Internet marketing is on the rise, and in 2010 more businesses will use the internet to market their company/products than ever before. Honestly, there’s no way around it, your business must have an online presence in this day and age. There are no ifs, ands or buts.
This article touches on the important elements of a successful internet marketing campaign in 2010. Follow these suggestions and your business will build a more coherent, sustainable, profitable brand that’s equipped for the future. Now is the time to jump start, or optimize, your online advertising efforts.
Blogging
Blogs became extremely popular in 2008 and 2009, and a site without a blog is slowly becoming part of the stone age. Everything from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses are using blogs, for a variety of purposes, and jumping aboard the blog bandwagon (a textual, bumpy, colorful magic carpet) is critical to achieving high rankings in search engines (SEO) and connecting with potential customers.
Media: Photos + Videos
With high-speed internet connectivity now widely available throughout the world, adding photos and videos to your website/blog is an instrumental element of internet marketing in 2010. Videos can be loaded to YouTube and other video sites, then embedded into your site, which cuts down load time and kills two birds with one stone. The video is appealing to site visitors, and also attracts views (and potential customers) via the video site itself.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO has really taken off in 2009, with companies realizing that search engine marketing (SEM) efforts are extremely important. Potential customers will almost always visit websites that appear on the first page of search engine results, sometimes the second page, so placing a website at the top of search engines offers a huge advantage over competitors. Plus, as opposed to Google AdWords and other Pay-Per-Click (PPC) mediums, organic search placement costs ZERO dollars per click. It’s all free! Rank high, then watch the traffic roll in. Over time SEO will decrease marketing expenditures and exponentially increase online exposure and revenue.
Social Networking
Utilizing social networks to directly interact with potential customers can be an excellent marketing tool if done correctly. Do not come off as a salesperson — simply offer advice, if anything. The goal is to have a presence on social sites but not push your products or service on them. This is frowned upon, so remember that.
Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking websites like Digg, StumbleUpon, Yahoo Buzz and others have become a big hit. They’re like a hybrid social networking and mini-blog website. Social bookmarking sites allows articles, websites, photos and other content to be publicly bookmarked and shared with the masses. Helpful articles, funny photos and cool videos are all ideal candidates for the good ole’ social bookmark.
Twitter (yes, it has its own section)
Twitter, the fabulous mini-blogging platform of fun. Used by the rich, the famous, the legally insane and everyone else you can think of, Twitter took off in 2009 and continues to grow steadily. Some may ask: why the heck did you create a separate section for Twitter alone? Well, Twitter is the only social networking/bookmarking/mini-blogging platform to have its content displayed in major search engines. Google and Bing have recently started displayed Twitter posts, aka Tweets, in their search result pages (SERPS). From a marketing standpoint, this is huge! And, quite revolutionary.
Good luck with internet marketing in 2010 and may the force be with you!
Sincerely,
Aaron Schoenberger
The Brainchild Group
The Brainchild Group is a leading internet marketing and website design firm that specializes in Flash Website Design, Professional SEO and internet marketing consultations for small businesses and corporations across the globe.