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When Marketing Online, Social Media is Only
One Piece of the Puzzle
By Christine Gallagher
With social media fever running at an all-time high, it's easy
for people to lose sight of the fact that these tools are only
one part of an overall online marketing strategy.
While Tweeting, Facebooking and the like are fantastic
methods, they are not the only game in town. For best results,
you will want to have a varied mix of marketing tools in play
all at once.
However, it is worth mentioning that before you even start
implementing any marketing strategies, you'll want to be crystal
clear about whom it is you are trying to reach. What is your
niche? Who is your target market and what is it that they want?
What is your message to them? This is a point of "stuckness" for
many clients and it does take work to discover. But once you
have that, reaching them becomes a whole lot easier.
At that point, much of your job centers on driving traffic to
your website or blog so that prospective clients or customers
can find out more. (You DO have a site, don't you?) One of the
best ways to increase the chances that someone will eventually
buy from you is to build an email list. Essentially, you want to
have a way to capture people's email address and first name so
that you may keep in touch with them, build trust, and make
offers in the future. It's a good idea to entice people to
provide their information by offering something in exchange,
such as a free report or email course. Then, keep yourself on
their radar by sending them a weekly or bi-weekly email
newsletter.
Social media is an awesome way to drive traffic and build
your list, but it is only one way. Consider these other
techniques as well (just a few of many):
*Writing and submitting articles to article directories like
Ezinearticles.com
*Commenting on high traffic blogs and forums
*Guest blogging
*Offering free teleseminars
*Being a podcast or internet radio guest
*Utilizing your email signature
*Pay Per Click (Google Adwords)
*Implementing basic Search Engine Optimization on your site
It's beyond the scope of this article, but you should be sure
you are using some form of a launch strategy when you are ready
to begin selling a new service or product. Unfortunately, "if
you build it they will come" does not apply to online
businesses. You need to create an increasing buzz and sense of
excitement about your upcoming offer in order to increase the
chances that people will buy. This is known as the "pre-launch,"
and it can make a huge difference in the number of sales that
you make.
One final area I'll mention is copy. Copywriting is a great
skill to learn in order to make your sales pages really
effective. Your words matter and they can have a tremendous
effect on a person who is considering purchasing from you. There
are plenty of resources available to learn about this, and you
don't have to become a master of it. Knowing and using a few key
techniques can go a long way.
So, be a well-rounded marketer. Use sites like Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube along with the other strategies
I've suggested and the results you are looking for--more
traffic, more subscribers, more clients, more sales and more
money--will certainly follow.
Christine Gallagher, MLS, MSIS, founder of
CommunicateValue.com, teaches small business owners and
professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online
and social media marketing to increase business and maximize
profits. For FREE tips on how to build profitable relationships,
leverage technology and create your own successful online
business, visit
http://CommunicateValue.com
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