There are many aspects that can be part of an Internet marketing strategy. So many, in fact, that getting started can seem overwhelming. But the number of things that must absolutely be part of every company’s online marketing can be condensed to four main areas: your website, content marketing, social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). These set the foundation for any effective Internet marketing strategy.
Your Website – The Foundation of a Good Online Program
Having a website is required for any company that wants to market itself online. It establishes credibility, provides information on your products and services, and is essentially the online “face” of your company. Therefore, your website must offer a good first impression. That is why you should consider hiring a professional to design it and if you want to make periodic updates yourself, the design should include a basic content management system. Your website needs to look professional, be easy to navigate and include essential information, such as complete contact information and an overview of the company, products and services.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is finding or creating and sharing information that people want to know. It is used to attract customers and gain authority and trust. It can be done through articles, blog posts, newsletters, videos, social media and many other ways. You know your business. What do potential customers need or want to know about it or how the industry works? Make a list of these topics, develop or find information on them and share them on your website, in newsletters or through social media.
One way of using content marketing to drive sales is by focusing on a product or service. For example, if you want to sell more heat treated pallets, create content on the benefits of heat treating, how it’s done or how it compares to other methods of pest treatment. If you want to market your ability to design pallets using Best Load ™ or the Pallet Design System ™ (PDS), create content that explains how these programs works or how it can lower shipping costs.
Social Media Marketing
Social media should be part of an online marketing strategy for many reasons. It makes it easier for potential customers to find your company online, allows you to network with other companies in your industry or related industries, provides avenues for content marketing, allows you to easily release real-time information and helps you build humanized relationships with customers.
There are many options in social media. Don’t try to use them all. When starting out, your online marketing strategy should include only one to three social media platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn are the ones businesses most commonly used for business marketing; but others, such as Google+ and YouTube should be considered if they fit better with your overall marketing strategy. When choosing which one(s) to pursue, look at what your competitors and companies in related industries are using effectively with good interaction from customers. For most pallet companies, LinkedIn is a good place to find possible new hires while Twitter, Facebook or YouTube can be good vehicles for getting out your marketing messages to potential customers or partners.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO is simply taking steps to ensure that your company appears near the top of the list of results when they do an online search for words or phrases related to your business. When someone uses an online search engine, such as Google, Yahoo or Bing, to search for something, they usually click on the top several results. So if someone searches for “pallets” in your city you want your company’s website to show up near the top of the list of results.
SEO must be intertwined with your website, content marketing and social media marketing. Search engines rank results based on several things, including relevant keywords, images and content, backlinks from other websites, how many times it is shared on social media and a website that loads quickly. This should be kept in mind as you develop and choose content for the other three areas. Use keywords, phrases and images, providing information on social media that others find interesting enough to share are all ways to improve the search engine rankings for your website.
