Marketing
Marketing is an inevitable option in present day world
thanks to the high level of competition we have today. While on a broader
aspect the types of marketing strategies can be divided into online and
offline, these can be subdivided into various different categories which are as
follows:
Internet
Marketing
Marketing through the internet includes several
forms such as email marketing, social media marketing, search engine marketing,
article marketing, viral, affiliate and referral marketing. Each of these forms
of marketing through the internet has their advantages and can be used by
businesses for better reach and target customers.
Offline
Marketing
Making use of billboards, sending newsletters,
placing banner ads and getting listed in the local directories are the
strategies that business owners use to market their businesses offline.
Marketing Events
Large number of potential customers can be reached
through events like trade show marketing. Such events always draw large number
of potential customers who can be wooed into buying certain products or services.
These events work in the favor of the companies as they allow them to
demonstrate their products and service to interested customers.
Content
Marketing
Content in different forms such as articles, videos,
info graphics and informative web pages is another way to market the business
online. Provide high quality, original content, optimizing the website with
relevant keywords.
Web
Branding Marketing
Web marketing does not only mean displaying your
products or services through a website; it is more than that. Small businesses
should make use of techniques like PPC, Google Ad Words, and SEO, participate
in B2B associations and build email lists.
PR
Marketing
Building public relations through press releases,
blogs and forums is another good way to market your small business.
Mobile
Marketing
Mobile marketing is soon becoming the best marketing
option helping to reach a large number of customers. Companies are using
various mobile marketing tactics to send information, promotional offers and
other deals to potential customers. It also includes strategies like SMS
marketing, app marketing, banner marketing, in-game marketing and location
based marketing.
B2B
and B2C Marketing
While B2B marketing is done directly between
businesses, B2C marketing is done through television marketing, door to door
marketing, newspaper marketing and other online marketing methods.
Online Marketing
The internet is the best place to market your
products and services because more and more people are turning to the internet
to search for local products and services. You can ensure a good presence on
the internet by having a website featuring your products and services. You
should get it optimized so that search engines as well as users can easily find
what they are looking for. You can even use social media platforms to gain
attention of users, locally.
Business Directories
Yellow pages and other local business directories
are a good way to market your business locally. These directories are available
with the locals and they provide a good exposure for your business. You can
advertise in the local publications and place ads in the local directories as well.
Word of Mouth Publicity
This method of marketing is the most sought and very
effective as well. If you can please a customer with your service, you have
done half the job. Connect with your customers and ask them to provide reviews
and testimonials which can be very beneficial for your business. You can woo
customers by offering better services, discounts and also use various reward
schemes.
Social
media marketing
More and more people are taking the social media
route to stay in touch with family and friends and therefore, marketers are
finding it beneficial to attract the growing number of social media users.
However, marketing professionals have a tough job in their hands to focus their
attention on ways to increase the conversions for businesses. The following
strategies could help companies to better target and acquire new customers.
A.Engage with Customers
Besides posting daily updates and sharing news,
engage your visitors in conversation. This engagement with the users would make
them take an action such as ‘Like’, ‘Dislike’ ‘share’ , ‘Retweet’ ‘+1’ etc.
which in turn will result in more visibility. Asking questions or polls is a
great way to understand what the users think about your product and/or
services. These feedback provide you an opportunity to improve on
your products and services and develop new strategies.
B.Relevant
and Unique Content
To stay focused in social media marketing, you must
use unique and relevant content that can be shared. Sharing valuable
information and providing a review of that information increases your
credibility and reputation among your fans/followers. Your connections start
growing.
C.Use
Facebook Offers To Attract Leads
Facebook offers are a good way to focus on social
media marketing. These offers can be set from the Facebook page and work
differently compared to Facebook ads. The news feed of Facebook carry these
offers can be targeted towards genuine audience.
D.Engage
Your Email Subscribers
E-mail subscribers can be invited to follow ur
FB page /Interest account. Putting an auto responder will enable u to send offers to new subscribers & keep them engaged. This is
to provide high quality offers & promotions rather than quantity.
E.Connect Through LinkedIn
LinkedIn helps a lot in providing the branding that
a company requires and therefore, it is important to have a LinkedIn page. This
is a must especially if you run a B2B service
