It was formerly the case that the area of online marketing was thought to be its own distinct specialty. That has now evolved with the merging of on-line and off-line domains.
Sophisticated marketers know that best practices in communication and collaboration technology are just as applicable to online marketing as other marketing domains. This article highlights four time tested techniques to enhance your online marketing…
Tip 1: Develop a newsletter using a web service
Online communication is a critical factor in online marketing. The world has gone far beyond Outlook merge. There are now a myriad of templates where pre-configured content can be added.
Just type the search term “e newsletter” into Google or Yahoo and you will see scores of options available. Once you have set up the template, your newsletter can be filled with content including announcements about new promotions or products, updates on shipping schedules. With this approach, you’ll create professional looking material with a relatively small investment of time.
Tip 2: Conduct virtual focus groups
Getting user feedback is a crucial ingredient in the development of any good online marketing campaign. Traditional focus groups are expensive and difficult to logistically organize. Just getting 8-12 people to go to one physical place is itself a challenge. However, there are other ways of holding focus groups that are generating traction.
Using a free conference calling service is a good way to conduct the event. Recent years have witnessed a number of companies launching conference calling services that offer teleconferencing for free. By using such a free conferencing service for your focus group, you can hold your focus group via the phone and save significant time and expenses.
The more advanced conference calling services provide audio capture. Having the conference audio enables you to concentrate on the what the participants are saying. After the conference call is done, the audio can serve as a permanent resource for capturing you user feedback.
Tip 3: Use data based decision-making practices
One of the most important trends in the last several years affecting online marketing has been the escalating reliance on evidence driven decision-making. As a marketer, you would be well served to develop a set of measurable metrics that can be tracked over time. Examples include open rates on email campaigns and click through rates on campaigns.
The old adage “you manage what you measure” is absolutely valid for online marketing. Having a set of quantitative metrics that you monitor and track over time is vital for generating improvement.
Tip 4: Hold virtual product demos
The best online marketers know that new products need rigorous testing and refinement before they can be fully launched. Product demo sessions are a useful way of gathering that feedback. Desktop sharing can be a particularly powerful way of accomplishing this.
Of course, you could just e-mail out the product demo information to every participant by way of an e-mail attachment. But a desktop sharing application allows you the ability to control how your product is perceived. The newer services enable you hand over control over to other participants which in turn allows your product demo to be more interactive.
Many desktop sharing applications cost little to use or are free. Some are bundled into the conferencing systems provided by conference calling companies. In other cases they are stand-alone service. Either way, this is another area where your online marketing can stand to benefit.
Successful online marketers are increasingly adopting the same time-tested and proven tactics that have produced outstanding marketing results in other fields. Whether it be intelligent online newsletter campaigns or clever use of conference calling technology to hold focus groups, there are a number of effective strategies available to help your efforts. And the best part is that most of these tips are either free or cost relatively little to implement.
Author-Bio: Andres Dennis has written in numerous forums about technology issues. He was an early participant in helping launch Rondee’s free conference calling service. For more information, visit http://www.rondee.com
