If you want to sell a product, you need to advertise. But how does marketing work if you want to increase your online presence? That’s what online marketing is for, but classic marketing strategies can have their advantages too. Television or radio commercials, and advertisements in print media and on billboards, draw attention to a product. Online marketing is usually more targeted. Some of the most important advertising measures in online marketing are therefore comparatively inexpensive and are more likely to generate leads, i.e. customers. A lot of effort needs to be put in to avoid wasting resources. How does this work?
- Search engine optimization (SEO) increases the probability of your website being found for a specific search term (the "keyword") in a search engine.
- Search engine advertising (SEA) places advertisements as cheaply and accurately as possible at a highly visible position in a search engine’s search results. These advertisements resemble natural search results and also refer to what your online presence is offering.
- In affiliate marketing, advertisers place their ads on relevant websites. In return, the website operator receives a commission, often based on lead generation.
- Content marketing, also called inbound marketing, is intended to arouse the interest of the target group through editorial content, captivate them with know-how or humor, or win their trust and, in the best-case scenario, keep customers returning in the long-term.
- Email marketing is a good way to address your customers individually. Those who willingly provide their contact details will probably be more interested in your offers and content.
- Banner advertising, placed on thematically appropriate websites, attracts customers to your offers with meaningful images and a call to action.
- Social media increases reach, opens up creative opportunities for customer participation, and is an inexpensive engagement platform for small businesses.
- Multimedia content is on the rise. If you produce short videos or podcasts, you can also score points in the mobile sector.
Before using one of these marketing methods, analyze how visitors use your website: How long do users stay on which subpages? Which topics or products are of long-term interest? As long as it’s permitted by law – and with the consent of site visitors – you can analyze data that gives you indications of the interests and characteristics of your target audience. Only then does it make sense to work out a long-term marketing strategy. Use a mix of strong content, SEO, effective advertising with third-party providers, and an active social media presence. These measures take time, but you will most likely be rewarded with better customer relationships.
Classic marketing can be used to expand your reach even with less internet-savvy customers and can generally carry your branding out into the real world. With QR codes, website addresses, or social media hashtags you can link to your internet presence and promote your website. The right mix of online and offline marketing increases your website’s popularity.