Online Marketing 101

The internet is a unique and cost-effective way to market your business if you use the exclusive techniques and applications it offers. It isn't just another place to plaster an ad-campaign, but a place that can truly take your business and profits to the next level. Here are some unique techniques and applications the internet offers to get you started marketing your business online.

Business Website: Your business website is a powerful tool for marketing your business through the internet. Treat it like your best friend and most trusted ally. It isn't just a way for you to put your brochure or catalog in an electronic format. Marketing through your business website is more akin to making a telephone call or having a face to face chat with a client. Your business website is a unique platform for you to give your customers an enriching experience with your business. If you don't have the know-how to put together a business website that truly represents your business and is user-friendly, make the investment to hire a professional who does.
Social Media and Networking: Social media has become a huge outlet for marketing your business online. Word of mouth has always had the highest results per person reached for almost any marketing campaign, but there has never been an effective way to use word of mouth to reach a broad audience without spending endless amounts of time, until now.Social media and social networks take marketing through word of mouth to a whole new level. One tweet or status update about your business can reach hundreds of people who trust the source they've heard it from and drive traffic to your business website. It's still going to take a time investment to make social media work for you, but it can be highly effective and yield phenomenal results.
Web Videos: YouTube and other web video hosting sites receive hundreds of thousands if not millions of hits per day. Use that traffic to the advantage of your business. Sites such as YouTube host videos for free and also offer you the ability to advertise on the most frequented channels. They also offer free self-promotion opportunities such as the ability to email other users, create bulletins, and join or start groups. When a potential client is looking for information in a video format, the first place they'll go is YouTube or a similar web video hosting site, so it would be smart for you to be there.
Marketing through the Blogosphere: Blogging is a marketing phenomenon that has gained importance over the last ten years. Bloggers write about products and businesses they love and ones they don't love, they offer advice and tips, and they link to other bloggers, businesses and products they think may be of value to their readership.They reach a wide audience of those who follow their blogs or those researching the topics they are writing about. In the U.S. today there are almost 150 million blog readers. That's a large audience you could be reaching through blogging for your business, advertising on or sponsoring blogs with high readership, or guest blogging on popular blogs. Attaching a blog that is frequently updated to your business website is a great way for your clients and potential clients to stay connected with your business. Blogs are also a great means to keep your customers up-to-date, offer freebies, and a place to offer information on the business you are in, such as industry news, new technology affecting your business, and advice. The blogosphere is a great place to link up with like-minded individuals and businesses and attract new customers.