When we talk about internet marketing, it might surprise you to know that there are many types from which you can choose. Many of you may already be familiar with article marketing from a previous blog post that we did. But there’s a whole big sea of methods you can use for successful web marketing. You can use one method or several to take full advantage of the various promotion options for your services or products.

According to Wikipedia, “Internet marketing ties together the creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising and sales.” Also known as web marketing, online marketing, webvertising or e-marketing, the broadness of types is extensive:

• Display advertising
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Social media marketing
• Email marketing
• Referral marketing
• Affiliate marketing
• Inbound marketing
• Video marketing
• Mobile marketing

That means there are many ways you can enhance visibility for your services and products. Twelve Oaks Group has already touched on some of these, so we’ll be careful to not tread where we have been before. We’re only going to touch on those that we feel a small business or local government agency might want to tackle first.

“By 2016, advertisers will spend $77 billion on interactive marketing — as much as they do on television today. Search marketing, display advertising, mobile marketing, email marketing, and social media will grow to 26% of all advertising spend as they are embedded in the marketing mix.” (Forrester, August 24, 2011)

Display Advertising

You might have heard the term banners mentioned before and the importance of displaying banners next to your written content on your web pages, in your emails or even internet messaging (IM) applications. These banners come in all sorts of sizes and shapes and can utilize text, logos, images and, quickly becoming more popular, rich media that can have audio, video and more. Display advertising is just like your newspaper and magazine ads and your TV commercials — only in an online environment.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

SEM is what you do in the way of marketing that places your website higher in ranking on the major search engines like Google, Bing, Ask, Yahoo! and any other search engine that is out there on the Web. By getting higher placement in these engines, the likelihood of visitors coming to your site increases tenfold.

One of the most popular types of search engine marketing is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Simply, SEO is trying to “figure out” how search engines work. What search terms or keywords do individuals type into the search bar? What are they looking for?

The major applications where you want to consider utilizing SEM are social media marketing, email marketing, referral marketing and content marketing.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a very low cost way to promote your business. Not only does it allow you to target the group you want to focus on, but it can be used very effectively with other types of internet marketing to drive direct sales and build relationships, loyalty and trust. Email marketing allows you to either use cold lists (ones that you have not had any interaction with previously) or your own customers — previous, potential or current.

Okay, so are you still with me? I’m going to quickly mention 2 more types of marketing that a small business can focus on. Both of these are catching on like wildfire.

Video Marketing

You’ve heard of YouTube, haven’t you? Making and using videos is not as expensive as one might think. Videos can be used both as a training tool to teach someone how to do something, as well as a tool to advertise. You can then upload your videos to YouTube where you have a prime opportunity to cash in on a brand new avenue of internet marketing. Why is video marketing useful? It’s been shown time and again that people don’t remember text content as well as seeing a visual.

Small businesses are just now beginning to realize the open field of opportunity in tying video marketing in with our last type of internet marketing — mobile marketing.

Mobile Marketing

That cell phone you have can be a powerful tool to use for advertising. Just think – it’s been said that there are at least 5 out of every 6 homes that probably have a cell phone. Now think about this — it’s also been said that mobile marketing can be 3-5 times more effective than online marketing. Those are mighty telling statistics, wouldn’t you think?

There’s no doubt about it. internet marketing can pave the way to success for small business. You can choose one type or combine multiple types, and Twelve Oaks Group has the web design and consulting services that can help you succeed. Why not contact us so we can sit down together and develop a customized internet marketing strategy for your business today!

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Nathan

Nathan Reed is a spastic online entrepreneur. Since 1997, Nathan has developed online solutions for non-profits, small business, and local governments. Nathan is the owner and founder of the Twelve Oaks Group.

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Now that you have a small business or home-based business, how are you going to achieve success. What can you do right now that will give your small business a competitive edge? Keep your eyes on these 6 guidelines!

1.      Website

You do not need an exorbitant amount of money to have a website. As a matter of fact, you are far better off (in my opinion) to not have a website that is too complicated-looking with a surplus of widgets plastered all over. No, having a website that is pleasing to the eye will go much further to bring in clients.

2.      Social Media

Social media has become a useful advertising, networking, and communications resource for small businesses. That includes such sites as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest is starting to catch on.

3.      Search Engine Presence

Small and home-based businesses can create a strong Google presence using the same search engine optimization (SEO) tactics that the big box stores use. There are a variety of methods you can use to do this. One of the best ways is through the use of keywords that relate to your website. Whenever you use article marketing, you want to use your keywords and have those keywords apply to how people will “search” for you in not only Google, but other search engines as well.

