Ranking on the first page of Google is terrible. But it can be easier if you follow these three rules of blogging and content marketing. Rule one is "Write more often to appear on the first page of Google." Rule two is "Write longer posts to generate more visits, but take longer to prepare." And rule three is "Promote your content all the time to make a commitment from your readers."  
  These are some of the tips you read in books, blogs, and magazines to improve your internet presence or your marketing strategy, whether business or personal. But no matter where you apply them (your posts, your videos or whatever content you create), everyone is doing the same.

Would not it be better to stand out from the others? Do something that others do not? A different marketing strategy? The truth is that those three tips that I started with are excellent, but the best way to make everything you write is shocking, different and really stand out, is not through speed, size or quantity; You achieve it by being different in a useful and meaningful way.

You can write short posts but high quality, promote you strategically without going heavy and let time decide if you deserve or not be on the first page of a search engine, and also do so for many other merits.

This strategy is not new, in fact, it has always worked, but modern times and the fear of missing something (FOMO) or being left behind have brought us into a world of panic and anxiety that They make us believe that if you stop publishing something for a day, you're dead. There is no such thing. 

Relax and follow these 3 tips to not let the internet stress your life.

Think Tweets

You've never been alone. When Marketing guru Seth Godin prefers writing one- or two- paragraph posts and shorter-than-conventional books, you know it's a strategy that has real precursors. You do not have to write more than you want, fill a page with words or make too much of a concept. Now we can appreciate more the content that - as part of being of great quality - can be consumed quickly. Write better before writing more, and your readers will thank you.

Choose well

You can not dominate everything, so you have to decide what your niche market will be, the best place to distribute your content, the best platform to promote it, etc. For example, write on LinkedIn if your customers or readers are there, create in Pinterest if your audience is mostly female, publish in Snapchat if you want to attract a more youthful market. Increase your presence and your marketing strategy wherever you want them to see you, and forget about places where there is no one with whom you want to connect.

Be different

"When everyone does Zig, you do Zag," said Marty Neumeier in his book ZAG 2006, now a classic (by the way, if you read Mariano's Blog this book will charm you, look a little about it at this link). Ask yourself what this is that no one else is doing and you can do it yourself, like creating videos when everyone else is writing posts, or giving away your book when others are selling yours. Being different and proposing something else and - why not say it - radical, those visits that you are looking for are going to arrive faster than you thought.

Marketing experts discuss the most common online marketing mistakes and what you can do to avoid making them. No matter you are running a big or a small business, you cannot afford to make mistakes. These mistakes can ruin your brands online reputation and popularity. Here are some common mistakes that you can avoid in your internet marketing campaign.

Don’t be over confident

When you execute a well-planned marketing campaign, you are confident that it will work well. But over a period of time, you realize that it is not bringing success. This happens due to the lack of diversity in your marketing campaign. You need to spread your marketing budget in more than three activities. If one doesn’t work well, other two may bring quality results.

Asking for too much information

Sometimes customers leave your website because they don’t want to fillin lots of information during the checkout process. As an internet marketer, you want to collect as much information as possible from your customers, but this may annoy your customers. If you don’t want your customers to leave, you need to create the checkout process simple and easy.

No follow-ups

This is another mistake that most internet marketers make. They don’t do regular follow ups with their customers. You need to create follow up systems such as emails and social media updates. You can offer your customers vouchers, discount coupons or free downloads. This will encourage your customers to come back and make more acquisitions.

Not targeting the right market

If you are running an internet marketing campaign, you need to identify your target market first. If you don’t define your target market, you could end up making a huge mistake. Identifying your target market is essential when you are running a PPC or social media marketing campaign. You need to focus on your target market rather than the location where you live.
Also read: Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Setting Up Targeting in AdWords

Don’t rely on your sales team

Only having a big sales and marketing team cannot guarantee you success. Relying completely on your marketing team can lead you into trouble. Sales personnel work for commissions or payouts. As a business owner, no one can understand your business better than you. You need to guide your sales team about how many emails a day they should send or how many calls a day they should make etc.
Also read: The 10 Most Common Online Marketing Mistakes

Not updating your social media profiles

Businesses areeffectively promoting their brands on social media channels. If you fail to update your social media profiles on a regular basis, you may fail to target a huge segment of your target audience. Spend a fair amount of time in managing your social media profile. Update your customers about new announcements, offers, events and discounts through social media networks.

