New Trends in Internet Marketing

The world wide web is well past the inceptive stage. It is a full-bodied content delivery system that virtually every industry has leveraged to some degree. Every modern company with any marketing budget whatsoever has a web presence. Most are marketing their company or their services on the internet utilizing pay per click ads or organic search optimization. That should be the norm. If you aren’t marketing an Internet presence for your company you missing out on this enomormous revenue stream.

But what is out in front of the curve? What trends are emerging that will shape how you reach your customers in the future? This article hopes to outline some of the new ways companies are marketing themselves.

Social Media

Every company should be utilizing social media marketing to promote their product and strengthen customer ties. Facebook recently passed the 500 millionth user mark and shows no signs of slowing down. Social media networks allow companies to strengthen and formalize existing relationships. Do this well enough, and it will lead to a greater amount of referral business. Do this extremely well and you can create an army of brand advocates. Look no further than your corner Starbucks for an example of passionate brand advocates:

On July 31st, Adbusters (an anti-consumerist magazine) called for a boycott of Starbucks and posted a story about the boycott on Adbusters.org. Within hours, supporters of Starbucks were commenting on the story and defending Starbucks. In their opinion, Starbucks was a good employer, a good global citizen, and good for locally-owned independent coffee houses.

Social media platforms you should be using:

• Facebook allows you to create pages for your company or service and then purchase ads to promote those pages. Facebook ads can be targeted based on age, gender, location, and likes. They are also cheaper on average than traditional PPC ads.
• Twitter lets you follow conversations about your company’s industry and monitor what is being said about your brand. Done properly, it can become another channel of communication between you and your customers.
• LinkedIn is Facebook for businesses. It allows you to display your work credentials and give/receive recommendations from people you’ve worked with. InMail, a member-only benefit, can also help you introduce yourself to potential clients.

When entering the social media arena, follow these simple rules:

• Don’t spam. A little self-promotion is to be expected but don’t constantly request people to follow you or you will run the risk of getting ignored and labeled as a spammer.
• Start with a helping hand. Steve Knox, the CEO of Tremor, often talks about “reciprocal altruism“. Give without expectation of return and it will return. Follow this advice in social media and you’ll gain tons of honest fans.
• Avoid political and religious controversy. Don’t make the mistake of expressing personal opinions on controversial subjects that have nothing to do with your business.

Mobile Web

Smartphones sales have been increasing steadily. Morgan Stanley predicts that smartphones will outnumber PCs by the end of 2012. That means more people will be searching for products and services from their handheld devices. Do you have plans to reach these mobile consumers?

The mobile web consumer needs your site to:

• Load quickly. Keep your mobile version light. Keep the message simple and make sure mobile visitors can quickly and easily find important information.
• Stay away from Flash. iPhone, iPod, and iPad don’t support it. You can use Flash on your full website but stay away from it on the mobile version.

Local Internet Marketing

Local internet marketing focuses on geo-targeting your business to its immediate surroundings. When Google displays local search results, they are typically at the top of the screen along with a map and phone number. As more and more mobile users come online and perform searches, the power of local search marketing increases. Most mobile search platforms utilize the searcher’s location when tabulating results. The better indexed your business’s address, the more likely you are to appear in the local results.

Here are some tips for local Internet marketing:

• Make sure you are listed with Google Places, Yahoo’s Local Listing Center, and Bing’s Listing center.
• Get listed in the Acxiom database. The easiest way to do this is through UniversalBusinessListing.org.
• Get listed in Localeze.

This is just the beginning

Social media, mobile marketing and local internet listings are only the beginning of the new wave in emergent media marketing. The new consumer market is becoming more fragmented and individual consumers are becoming more educated. Simply put: mass media marketing techniques no longer apply.

Emerging marketing trends indicate a move towards what is being termed Experiential Marketing. The entails more interaction and involvement on a personal level with the consumer. By embracing social media, mobile web, and local internet marketing, you are moving your business in the direction of better engaging your clients and building a community of followers who can develop into brand advocates.