Back to basics: A Guide to the Online Marketing

When it comes to marketing, more and more of it is moving onto the internet. This makes sense as the result of the internet’s ubiquity; as the internet’s functionality expands, more people simply prefer the internet’s plethora of activities to that of more limited entertainment devices like TVs and radios. The connectivity of the internet makes it a great hub for a variety of not only entertainment options but also social and commercial tools. But, it’s up the individual or business to make use of those effectively in order to properly benefit from them. Here is what you need to know in order to bolster your company’s online marketing strategy.

Setting Up a Website

Every modern brand should have a dedicated website, as a website can fulfill a few vital marketing roles. For starters, a website serves to represent your company’s image. Things like your mission statement and history can feature on your website permanently, and your business’s branding will be on full display. A company’s website is almost certainly going to be the first results on any given search engine when searching that company’s name, as well. A company’s website can also handle things like customer orders and customer support, which are both incredibly valuable and often handled by on site employees.

TLS Protection

Your website needs to be safe to use in order to gain in popularity. You may be familiar with HTTP as the current gold standard for internet infrastructure, but you may have also noticed the occasional use of the term HTTPS. That “S” represents the additional security of TLS.

What is TLS?” you might ask. TLS stands for “Transported Layer Security,” and it is a method of encrypting data in order to protect users from cyber attacks.The addition of TLS and HTTPS certification can improve the overall rating of your website significantly, which can improve your visibility on the web. It’s also simply the right choice for your customers, as it can prevent the leaking of vital information like credit card numbers that may otherwise be susceptible to attacks during the process of making a purchase.

Use Social Media to Expand Your Reach

Social media is commonly used by businesses in the digital age, as it presents a business with the potential to reach a staggering amount of the active daily users on a given social media platform. Social media is so widely used that your brand can find its audience more easily on social media than many of the other options, but it is still important to have a website to which to direct customers. In fact, linking your website to your various social media accounts, and vice versa, is much more efficient than any social media account or website alone.

The benefits of marketing via social media are many. Social media posts frequently contain text and video advertisements, for example, but they can also provide businesses with the opportunity to produce much less labor intensive ads much more frequently. The simple text and image format of the average social media post can allow your brand to advertise daily specials, for example, and even just engaging with your customers directly can do wonders for your brand’s image.

Follow Your Metrics

Analyzing the metrics of your website and social media accounts can drastically improve your ability to market online. This is because it expedites the process of tailoring one’s marketing strategy based on customer feedback tremendously. Instead of waiting on sales to tell you the story or conducting surveys, the use of online metrics can be your north star when developing your strategy. The instant availability of these metrics can save your company time and money by allowing you to change course much more quickly and much earlier in case a given marketing campaign isn’t working out.

Marketing and advertising your brand online is an essential part of business in the modern era. While online marketing opens up a world of possibilities, there are a number of proven strategies that can guide your hand. With these tips in mind, you’re prepared to market your brand online with the highest odds of success.