Just a few years back, being found on the web was much simpler when search engines didn’t run the show. However, with the emergence of players like Google, the search game took a dramatic turn. Today, being at the top of these search engines is vital for your business to be noticed by people.
There surely are other effective ways that can boost your online presence. If you don’t expect overnight success and are willing to put in the right effort, you will see positive results sooner or later. Following are some of the most effective online marketing methods.
Blogging
A well-maintained blog in your niche builds your authority. It helps you attract more customers and also gain attention from media and other business owners. Google also favors a quality blog that is regularly updated with relevant and valuable content.
Use platforms like Medium and Quora
Create a high-quality and high-value article on your website. Then write another one on Medium or Quora and provide a link with primary or relevant keywords to the original article. This helps attract audiences by cashing in on the authority of these platforms and boosts your site’s Google rankings too.
Use LinkedIn groups
Make sure that you add some value to the ongoing discussions on LinkedIn groups before putting in links for your website. You can message people outside your connections to widen your scope. Remaining active and visible enough to command the attention of relevant people is the key.
Facebook ads and landing pages
Facebook ads is a great way to target audiences based on their interest, location, age, marital status, etc. and send them to strategically-targeted landing or “squeeze” pages. It takes time and some experimentation but once you find strategies that bring results, you can keep scaling for more.
Use Instagram
You can use the enormous followings of other power users and influencers on Instagram to leverage your own online visibility. Though it’s not free, selecting the right Instagram influencer will help you a large number of audiences in your niche.
YouTube video tutorials
Create valuable YouTube video tutorials. You can use screen-sharing or show real-life examples to teach people about almost anything. Make sure that the videos are high-quality. And put a backlink to your website in the description.
Email marketing
To get people’s emails, provide something of value for free – like a free report or ebook. Then you can use an email marketing system like Aweber, Constant Contact, Get Response or Mailchimp, etc. to build a relationship with these people before you sending them deals and offers.
Use Yelp and Trust Pilot
You can use online review sites like Yelp and Trust Pilot to build up trust with potential customers. These sites help consumers make an informed decision about buying products or services from a company. People have access to past customer reviews to assess the credibility of these businesses.
Rich snippets, AMP and FBIA
Rich snippets, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and Facebook Instant Articles (FBIA) are excellent tools for online marketing. Rich snippets are applicable to articles through AMP specification, local businesses, TV, music, movies, videos, recipes, reviews, etc. You can use WordPress plugins for them. Using these tools will boost your visibility on SERPs and Facebook newsfeeds.
Partner with popular bloggers in your niche
Find popular bloggers in your niche and propose to offer something of value to their blog. Guest blogging is a great way to do this. You will need to take the initiative and reach out to them, but once you get your foot in the door, you will have a great way to market your own business through them.
Contribute to forums in your industry
Join forums in your niche industry. Build trust by making genuine efforts to help by sharing your knowledge. Only then add your website link to your signature. Soon people will notice you and want to know more about you. Never spam links. It will only backfire.
Offer something free
Giving away a free trial version of your product or offering free consultation are great ways to attract more people. Make sure to get their contact details to keep in touch with them.
Use business listing sites
List your business on Yahoo Local or Google Local if you target local customers or offer location specific services. Share information about your location, business hours and contact details with Google Maps appearances on them.
Optimize your site for search engines
On-and Off-page SEO is important. Some important factors include content quality, usability, mobile responsiveness, speed, Meta description, link profile and so on.
Co-sponsor an award or contest
Find a like-minded company, group or professional in your field using social networking sites like Facebook or LinkedIn and co-sponsor an award or giveaway to grab favorable public attention.
Use public speaking
Use your authority status to offer talks at professional conferences or on podcasts and webinars. This will help selling your products or services, will further build your authority and add a feather to your portfolio or resume as a professional speaker.
Use press releases
Though press releases won’t give instant media coverage, they are a great way to share news about important company events which can be used for media coverage later using adequate PR channels.
Create a branded email signature
Create a branded email signature with links and special accomplishments of your company. Create a catchy tagline and add social media links with links to important marketing or news features.
Use the 80-20 rule
Focus efforts on those 20 percent activities that bring 80 percent results. Increase your communication and offer additional discounts to clients that are more ‘promising’.
Use photo sharing sites
Post photos on sites like Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, etc. using proper hashtags and descriptions and follow others using the same hashtags. Keep up your engagement by commenting, liking and sharing other’s posts. Keep posting with patience and diligence and you will reap the rewards.
Conclusion:
These are some of the most effective ways to market your business online. Some of them will produce results in matter of weeks while some may take months or even years. However, if you keep working on them persistently, they will help you improve your brand’s visibility, popularity and authority online.
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- 20 Ways to Market Your Startup Business Online - April 14, 2017
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