In a society where trends within the fashion, entertainment and social industries are largely followed, it is interesting to see that as we near the halfway mark in 2010, online development is ignored by a lot of small to medium businesses.
Some companies feel they contribute to an online marketing status through having a website. However, a website is merely the beginning. Implementing successful online marketing techniques is vital in securing a competitive edge and enhancing your company's return on investment (ROI).
The first thing you need to know about online marketing is that it is constantly changing. Smaller sized businesses do not need to incorporate everything available on the market as it will prove exhausting, costly and in most cases
unnecessary. You need to stay on top of trends and ensure that you carry out carefully thought-out strategies that not only complement each other but add to any other marketing campaigns you might have as well.
The five top online marketing trends these days are:
- Email Marketing: In addition to being the most cost-effective marketing method with a consistently high and targeted reach, email marketing integrates the best with other online marketing tactics as well. Launching a new online marketing strategy can easily be done through email with the additional bonus of tracking the results.
- Social Media: In South Africa, expensive internet connectivity hampered social media's success to date. However, these days more and more people have access at work and at home and social networking sites and social book marking sites can enhance activity on your website and influence buying decisions.
- Mobile: Mobile marketing has grown over the last few years, but it has rarely been accessible to smaller businesses. With the growing tendency towards affordable high-end mobile phones more people have access to mobile e-mail marketing, mobile application development, mobile websites and location-based marketing.
- SEO: Search Engine Optimisation is still hot and extremely relevant in 2010. Investing in your website's search engine ranking is a must for every company, big or small. SEO strategies are also constantly evolving, therefore getting professionals onboard to assist your SEO is always a great idea.
- Online video: Online video has the power to communicate to consumers on a visual and audible manner instead of forcing them to just read information about you on the internet. Video is also relatively cheap to create and if done creatively, can become highly shareable.
Are you investing enough on your online marketing or are you trailing behind in last season's advertising trends? Start by implementing effective email marketing campaigns to lay a strong foundation from which the rest of your online tactics can follow.
