Top Online Marketing Formats You Need To Master

Regardless of whether you are part of a corporate entity or an entrepreneur running your own business, outreach and brand recognition are key to the success of your ventures. Businesses are constantly looking to expand the outreach and enhance the visibility of their products and services, and these needs have resulted in marketing firms mushrooming all over the world, and digital marketing and design becoming one of the biggest profit-making businesses of today.

There are a myriad of advertising and brand marketing strategies currently in use, and many more new and exciting methods are being developed by marketing firms everyday. Realising the pervasiveness of information technology and the impact of digital disruptions across all industries, many business owners are now embracing online and digital marketing and design techniques to draw in new customers while ensuring the loyalty of existing ones.

Online marketing is naturally becoming an increasingly popular brand marketing strategy among corporate and individual businesses alike, owing to the changing way in which information is consumed by society, and the faster pace of life to which many have becomes accustomed. This shift to the digital realm has put a damper on the profit margins of traditional marketing firms, forcing many to embrace the digital revolution and rise of online and digital marketing and design.

Online marketing has proved to be an efficient and cost-effective method to give businesses that much-needed boost in terms of brand recognition and sales. In this article, we take a look at five online marketing strategies favoured by businesses.

  1. Spreading the word through social media

It would not be remiss to say that social media platforms are society’s preferred medium of communication and a key source of information for many. According to the Digital in 2017 report recently released by social media management platform Hootsuite and UK-based consultancy We Are Social Ltd, the percentage of internet users around the world grew by 10%, or an additional 354 million people, while the percentage of active social media users jumped to 21%, or an additional 482 million, in 2016. Therefore, it makes perfect sense for every forward-thinking entrepreneur and corporate organisation to get on board with social media and develop a strong online presence.

Facebook is a firm favourite among businesses who wish to connect with their clients and customers. For example, businesses often use Facebook to inform the public of their opening hours, latest product/service offerings and other pertinent information such as company events and updates. Many businesses also employ social media managers to attend to customer enquiries and offer real-time support through the chat function.

Twitter also provides businesses with an avenue to reach out to clients and customers through tweets. Having a well-managed online presence is an effective brand marketing strategy, ensuring strong support from existing customers while creating new customer bases. The information shared by social media users about your brand, product and service strongly influences public perception – people would be more inclined to select your product or service if they see positive sentiments on your social media page, so maintaining a good reputation on social media is imperative for a successful business.

  1. A great website = Strong branding

A key digital marketing strategy employed by most businesses today is to have a business website. The website functions as the base for all online marketing efforts, and provides businesses with an avenue to share information and updates on their products and services. Beauty and fashion retailers, specifically, tend to gain extra mileage in brand recognition by posting attractive and attention-grabbing images and videos of their products and services. Just as it’s easier for a diner to select their choice of meal from a menu with pictures, likewise, it helps when customers can see pictures of products on offer in a company website.

It is also important that the website is user-friendly and search-engine optimised, enabling potential users to find it. Most company websites have a landing page – the first page that users see when they click on the website’s link – which usually contains the company’s online advertisements, social media links and latest updates. An attractive and easy-to-use website will ensure that customers regularly use it as a base to obtain pertinent information about the company.

Source: Mediasolutions.mk

  1. Going back to basics with email marketing

Email marketing can be employed by businesses as the perfect complement to their online marketing efforts. Apart from having an attractive website and a thriving social media presence, a solid email contact list will give businesses yet another avenue with which to connect with existing customers and potential clients. This online marketing method seeks out the customers and clients who do not use social media or visit company websites regularly, giving them up-to-date information about a company’s products and services, which is accessible at their own time.

Companies can make use of mass emailing services such as MailChimp to ensure that their customers receive timely, relevant and pertinent information and updates. Email marketing is direct, yet subtle and personalised, giving it a real advantage in driving sales. It is also a popular online marketing method because when customers respond to these emails and subsequently make a purchase, businesses are able to pinpoint the exact individuals that responded, allowing them to develop future sales content that is customised for these individuals.

  1. Vying for attention with video marketing

Traditional video marketing comes in the form of a standard TV commercial, which most TV viewers would have seen and experienced at some point in time. In this digital age, however, video marketing has been revamped and reimagined to cater to the younger generation, and is now consumed over an additional medium – the internet. Video platform, YouTube is arguably the second-largest search engine after Google, and its popularity has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in 2005. Forward-thinking businesses have been quick to capitalise on the ubiquity of YouTube by making it a key online marketing tool. The popularity of video marketing could be attributed to its ability to deliver key messages in a fun and engaging manner, and in the shortest possible time.

These attributes fit in perfectly with the millennial generation, who are used to having information at their fingertips. Video marketing is also incredibly social, making it the right online marketing tool for this digital era. In general, video marketing can effectively convey the intended message to the target segment, and appeal to the target audience right from the get go. For this digital marketing strategy to be effective, it is imperative to know what makes your target audience tick!

  1. Content marketing: Focusing on what matters

Content marketing is an effective digital marketing strategy that looks to make a big impact on consumers, with the objective of having them publicise the content by sharing and through discussions, and in some instances, culminating in sales of a product featured. The strength of content marketing lies in its ability to illicit a strong response from the consumer, or evoke emotions that range from happiness and sadness to anger and disgust, motivating them to share the content with their friends and family, subsequently generating more discussion and awareness on the content.

Content marketing is instrumental in making a particular subject matter go ‘viral’ – usually an effect of messages that strongly appeals to humanity and is thus disseminated to a large group of people.

Marketing is far from slowing down and with the boom of technology, online marketing has transformed the world of marketing. If you want to succeed nowadays you need to be able to master all 5 of these online marketing formats.

Need more help? Head on over to ThunderQuote to consult with a professional today!

ThunderQuote is the most comprehensive business services portal in Singapore, Australia and ASEAN , where hundreds of thousands of dollars of procurement contracts are sourced every month by major companies like Singapore Press Holdings, National Trade Union Congress and more.

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