KEY TAKEAWAY – If you want to go the extra mile, pursuing these powerful strategies will definitely put distance between you and all your local competitors.
The IM strategies covered so far in this series are what I consider to be “foundational” in nature – the 7 key elements that any comprehensive marketing program should contain.
In this installment I’m going to quickly identify some other strategies that you might also want to consider using once those foundational elements have already been put into place.
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Here they are:
Re-targeting (aka Re-marketing):
You create small banner ads for your business that are displayed across a variety of popular websites that together comprise what are called “re-targeting networks”.
When people visit your website, a small “cookie” file is left on their computer or mobile device. This cookie identifies them as having recently visited your company’s website.
As they visit other websites in the re-targeting network your company belongs to, your ads will continue to be displayed to them whenever they visit any of those websites.
Your ads, in effect, follow them around as they surf the web, keeping your company and brand visible to them even when they’re not actually on your own website.
Some percentage of prospects will eventually click on those ads and make a purchase from you. It’s a powerful new strategy that many businesses are now starting to take advantage of. Google has a re-targeting service as part of its AdWords PPC platform.
SMS (text) Messaging:
Chances are, you already get text messages from family members and friends. 160-character text messages can be sent and received by virtually any cellphone in use today.
What’s interesting from a marketing standpoint is that text messages are opened 90% of the time, usually within 4 minutes of being received. That’s a very high “open” rate.
Businesses like restaurants, bars, and other entertainment venues are using SMS messaging to notify their customers about temporary offers, specials, and other promotions. Twilio is one of the leading providers of SMS services.
For example, when a restaurant is having a slow afternoon, one text message like “2-for-1 Entrees Until 5 PM”, blasted out to their client list, can pack the place in mere minutes.
Appointment-driven businesses like those in the medical field are using SMS messaging to remind patients about their next-day appointments, reducing expensive “no show” rates.
Businesses with customers waiting on stand-by for the next available time slot can send out a “We have an opening” message when last-minute cancellations occur…again keeping those expensive, non-productive “no shows” to a minimum.
The internet provides even more “one-to-many”, low-to-no-cost marketing channels for business owners to take advantage of.
Online webinars, podcasts, and internet radio are some of them.
“Webinars” are online seminars, frequently used in place of more expensive “in person” training. Business owners can lead their own informational or training sessions (paid or free) remotely in front of hundreds or thousands of attendees.
Go To Webinar® by Citrix is a leader in (paid) webinar hosting services, and Google’s own Google Hangouts is quickly becoming the best-known webinar service that anyone with a free Google account can use for no cost.
Podcasts are pre-recorded .MP3 or .WAV audio files, usually 5–7 minutes in length that can be downloaded from your website or one of many podcast directories to a simple podcast player or smartphone for later playback.
All you need to create podcasts are a PC or laptop equipped with a fast internet connection, a microphone, and a free sound editing program like Audacity.
Talk-based podcasts usually follow one of these formats:
• Single-host
• Multi-host (most favored)
• Interview-based
• Review-style
To get maximum exposure for your podcasts and the information they’re presenting, upload your files to Apple’s iTunes Store, by far THE most popular podcast directory on the internet.
BlogTalkRadio.com is a webinar / podcast hybrid service that you may also find interesting and useful for positioning yourself as a leading authority in your market.
Open a free BTR account, set up and schedule your talk shows through the BTR website, and then have your audience or live guests call into them when you’re “on the air”. Sessions are automatically recorded in .MP3 format and stored for later playback.
NEXT – AND LAST – UP: A quick recap of the Top 7 internet marketing strategies, secrets and techniques that will help you grow your business.
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