Online marketing practices are still relatively new, and although they adhere to the same basic principles as real-world marketing strategies, the new medium has dramatically increased both outreach and tracking potential for businesses - assuming that platforms are used effectively.

  As the owner and operator of a dental practice, you no doubt want to get in on the action and take advantage of the many benefits to be gained through online marketing practices.
Also read: 6 Common Money Management Mistake


But you're not a marketing expert. You're a business owner, and you probably don't have a lot of extra time to devote to learning the ins and outs of online marketing.

Luckily, you can hire professionals to help you, if you do though, there is something you should know ahead of time. But you do need to know at least a little bit about the possible avenues of online marketing to go down. Hopefully, this will lead you toward intelligent decisions about how to direct your campaigns.

And you certainly want to avoid common marketing mistakes. If you fail to see where you're falling short, you could end up wasting both time and money that you really can't afford.
Also Read: 5 Myths About Starting an Online Business

If your dental practice could use the boost that online marketing is ideally suited to provide, there's no reason not to jump in feet-first. Just make sure you avoid the costly mistakes that other dental practices are making, mistakes like those listed below.

1. Ignoring free marketing options

You might think that the only way to reach potential customers is through a paid strategy like SEO or online advertising. But there are dozens of ways to spread your name and market your dental practice online without spending a dime.
For example, you could start by simply listing with directories. Directories like Yelp, Angie's List, Yellow Pages, and Google My Business are often used in lieu of search engines by consumers seeking area services.

Also Read: 7 Reasons Why Most Entrepreneurs Fail in Business

At the very least, you need to claim any listings that already exist in order to make sure that the name, location, and contact information for your business are correct. But you can do a lot more. You can start by adding links to your homepage, a map and/or directions, and in some cases, buttons for liking, sharing, or ranking. This way, satisfied customers can easily endorse you.
And of course, many directories also have an option for users to post reviews so that you can see what customers are saying, gain a means of connecting with them (through responses), and address any concerns that they may have.
Plus, directories are just one of several free options when it comes to online marketing. Maintaining a stable of social media profiles is also free, and don’t forget about blogging and guest posting on related industry blogs either.
Online marketing will take time or money.
But if your online marketing budget is pretty tight, free options can be a major boon.
Also read: Top 15 Reasons Your Business Should Use Google Adverting

2. Ignoring paid marketing options

Just as there are those who scoff at the potential effectiveness of free online marketing, others will assume that they can get by without spending any money at all.

Unless you happen to be an SEO specialist or an advertising genius, this is hardly the case. For starters, you cannot afford to have a website without the benefit of SEO if you want to be found by prospective customers.
Optimization gives your dental website the opportunity to be found and indexed by web crawlers, thereby increasing your page rank with Google, Bing, and any other search engines you submit to. And a solid and ongoing SEO strategy will keep you at or near the top of the list for specified search terms.
As for online advertising, it is completely different from real-world options, and in most cases, you'll need the services of an agency that has the knowledge, skill, and experience to drive your online advertising strategy.
There's a lot you can do on your own when it comes to online marketing, but thinking that you can run your business, learn SEO, and become a marketing whiz is pure fantasy. At some point, you're going to need professional help to move forward.

Also read: 3 Secrets to Creating a Better Marketing Plan

3. Failing to include appropriate contact information 

No matter what form of online marketing you use, it is important that you include contact information so that interested parties can find and reach you.

This starts simply enough with a phone number and address on your website, as well as the header of your blog, your social media accounts, and any directories you list with. You also need to include a valid URL link so at the very least, users can click through to your homepage.

Of course, you don't always want the landing page (the page people land on when they click on a link) to be your homepage. Suppose you're using email marketing or an online ad to offer a special deal on cleanings or teeth whitening services. Wouldn't you rather include a link that takes readers right to the page with the offer, or alternately, to a page where they can book an appointment?

How and where you use contact information is crucial to ensuring that customers can find you, reach you, and enjoy ease of use.

Also Read: 20 Internet Marketing Strategies for Small Business

4. Ignoring the competition

No man is an island, and this principle applies to your dental practice. If you want any hope of trumping the competition, you need to pay attention to their online marketing practices.

The reasoning behind this has to do with content, originality, and gaining the competitive edge. When you keep your enemies close - i.e. pay attention to what they're doing - you have the opportunity to meet and exceed their efforts.

