According to the American Marketing Association, “Online marketing is the art and science of selling products and services over the internet”. Let’s dive in!
Digital marketing, internet marketing and Online marketing: the art of converting messages into sales.
The “online marketing art” involves finding marketing strategies that appeal to your target audience (link) and translate into sales, while the science is the research and analysis necessary to measure the success of those strategies.
How Does Online Marketing Work?
Online marketing uses a variety of digital, online, and electronic platforms and means to convey a message to current and potential customers.
The message might be curated as an image (LINK), a piece of text, or a video, and distributed in any number of places.
It could be as simple as a social media feed or it could be as complex as a wide-ranging and comprehensive strategy that includes multiple modes: from social media to email newsletters, websites, and other channels. The type of online marketing that will be right for your business will depend on the nature of your business, the habits and demographics of your target market, and your budget, among other things.
Unfortunately, there is no secret recipe valid for everyone.
Market research will lead you to the right strategy or mix of strategies for your products, and detailed performance measurements will indicate which are most successful for you.
For example, a flower shop that wished to incorporate online marketing might add an Instagram feed featuring photos of bouquets created for weddings and birthdays to display the creativity of the florists. A Facebook page could highlight positive reviews from happy customers and display a link to the shop’s website, where potential customers could find information on how to book, available services, and photos of seasonal flowers.
Do I Need Online Marketing?
Short answer: probably yes.
Have you noticed that we spent the past year in lockdown? What do you think will most probably reach your potential clients: a leaflet or an ad on Google?
Online marketing is increasingly important to small businesses of all types.
In the past, internet marketing was something that local brick-and-mortar businesses could ignore in favor of traditional methods, i.e. leaflets, ads on newspapers, billboards.
However, consumer habits change (link to customer habits research), and shoppers are much more likely to research their purchases online before buying. In fact, they’re likely to research a product online even while they’re standing in the store!
To sum up, all businesses should include some online marketing in their marketing mix or they risk missing out on business.
Do I really need Online Marketing?
Let’s talk about it!
Send me a message and let’s schedule a call. You can tell me more about your business, your expectations and your goals. Maybe I can help, maybe not. In any case it will be nice meeting you.