26 techniques for advertising online June 24, 2008
Successful marketing plans are a combination of online and offline tactics. Most people are familiar with the offline practices: direct mail, billboards, newspaper and magazine advertisements, commercials, tradeshows, etc., but the Internet ad world keeps evolving; adding new techniques and deleting ones that are no longer effective. I've compiled a list of 26 techniques and what it means to you:
audio / video - using media files to engage and deliver a message to your audience. You can do this by using audio tools, video tools and podcasts.
banner advertising / display advertising - this used to be the most popular way to advertise online, and it combined the dreaded pop-ups and pop-unders that are now blocked by most browsers. Most websites/companies host advertising on their sites via this method, with either graphic banners or text links, and charge based on cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) or cost-per-click (CPC). Both of these pricing methods have come under scrutiny because of the "click farms" that employ people to visit sites repeatedly to up the price paid, or to sway the numbers in a negative direction. NOTE: this is rare and shouldn't keep you from exploring this option. Unless you're a big box retailer, I doubt you have anything to worry about.
behavior marketing - Many online marketers are still uncomfortable with behavior-driven marketing, and remain too dependent upon demographics for their planning decisions. Here are four steps to help you overcome.
blogs - an effective way to maintain an interaction with your customers, promote products or tips, and update your website often.
copywriting tools - content is super important on your website, and here are some tools that will help make it easier for you to succeed.
cost-per-action or pay-per-click ads - buying sponsored ads that appear along side search engine results or ads that appear on a web site or newsletter. You only pay for each click (or action) to your web site, and not how often it appears on the site (that would be cost-per-impression or CPM).
coupons - whether your business is online, off or both, Internet coupons can be a simple, low-cost way to draw sales from a wide audience.
e-commerce (selling online) - another channel for your business.
emails / newsletters - increase your customer base, your visitors to your website, and keep in touch by using an electronic newsletter to send product information, design tips, specials, commentary, etc.
keyword marketing - putting your message in front of people who are searching using particular keywords and phrases.
linking program - by setting up a free link exchange, you drive traffic from your web site to other sites and visa versa.
marketing courses - you can create or sponsor courses for others to take.
microsites - smaller, or mini, websites that are built specifically to target a particular channel and/or campaign (usually with a landing page). They're very effective if built correctly.
online reputation management - this is not about burying negative stories, it’s about promoting positive stories.
paid inclusion - the process of paying search engines to index pages from your site. It is also often called PFI (Pay for Inclusion) or PPI (Pay Per Inclusion) and is popular with many webmasters. Will it help your search ranking? No, it's not supposed to.
product reviews - a way for your customers to tell others what they think about you, your products, etc.
revenue sharing - like affiliate marketing, it's a way to spread your name virally while sharing the ad revenue with those who helped drive traffic.
social & viral marketing - I agree, it's a tough, distracting process that - if done properly - will yield huge results for a fraction (if any) of the cost of normal advertising. It's why large companies employee one person to do nothing but this. By keeping it simple and selecting a couple of the techniques in the 12-step process, I believe you'll find a degree of success, which helps grow your bottom line.
usability - this is a term used to denote the ease with which people can employ a particular tool or website in order to achieve a particular goal, like buying a product, submitting a testimonial, or viewing a video, etc. If you're website is usable, people will jump off quickly, and they won't return. It's like putting your store in the back alley of the worst section in town.
vanity domains - think of this as vanity license plates for the Internet world. They're used to make a statement, express yourself, hammer a point home, etc. They're used because they're easy to remember and this technique is on the cusp of taking off.
web analytics - the best way to find out who is on your website and what they're viewing. It's like following your customer through the store and writing down everything they touch, pick-up and try on.
web press releases - so important, and so easy, to help spread the word about your press release.
