7 Things You Can Do to Improve
Your Online Marketing Presence
by Bobette Kyle
Increasingly, online marketing is a crucial part of any marketing
plan. Executing the programs in your plan, however, is just as critical.
For many, finding the time is difficult. To make progress, you must
set time aside each day (or other regular time period) for marketing
online. To that end, take a moment right now to block out time for
online marketing over the next six months, beginning today.
Use that time today and over the next six months to execute Internet-
based programs in your plan. No plan yet? No problem. You will, of
course, want to finish your marketing plan so you can refine your
activities, but you can begin improving your online presence
today by doing one
or more of the following ideas:
Volunteer for Online Interviews
Podcasts, Webcasts, blogs, RSS feeds and newsletters (ezines) are
all venues for online interviews or discussions. You'll want
to approach publishers who regularly conduct interviews with
guests
of your caliber,
so finding opportunities will take some research. Do this by
searching general search engines (such as google.com) or directories.
Some
directories
to get you started: podcast.net (podcasts), ezinehub.com (ezines),
sydic8.com (RSS feeds/blogs)
Identify 10 Bloggers in Your Category
Then send them your product as a gift. The idea is to expose
your product to influencers in your category by giving them
an opportunity
to try
it free. If they like it, they may give it a mention in their
blogs. Note that this is a subtle online marketing technique.
The idea
is NOT to advertise to them, ask a favor of them or ask them
to blog
about the product. Choosing to mention (or not mention) your
product should
be solely up to them.
You can find and read blogs by searching blogging directories
such as technorati.com.
Join an Online Network
Online social networks allow you to set up a profile page
and interact with others who have your same professional
interests.
Each caters
to a different type of audience, and there are do's and
don'ts, so you'll want to read about a network before
joining, read
some of
the profiles and learn a particular site's rules before
plunging in. Some
networks to explore: linkedin.com, ryze.com, myspace.com,
orkut.com, friendster.com, tribe.net
Draft a Press Release
First and foremost, the release must be something newsworthy
to the media (if you need ideas, read the article
here: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/pr/NewsAngle.htm).
Also, be sure to include a link to your Website
or blog in
the press
release. Finally, distribute the release through
an online press release service such as PRWeb.com.
Begin Surveying Your Website Visitors
Surveys can help you identify opportunities for improvement.
Since online attention spans are very short,
try asking a single two-part
question such as Fred Reichhold's Ultimate
Question: "On a scale
of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend __________." Fill
in the blank with your Website name (or other relevant
product). To those who reply with a 6 or lower, ask
why not. Most likely you will
see a pattern in the comments that will point to ways
of improving your Website. There are software packages
to help you set up an online
survey. Also, surveymonkey.com is a popular Web interface
for producing online surveys.
Put Your Product's or Company's Creation Story
Online
Or work on conveying one or more of Patrick
Hanlon's 7 Primal Branding pieces online
-- creed, icons,
rituals, sacred words,
nonbelievers
and leaders. According to Hanlon, these
seven pieces form
belief systems that inherently attract
people who want to believe
in a product. Those
people form the communities that surround
successful products and services.
Study Your 5 Closest Competitors' Websites
and Online Marketing Activities
Aside from gaining a better understanding
of trends in your industry, you will
also gain
new insights
into promotional
strategies and
tactics for your own business. As you
research, brainstorm a list of ideas
and use that list to plan a new online
strategy or tactic for your own business.
There you have it - seven ideas for improving
your online marketing presence. Choose
one and get started
today!
About the Author
Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience,
online marketing experience, and a marketing MBA as inspiration for
her writing. You can find her at the Marketing Strategy Thoughts blog
and @BobetteKyle on Twitter. Her LinkedIn profile is here.
Have a nice day!
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