Is your main competitor offering discounts on teeth whitening? Consider offering a bigger discount. Is he bidding for Google AdWords keywords that are at the top of your list? You may need to outbid him. Maybe he's started an infographic campaign. Take it to the next level with a viral video campaign.
Knowing what your competitors are up to when it comes to online marketing can definitely inform your choices concerning your own marketing strategies. So don't turn a blind eye.

5. Misleading marketing practices

You might think that this is a problem because of laws related to false advertising. But truth be told, fraud charges could be the least of your worries if you lie to the consumer public.

Even if you don't lie outright, misleading consumers can damage your reputation, both online and in the real world. And you'll certainly lose prospective patients when they realize they've been duped - nobody likes to feel as though they've been taken for a ride.

Is it really worth all that just to improve click-thru or sharing? Instead of using headlines, claims, or promotions that stretch the truth or are downright fabrications, it's imperative that you follow truth-in-advertising guidelines to the letter.

You might not see the same traffic, but the targeted customers who do come your way will be pleased to find exactly what was offered.

6. Incorrect use of advertising 

There are all kinds of ways to go wrong with online advertising. For example, you could get into trouble with search engines by promoting your content with trending keywords, tags, or titles that don't match the full copy. Keyword stuffing will get you in trouble (well it could). You can build an amazing website, then not optimize it and have it basically be like a billboard on a desert highway.
Or you might think the way to get attention is through titles all in caps with tons of unnecessary punctuation. You may believe that sensational videos will create an uptick in traffic, even though they don't accurately represent your business or your brand.

And of course, a major mistake that many dental practices make is failing to engage in ultra specific geo-targeting, which is marketing that focuses on a specific geographic region such as a neighborhood. After all, you don't want to waste money targeting distant locales where consumers are very unlikely to use your services or worse yet don't have the money for them.
A good online SEO, marketing, or advertising agency should be able to help you make wise decisions when it comes to selecting the right components for your online marketing efforts.

7. Failure to monitor and respond

It's not enough to push content and let people find it. If you want to make the most of your online marketing strategies, you need to include follow-up, especially when it comes to interactions with consumers.


Allowing for options like commentary is a great way to see how people respond to your marketing efforts. Then again, opening the lines of communication and then failing to monitor them and respond to questions, comments, and concerns is like playing virtual “ding dong ditch” (ringing a doorbell and running away).

In other words, it's rude. And the last thing you want to do is come across as uncaring when a clearly interested party takes the time to reach out.
For this reason, it's important to pay attention to your blog, your social media accounts, your directory listings, and any other online marketing efforts that allow for interaction. And make sure to collect contact information and reply whenever possible.

8. Failure to track and analyze
Regardless of the methods you use for online marketing, it is imperative that you track the results of your efforts.
In the past, tracking the results of marketing campaigns like print, radio, and television was largely dependent on public feedback, a methodology that is spotty at best.

But the internet offers almost unlimited options for tracking. These options include tools that can follow digital trails and deliver information about click-thru, sharing, and the amount of time visitors spend on certain pages. So why wouldn't you take advantage of these options?

You can start simply enough by using Google Analytics, a program that makes tracking your SEO efforts a cinch. You can even use funnels to follow your efforts from the point of inception straight through to specified conversions.
And you'll find that there are also targeted tools designed for use with your social media accounts and other online marketing platforms.

Of course, analyzing these metrics takes some amount of skill, and your online marketing specialist may be willing to do the heavy lifting and provide you with reports that are tailored to the layman. But over time, you could certainly learn to track or analyze the results of your online marketing efforts on your own.

9. Failing to manage your online reputation
Part of your online marketing strategy should include increasing positive mentions and decreasing or nullifying negative commentary. When prospective consumers search and find you online, you want to make sure the information they receive casts you in a positive light.

There are a couple of ways to go about achieving this goal. First of all, you should see every negative review as an opportunity to improve. Customer service is an important part of any business operation, especially a service industry like dentistry.

So when you come across negative commentary or reviews, start by reaching out to the unsatisfied party to see if you can rectify the situation, turn a negative experience into a positive one, and convert a naysayer into a loyal patron.

However, you also need to understand that not every negative experience can be remedied. And further, you might face issues with disgruntled ex-employees spouting off online or competitors posting fraudulent reviews in an effort to defame you.

This is an instance in which hiring a professional reputation management service could help. Such vendors have the knowledge, experience, and resources available to track down negative press, petition to have fraudulent commentary removed, and replace negative listings with positive ones. This will allow you to make a good first impression on search traffic.

