When your business is starting out, you’re focused on your finances. However, it’s important to conserve your other most valuable asset: time. In the beginning stages of a business, it can be hard to work on alternate revenue streams when you’re still getting your company up and running. One great way to increase revenue while still being efficient is through online marketing. By advertising your business online, using marketing options like social media, search engine optimization, or pay-per-click ads, you can not only bring in a little extra direct revenue, but also start seeing growth in your business.
The state of online marketing
These days, there’s a very clearly defined trend in the way people do business online. It starts with a web search, usually for just a few keywords. From here, informed consumers will do some research on different options. This research can take many forms. It could be looking at service pages and pricing packages, getting quotes for work, or reading customer testimonials on various businesses. It could also mean reading product reviews, or just doing general research on the best products for a customer’s needs.
When the research is done, customers move into the comparison stage. This is when the consumer stacks the services or products on offer against each other, weighing factors like the price, the experiences of past customers, and how quickly they can receive the product or service. Although strong online marketing is important, this phase is one of the most crucial ones to focus on. It’s great to get people looking at what your business has to offer, but in order to convert that impression into actual business, you’ll need to have something that sets you apart from the competition.
This is where strong online marketing comes in. Not only does it help people understand what you have to offer, but also when done right, online marketing can help people see why they should choose your business over another. It can help build your brand into something people can engage with, making them more likely to do business with you.
Here are four ways to achieve financial freedom with online marketing.
1. Content Writing
You may have wondered why nearly every business webpage these days has a blog section. One of the best ways to see financial results from your business is to write all the content you can on it. We’ll touch on this a little more in the search engine optimization section, but there’s a reason that online marketing has taken a preference for longer form, written content in the past few years. This is usually in the form of blogs or articles, but other types of writing can also be useful, depending on the nature of your business. You can always work with qualified marketing agencies and their writing teams, but this isn’t even strictly necessary. If you have the time, you can apply your industry knowledge to a weekly article, keeping your site content fresh as well as offering information to the consumer.
The more written content you have on your site, the more likely it is to be picked up by search engines. Beyond that, however, it shows your site visitors that you know what you’re talking about when it comes to your industry. At the very least, strong written content can help build confidence among consumers. It’s even better if you can create content that is informative and helpful to the user, while still redirecting them back to your business.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
If you’ve heard even the slightest bit of information about online marketing, you’ve probably heard the term ‘search engine optimization’ or SEO. It can seem intimidating to those who are new to the concept, particularly for business owners who can’t afford to spend tons of their valuable time learning its ins and outs. However, SEO is simply the process of making sure your website shows up in relevant web searches. For instance, if you’re an electrician in Burnaby, you’ll want to be showing up when someone Googles “Burnaby electrician.” This might seem obvious, but it’s an important step that can sometimes be overlooked. Unfortunately, just having the website out in the world isn’t enough. You need to keep it updated, and always be tweaking your online content with search engine optimization in mind. This will help people find their way to your website, and keep you at the top of the search results.
Some things to consider when optimizing your site for search engines is to understand what search engines look for. Keywords are a big one. Going back to the electrician example, you’ll want to make sure your site is densely packed with relevant keywords – not just “Burnaby electrician,” but also “Burnaby lighting installation,” and “local electrical renovations.” The more of these keywords you can naturally weave into your online content, the more likely a search engine is to include you on the first page of results.
3. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a strategy based around recommendation and testimonial. It’s also one of the most personalized, tailorable marketing solutions on this list. Rather than advertisements and promotions that are designed for maximum reach at the expense of being a bit impersonal, affiliate marketing is centered around a one-to-one interaction between you and your customers.
Affiliate marketing isn’t the best fit for every industry, but for some, it can be an invaluable tool in achieving financial freedom through online marketing. How does it work? Essentially, you enter a kind of partnership with another business, particularly if you’re in complimentary, but not competing, fields. You use your existing marketing base to promote another company’s product, giving it your recommendation or endorsement. If you’ve done a good job connecting with your users and establishing trust among them, this can be a profitable idea for you and the company you’re marketing for. By providing an affiliate link or code, you can also add value for the customer by getting them some savings, say, 15% off their first purchase.
4. Social Media
One of the most quickly increasing avenues of online marketing is social media. Usage rates are higher than ever, and if you’re not taking advantage of social media to expand the reach of your brand, you’re essentially leaving money on the table. The beauty of marketing with social media is its flexibility. You have options at all price points and time commitments to help increase awareness of your company and start drumming up profits.
On the lower effort and low-cost end of the spectrum, you have business pages. These are most commonly seen on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and are a great (and free) way to access new demographics and get your services in front of people who otherwise might not see them. Many of these platforms also offer free analytics, which will help you learn more about who is engaging with your content and, in turn, tailor that content to draw even more people in.
If you’re looking for a more involved approach to marketing through social media, you can look at paid ads and campaigns. This is a great way to get your business in front of a much larger audience than you would by simply having a business account on Instagram. Although this method will likely get you more results, it does come at the cost of time and money, i.e. your two most valuable assets. That’s why it’s a good idea to get a little help from the experts.
Online Marketing with KIAI Agency
The beauty of online marketing is that absolutely anyone can give it a shot. Sometimes, experimenting with online marketing won’t even cost you anything, making it a low risk way to drum up some additional profits. However, if you’re looking to see quicker, more pronounced results from online marketing, getting you started on the path to financial freedom, there’s no better way than to work with a qualified marketing agency.
At KIAI, we’re prepared to help you hit your stride in your marketing. By combining our years of experience in the online marketing world with your expertise in your field, we can help get your content, brand, and services out to a greater audience, driving profits and creating new business.
If you have any questions about search engine optimization, social media marketing, or anything else related to promoting your business on the world wide web, don’t hesitate to contact KIAI today!
