On April 23, small business owners and freelancers from a variety of backgrounds met downtown Halifax at the Hub to learn more about Internet Marketing. The BizLaunch session, sponsored by Aliant, was hosted by Debi Hartlen MacDonald of New Life Business Solutions to share information about internet marketing and field some questions about what people are learning. This topic was difficult to cover in an hour and a half so the intention of this blog post is to provide a summary of key points and link to information that can help you further explore the topic and solutions for your business, idea or initiative. The post is written by Debi Hartlen with input from Tracy Boyer at the Hub.
PLEASE ADD COMMENTS AND SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW – this is a starting point for the conversation…
Internet marketing is no longer just part of your marketing plan- in most cases it now requires its own plan. Like any kind of plan, make some time to learn what you need to know in order to talk to the right people, ask the right questions and end up with an effective website and internet marketing plan for your business. Ask your colleagues, go to seminars and related training and workshops. Hiring the right people to help you through this process will make this a great experience which is difficult to do unless you know what you’re talking about.
The 3 main components of your website are:
- Your target market – “the traffic”: Identifying your target market is essential to getting the right traffic to your site. Once you identify them, how do you get them there? SEO – Search engine optimization is the key.
- The site: What is the objective of your site? Is it to educate, sell, provide resources or simply an on-line brochure. Once your potential client is there, does the site creatively appeal to them? Is it user friendly? If you are using it as a sales and marketing tool has an internet marketing expert help you set it up to meet those objectives?
- Conversion: Once your potential client is on your site, does it effectively guide that individual to do what you want them to do?
The 5 Pillars of Internet Marketing Skill Requirements are:
- Marketing
- Technical
- Creative – Design
- Search Engine Optimization
- Copy-writing
Be aware of the “one person does all” website developer. It is unlikely that just one person will master all of these skills. A website that meets your objectives usually requires the skills of a team of professionals that work together with you to develop and implement your plan. This can be achieved through a team of “solopreneurs or freelancers” at a very reasonable rate or through an agency that employees all of these skills, usually at a much higher cost. Costs vary greatly – a basic site can be anywhere from $2500 (or less, but make sure you know what you’re getting!) to tens of thousands of dollars.
A few ways of increasing your traffic can be accomplished through permission, viral and affiliate marketing. Google these term to read more or hire someone to help you integrate these methods into your internet marketing plan, when you understand what they will do for you.
Once your site is up and running you then need to manage it. What internet marketing tools or social media are you using as part of your plan? Identify what works for you and your business and what your clients’ expectations are. How much time and money each will each initiative cost you. Don’t undertake something unless you can provide a consistent and valuable experience to your potential customer. Building trust is key and consistency will increase your credibility.
There are MANY free internet resources that can help you manage your site, internet marketing and social media plan.
Some other free resource sites are:
Social Media Projections for 2009 (a must read for planning in 2009): http://billolearysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/social-media-projections-for-2009.html
Google Analytics – www.google.com/analytics will help you monitor the traffic and results of your website…easy and free
http://ping.fm/
www.freekeywords.wordtracker.com
www.google.com/alerts
www.youtube.com
www.selfstartersweeklytips.com
http://issuu.com/
http://widgets.yahoo.com
www.linkedin.com
www.elance.com
www.twitter.com
www.facebook.com
www.freeconferencecall.com