The TopRank team works really well together, bringing to each team meeting various areas of expertise and interest, which makes for a well-rounded environment here in our Lake Minnetonka office. We know how to play off of everyone’s strengths and ensure our clients are fully serviced based on their needs and objectives by those who can best take on that role.
Below is a list of our favorite online marketing tips , which – as a team – makes us stronger than each individual.
- Build Out Social Relationships Gradually – Social media and social networking are not “dump and run” tactics. Relationships need to be built over a long period of time in a venue that enhances the product or service you are promoting, which is when the promoted piece gets the most positive attention.
- Spell Check – Nothing ruins online credibility faster than misspellings or incorrect grammar. Check your spelling yourself and have someone else review your work. Don’t depend only on spellcheckers, as they may not catch the appropriate word usage or necessary punctuation.
- Understand How Your KPI’s Tie Back to Your Objectives – Will ranking #1 in Google for “wedding favors†automatically equate to meeting your sales objectives? Or, will an increased ranking be a trigger to focus your work on how best to nurture these new potential prospects to customer status?
- Incorporate Keyword Phrases into Promotions – whether it be press releases, online advertising or social media promotions, using a keyword phrase along with yours or your client’s name can enhance how searchers search for the website in the future.
- Use a Clear CTA – When using a Call to Action, ensure that what you are asking is clear and to the point. Also ensure that you are indeed asking a person to do something.
- Identify Yourself – Come up with a good handle and avatar so that no matter what channel you are engaged in, you are easily recognizable.
- Identify How Visitors Use Your Website – When customers and prospects visit your site, what type of content are they looking for and where do they click on the page to find it? By knowing what your visitors are looking for, you can provide the content they need and a user experience to keep them coming back for more.
- Understand your End Goals – Online marketing is similar to traditional direct marketing when trying to reach certain inquiry levels. Understand the desired inquiry level, and follow that back through your amount of projected traffic, touchpoints and the whole universe you need to target.
- Plan & Understand – Be sure to plan ahead when it comes to Online Marketing. There is no shortage of promotion opportunities, however the promotions you select should deliver the desired results. As an online marketer, be sure to first understand what promotion channels deliver the results desired.
- Look to the Future – The online marketing landscape is constantly changing, whether in the form of updated search engine algorithms, new social media outlets or any of the other aspects of marketing that fluctuate. Devote time to keeping yourself educated on what’s new and upcoming in the online world by reading blogs and other industry publications so that you are prepared to meet the new challenges these changes will bring.
- Be Patient – online marketing typically doesn’t work overnight. Once your online marketing program is deployed, be patient and continuously monitor, analyze and refine.
That wraps up some of TopRank’s favorite online marketing tips. Do you have any you’d like to share?
You talk about grammar checking in your second point then in your forth point say “using a keyword phrases along” – I find posts more believable when they practice what they preach.
Hey NP, thanks for pointing that out. I’m sure Dana and Julie will take note 🙂
3 pairs of eyes on this yesterday and that still slipped right in! Fixed 🙂
Great post, Dana. It’s funny how the longer I’m in this industry the more I forget to remind co-workers of the little things.
A lot of these points are things that I do without thinking, but their also the same points that I need to remind other co-workers who are newer to industry best practices and trends.
This will be a great post to pass around.
Great tips! I completely agree that in order for a site to reap the benefits of social networks, patience is the key.
Hi all,
I would add another great tip – use a lot of secondary research to be prepared for each of your meetings. You’ll be amazed how much valuable information is out there.
The cool thing is to outsource it! At our agency, we out source all our secondary research before client meetings, NB pitches, and before any primary research project to a team of experienced planners who do a wonderful job (www.magicwandresearch.com)
It saved us a ton of money on primary research and planning hours last year.
Thought to share that with you.
Tanya
additional point:
wrap your emails so every email sent by an employee becomes a branding tool (and then a research tool when recipients click on the wrap). It’s all about beeing as targeted as possible and you’re sending that email anyway.
Thank you for posting this . Under “Identify Yourself”, I never though much about what handle I use, but I will definitely keep those points in mind.
I’m standing up and CHEERING your final point… be patient!!!
It’s not just online marketing that doesn’t work overnight, it’s off line marketing as well. The marketing campaign that is an “overnight success” has another definition: flash in the pan.
Marketing is truly a game where slow and steady wins the race! Oh, and marketing also means “there’s always room for improvement” a.k.a. continuously monitor, analyze and refine.
Fantastic point Kathy. I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Great tips from everyone so far too! Thanks for sharing
Start each and everyday with a plan, and work to stick to that plan. It’s so easy to find that hours have gone by (if not the entire day), when you work in an online environment….especially if you are marketing with social media!
With so many thing going online, there were many times we miss to take notes of the basic things to do. I would agree to everything and to end it all “Be Patient”.
In every online marketing venture that people makes if they work together, there is no impossible for success. All you need to do is lay out your plan and do it.
“Look to the future” right next to “be patient”. Not disagreeing, only commenting upon the inherent conflict in these two marketing approaches. How long does one be patient before chasing some new trend either in the market place or in mode of marketing? I think it is a tough call for the small business owner who markets on the web.
First you have to get them to your blog/site, then you have to catch them!
I have found in my industry only about 15 % subscribe by feed, the rest by email notifications of updates to the blog. The click through rate on the emails is an amazing 85%.
Also speaking to clients who do both feed and email: If they put a lot of importance on your site they prefer to be notified by email rather then feed. It seem as the inbox also acts as a sort of action list for many people!?