Over the past few years, the emergence of new online channels – such as the popular social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – has dramatically affected the way that internet marketing is being conducted.
Twitter consultant Mark Shaw, ranked as high as #49 in the World for Twitter Elite and has approx 12,500 followers, explains: “Twitter is really getting a massive head of steam up. There are literally millions of people around the world joining on a monthly basis. Many people presume Twitter is just a social thing, although Twitter has a use for business too. Twitter can actually help you to drive more website traffic, and with it more revenue for business.”
Most businesses don’t know ‘what they don’t know’ when it comes to Internet Marketing and leading UK online resource FreshBusinessThinking.com have developed a power-packed one day event to address this. The Hit Me! Internet Marketing conference brings together their top internet marketing contributors, representing some of the best frontline practitioners in the UK, on 8th September in London.
Nick James, Managing Director of FreshBusinessThinking.com comments: “The internet will have an even larger affect as we move forward into the future. It is necessary for every company to have knowledge of Internet Marketing so that they can quickly and effectively engage with their customers and prospects online; however Internet Marketing can seem mystifying not only for beginners but for moderately skilled internet marketers – it is a constantly changing landscape.”
There are lots of methods available to business owners to enable them to increase traffic to their website and effectively promote their business. Search engine optimization (popularly called SEO) along with pay per click (PPC) ad campaigns such as banners and email marketing are indeed one of the most common and very effective methods. Blogging has also become a popular platform where most people and businesses create their personal brand, with some bloggers gaining a ‘rock star’ like reputation in their market.
The key for business owners is to take a varied and integrated approach which can launch one’s business through the roof. Matt Rhodes, UK leading Social Media Consultant for FreshNetworks and the man behind Europe’s Top 3 social media blog says: “A successful online community needs good management; you can’t just turn on the social media software and wait for the online community to ‘happen’.”
Matt continues: “Growing an online community, for example, is a tricky process – too fast and your community might implode; too slow and you risk consumer disengagement. The early stages of online community building are the most complex – not only are you looking to attract and keep users but you also need to ensure the direction of the online community aligns properly with organisational goals. It’s not an easy task.”