Know what’s hot for 2011, and prepare your business for these online trends
It’s the year for Social Media Marketing. In 2011, businesses will be executing social techniques that are fully integrated into the overall marketing strategy. Each company needs a social media marketing strategy and the appropriate resources to manage it.
- Mobile marketing is on the go. The spike in smart-phone use and other mobile devices suggests that it plays an important role in Internet marketing success. Thus, every business venturing online must explore the potential of Tablet devices for digital marketing strategy.
- 2011 will see a new era of online video content, re-introducing the human element and modifying the nature of communication; making it dynamic, interactive and instant. Videos and other multimedia will be utilized more for mainstream online content and advertising.
- SEO will be more complex. Competition for Google heats up with Yahoo, Bing, Search.com, and other search engines as well as with social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Getting your business on the first page of SERP will become tougher. Mobile search and geo-location – like Google places - will further increase the challenges and surprises for search engine optimizers.
Refresh your online presence for 2011
Useful Tips to Get Your Online Marketing Ready for 2011
It is time to strengthen the foundation of your online campaign so that you can take advantage of the emerging Internet marketing trends in the coming year.
- Go mobile. Is your website easy and enjoyable to view on a mobile phone? Make your business website compatible to mobile devices – make it mobile friendly. With more and more Iphones, Ipads and Android powered smart-phones in use, mobile marketing will expand far more than mobile messaging. Mobile email, mobile websites and mobile applications have become viable marketing media.
- Use video. This tool is an incredible medium to connect with people on the Internet. Video SEO will help your website get “super-optimised” for search engines. A page with video has a strong likelihood of being ranked higher than one that’s purely text-based content. With high speed Internet and lowered cost of video production, the significance of video in online marketing is ever-increasing.
- Social Media Marketing is maturing. Is your website prepared to take advantage of the reach and influence of Facebook and Twitter? With Facebook Credits and social commerce sites such as Groupon, your customers can actually start their purchase decision cycle via these sites. Get ready to harness the commercial value of Facebook important features such as the ‘like’ button, since peer recommendation will be more effective than the push model.
- Optimize your website for localised searches. At present, every major search engine like Google, Yahoo and Bing is serving up local results to make things simpler for online users. Does your business figure in the top ranks of these search listings? Dominating the local space is the stepping stone to big business outside. Make sure your search and social marketing include strategies for local searches.
- Content still rules. Continue to give free and useful information to your customers. Paid content will continue to suffer in 2011, and if users can find your information elsewhere for free, then they will go there for it. Your business should go more than just advertising, preaching and pushing products. Be useful to your audience provide material that’s important to them.
- Tweak your e-mail marketing strategy. Marketing via email still remains a proven way to realize business objectives. Segmentation and targeting will allow you to deliver tailored and relevant information to prospective customers to give the best possible click-through and conversion performance.
- Upgrade your website. Do some editing, rewording and improve the looks of your website to make sure it is still relevant and up-to-date. Set unique titles and descriptions for each page/post of your website, which is vital for SEO, and also for feeding your site into social media channels. Generate an RSS feed so that readers can subscribe for updates via a feed reader or email.
- Set up analytics. Use Google Analytics or something similar to track your website performance or marketing goals, integrate it with your online marketing programme to see how you are progressing. Evaluate results from your specific online marketing activities (i.e. shopping cart, PPC ads, social media channels, etc.) so that you can see how well each is doing for you.
To conclude, success in the field of Internet marketing will depend on your company’s capacity to provide the best customer experience. If you can build and nurture a real and meaningful relationship with your customers online, success will be yours. To learn more, contact your local Consultant.
