Hey, guys, in this post we are going to be looking at online marketing strategies for 2016. Please stick with me through to the end.
I’m going to give you 12 ways to build your online presence this year. I’ve broken this post up into free strategies and paid strategies.
I’ll start with the free strategies.
7 Free Online Marketing Strategies for 2016.
#1 Blogging Regularly.
Blogging is still very, very important for marketing your small business, and the reason is because a blog is online real estate that you own and control. Blogging is simply giving relevant information which answers people’s questions online.
#2 YouTube Video Marketing.
Craig Heffernan has an awesome YouTube channel, and in his YouTube channel he has a lot of video’s that he’s created as tutorials.
In his video, “How to Build a Deck Around a Pool” (see below) he has created an excellent tutorial showing how he builds it. And he’s got almost 3 million views on this video alone.
As you can see, YouTube marketing is a very effective and powerful way to grow your online presence.
#3 Instagram Marketing.
For this example, we’re looking at the channel of Tyler Grace from TRGHomeConcepts.com. He has a beautiful channel on Instagram. He posts pictures of his work. He is a talented craftsman, creating beautiful carpentry and craftsmanship. He has 3,600 followers and over 420 posts.
I looked up his channel on Iconosquare. I can see that he gets an average of 150 likes per post and an average of 20 comments per post. That means this guy’s very engaged. He has an audience that’s very engaged, and his Instagram channel is doing very well.
#4 Periscoping for Business.
Live video is on the rise. We have Facebook Livestream. We have Periscope. We have Blab. We have Meerkat, and there’s a host of new platforms that just came out last year.
These live video platforms are growing exponentially.
This would be a way for you to grow your audience through authenticity. Simply by getting in front of the camera, being real, being you, and telling people what you know. You will build your audience.
#5 Start Podcasting.
Podcasting is also on the rise. Yes, podcasting is old technology, but if there’s a fresh insurgence of podcasts, and podcast listeners now.
#6 Host Online Webinars.
You could do a regular webinar, or a periodic webinar. Simply invite people to come, get on their computers, login, and teach them something through online webinar technology.
#7 Local Online Newspaper Articles.
Another way you could build your online presence this year, is by writing an article for your local newspaper and having it published online.
Just reach out to your local newspaper. Send them an email, give them a phone call, or whatever, and create an article that helps their audience.
Write an article that answers people’s questions. You could do this more than once. You could even become a regular contributor.
Build your online presence through giving tons of value and using the local media online to do so.
#8 Local SEO.
This is an old one, but it’s still important. If you have a local business, and you want to get noticed when people are searching for you, then you need to be found on the local search engine.
The way to do that is through optimizing your Google location, now known as “Google My Business.” As well as optimizing some of the other local directories like Yelp, Houzz…etc.
It’s very important that you have optimized your local presence, and your website correctly, so that you are showing up in the local search results.
#9 Regular Email Newsletters.
Email newsletters are a great way to stay top of mind in front of your prospects and former customers.
A great way to do this is to send out an email once a month with something valuable that helps your homeowners or your community learn something.
In the following example from GregSmithCompany.com, he has all of his back issues on one page of his website. I clicked and opened one of his newsletters. The article title is: “6 Home Office Trends to Inspire You for 2016.” He’s got a little picture of him on there. And then on the left hand side are some links to his website, and how to contact him.
Email newsletters a great way for you to stay in touch with your prospects or with your former customers and build your online presence over time.
3 Paid Online Marketing Strategies for 2016
Now these last 3 strategies that I’m going to give you are paid, but effective.
#1 PPC Advertising.
The first paid online marketing strategy I have for you is pay-per-click advertising.
Google is probably the best known for this. You pay Google to put your listing on the front page of the search results when people are searching for your keywords.
For example, If I’m looking for a local plumber, you can see in the screenshot below, that Coy’s Plumbing is one of the first results. If I look on my mobile phone and do this search, he’s right at the top before I see anything else.
And plus, they now have the mobile version of advertising where it’s click-to-call! You don’t even have to click through to the website anymore. On that ad, people can just click it and it will ask them if they want to place the call. It’s very effective!
#2 Youtube Advertising.
Right now YouTube advertising is very cheap, and it’s effective.
Like here… I want to watch this video … I’m looking at this video here called “How I Transformed My Kitchen Cabinets for Under 100 Dollars,” but before I can watch the video, there’s this ad that pops up.
You could be the advertiser that pops up in front of people when they’re searching for a video around your offer. You can also target people based on where they live. Therefore, when they’re watching YouTube videos, you can pop up in front of them just based on the location, or their interests, or their age, or whatever.
#3 Send Out Cards
The last strategy I have for you today is to use SendOutCards. Now, you might say, “Well, SendOutCards is an off-line strategy.” In a sense it is. It’s direct mail. They will get a physical card in their mailbox. But it’s an online platform.
You can login to your SendOutCards account and send a postcard or a greeting card to your prospect, or to your customer, and have a direct connection with them that will help build your business.
There you have it.
There’s 12 online marketing strategies for 2016, to help market and grow your business using the internet.