Whether or not you run your business entirely on the internet, it’s essentially common knowledge these days that a company needs a solid virtual presence in order to thrive in today’s economy. In an online environment, there are a myriad of tactics that brands can use to optimize their business growth. Of course, marketers are always encouraged to experiment with unique practices specific to what they’re selling, but that approach needs to be backed by solid fundamentals. The following five tips can serve to maximize any marketer’s unique campaign.
Use Email Marketing to Your Advantage
Data shows email marketing to be the source of traffic with the highest conversion rate. Marketers can commonly expect a remarkable return of investment for every dollar that they put into their email marketing budget. “Yes, social media is fashionable and we can’t just do without search,” writes Huffington Post contributor William Morrow. “However, email has been proven to be much more important; if your business is yet to embrace email marketing, you’re outdated and are only experiencing a fraction of your growth potential.”
Get Personal
Despite email marketing proving itself as efficient and profitable time and time again, the strength of the medium depends entirely on the efforts contributed by the marketer. The ideal email marketing campaign is informative, interesting, and tastefully personal. “According to data from Marketing Sherpa, personalizing/segmenting your emails can boost your conversion rates by a whopping 208 percent compared to if you use the usual batch-and-blast approach,” offers Morrow. “Most good email marketing services have an analytics and segmentation feature, so you will do well to take advantage of this option.”
Respect Search Engine Optimization
All successful businesses running today know how important it is to stay up-to-date. In today’s virtual commerce world, that means respecting SEO practices (among other things). “Research shows that 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine,” says Morrow. “There’s a reason why Google remains the #1 most visited website in the world today, and your business too can benefit from this. If you’re a small business and you can’t afford to invest in an SEO company, it will be immensely helpful to educate yourself on the best SEO practices.”
Blog Frequently
Most businesses know how important it is to have a blog, but not all brands respect the importance of following a steady blogging schedule. “Getting success from blogging goes beyond just having a blog; you have to be consistent,” writes Morrow. “Simply increasing your blogging frequency can quadruple the number of leads you’re getting from your blogging efforts. Work on your blogging frequency; if possible, publish no less than 16 blog posts every month.”
Form a Funnel
For marketers wondering if there’s a systematic method for converting casual e-visitors to committed consumers, there is — it’s called a marketing funnel. “Most businesses simply pay for visitors and wait for things to happen automatically; with a funnel, each step is systemized,” offers Morrow. “You organize things in such a way that people are gradually directed from stage one to the final stage; eventually, you have a good idea of how many visitors you need to generate to get a certain number of sales. This knowledge makes it easy for you to know how to further promote your business.”The tips outlined above are relatively simple, and they don’t reach their full potential when used alone. When used collectively, however, you’ll find that the culmination of these small actions can make all the difference when it comes to boosting your brand’s expansion and potentially doubling your revenue.
