NMC Report header
March 9, 2010  
Greetings!

 
Nancy MarshallThis issue addresses various strategies and tactics you can use to promote your Web site. Once you have built a site, you need to promote it just as you would promote your business on an ongoing basis. You can't just build a site, leave it alone for years and hope that it is going to work for you. You need to put 'gas in the tank' of your site through continuous improvements.  Eric Reynolds and Anna McDermott have written articles for this edition of The NMC Report about Internet marketing which we hope will inspire you to take a new look at promoting your own Web site.
 
Let me know what you think, and please consider sending Eric the URL of any Web site that you would like him to analyze for you (ereynolds@marshallpr.com). He will provide you with an analysis report that tells you whether your site is working hard enough for your business.
 
Enjoy the warmer weather and spring breezes,

Jay Sig B&W
www.marshallpr.com


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Internet Marketing: What Really Works (Part 2)

By Anna McDermott, NMC Account Executive


Anna McDermott, Account Executive at Nancy Marshall CommunicationsIn the last issue of the NMC Report, I focused on how to use SEO and social media to market your company's products or services online. Those are obviously both important and useful marketing tools, but there is more to the world of Internet marketing. Another favorite Internet marketing strategy is the use of email marketing.

Email marketing allows you to reach customers, current, past or potential, or media outlets and provide them with information they can process when it's convenient for them. It also offers a great platform for combining many elements of Internet marketing in one place.

For example, if you want people to know about a special or sale, you send an email with the details - When, Where, Why, etc - and then link to your Web site for more information. Have a link to an online video that shows the product off or to an article in a newspaper or magazine that illustrates why they might need or want your product. Encourage people to sign up to follow you on Twitter or friend you on Facebook. Email marketing can be like one-stop shopping for all things online.

The key to email marketing is to provide useful or valuable information. If people don't like what you're sending them, they can easily delete it. We recommend using Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) for your e-mail newsletters because they provide a complete system including ready-made templates, list management, and 'deliverability management' which helps assure that your email is delivered to e-mail addresses such as AOL and Yahoo, among others.

As with all marketing, brand consistency is crucial to Internet marketing from the look of your e-mail newsletter to your Facebook page, your Twitter page and your YouTube channel. It's much easier online to confuse your customers, in part, because it happens so quickly. One late-night mis-tweet, and you can lose credibility. Also, when tweeting or using Facebook, many companies use multiple people with various writing styles and this can lead to inconsistencies in the message. In order to maintain brand consistency, establish some ground rules before you get started.
  • Depending on the audience you're targeting, discuss appropriate use of colloquialisms and acronyms (OMG, LOL).
  • Don't Facebook or tweet angry. You should respond to negative posts or tweets, but remember to safeguard your brand and be professional and helpful. Make it better, not worse.
  • Set a goal or purpose for your involvement with social media. If everyone is on the same page, it will help eliminate off-brand remarks.
  • Don't lie. If you make an honest mistake, fix it, but misleading people will wreak havoc on your brand.
  • Don't use "blackhat" techniques on your Web site in order to rank higher in search results. Keyword stuffing, invisible text, etc, is lowbrow and Google won't stand for it. You shouldn't either.


erInternet Marketing: What Works, Part 2 - Unconventional Methods
 
By Eric Reynolds


Eric Reynolds, Internet Project ManagerYou already know about Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click marketing. You may know that video is a powerful medium for generating traffic.

You may even know a few things about social media.

However, there are Internet marketing methods which are unconventional but still incredibly powerful.

Below is an outline of the less popular Internet marketing methods.

Social Media
  • Social media is about communities of people who gather online to share information. And, I know social media is popular, but few use all the tools.
  • Social media is all about tools; below is a list of tool categories. Research each category and make a plan to use at least one new tool per week. If you use the tool, set up tracking to determine the ROI. We'll cover some great tools for tracking ROI in another issue, so stay tuned.
    • Social Networks
      • Facebook, MySpace, Ning, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Bebo
    • Publish
      • Blog, email, wikipedia
    • Photo, audio, and video sharing
      • Flickr, Picasa, iTunes, Podcast.net, YouTube, Viddler
    • Microblogging
      • Twitter, Plurk
    • Aggregators
      • Digg, iGoogle, Reddit, FriendFeed
    • RSS
      • Atom, FeedBurner, RSS 2.0
    • Other Social Media Tools
      • Livecasting.  BlogTalkRadio, Live 365, Shoutcast

Buying media
  • Buying media is not for the timid or inexperienced. You need to have a solid lead generation system in place.
  • You should only consider buying media...
    • After you've optimized your Web pages for the search engines
    • After you've set up a profitable PPC campaign
    • After you've dipped your toe in all the social media tools
    • After you've determined your cost per lead and the lifetime value of a customer
    • After you've perfected a lead generation system of landing pages, email capture devices, and follow-up emails.
  • How do you buy media?
    • You can buy text ads, video placement ads, audio ads and mobile ads.  You can buy banner ads of all different styles, shapes, and sizes. Think of any Web site with high traffic. Most likely you can buy an ad on that site.
    • You can buy ads buy the thousand (CPM), by the view (CPV), or by an action (CPA.)
    • You can buy ads from a large company like Double Click, Optimax, Advertise.com, or Google. You can use a small to medium sized broker. Do a search for "buy media."

CPA networks
  • Cost per acquisition or cost per action (CPA) is just another pricing model for buying Web site traffic.
    • You work with one of the larger CPA networks like HydraNetwork, Clickbook, or Modernclick.
    • You negotiate a deal where you pay only for leads. A lead would be a Web site visitor which submits a form, like a "request more info" form or an e-commerce order form.
      • A lead takes the action of submitting a form. You pay for that action.
  • Like with buying media, you need to have a solid lead generation system in place.

Blog Advertising
  • Blog advertising is in the buying media category, but since it's so powerful, I've given it a category.
  • You can buy different types of blog advertising through companies like Blogads, Smorty, and Federated Media.
  • You can buy an ad within a blog post on a popular blog site. The ad types vary from sponsor ads, where your ad is above the fold, or placement ads where your ad lives among other ads.

Affiliates
  • If you sell products or services on your Web site and you don't have an affiliate program, you may be leaving a ton of sales on the table.
  • Affiliate programs started in the 90's when Amazon gave you a small commission if you put a link to buy books on your Web site and a visitor followed the link and bought a book.
  • The concept is simple, allowing Web site owners within your niche or market to offer your products and services. All the sales still happen on your Web site. You still own the customer. But, you didn't pay for the marketing and all you have to do is pay the affiliate a small commission.
  • I suggest using an affiliate network like Commission Junction or ClickBank if you sell digital products.
    • Side note: If you don't have a digital product for sale, you need to create one. I don't care if you sell Lear Jets or pencils. You should be able to create a 50 to 100 page ebook with tips, tricks, and advice about how to buy and use your products and services. Educate and inform.

Software
  • Creating software is one of the most overlooked, underused, and underrated methods of generating website traffic.
  • You can create Toolbars, Widgets, Social Networking Applications (Facebook), Web services, Badges, Mobile Apps, Mashups and Shareware.
  • Spend 1 hour a week and brainstorm software you could create that solves your customer's problems or makes their lives easier.
  • Brand the software. Be blatant about marketing and making an offer for your products and services.
  • If you think of software which may be helpful to your customers, please contact us for a free consultation about your idea.

    • You should now be aware of the less popular Internet marketing methods.

    Use caution when implementing each method. Be sure to have a plan and test small.

    If you test small, you fail small.