10. Sticking to one strategy 
Things move pretty quickly in the online arena, and rapid advances in technologies and practices make it difficult to keep up. But you have to stay on top of your game if you want to make the most of online marketing opportunities. One way to do this is to connect with your patients.

On the SEO front, this means staying abreast of changing algorithms, policies, and standards and practices. And your other marketing and advertising efforts should change frequently so that you can hone your strategy for the best results.

But you also need to keep up with new social media outlets, changing trends, and tools designed to help you meet your online marketing goals more effectively.

As a dental practitioner, you're probably not an expert in anything related to online marketing. But that doesn't mean you have to throw in the towel and accept defeat.

When you are aware of the many mistakes that other dental practices have made when marketing online, you can avoid common pitfalls and ensure effective campaigns and long-term successes. With a little common sense, attention to detail, and marketing experts on your side, your online marketing efforts can pay off in a big way.

So what do you think? Has any of this info given you something to think about? If so, and you want others to benefit from the information provided, click the "thumbs up" icon and like it! Better yet, comment and let us know what you are doing to avoid making these mistakes! Consider to read why advertising is important for your small business.

How to Stop Being novice Internet Marketing: The Beginner's Guide to Online Marketing. Internet marketing is evolving rapidly. You can Get a degree in online marketing. This also creates difficulties to live up to online professionals. I was lucky to meet only a small part of online marketing because I like to learn new things. If not continuous learning, my knowledge today, no longer serves me for tomorrow.




Online marketing is a complex world. I admit that sometimes I can hardly keep up in my fields with all the new developments that are on the market. I do not even want to imagine the impact of information this market must have a person who starts with these issues. Although it is not easy to be a day worth having an average or advanced level in this field. You will see that you go on the more getting into, it will mean less effort. To keep up, you need a strong foundation with the Beginners Guide to Online Marketing.

Related: 20 Internet Marketing Strategies for Small Business Owner

Why is it important training in online marketing?

No one doubts that the "traditional" marketing will not disappear with the possibilities offered online. It's good to have training in both fields to take advantage of both worlds seen that a separation does not make sense. All our actions have an impact on the "offline" have an echo in the "online".

1. Demand for staff: in times of crisis the Internet sector is the only one that continued to grow in 2011. There remains demand for skilled personnel and experience of Internet marketing. 
2. Sales Channel: If you are an entrepreneur or you work in a marketing department of the online channel can help in the growth of your company. To this we must have a knowledge of the different tools and know which are suitable for the business itself. 
3. Evolution continues, even if they are already part of the market is important to know the latest trends and developments. Nothing else needs to take a look at the map of social media marketing is only part of digital marketing to understand that it is a complex world.
   

Top 5 ways to train in online marketing topics

Life is a continuous learning. Although online marketing is no longer the future, it is still like science fiction to many beginners. So you do not constantly feel like a movie Star Wars is time to get some batteries.

1. "Learning by doing": I have learned so. Start slowly and play with the different tools offered by the online marketing knowledge will generate automatically. Having a blog example introduces you to the world of analytics, online monetization, social networks, etc. (If you wants to make money from Internet Marketing you can Read this article on Infolinks with Blog and Money.)

2. Read industry blogs: I had doubts if added to this list of online marketing books also make sense. Finally I have not done that are always a bit behind what you can read in blogs. Since we can subscribe to this blog to stay abreast of topics of online marketing ...;) Take a look at this on: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide To Starting A Small Business.

3. Make placements: In my life I have done many unpaid internship as a student. I learned a lot and would do it again. If a scholarship is good it does not have anything to do with exploitation. It is quite the opposite. Much time is spent to form a person. Trust me!

4. Participate in events: there are many events on online marketing. Not all are worth seen that the added value is in the quality of the speakers. If you are interested in the world of blogs and entrepreneurs in Seville EBE you may merit a trip.

5. Take training courses: Nothing comes to you if you do not invest (time, money, effort, etc.) anything not get anywhere. A master online marketing can be a good investment in your professional future.

It does not matter how you do it. What matters it is to conduct continuous training in online marketing because things evolve too fast to stand still. 
Some takes Internet marketing as passion, I started as too, and then converted it to profit and start making money from my skills using internet marketing. 

I belief everyone has some special exceptional skill which no one else has. But most of us can't find our inner good effective skills to make it out to take our professional life ahead.

What are your tips for training in marketing on the Internet?