Another excellent way to become highly rated in Google specifically is through their Google Adwords Pay Per Click (PPC) internet advertising.  For small businesses that are on a limited budget, this is an ideal way to advertise within the confines of what you can spend. You basically just create your ads with the keywords and content that you want to use, your ads get displayed on Google, and your ad magnetizes customers to your site. Of course, it’s not quite that easy, but it really is an excellent program.

4.      Website Tracking

Knowing who is visiting your website and what they are looking for is all part of successful visitor tracking. Many businesses strictly rely on Google Analytics to gauge the overall success of the marketing campaigns. Twelve Oaks Group, however, prefers to take it two steps further by utilizing additional tracking sites to get a good temperature as to the well-being of our marketing techniques.

5.      Offering Discounts

Offering discounts can be a powerful lure to the customers out on the Internet. If they have clicked on one of your ads and actually ventured over to your site, why not reward them by offering them a discount or premium? For those of you that do eCommerce, offering them a

percentage off an item can encourage those would-be shoppers to actually shop around.

Offering discounts or coupons are gaining increasing popularity in the small business world. Many of those discounts often turn out to be just the enticement customers need to stay on your site awhile — and buy more!

6.      Local Search Marketing

If you are not being active on Yelp, it IS costing you money. It’s not just Yelp either. You should participate in local search marketing in order to increase visibility for your website and your brand. Recently, reports have been seen by the staff at Twelve Oaks Group that indicate that 73% of all internet searches are for local services or goods. To me, that spells out a strong reason for taking advantage of local search marketing while the iron is hot.

What I’ve offered above are just a few guidelines you can use to propel your small business on the road to success. Twelve Oaks Group has many more tips that we’ll be sharing with you in the near future. Are you ready?

Pam

Pam Lokker is a master writer and proficient virtual assistant, as well as being Co-owner of Borlok Virtual Assistants.

In addition, Pam is Customer Service and Content Manager for the Twelve Oaks Group.

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By now, I am sure you have heard of article marketing, right? Twelve Oaks Group saw something on the Internet the other day, so I thought I’d break down that article for you. Here is the nitty, gritty about what and why article marketing is important to Small Business.

What the heck IS article marketing?

Well, let’s say you write several articles and upload them to the Internet by submitting them to different article directories, or perhaps you outsource the writing and submitting of them to a freelancer. Article marketing is a form of advertising for your small business and is very effective for driving customers to your website.

According to Phil Stone, Internet Marketing Success Coach, in his article, “What is Article Marketing,” he indicates that there are actually three types of articles that can be used to drive that traffic:

• Articles for blog or web site posts
• Articles as press releases
• Articles sent to article submission sites

Combining these three tactics together provides small businesses with a very effective internet marketing strategy that can propel their business to increased traffic — and therefore, increased sales.

Why is Article Marketing Important to Small Business?

There are actually many benefits to article marketing; however, we’ll break it down to the 3 top reasons as to why article marketing is important to small business. Let’s take a look at what they are:

1. Visibility – Using the 3 different types of articles gives you a lot of visibility as more and more businesses read your articles. Think about it. Prior to purchasing products and services from a small business, potential customers want information on that particular product or service, right? This sets you up to being a subject matter expert. They don’t want to deal with someone that is not knowledgeable about what they wish to buy.
2. Brand Recognition – Building brand recognition takes elbow grease and time. Nothing worthwhile will ever happen overnight but you can do it. By using articles, more and more customers are going to begin to know your brand. The key to your success will depend on YOU making your content and expertise available to them where they can enjoy it in their own time.
3. Profitability – There are two sides to this. One side of the coin is that you won’t have any large expenses to worry about. As a matter of fact, you can publish articles (yes, including press releases) at many sites for free. Using this form of internet marketing can also attract additional revenue to your bottom line because it will increase your opportunities for sales. Article marketing can be used by any size business — large or small — Business to Consumer (B2C), Business to Business (B2B) or Business to Government (B2G) – nationwide or global. Article marketing can prove to be an effective source of additional income to your business for years to come and be a source of potential customers for life.

Twelve Oaks Group has lots of web services and internet marketing ideas that you can use for your small business. We’d love for you to give us a call at (731) 337-4330.

Pam

Pam Lokker is a master writer and proficient virtual assistant, as well as being Co-owner of Borlok Virtual Assistants.

In addition, Pam is Customer Service and Content Manager for the Twelve Oaks Group.

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