When it comes to small business marketing, customer preferences and standards are changing every day.
While traditional marketing methods such as billboards, magazine ads, and TV commercials used to serve as reliable methods of attracting new customers, savvy business owners know that online marketing is more important than ever.
Here are three creative ways to best use online marketing to expand your current customer base: 1) Create a Viral Video Many individuals and businesses have found (sometimes to their surprise) that uploading certain videos online can attract national and even international attention.
Therefore, it can't hurt to at least try out viral video marketing.
This does not entail simply making a commercial about your product and uploading it to the internet; try to identify something unique about your business and figure out a way to put a funny or interesting spin on it.
2.
Become an Actual Personality on Twitter Despite what many online marketers think, the best way to use Twitter for your business is not to simply try to target your own customers or potential customers and tell them about what you're trying to sell.
You want to try to give normal Twitter users a reason to follow your business, which generally entails posting Tweets that are either funny or informative on their own, or Tweets that include interesting links.
Many Twitter users who feel that their feed is filled up with advertising will quickly un-follow any accounts responsible for trying to sell their product over Twitter.
However, on the flip side, many potential customers who are unaware of a business or otherwise would have nothing to do with certain businesses still find themselves following their Twitter account because of the quality of their Tweets.
Even this small step can lead to new customers as well as increased customer retention later on.
3.
Participate in Forums Though some internet users believe them to be old fashioned, online forums still attract a widespread user base on an international level.
Best of all, there is a forum out there for almost every topic; from gardeners hoping to share advice about planting flowers to expecting mothers who want to share knowledge with other families, internet forums already split up internet users based on their interests.
Without trying too hard to sell anything, it can be a wise tactic to sign up for internet forums even if only to see what your potential customers are talking about.
Many forums still allow you to include signatures where you can mention your business, or in some cases, include a link back to your website.
Forums also provide a great way to add a personal touch to your small business by interacting with other users one-on-one and engaging in conversation with them.
The most important lesson is to make sure that your online marketing efforts aren't blatant efforts to try to sell your products.
Most people using the internet at any given time are simply individuals browsing the web for their own leisure.
Try not to disrupt this leisure time with too much advertising; participate in the activities that other internet users partake in and learn how to slip in a mention of your business when appropriate.
While traditional marketing methods such as billboards, magazine ads, and TV commercials used to serve as reliable methods of attracting new customers, savvy business owners know that online marketing is more important than ever.
Here are three creative ways to best use online marketing to expand your current customer base: 1) Create a Viral Video Many individuals and businesses have found (sometimes to their surprise) that uploading certain videos online can attract national and even international attention.
Therefore, it can't hurt to at least try out viral video marketing.
This does not entail simply making a commercial about your product and uploading it to the internet; try to identify something unique about your business and figure out a way to put a funny or interesting spin on it.
2.
Become an Actual Personality on Twitter Despite what many online marketers think, the best way to use Twitter for your business is not to simply try to target your own customers or potential customers and tell them about what you're trying to sell.
You want to try to give normal Twitter users a reason to follow your business, which generally entails posting Tweets that are either funny or informative on their own, or Tweets that include interesting links.
Many Twitter users who feel that their feed is filled up with advertising will quickly un-follow any accounts responsible for trying to sell their product over Twitter.
However, on the flip side, many potential customers who are unaware of a business or otherwise would have nothing to do with certain businesses still find themselves following their Twitter account because of the quality of their Tweets.
Even this small step can lead to new customers as well as increased customer retention later on.
3.
Participate in Forums Though some internet users believe them to be old fashioned, online forums still attract a widespread user base on an international level.
Best of all, there is a forum out there for almost every topic; from gardeners hoping to share advice about planting flowers to expecting mothers who want to share knowledge with other families, internet forums already split up internet users based on their interests.
Without trying too hard to sell anything, it can be a wise tactic to sign up for internet forums even if only to see what your potential customers are talking about.
Many forums still allow you to include signatures where you can mention your business, or in some cases, include a link back to your website.
Forums also provide a great way to add a personal touch to your small business by interacting with other users one-on-one and engaging in conversation with them.
The most important lesson is to make sure that your online marketing efforts aren't blatant efforts to try to sell your products.
Most people using the internet at any given time are simply individuals browsing the web for their own leisure.
Try not to disrupt this leisure time with too much advertising; participate in the activities that other internet users partake in and learn how to slip in a mention of your business when appropriate.
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