Online marketing, which is also called internet marketing or online advertising, is any tool, strategy or method of getting the company name out to the public. The advertisements can take many different forms and some strategies focus on subtle messages rather than clear-cut advertisements. 

One of the main internet marketing strategies that can help online retailers build a successful Internet business is search engine optimization (SEO), the process of tailoring your website to the algorithms that search engines use to rank websites based on “signals” that the site emits.
Related: 50 Simple Definition Every Young Entrepreneur Should Know

There are many things to consider when crafting a successful internet marketing strategies, but there are Twenty key decisions that over the years I have seen help hundreds of small business owners grow their sales and create sanity in their internet marketing strategies.

Internet Marketing strategies For Small Businesses With Limited Budgets

Define Your Brand

Build A Simple & Effective Website

The website is the central component of any business’ digital marketing strategy; it’s how your current and potential customers can most easily find and connect with you. Given its key role, it’s astonishing that more than half of small businesses owners (52%) said their business does not have a website, according to the Yodle survey.
Related: How to Create Self-Hosted Personal Blog in less than 20 min
 
Make your website a priority this year. Whether you’re just building your website now or looking to improve the one you have, keep these key things in mind moving forward:

• Make Contact Information Visible & Consistent: Incorporate your business’ contact information (phone number, address, email address, etc.) throughout your site, not just in your About Us or Contact Me section. Ensure that your contact information is consistent with what you have included on online business listing websites.
• Design An Appealing, Easy-To-Use Interface: Invest in a contemporary website with a visually appealing color scheme and straightforward navigation. It will not only make your website more attractive and seamless to navigate, but will also reflect on the professionalism of your business. Be careful about using features such as Flash which may negatively impact your site’s search ranking potential and which don’t load on some smartphones.
• Use Defining & Searchable Keywords On The Front & Backend: In drafting content for your website, be sure to incorporate keywords that consumers will most likely use when searching for your products and services. Ensure that your web designer incorporates these keywords into anchor text in page URL links and adds keyword-specific titles, descriptions and tags to videos posted on your website.
• Keep Current By Regularly Updating Content: In order to stay relevant to those visiting your site (including search engine crawlers) be sure to update your website content on a consistent basis. Develop an editorial calendar to update your site in conjunction with big promotions and sales, events, and other notable activities, or when you introduce new products or services.
• Monitor Website Analytics: Pay close attention to where your website visitors are coming from, how they’re finding you, and what they’re doing while on your website, so you can consistently update and improve their experiences through tweaks to your site’s navigation and content.

Publish Great Content

I don’t think I even need to say this, but it’d be neglectful not to mention the importance of kick-ass content. If you can create it yourself, all the better (isn’t free always better?). Even if writing isn’t your strong point, you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting someone on your team to crank out some articles for your blog.

Create Instructional Videos

Video content is really valuable to internet marketing strategies, and while it can cost big bucks to get professional YouTube videos produced, there’s nothing wrong with giving it a shot yourself or hiring a film student off Craigslist. Wistia offers a great video tutorial showing you how to shoot expert-looking footage on your regular old iPhone!

Post to Pinterest and Instagram

If you are selling a highly visual product or service, say you are in the bridal or food business, you should be regularly posting images on Pinterest and/or Instagram. Posting is free and both platforms have large followings (read: how to get followers), particularly among women. Pinterest is the ideal social media to add in list to your internet marketing strategies, if your products or website is mainly female based.
Related: 6 Pinterest Board Tactics To Increase Blog Traffic

"You can drive major traffic to your website via Pinterest, and no platform uses hashtags to build audiences like Instagram," says Eric Elkins, CEO and chief strategist at WideFoc.us, a real time social media company.

What is Your Unique Benefit?

Your unique benefit should highlight the one (or two) main things your product or service actually delivers (benefits) that your target customer really wants, not a long list of all the things your product does (features).
At Infusion-soft, we know our customers don’t just want our software: They want to grow sales and save time. We don’t describe everything our software does or the hundreds of benefits, we keep our focus on those three key benefits in everything we do. And the simpler we describe it, the better our marketing works.

Who is Your Competition?

When someone is looking to buy a solution to a problem, they will quickly make sense of the alternatives to compare against – your competition. However, most entrepreneurs haven’t specifically defined who their real competition is and don’t focus their messages to create clear differentiation for their buyers. This frustrates the buying decision process and makes your digital marketing efforts weaker.
 Related: A Beginner’s Guide to CPA: CPA Marketing

You need to be clear in your own mind about what your biggest competition is in digital marketing. If you are a tax accountant, is your competition really the other tax accountants in town? Other CPAs or financial planners?  DIY tax software? Doing taxes manually? National tax accounting chains? Each competitor type would create different comparisons, so you need to narrow it down to one or two main competitor types.

