What are the online marketing concepts that will provide massive value to your business?
We’ve read through plenty of top 10 and top 12 lists for the year. Just saying the word “tip” invokes an image of some shady character in a back alley yelling out “pssst, over here…”
Even though there are plenty of areas that we’re excited about, whether it’s Google+, or leveraging growth in YouTube opportunities, it’s clear that the market is getting noisy.
Get Back to Basics
In high school, I had a tennis coach that continually stressed that the focus on flashy “cool” shots would not provide an opportunity to win games.
Perfecting a balance of the fundamentals is what makes the difference.
- Prioritize your top products & services – Few businesses can afford to market all their products. Besides, do all you your products and services have enough margin dollars to support specific advertising efforts? There may be strategic opportunities that bring piggyback purchases, but these should be considerations with any online effort. If you’re an appliance store with a refrigerator model that you’re not excited to sell in the store, why would you advertise specifically for this model when your advertising dollars can be used elsewhere?
- Determine where you can win – What’s your niche? Weigh this against your prioritized list.
- Market trends - What products/services will be critical in the next 6-12 months? Are there competitive dynamics that you can take advantage of in the near and longer term?
- Are you interested in dominating? - Isn’t everyone? But, really, are you willing to dominate for a given niche? Be the Big Fish in a Little Pond and use the learnings and winnings to take it to the next level. Consider a budget that will provide solid exposure across this niche.
High Growth Firms use paid search (PPC) 3X more than Average Growth Firms. - Test and Test some more – Set specific online goals (ex. unique visitors, visitors per specific page(s), contact form emails). Search advertising is the ideal environment to test ad copy, keywords, market competitiveness, product/service variations, client geographies, and visitor action time of day.
There are still plenty of tactical considerations and complexity within an online strategy (SEO/Online Optimization, Paid Search, Display Advertising and Social Media)….especially for a local business, but if the basics aren’t covered first, you’ll lose your shirt or quickly give up. Reach out for expertise within your given market. It’s not just about clicks and tweets.
