maybe you've given your company an online presence using tools like Facebook and Twitter. Maybe you've even kept this presence up, making ads for Facebook, regularly updating your status, and making regular "tweets" on Twitter.
If so: Congrats! And good luck in bringing more clients onto your rolls with these tools. But marketing on the Web is about much more than just tweeting and having a Facebook page. And it'd be a simple matter for any marketer to develop a Web campaign into a substantial presence.
But be careful; it's not that simple. You don't want to become an "accidental spammer." In other words, you don't want to assume that dumping hundreds of links to your home page all over the Web will have positive results. Web users are more savvy than you think, and most appreciate tasteful ads that are targeted specifically to them. And they'll click away from you at a moment's notice if it looks like you're trying to "game" the Internet. So be sure to take the time to create a well-structured ad campaign that shows respect for your target audience.
Keeping that in mind, try some of these marketing tools in your strategy:
del.icio.us. This social bookmarking Web site a fabulous resource no matter who you are -- it's a great idea to have a personal del.icio.us page (in addition to your company's page) to bookmark pages you find interesting or useful. The best part of del.icio.us is that the sites you bookmark are searchable by other users -- so anyone can look at what you've posted. Plus, links can be grouped by tags, so you can separate business posts (announcements of new products and services, for instance) from resources that you may post (articles about developments in your field, for instance).
Digg, Reddit, Mixx and similar sites. These are social bookmarking blogs, where users can post links to anything they want. There are hundreds of sites like this on the Web, and many are frequented by technically savvy users... and spammers. And don't let all the links to humorous cat pictures and video game reviews fool you. These are discriminating consumers who know how to spot a bad post. They vote links up or down, and they don't respond well to bald sales pitches. So why bother? Because even if you post a link and it doesn't get any attention, it'll still point to your site, and get you a little more attention from the search engines. But more importantly, you can use your membership to post useful links to interesting material. This builds trust -- when users realize you're the real deal and not a spammer, they may be more likely to visit your homepage.
Tip'd. Similar to sites like Reddit and Digg, this page focuses on financial and business news. It's a great specialized tool for small businesses. It's also a good place to make a mark in the Web's small business community.
Inbound Marketing. This is a marketing-specific social site, where you can find information on new developments in advertising, web marketing tools, and more. Consider this more of a resource for career and professional development than advertising your own products and services.
D. Michael Kirby is a freelance writer living in California. He writes about travel, education, marketing, health and wellness, home improvement, and a plethora of other topics. One of his clients, MarketingWorks, is the premier provider of education market research
No comments:
Post a Comment