Don’t get me wrong, the Internet can be a daunting place for many reasons, but that doesn’t mean not having an Internet marketing plan for your local business is acceptable, especially today.
The Internet is Not Going Anywhere Anytime Soon, so this means that if you own, run or work for a local business and there is no Internet marketing plan in place or there isn’t one currently being built, then its time to get started (or look for a new job).
Traffic Generation Strategies: There must be strategies and mechanisms in place that drive a steady flow of traffic to your website(s) and other Internet properties.
Some great techniques are Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Advertising, Video Marketing, Local Maps Marketing, Social Media and Local Directories. Most importantly, in order for all of these traffic generating strategies to actually work, good target keywords must be properly researched and selected so you can target the right keywords instead of the wrong ones.
If you target the wrong keywords, your campaign will be dead before you even get started.
Converting Traffic — Setting up your website and other online properties to convert traffic to your most wanted response is key. Traffic without conversion is worthless! (Remember, it’s either phone calls, lead forms filled out or a purchase on your website).
Follow Up — This is huge ladies and gents. What does your follow up system look like? What types of information do you want to feed your prospects and how will you get that information across to them?
Community Involvement (Online) — The search engines want to see businesses that not only have strong search engine optimization elements, but they also want to see businesses actually participate in the online community.
It means getting involved and contributing to your community online. This could be in the form of social media marketing through some of the following platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Google+
Look to build relationships with your target audience and get involved in the conversation. If you get involved, people will start to believe you are credible and that you like to give great value to your community online.
Tracking and Analytics — Set up your tracking plan. You MUST TRACK YOUR EFFORTS.
Continued Testing and Optimization — This is for any and all marketing campaigns — current or new. It’s very important to continue to test different strategies. For example, you may get a higher conversion rate when your website colors is red versus blue, or your font is size 14 rather than 12, or different images on your website that elicit different emotions from your website visitors.
All of this stuff matters and to have a plan for continued testing is essential especially when it comes to marketing online.
Have you signed up for your Free 5 Day Video Crash Course on Internet Lead Generation Strategies for Local Businesses that actually work? If you haven’t click here to sign up right now!