Small Business Marketing 101: 7 Online Marketing Campaigns

The Internet is a complex labyrinth of information channels that offer a whole new world of advertising opportunities. As the Internet has grown more complex, so has online advertising. Just take a look at Google’s Re: Brief project — an experiment that re-imagines classic TV ads for the innovative forms they can take online today. For a business marketing novice, capitalizing on the Internet for marketing and advertising opportunities can feel overwhelming. To discover which online marketing strategies are best-fitted for your new business, introduce your methodologies to the following types of campaigns.

Content Marketing

Especially for brands offering higher-end products and services, content marketing is your way of controlling how information about your brand is framed online. Essentially, content marketing involves written online content, such as blogs and articles, that inform readers investigating your product. A compelling campaign maximizes your message by spreading it across multiple online magazines, blogs, review sites, and social media platforms. Reputation.com is one unique company that specializes in monitoring online reviews and search results — studies have shown that 89 percent of users trust online reviews.

Social Marketing

If your retail business s part of the health industry, check out the Centers for Disease Control’s social marketing resources. These resources include online courses and research-based tips for improving your marketing plan. Professionals in other industries can also research social marketing seminars, conferences and classes at local universities or traveling events. For example, DePaul University will be holding three different social media marketing seminars in September, November and December of this year.

Ad Retargeting

According to AdRoll, only 2 percent of shoppers convert after the first visit to an online store. How do you get the attention of the other 98 percent? Easy — ad retargeting. This unique online marketing strategy maximizes advertising efficiency by monitoring visitors to your site and displaying your ads on the following websites they visit. Google Ad is a great resource to get started with the process of ad retargeting, while also familiarizing yourself with basic concepts.

Paid Search

Similar to ad retargeting, paid search helps your company reach out to potential customers by meeting their needs and focusing on relevancy. When someone searches for keywords relevant to your company, your ads will be placed at the top of the results list. Not sure which keywords you should use? Check out Google’s AdWords to get a detailed, continually updated analytical report that helps maximize efficiency in paid search as well as in other content marketing.

Product Feeds

Maximize your product’s exposure by covering more ground, digitally speaking. Product feeds are excel, .txt or .xml files that feature all necessary information about your product. These are listed onto channels like Google Shopping and Amazon to help a larger customer base find you. It’s an ideal method for new businesses with less-specialized products, such as clothing and electronics.

Affiliate Marketing

Without a solid network, your online marketing campaign is useless. Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing system in which businesses reward their affiliates for bringing in new customers using their targeted marketing plan. For example, an airline company might also feature advertisements for nearby hotels. Get the latest scoop about affiliate marketing and follow Affiliate Magazine by FeedFront.

Email Marketing

A more intuitive marketing type, email marketing is exactly what it sounds like — marketing campaigns conducted through email. Although the concept is simple, the logistics are multi-dimensional. The Content Marketing Institute offers several helpful tips for tailoring an effective campaign, including improving calls to action and analyzing metrics. For example, you can improve your calls to action by collecting email addresses to capture a lead.