Never Stop Growing Your Network

In internet marketing strategies "if you stop, you will die". Expand your network of contacts and potential clients. Ask your best, most powerful, most influential friends or business associates to introduce you to the five people they think you should meet to expand your business. Take each of the contacts out for coffee and get to know them. Discuss your plans and future goals, tell them about why your business is special and ask for their advice. You will be amazed at how these new contacts will pay off ten-fold with recommendations to you for new business and innovative ideas you hadn’t thought of.

Internet Marketing on Twitter Giveaways

This might sound silly in internet marketing strategies plan, But give away your product or promotional item on Twitter will work better. Ask a question about a product on your website or blog. The first person to answer wins. When you send the item write, “Retweet upon receipt,” to be entered in a second contest.

Google AdWords On The Cheap

Run market research on the cheap by using Google Adwords to target an audience. Make the landing page a question survey. A snappy question to attract people, along with Google’s Geo-targeting can provide great results, for next to nothing. You might interested to read: Top 15 Reasons Your Business Should Use AdWords for your Internet Marketing Strategies.
Related: 5 Mistakes You should avoid When Setting Up Ad

Explore Bing Ads for internet marketing

With Bing Ads, you can create ads to reach the right audience and meet your business goals. Currently BingAds has lower competition than google, so you can eaily work with them. They has lots of features life geo targeting, age, device etc. Recently BingAds added 20+ new features to make your internet marketing strategies easy. Here are Top 8 Reasons to add Bing Advertising to your Internet marketing Bucket list.

StumbleUpon Advertising for Internet Marketing

If you want to try some paid advertising but you’re not looking to break the bank, StumleUpon’s Paid Search Discovery could be for you. Paid Discovery delivers users straight to your site, ready to engage. What works best on Stumble Upon? Photography, visual assets, and humorous content.
Stumble Upon is pretty cheap compared to other paid ad structures. You start with a base price of 10 cents per click, then add +2 cents for age targeting, gender targeting and device targeting. You can see the whole price list for detailed info.  Whichever way you spin it, Stumble Upon’s paid offering is leagues cheaper than most other social media ads; Facebook ads, for example, can cost as much as 80 cents per click.
Also Read: How to get traffic from StumbleUpon?: A Secret Guide

To really benefit from StumbleUpon, use targeting options to make sure you’re hitting the right audiences and niches.

Add Online Reviews to internet marketing strategies list

Let your fans review your business, then incorporate their reviews in your blog post — good or bad, unless of course it’s obscene, not-safe-for-work bad. Online reviews are a critical component of your business’ reputation and can do wonders for converting new customers. Services like RateItAll.com/Promote allow you to submit anything for review – whether it’s a local business, a blog, a website, a product, or a brand. Other popular review sites include Yelp (local businesses), TripAdvisor (travel related items), and Viewpoints (products).

Inspire Customers To Call You

Do something really different. Send a monthly postcard instead of a hard copy newsletter. Self-printed cost is $0.46 ea. including the stamp. Make it fun and colorful with a strong “Call to Action” title, like: “100 reasons to call us. List 10-to-20 reasons, including your skills, talents, and tasks. Give customers a coupon for a discount, or a free doughnut, or something fun to inspire them to call.

Digital Marketing with LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a major social media site that is often under-utilized. Don’t just add network connections and sign out – join groups, enter into dialogue with connections, and share your blog posts. There’s a ton happening on LinkedIn, and it can be a great place to promote your content, share ideas, and build your brand.

Apply Online for Business Awards

Most industries have business awards you can win, providing you with an online badge you can place on your website. Badges like these can boost credibility, and as a result, increase sales. If there aren’t any awards for your industry, host your own! You’ll get a ton of attention from other industry businesses who want to apply for your award, which means even more connections and more possible future collaborations!

