When it comes to marketing your business online, it doesn’t matter whether you are a small local craft shop or a global business standing the test of time, the way we advertise and the way consumers look at our products or services is constantly shifting.
So we need to be constantly aware of what is going on in the digital marketing scene so that we can continue to do what we do and to continue to be seen.
Looking ahead towards 2019, we are seeing some changes in the way consumers are viewing advertisements and how they are reacting to them. People are constantly connected and as a result, are more clued up towards gimmicky and flashy ads that they see thousands of times a day.
In this article, we will look at a few of the top marketing strategies that you should currently be employing in your business and we will also take a look at what is trending for 2019 giving you a head start in shaping your next year.
What is an Internet Marketing Strategy?
You strategically market your business by putting in place a plan of action to promote, advertise and sell your service or products to people.
By understanding whom your target audience is, that is, who you are trying to sell your product or service to, you have taken the first step in implementing a strategic internet marketing plan.
Perhaps you want to advertise to other businesses (business to business or B2B marketing) or maybe your customers are the general public. In this case, you must consider the age group and gender among other factors to define your target audience.
Top Tip 1: Search Engine Marketing
This boils down to two subcategories, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Pay per Click (PPC) Marketing.
SEO is organic and allows for your company’s website to be on the list of search engine results. It is advised not to rely on SEO as your only marketing strategy, but you shouldn’t pass up on putting some effort into it either, as Google, Bing or Yahoo searches can still bring in massive amounts of leads and traffic to your site.
Your ranking within a search engine result is deemed by a number of factors, including what you keywords you place in your description and meta-tags on your website, your social media activity guest blog posts and such.
Pay per Click advertising such as Google’s Adwords involves you paying for your website to be displayed alongside an organic search engine results.
Other PPC advertising strategies include the very popular Facebook Ads, which is still one of the best ways to gain leads available with a ton of marketing information available on the billion people active every day.
Top Tip 2: Contests, Vouchers and Giveaways
Everybody loves to win. It is irresistible to enter a free draw and much more appealing to enter an online store or business with a voucher code in hand.
An epic way to see an increase in leads, customers and traffic are to advertise a voucher, offering 10% off, free shipping or a buy one get two deal, or to run a contest or giveaway to get involvement, shares and traffic through to your website.
Not only do contests give you loads of consumer data to use, but your consumers also market for your business and you can increase your fan base tenfold.
Top Tip 3: Be Active on Social Media
Not only should you reply to any comments that you receive on your Instagram, Facebook or Twitter accounts, increasing public likeability and engaging with your customers, but it is worthwhile maintaining a blog as well.
The more active you are on your blog and on social media, the more often you are able to post new keywords. This enables search engines to find and display your website more often, which we spoke about earlier with SEO.
Your blog can also gather a sort of a cult following, where you can offer advice, share what you know and really get to know who your target audience is.
Looking Ahead:
Digital Marketing sees trends rise and fall as consumers change the way they connect with each other on an online platform. Looking ahead, we can see a few trends that are to shape how we market online for 2019.
Video Marketing.
You yourself probably feel like you are watching more videos these days as you stroll through the net and your attention is called to something. Watching videos is more fun than reading an article and this new opportunity to reach and engage with customers is growing terrifically.
Thanks to a survey from Wyzowl, 99% of businesses who use videos say they will use them again, and 85% of businesses regarding video marketing as an important part of their marketing strategy. Get on board and don’t be left behind.
Internet video traffic will become a huge percentage of all consumer internet traffic in 2019. Live streams, in particular, are extremely popular and there is a lot of evidence pointing to a higher retention rate of live videos over pre-recorded ones.
Authenticity
Not exactly new, but in the world of marketing automation and chatbots, it is so easy to forget who it is we are actually trying to sell to real people. One of the best ways to market your business, and a definite growing trend as consumers are demanding it, is authenticity.
According to a review by Stackla, 86% of customers said that authenticity greatly influences their decision on what brands they like and support.
This is a huge percentage of people who want to feel like they are dealing with real people, not just another big business or brand. Take that into account when considering your marketing strategy for 2019.
With a strong online marketing strategy, you will help to grow your business and see more traffic to your site, more customers, more leads and connections and in the end, more sales. By taking into account the above tips your internet marketing plan can be your key to future and substantial success.
