Online marketing. One of the fundamental components of running a successful and thriving business. Online marketing plays a huge role when it comes to getting your business known to a large proportion of the market and highlighting how your products or services can become a solution for problems to potential clients. With the ever growing number of competitors in each respective industry, marketing is as critical to your business as oxygen is to humans. Over exaggeration? Not even in the least.
Think of this scenario, which is what all new business owners encounter. You have just set up your business, irrespective of whether it is a physical store or an online store. You have innovative ideas that have been used as a framework to shape and customise your unique products and services that no other competitor offers. Basically, you have a lot to offer to your clients through your business. Although the Internet is an absolute gem when it comes to discovering new shops, stores, ideas and anything else that can be useful in our day to day lives, it is still not going to magically show us newly developed businesses. That’s where the power of online marketing kicks in.
Online marketing basically acts as an oversized virtual megaphone that is specifically designed to reach out to who you want, in other words, your target audience. Without devising an online marketing strategy, your business will only continue to look pretty without being noticed by the masses. And really, who wants that? Now, the thing about online marketing is that it must be current, adaptive and highly relatable to the times. That is, depending on your target audience, the style and method of online marketing must be carefully selected in order to accurately reach specific potential clients who may be actually looking for what your business has to offer. Although many, if not all, businesses are fully aware of the advantages of online marketing, there is a common misconception that once your marketing strategies have been put into place, they are there to stay.
Many of our clients at MLK Marketing often ask us whether their current online marketing plan will be something that is implemented throughout the life of their business. The short answer to such questions is usually something along the lines of “no”. This is because online marketing harnesses the power of the online business world, and therefore must transform along with it in order to provide you with the best results that consistently work to increase your sales and profits. It is for this reason that your online marketing strategy needs a jumpstart every once in awhile. Changing up your current online marketing strategy can vary between having slight tweaks and changes done to it, or completely starting from scratch and implementing fresh online marketing strategies that have never been utilised by your business before. Whatever the change, be sure that it is completely necessary.
The purpose of this article is to clear the air for anyone who is sitting on the fence when it comes to whether or not they should re jig their online marketing strategy for their business. MLK Marketing takes a closer look into the signs that are telling you that your business is in need of an online marketing revamp.
1. You Don’t Have Your Target Audience Well Thought Out.
Prior to launching your business, you need to carefully consider who your target audience will be. That is, identify a specific proportion of the market that will be interested in the content, products or services that your business provides. Keeping your target audience too broad or general will often only lead to poor results, with too much time, money and energy spent on your online marketing efforts. For example, if you have set up an online shoe store for women, your main focus will be to target women within a specific age range. If your online marketing strategy does not narrow down the focus and targets irrelevent populations such as males, it is clear that your online marketing strategy is in need of some serious re-calibration. Simple, specific and smooth audience targeting will always deliver better results than broad, inaccurate and irrelevant marketing techniques.
Some main questions you need to ask yourself to determine your target audience includes who will be likely to buy my product or services? And who would be an ideal type of client? Where will they be located? Local, national or international? What are the hobbies of my potential customers? What is the average income of my clients? Once you have answered such questions and established your target audience, your online marketing strategy should revolve around this specific population and cater to their specific needs and wants to ensure your campaign delivers great results.
2. Your Promoting Your Business The Old School Way.
If this is you, then online marketing may be a completely new ball game to you. Nevertheless, welcome to the field! If you’re still trying to promote and market your business via traditional ways such as newspapers, flyers, and other paper based methods, then you should be hearing the warning alarms as loud as we can. Effective online marketing is always fast paced, current and constantly evolving which is why old school methods such as flyers and newspaper advertisements are no longer as effective as they once were. For example, if you were to ask someone to locate an electrician for you, would they look up the newspaper or a search engine such as Google?
If you answered “Google” then it is apparent that you realise that paper based business promotion is no longer part of any successful marketing strategy, especially online marketing. For more information about the importance of your business being found on the first page of Google, click here. Through the Internet, you are able to reach out to significantly higher volumes of potential clients at a much quicker rate. The take home message? Leave old marketing techniques in the past where they belong.
3. You Are Nowhere To Be Found On Social Media.
Interacting and engaging with your clients on social media is a great way to connect with them on a more personal and meaningful level. This is great for your business as it portrays genuine efforts to talk and share relevant information that is useful to your target audience. Social media is also a great way to reach out to other potential clients that are in need of your products or services meaning a higher level of potential leads and sales for your business.
If you want your social media presence to be strong and effective, then constant interaction via commenting, sharing and posting of content is key. The more activity on your social media accounts, the better (without overwhelming customers, of course!) Create an ideal balance between educational and funny or interesting content in order to maximise engagement with customers and increase relevance between your business and your clients. For more information about how social media can benefit your business, click here.
Authentic and timely interaction with your audience is always the best. If you are sharing interesting, educational, and relevant information with your audience on social media your engagement will be successful. Real and honest interaction with your clients will always be a winner.
4. Your Brand Is Unclear.
The branding of your business is paramount in order to clearly project what your products or services are about. If people have a tough time trying to explain what your business does, then this is a red flag indicating you need a new online marketing strategy. It is important that proper online marketing strategies are put into place in order to accurately and effectively raise awareness of your brand and how it is perceived by your target audience.
Take high end fashion for example. When the brand “Chanel” is talked about, most people with an interest in fashion and labels will know what Chanel is about and what they do straight away. This is the product of successful and clever marketing. When your business is talked about, your brand is what makes your target audience or the general population fully aware of what your business offers, making it a critical component. For an interesting read on how branding can improve your business, click here. Strengthen your brand awareness in order to notice greater results and stay ahead of fierce competition at all times.
MLK Marketing are industry leaders in professional web design, app development, branding, social media management and premium SEO. With the objective to continually reach and exceed customer expectations when it comes to marketing your business online, we strive to cater to all your business needs to make you stand out from the crowd. Our premium SEO packages that are specifically designed to get your website catapulted to the front pages of prominent search engines including Google are suitable for any size business and are second to none in the field. With an impressive portfolio, MLK Marketing know how to design your website with skilled and experienced website designers and developers who are dedicated and driven by excellence. Contact MLK Marketing today on 1300 720 032 for more information.
