or else you’ll never get enough traffic to your site.
How Do I Actively Promote My Business Online Using Social Media?
You need to create a cohesive online presence that works for your particular niche.
Get your “social focus” going:
- Promote your business on Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and/or other relevant social media sites.
You may find one or more of these social channels more useful than the rest (or even decide that some are not the ideal tool for connecting to your audience). Identify the ones best suited for your products and services. - Part of your social focus is finding out where your target market is. If you’re a business-to-business company, then you should be on LinkedIn or similar sites and use most of your social media marketing time there.
- Once you know where your customers are hanging out, research what approaches from the competition work and what don’t. Don’t just look at them and say, “Hey, that ad they’re running is nice.” Dive deep into the competitor research and figure it out. For example, some Facebook users may feel uncomfortable with businesses that approach them directly; to the business owner, they may be simply anticipating customer needs, but to the potential customer, it may be seen as an invasion of privacy.
- Be sincere. Sometimes, business accounts on Facebook appear to be insincere or “trying too hard,” which compromises trust and effective branding. Learn how to connect with social media users without overstepping the bounds; do this by seeing where your competition has misstepped.
What Else Is Important in Online Presence?
Keeping your local listings updated is also important. Make sure your business name, category, address, phone, images, and other details are correctly listed in places where people may be searching for your products or services. YellowPages, Google Maps, Yahoo!, Yelp, and other directories are just some of the places where your customers are hanging out.
It’s imperative to gather reviews from patients or clients. You can also get great reviews from your customers posted on those directory sites, which increases your credibility and also helps with your search rankings. After a service, prompt for a review.
To learn more about reputation management, we recommend you read this post.
At invigoMEDIA, we provide a report on how to manage your local listings and web presence; furthermore, we can introduce you to tools we use and recommend to manage your online presence with ease.
To learn more, contact us today.