Email Marketing as Digital Marketing

Email marketing is a great way to get new visitors engaged with your business, as well as maintain relationships with your existing customers.
Get new website visitors to sign up for your newsletter by offering a bonus content piece for subscribing (e.g. get your free ebook detailing how to make a homemade pizza when you sign up for our First Slice newsletter). Slowly nurture your subscribers via email until they are ready to become paying customers. Start your email campaigns with a free email marketing service like MailChimp.
Related: How to turn your blog post into an ebook

Be smart about SEO

Still don’t have a clue about search engine optimization or how it relates to your blog or website? SEO is critical for having massive success is online marketing – and can’t be ignored or overlooked anymore. Develop a comprehensive SEO strategy about how to improve your search engine rankings for your best keywords and let’s get to work.
Related: 34 Search Engine Optimization Techniques

Get endorsed by a local celebrity

Its true; your internet marketing strategies should start from the local market. Many business owners dream of having their product or service endorsed by a global celebrity. But instead of trying to get a superstar to support your business, try seeking out a local celebrity instead.
Who exactly are local celebrities? These are people your local paper is writing about -- perhaps an "unsung hero" such as a teacher or a resident who's doing something positive and newsworthy. Since they're in your neighborhood, these people should be relatively easy to locate and contact by phone or e-mail. Let them know you'd like to send them a gift, namely your product or service.

Improve your irresistible free offer

Perhaps it’s time to replace that outdated “free report” or “eBook” with an even higher value freebie to offer site visitors. As I referred to in my post about the best freebie out there – my favorite is still the Audio CD – which has huge intrinsic value because it’s a physical “thing” and you can capture mailing addresses in addition to just email addresses.

Creating a clear online marketing strategy is not what companies do after they get big, it’s what small companies do to grow and get bigger in the first place.

Many companies believe that simply monitoring their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds for customer issues is sufficient to provide customer service. In this day and age where everything is about digital marketing, the most forward thinking thing we can do is to look backwards. The source of all contented customers comes from two major areas:

• Personal service and attention
• A quality product

In fact, a consumer is more likely to forgive a company for a defective product over a shoddy or irritating service experience. For example, one expects to buy a lousy product from a Canadian retail company from time to time (i.e.: a cheap sound system that ceases to work after a month.) But the measure of our satisfaction is related to how well we are treated when we seek resolution.
In the pre-digital marketing era, companies tended to take a more human and personal approach when dealing with customer issues. This has been replaced by the assumption that social media is doing it all. But this isn’t the case. Granted, on Twitter, most complaints are simple and numerous, so the best you can achieve is to produce stock answers. While it’s great that companies are “listening” to their public, they could learn a thing or two from the past.

ORM and Digital Marketing Initiatives

ORM, or Online Reputation Management is a $5 billion industry (according to this Forbes article.) Companies are paying to ensure that fake online reviews (one example) don’t harm the reputation of their business. What’s interesting is that it will soon be considered an actionable offense to post lies in online reviews. The problem is, how soon can the lies be weeded out before harm is done to a company’s brand?
How can we all improve our customer service and ensure that we control our online reputation? Here are 5 tips to make you think about how to treat your customers. Satisfaction will always come from your personal attention. So consider how important customer satisfaction really is.

1. Display Your Success in Customer Support

Do you have an online (or offline) method for getting customer comments? By placing positive reviews and messages from contented customers on your website, you improve your credibility along with your digital marketing message. While the same is true when it comes to describing the awards you’ve received, remember that hearing the words of actual customers is far more effective a way for others to believe in the quality of your service and product.

2. Be Clear and Present

Wouldn’t it be great if you could hover over the shoulder of your clients to make sure they’re using your product or service properly? It would be great if you could answer any question quickly and efficiently. This is exactly what the people at Amazon have done with their new Mayday system. They take customer support to the next level by integrating a live-chat employee into their machines. With a simple click of a button, they can talk directly with a representative to get the answers they need. Live screen sharing and even live screen highlighting make fixing any problem a breeze. Think about that the next time you’re trying to create a PDF out of multiple files in Mac’s Preview app.

The point is: to be clear and present with your support. The online service of Firefly has a co-browsing feature that allows your representatives the ability to screen share an open browser of your clients. Much like Mayday, you can provide live, real time support. This can help your customers to better navigate your website, which in turn leads to happy customers.

3. Some People Respond Better to Video

I have friends who call me up all the time to ask how to create a PDF in Mac’s Preview. While I enjoy the one-on-one time, for the most part my first response is always: Isn’t this a question for Google? I learn everything I need from helpful online tutorials. But I also realize that not everyone learns best by reading text on a screen. My friend’s response is always the same: “I just need someone to show and tell me the answer.”
With this in mind, why not consider improving and increasing the video content on your website? If you have a common complaint or question, make a video tutorial. This can be in the form of actual employees in front of a camera, or by using screen capture software (I use Screenflow for Mac.) I suggest you provide both a text and a video method at the same time. Because some of us still enjoy reading rather than watching (and of course) Google doesn’t know how to optimize for sound just yet.

