Online Marketing Tactics That Work
We all know that online marketing reigns supreme. You can easily become overwhelmed when considering all of the available kinds of online marketing tactics you can use. It’s become important to ask which online marketing strategies actually work?
To stay competitive in the online marketing world of 2020, there are some key areas you should focus on.
While you’ve certainly heard about these tactics before, what do you need to know to use each one effectively? How much do you already know and what are you currently using in your marketing strategy?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
This is one of the most important online marketing strategies, despite its complexity and difficulty. You may find yourself relying on shifting Google algorithm. In the beginning, you need to understand how SEO works as you try to help your own rankings.
SEO is the process of implementing measures to help websites rank highly on Google’s search engine results pages or SERPs. The point of this is because a majority of Google users don’t move beyond the first page of results. The first page is a coveted spot that many businesses are vying for.
You can bid for this spot by improving your own SEO. Ways to do this include creating original and high-value content as well as growing organic searches for your brand. You could also consider PPC as a way of boosting your ranking through paid search.
Online Marketing: Social Media
You’ve probably already tried your hand at social media marketing, but what should you be doing to make this strategy more effective and engaging than ever before?
To successfully capture audiences, you might try using automation to post your content at the perfect time so that your audience reads your posts. For instance, you could Hootsuite or other content schedule software to reach users in specific time zones and with specific posts.
You’ll want to start curating content and including user-generated content from customers to show off your customers and their positive experience of your brand.
Start off with one social network and grow steadily from there – you don’t want to spread yourself too thin and bore your customers with endless promotions. The network you should start with is not necessarily the platform with the most users but it should be the place where your target audience spends the most time.
You’ll want to research how you can serve your audience on their designated social media platform. For instance, Youtube can be entertaining and educational, while Facebook is more about funny content that can be shared between friends and family. Twitter is good for news and time-sensitive content.
Online Marketing: Creating Content
In today’s fast-paced world, you should spend time and resources on crafting content that solves problems and remains optimistic. Using shady SEO tactics isn’t the best way to improve your SEO – it’s actually through genuine, insightful and original content that you can make about your business.
Some areas to focus on within the category of content marketing include mobile content, influencer marketing, automation for content scheduling and native advertising. Remember that mobile devices make up around 50% of all global devices – so don’t second guess the idea of mobile content!
Automation and scheduling can help your content be seen by the right people at the perfect time.
Remarketing
We’re all familiar with the scenario of a shopper abandoning their cart on an online store. Remarketing is the strategy of going after people who did not respond to your ad the first time, or who may have abandoned carts. This works by tracking your web traffic through cookies and creating new ads on associated websites.
You can also create original ads that target prospective buyers. The benefit to using remarketing is staying engaged with leavers or potential leads and can aid in brand awareness and conversions. It’s also a chance to gain some customers from your competitors if you are smart in your strategy.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an indispensable tool that is used for generating a large number of leads very quickly. It can also help in increasing sales and your conversation rate.
It’s also one of the most affordable online marketing methods out there – it can even be free if you don’t outsource your email marketing services. Mailchimp is one of the most popular platforms for distributing campaigns, and you can set up a free account with them when you sign up – so you don’t have to commit to any subscription models just yet.
Email marketing is easily combined with other forms of media, making it one of the most integrated marketing methods. Things you can integrate include social media sharing icons, referrals and reward systems.
Video Marketing
We’re moving toward a more visual culture than before, as we’re attracted to still and moving digital imagery. Video is one of the media that is gaining serious momentum in the world of online marketing.
In a recent survey, 87% of online marketers used video content because it is the preferred medium of advertising for consumers. This doesn’t mean you need to produce feature-length films or documentaries; even an on-brand 10-second Facebook story or viral GIF can help you with brand awareness.
The mass global popularity of YouTube and now, TikTok has undoubtedly caused a shift towards video. However, your video needs to be compelling and interesting. It needs to address the pain points of your customers and needs to have a human touch.
Pay-per-click (PPC)
This is another powerful and cost-effective online marketing strategy that you should consider. PPC is a form of paid advertising that uses keyword bidding. These keywords are places where you want your ads to show up. This is typically on a search engine with specific keywords that relate to your business. Your ads can appear in a variety of places on the page, and you’re paying for increased web traffic.
PPC includes search engines like Google, as well as on social media pages like Facebook and Youtube. You can even advertise in apps or other networks, like Google Shopping. Google Shopping is a good place to start with as their listings are now free.
For new businesses, PPC can help your company kick-start your organic search results. The key is that you should be moving closer and closer to the first page of Google’s results page.
Google handles more than 60,000 searches every second. As such, you can expect a large return on investment (ROI) by using PPC. However, don’t be fooled into thinking this is a sole strategy. There’s no reason not to combine multiple online marketing tactics. It can also become costly to only rely on PPC as you’ll be paying for every click.
Other tactics
There are too many other tactics to list, but you could also consider trying out influencer marketing with the right influencer for your industry, as well as changing your website and landing pages to be more responsive by conducting many A/B tests. New technologies that could take off include voice search optimisation, marketing automation and more!
Online Marketing: Conclusion
If you follow any of our main steps, you’ll be setting yourself up to start on a high note in the world of online marketing. You can expect e-commerce to grow in the current economic climate.
Don’t be afraid to consult with an expert if you’re feeling stuck – you don’t have to suffer in silence. As always, ShoppingFeeder is your go-to multichannel marketing expert and can help out with any e-commerce marketing needs you may have.
