There are many methods to promote businesses online and with the advance of web 2.0 or the social Internet, further opportunities have developed for the business looking to get ahead in their marketing efforts. Social networking enables business owners to leverage the powerful social networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, Twitter, and more in order to build a reputation, generate more leads, and keep in regular contact with those leads. …read more

Word of mouth marketing has long been the desired choice for businesses. A customer that arrived through word of mouth has directly cost your business nothing but will arrive with a sense of trust and respect for your business. They will already be pre-sold on the concept of what it is you offer and all thanks to the efforts you’ve put in with previous customers in order to generate such a good reputation.

In terms of word of mouth marketing, reputation really is everything. Whether you’re operating online or offline, your brand should always be the first one that people think of and by offering a top quality product or service, friendly customer service, and exceptional after sales support you can expect great referrals from your existing customers.

However, word of mouth marketing can be much more than this, especially on the Internet. Viral marketing is the term that has been adopted to basically incorporate virtual word of mouth marketing. By developing a high quality website or offering content or giving away something of value it is possible to create a buzz even among those that are not your customers.

Word of mouth marketing can come in the shape of forwarded emails between friends, colleagues, and others with similar interests. It can also mean free advertising on social media and social news websites as well as industry websites but above all it is without doubt one of the most desirable forms of marketing your business.

The perception of value is critical. Even giving a product or service away for free is no guarantee that the word will be spread. The item has to be perceived as being valuable, useful, informational, or helpful in some way. If you can achieve this then word of mouth marketing could become one of your biggest assets.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is widely heralded as being one of the least inexpensive, most effective, and highly targeted methods of generating traffic for a website but what exactly is it and can anybody do it? …read more

The marketing arena is an ever expanding and ever evolving one. Seemingly new and innovative ways to market a business are introduced on a regular basis. It doesn’t feel that long since a website was considered a luxury for most small businesses and yet, nowadays, small businesses are turning their attention to Social Media Optimisation as well as Search Engine Optimisation, online press release submission, link building, and many other forms of online marketing.

The big question is do you have the resources and the expertise to effectively establish and maintain all of these marketing methods?

• Can you write press releases?
• Can you craft compelling content?
• Do you know how to conduct keyword research?
• Do you know the most effective ways to build links for your website?
• Are you able to formulate an effective viral marketing campaign?

Don’t worry if you can’t answer yes to all of these questions because, in reality, very few companies can. In fact, there are marketing companies out there that can’t manage all of these aspects of marketing and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Who’s to say what the next big thing in marketing will be, right?

The Pool Of Knowledge

One of the biggest benefits when outsourcing your marketing is that you gain access to a pool of knowledge that you don’t already have. A marketing company specialises in marketing in the same way that your business specialises in manufacturing your products or providing your service.

If you were to attempt to undertake all of your own marketing then you would need to employ an extensive team of marketers. You would need to pay for the office space, utilities, and the cost of computer equipment, software, and hardware. Plus, of course, you would need to pay your new marketing team a competitive salary to ensure they stay with your company.

The Cost Of Knowledge

That leads us to another advantage of outsourcing, in general, and outsourcing your marketing requirements specifically - the cost. Employing a team capable of fulfilling all of those functions would cost a prohibitive amount of money for most small businesses and many of the team members would find themselves with little to do for a lot of the time.

A marketing consultancy is only paid for the work they do. When the work is done, or when there’s nothing to be done except wait, you won’t need to pay wages or rent office space or meet any of the other overheads.

Intricate Insight

The biggest downfall of using a marketing firm is that they won’t have the same intricate knowledge of your business, your products, or your services as you and your employees do. This makes it vital when choosing a marketing consultancy, that you choose one that gets involved and makes decisions based on your specific requirements rather than offering a one size fits all solution.

Affiliate marketing is a internet based practice where business rewards its affiliates who bring in new custom, through sales or unique visits, through website, e-mail or social network referrals.

So who are the affiliates?

They can be anyone you want them to be! There are different ways of getting affiliates for your site. You can offer a signup service on your website. If you do this, your website will need the ability to track referrals. This is normally done using cookies.

Another way of gaining affiliates is via a third-party service, called an ‘affiliate network’. These networks have the added bonus that they already have a large customer base that they can market your affiliate service too and they do all the sales and referral tracking for you. The only negative is cost. If you have a small budget, the DIY approach may be your best starting point.

The affiliate process

Its a pretty straight forward process…

1. An ‘affiliate’ will sign up on your site, or through an affiliate network.
2. The affiliate will then link through to your website. This could be a direct link to a product, or a link through to your main shop.
3. When a customer visits your site via your affiliate, the visit is logged.
4. If the customer goes on to make a purchase, this is also logged. This may not be an immediate purchase, it could be a purchase of up to 30 days after the visit was referred. The period something you can define yourself.
5. Commission is then paid to the affiliate. Commission levels are also something that you can set yourself.

The future of affiliate marketing

With the boom in social networking, affiliate marketing is going to play an even bigger part in online business activities. Social networking is quick. A customer could review your product and within minutes you could be gaining new traffic.

The benefits and use of Skype are certainly no secret to the majority of businesses. It offers an incredibly cheap alternative to standard call charges and has even been proven to improve calling efficiency and productivity. As such, Skype’s uses transfer ideally over to cold calling so if you regularly undertake any cold calling and you still use a standard land line or, and we find it unlikely but you never know, a mobile phone then you should consider the following.

Skype can work out considerably cheaper than standard call costs with any telephone carrier. Calls to other Skype numbers are free and you can get some incredibly priced packages that put BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and other service providers firmly in the shade. As cold calling is usually done en masse it can mean ringing hundreds, or even thousands of numbers, so the savings can prove to be incredible.

As well as cost efficiency, Skype cold calling has the advantage of being more productive too. Some figures estimate that you would be able to make 50% more calls in the same amount of time when using Skype. Browser plug ins, and even plug ins for Excel and other office software exist that enable single click dialling. Using these tools you will be able to quickly and efficiently work through lists of telephone leads from any source giving the best possible results.

Skype numbers can be registered with the TPS, or Telephone Preference Service, in the same way as standard numbers can. What’s more, it is vital that you check any number you have details of has not registered with the TPS because if you call a number that is part of the Telephone Preference Service then you or your business can face thousands of pounds of fines. No cold call is worth that kind of money.

Used properly, Skype can prove to be a highly effective and inexpensive business tool. As a cold calling tool, it can be used to greatly increase efficiency while also greatly reducing the call costs associated with your direct marketing.

Useful links:

• www.skype.com

All but the very lucky few are suffering at the hands of the current economic downturn. While it’s certainly not the first recession we’ve faced it is proving to be a big one and in times like these it is the smart marketer and the smart business owner that comes out on top.

The main key to marketing in a recession isn’t necessarily to plump for the cheapest option but to make use of the most effective and the most cost effective marketing solutions. Every aspect of your marketing should be about finding value and this may lead to increased spending in some areas as well as decreased spending in others. …read more

Business networking has been the best friend of the salesman and the marketer for decades. In the physical sense of networking it really all is about appearance in everything you do so it’s vital that you look the part, sound the part, and act the part. Here are 5 top tips to improve your business networking results. …read more

KISS, or Keep It Simple Stupid, is a term that is applied often in business and for a number of different reasons. In terms of website design and development it generally refers to the usability of your online presence. By ensuring that a website is easy to use for all of your potential visitors you will be less likely to endure a high bounce rate on your website pages. …read more

QR Codes have been described as the doorway to the Internet for mobile phone users. For businesses like yours they are also a doorway to many more potential customers. …read more