4. Publish Reports on Customer Service Wins

Every few months or so, why not compile a list of the best customer reviews / comments and create a newsletter or report? Share with your public the success you’ve had in the last quarter with these stories? If you’ve received some negative comments, you can address them here as well. Show how the event occurred and what steps were taken to address the customer’s concerns. This is absolute transparency and not every company is up for it. However, the more you disclose, the more likely your brand story will be repeated, retweeted and shared across social media.

5. Get as Personal as Possible

Some companies have gone so far as to send out hand-written thank-you notes to their customers. Digital marketing companies such as MailLift.com can reproduce this service on your behalf. This may be a bit extreme, and not really fit with the brand of your company. Not everyone values a handwritten note in the same way.

It is a good idea, however, to get your corporate-level employees involved. The mayor of Toronto claimed to be available any time to take phone calls from the citizens. Whether he managed to do this or not, isn’t as important as that he appeared to want to. Get your CEOs involved in both customer support as well as social media channels. Customers will always value a person and personality behind a brand more than simply a brand persona.

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Conclusion

You can take control of your online reputation. By keeping positive reviews on top and addressing the negative ones, you will show that you are engaged and concerned. Ignoring problems won’t help and ignoring compliments won’t benefit you.

In further conclusion, I honestly don’t really know how to make a PDF using Preview, so if someone could send me a link to an online tutorial, I’d be grateful. “Isn’t this a question for Google?” You might be asking. Yes, but then I would be robbed of the opportunity to engage with my readers and thereby increase our customer satisfaction.

If you are thinking about using a blog to sell products, there are a few things you should know in order to have a chance of selling without alienating your readers by being too “salesy.”
Getting readers to buy from a blog post is not as straightforward as it may seem. You may feel inclined to just post a photo of your product with a short description, but that usually will have a less than desired effect.
If you’re wondering, “Well then, HOW can I get readers to buy my products?” you are in luck. There is another way and it’s a lot more fun for both you and your readers.
Here are a few tips for how you can sell products elegantly through your blog.

Make sure your readers know where they can go to buy

It may seem like a basic element for a blog that hopes to sell, but not every blogger makes their online shop obvious. Whether it’s because they are afraid of turning visitors off or they are just trying to be cute by calling their shop by another, less obvious name, they are making a mistake.

When people are ready to give you their money, it’s in your best interest and theirs to make it as easy for them as possible. Link to your “Online Shop” from your top navigation. Include a graphic with a link in your sidebar. If you need help building an online shop, you can always enlist the help of a professional freelancer and they can get you set up quickly.

Treat your products as supporting cast members in your stories, not the star

What tends to drive readers away from a blog that sells products is when the blog posts become thinly veiled sales pitches — talking about nothing but the features and benefits of the product on offer.
The most effective way to keep readers coming back to your blog is to treat your blog posts as a way to ‘warm up’ your readers and get them wanting to buy. One way to do this is by telling interesting stories that deal with whatever problem your readers are facing and then present your product as the solution.

For example, a tile retailer can sell readers on both their custom travertine tiles as well as the installation by talking about a remodeling project from the point of view of the homeowners. They might discuss how the homeowners previously bought tile from another company but the installation was shoddy and the tile was subpar. Now talk about how the homeowners found your store and your design team helped them pick out the perfect tile for their home and the installation and redesign helped fix problems left by the other install team. Include plenty of gorgeous photographs and end with a call to action to have the reader contact your team for a free assessment.

For a different example, let’s look at a store that sells kitchen supplies for the gourmet home cook. Great blog content would include videos of you using the your products to prepare delicious food. Show your family enjoying it and then end by giving readers a printable recipe card.

Include your customers in your stories

You can interview your readers who have purchased from you or have them write their own story that includes them using your product in some capacity. For example, a reader might share her story of how she purchased your custom jewelry and wore it to her wedding and how it was the best day of her life even though the only thing that went right that day was the gorgeous necklace and earring set she bought from you.

Focus on your customer’s problems

No matter what you do, you can’t go wrong by helping your customers solve their problems. Just make sure to tie your products into the solution somehow. That will ensure that your blog posts come off as useful rather than as a pure sales pitch.