Regardless if you think of yourself as a salesperson or not, finding new customers online is much easier today with the help of online marketing strategies from social media to search engine optimization. Each online strategy works to drive traffic to your business website. First, however, you need an action plan. Below are some steps to take for building an online strategy.

Market Research

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), learning more about your industry, competitors and customers is important to running a successful business. To do this, you need to do a little market research. This process involves analyzing data to give you an idea of the products and services that are in high demand and how competitive you should be. It also provides valuable insight which will help you to:

• Spot upcoming and existing problems inside your industry
• Reduce your business risks
• Identify opportunities for making sales

Leverage your Business Website

There are a variety of different tools today that help you to drive prospective prospects and customers to your site. For example, search engine optimization (SEO) is one tool which utilizes keywords and other methods to rank your website on the first page of Google and other search engines. In fact, it’s become an art form. You will find a growing number of paid SEO professional services out there designed to help you improve your search results.

Leveraging your Pay-Per-Click Content

What should you include in your PPC ads? A call to action is the first and foremost as well as an extremely clear value proposition. Graphics work well. You should also back up your ads with organic content. This can be done through blogging and organically growing your social media following alongside your running paid ads.

Social Media

Online social media provides a low-cost and often free way of reaching and influencing a wide customer base. But, how is it done? First, you need to find out which social platforms your targeted audience is on and get on them yourself. Set up your profiles so they brand you and help you establish your visual identity fast.
Next, come up with a strategy to implement social media into your marketing. Set realistic goals that are measurable and find ways to blend in your social marketing with other methods. Engage your prospective customers by stressing how you can help them. Always be listening to your audience and responding to feedback by offering advice or help. Have actual conversations with your prospects; don’t merely broadcast your sales message. Remember to use relevant keywords to your business, service or product regularly in your social media marketing since search engines will pick them up and potentially deliver targeted traffic to you.
Last, keep in mind finding new customers online is all about building relationships. All relationships take time to build and so does your online marketing efforts. Typically, it can take anywhere from 2 to 3 months before you see any significant growth from your efforts. In many cases, it might be beneficial to outsource this type of work to professional internet marketing services. To learn more about these types of services, please contact us.