Traditional "outbound" marketing tactics that dominated the pre-Google world are now alarmingly ineffective.
We all have the power to filter out advertising and we're not afraid to use it.
The customer is in control. The communications process begins if and when the customer wants. Without advertising. Without phone calls. Without you.
Instead of pushing out messages via paid media, to reach this customer, you must put the power of content marketing, search, and social media to work.
The relationship with your brand begins there. To be an effective marketer, you have to do a complete 180. The strategy is to pull people to your website with magnetic content.
You must think "inbound." You must put the power of pull to work.
Here's the plan for effective online marketing.
Define objectives:
Begin with the end in mind. Get sales and marketing to agree what that is then get to work achieving it.
Create a sharp website:
If you think your site is for seeing, you're thinking too small. Power your online marketing with a website that captures leads.
Get a highly useful series of effective tips by downloading "21 Pointers to Sharpen Your Website."
Offer content:
Develop and promote the useful information assets your prospective customers seek.
Project your personality:
Most websites are dreadfully dull. Regardless of what your company sells, make the website experience fun, memorable and share-worthy.
Optimize with less obvious keywords:
Get someone who's SEO savvy on your team to carefully select effective keywords. It's highly unlikely they are the terms you think.
Become your market's best blogger:
Robust blogs generate robust traffic and serve as your primary vehicle for establishing authority in your niche. If you want to increase traffic to your website, blogging is not optional.
Create a content marketing machine:
Regardless of the size of your company, put a team together capable of contributing valuable content to your blog and expanding your messages across the spectrum of digital media.
Retool and repurpose:
Think ahead when planning your editorial calendar with the idea of repurposing content. Developing a highly informative eBook is an ideal tactic to cash in on this strategy. I explained this in detail in my article "The eBook is the Stud in Your Content Marketing Stable."
Connect with social media:
Expand your reach and influence by (1) making your content easy to share and (2) sharing it yourself via the social media your customers use.
Expand your audience:
Publish content on popular websites with links that lead to yours (like I'm doing here). Backlinks are vital to your online marketing success.
Create compelling offers:
You need to find out who visited your site. Give vistors a compelling reason to give you their email address in exchange for insightful "how to" content.
Use no-frills landing pages:
Create simple, bare-bone pages dedicated to capturing leads. Eliminate distractions and avoid lengthy forms.
Send smart email:
When you gain permission to send your prospects and customers email, do so at regular intervals and feature additional offers and links to your new content.
Call for action:
Help your customers buy smart. Show them the way through the research, consideration, and sales cycle with "click here" instructions that can't me missed.
Foster word of mouth:
Take advantage of the most powerful form of advertising by making it easy and gratifying for your customers to share your branded content.
Embrace analytics:
Work with a pro who knows how to establish performance indicators for effective online marketing. Analyze your metrics and refine your content accordingly.
The end...
It doesn't exist in online marketing. Keep at it.
Don't print this article. And don't go anywhere, but here now. Download the free eBook, "The Plan to Grow Your Business With Effective Online Marketing."