A website without any promotion will almost certainly fail to draw significant amounts of traffic. Similarly, a website that focuses on gimmicks and hyped marketing methods might find they fail to gain traction or only receive occasional spikes of traffic. The reality is most successful businesses are using fundamental marketing tactics that have been proven to work over many years. Of course, it is possible to put a unique twist on a recognized method, but the overall strategy has been built on solid ground. So what are some of the fundamental marketing tactics you should be developing your business around?
Give Away Free Information
Offering a free gift or sample is an old tactic, but it has been made even easier online. The ability to give away free reports, video series, or software with limited costs means you can reach a large audience cheaply. You could also offer quality information in an email series that gradually helps build a relationship with subscribers. If you want to offer physical goods, asking people to cover shipping costs for a low-cost item helps build a database of targeted leads.
Use Analytics to Make Decisions
Most day-to-day decisions can be made intuitively, but there will be a number of choices where you need help. The amount of data available online makes collating statistics easy, though you do need to be able to interpret the information. Anything related to advertising spending, conversion data, and ROI should be looked at with reference to analytics.
Show Personality
Personality has been used for a long time in marketing, helping to create a bond with consumers. Smaller online businesses can benefit from showing a face next to the brand, but larger companies also like to include personalities within their marketing. Understanding your audience makes it easier to create a customer avatar, so you can develop marketing messages that directly address this representative.
Design a Plan
Making changes online is far easier than in the past. This adaptability is a positive thing if your advertising is not producing results and needs improving, but it can lead to constant tinkering. Creating a plan allows you to develop a consistent brand, promoting your business in a way that gradually becomes accepted and acknowledged by your audience. You will certainly need to adapt and improvise in certain circumstances, but the focus and direction of your communications should be based around a broad plan.
Develop Consistency
Consistency is an often overlooked part of successful marketing. Many new businesses introduce a social media, content, or paid advertising plan, but give up if they don’t get immediate results. Instead, work on consistency, looking for gradual gains that add up. For example, a blog is unlikely to have a large immediate following, but each new piece of content can add to the overall readership.
Accept Contributions and Opinions
There are many areas where working with others can have benefits. Your audience can be surveyed to find out how they respond to various marketing messages, while blog or forum comments could provide opportunities to address common questions or concerns. Additionally, it is worth collaborating with other business owners and influencers, helping you reach a different audience with a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Simplify and Streamline
Many online marketing strategies are quick and inexpensive to implement, so this leads to businesses trying many different things. However, marketing plans can get out of control, becoming overly complex and difficult to gauge in terms of response and ROI. It is usually far better to start with a simple and streamlined sales funnel, only adding new channels when you have understood your results. This simplicity can also apply to content where simple and clear language is usually more effective than complexity.
Focusing on marketing fundamentals puts your business in the best position to succeed. It may be necessary to adapt tactics to suit new platforms, but the core principles will typically stay the same. When you come across a new method, consider how it will help your long-term plans, appeal to your core audience, and underpin the principles of your business. While the internet has radically shifted the ways businesses operate, marketing and customer services still remain driven by many of the same ideas that have always worked.
