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Thinking Outside the Box – 7 Innovative Strategies to Rejuvenate Your Online Marketing Plan

Guest post by: Rebecca Daneault

Article Overview: Need to add some spice to your marketing plan? Here are seven innovative ways to get you started.

Thinking Outside the Box – 7 Innovative Strategies to Rejuvenate Your Online Marketing Plan

Could your online marketing strategy use a makeover? Are the old school techniques you're using now leaving you with less than desirable results? Here are seven innovative strategies that will breathe new life into your stale marketing plan, help set you apart from your competition and give you the edge you need to exceed your goals.

Scrutinizing your website

The ultimate goal in online marketing is to draw traffic to your site. And surely you've heard the old adage about first impressions.....so take a step back and try to see your site through your visitor's eyes. Does it take too long to load? Can visitors tell right away what you're offering? Is it user friendly and easy on the eyes? All of these things can make a difference between a conversion and a bounce, so be critical and make modifications where needed. What is your "first impression", and is it really accomplishing your goals? If you're having trouble being objective, join a few free online forums or communities and ask other members for their unbiased opinions. Everybody could use a little constructive criticism from time to time.

Customizing your display campaigns

Are your banner ads getting the right message across? Do they capture the attention of your target audience without turning them off? Perhaps most importantly, are you placing them on the right sites? You may need to reevaluate your campaign to make it more customized for your needs. Use keywords or tags that provide an accurate picture of who your target audience is, and what their interests are and you'll be able to better optimize your display campaigns, ensuring appropriate placement and reach. Customizing your campaign will bolster your results while shaping your strategy to become more streamlined and efficient.

Blogging

Take a stroll around the internet and you'll be hard pressed to find a business website that doesn't have some sort of blog nowadays. It's becoming the norm, rather than the exception so if you want to be in the game you need one too. But whatever you do, be sure to make it interesting if you want anyone to actually read it. Post frequently and use your blog as an avenue to provide useful advice and launch promotions. The more value you offer, the greater your chances of gaining followers, which equates to repeat visits and loyal clientele. It's a simple and inexpensive way to interact more with your customers.

Onsite optimization

This type of strategy is most commonly referred to as SEO, or search engine optimization. It involves integrating your site with certain words or phrases that are most commonly used to find your product or service on search engines. There is a tremendous amount of research involved in this strategy, and building an SEO campaign is somewhat of an art form. There are plenty of resources on the internet that help break down the complexity of SEO, but if you're still not sure, consider hiring an expert to either work as a consultant for your own SEO activities, or build a customized campaign for you. If you want people to find your site online, which is the ultimate goal, it's more than worth it.

Offsite optimization

This is sort of a fancy term for link building, and it involves taking the time to get backlinks to your site in various places on the web. There are plenty of ways to do this - you can buy backlinks, you can add your site to online directories, or you can launch a manual link building campaign. Syndicating articles and participating in relevant online forums and blogs are two of the most popular types of link building activities, but you'll want to be as creative as possible to achieve optimum results. Regardless of the method you use, getting your links out there is one of the most effective online marketing strategies and can do wonders for your traffic.

Retargeting

If you're doing everything you can to get traffic to your site, but you're not doing anything to address the visitors who leave without buying anything, you're only doing half of what is needed to be successful. Retargeting keeps track of the people who come to your site but don't convert, and allows you to display your ads to them as they surf the web and visit other sites. Service providers who specialize in this innovative marketing technique work directly with the largest ad exchanges so you can market your product to your potential customers again and again, wherever they may roam online. Retargeting substantially increases both conversion and click through rates because it encourages repeat visits from those who have already shown some interest in what you have to offer.

Social media marketing

There are countless social media sites today where droves of people from across the globe interact with one another. It goes without saying that these sites are virtual gold mines for marketing, and businesses everywhere are jumping on the bandwagon. Sites like Facebook and Twitter allow you to gain recognition and use viral marketing (online word of mouth) to generate interest in your product. Capitalize on these resources by running contests and giveaways (who doesn't love free stuff?) and chances are you'll find your brand recognition increasing like wild fire. Social media marketing (SMM) is becoming one of the most popular (and inexpensive) forms of online marketing, so if you're not using it already you're going to get left behind.

The field of online marketing is constantly evolving, and new strategies and techniques are developed all the time. By learning about these innovative methods and mastering them, you will be better equipped to reach your target audience effectively, efficiently and in a timely manner thus giving your business the competitive edge you need to be an online success story.

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Article Tags: Marketing, online marketing, retargeting



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