Great Ways to Use the Internet for Marketing

Businesses have wonderful opportunities to grow and to extend their relationships with customers via the Internet. Here are some quick tips to market your products and services effectively on the Internet.

• Email

  
  
  
  

  • As a user: Strive to be polite and positive. Create a signature file with marketing content for the end of your email messages.

    
    
  
  

  • As an Internet publisher: Standardise key email practices within your company. Use your website to offer relevant email addresses for customer use; then carefully manage the (possibly large) number of emails you receive.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• Email lists

  
  
  
  

  • As a user: Join mailing lists that contain information relevant to Internet marketing or to your industry.

    
    
  
  

  • As an Internet publisher: Create an email list as a relatively simple and inexpensive way to build a strong feeling of community within your customer base.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• Phones and wireless access devices

  
  
  
  

  • As a user: Experiment with handhelds and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) phones to get a feel for the user experience. Also see what experience handheld Internet access devices offer.

    
    
  
  

  • As an Internet publisher: If you have fast-changing content, publish it on a channel for users of Palm and other similar devices or consider creating a WAP site for phone users.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• Message Boards

  
  
  
  

  • As a user: Join communities that concern your industry area. Seek out website-based discussion groups specific to your interest or industry.

    
    
  
  

  • As an Internet publisher: Offer a message board facility if it is appropriate to your business. Allow open, but moderated, dialogue between your customers and your company to develop a relationship and community feel. This way you can respond to any problems before they grow.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• Blogging

  
  
  
  

  • As a user: Enter the blogosphere and check out the site that are relevant to your business. Start with Blog search engines such as http://blogsearch.google.com/ to find your first sites and then follow the links.

    
    
  
  

  • As an Internet Publisher: Set up your own blog about your company or your industry and keep it up to date. Post relevant information and give your subscribers a reason to keep coming back, such as ‘inside’ information on new product development or statistics and research on your industry.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• Paid Search

  
  
  
  

  • As a user: Pay attention to adverts that appear for other companies in your industry when you use search engines. See what keywords they come up for and the wording of their adverts.

    
    
  
  

  • As an Internet Publisher: Paid search is the single biggest advertising market online and has a proven track record of delivering results. Determine your paid search strategy by doing some research with reliable resources. If you don’t use paid search, your competitors will.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• World Wide Web

  
  
  
  

  • As a user: Become an expert web searcher for information on your industry and your competitors; create bookmark files of key sites.

    
    
  
  

  • As an online publisher: Start with a simple web presence site to allow people to find basic information about your business online. Then expand with marketing-related content and news. Move to sales support and e-commerce if appropriate.

    
    
  
  
  
  

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