Creative internet marketing strategies help you to stand out among your
competition. And with millions (over 5 million) new websites being indexed every
single day, you need all the "standing out" you can get! Following are some
ideas on how you can begin thinking outside of your website box and implement
some low cost (and sometimes free) creative internet marketing
strategies.
1) What does your market want?
Take a
look at your website logs, look at the keyword phraes people are typing in to
find you. You may see some keyword phrases, some questions, some words that you
hadn't thought of marketing. Another great way to collect keywords from your
clients is to install a search box on your website. You'll be able to view the
phrases that your viewers are typing in there. That will also give you a glimpse
into what your audience wants. When you find out, give it to them by adding
pages to your website direcetd at those keyword phrases.
2)
Websites are not hermits.
What I mean is that just because
you're marketing through your website, it doesn't mean that you don't have to
network. Websites are meant to be shared, discussed, changed, reviewed, etc. You
can do all of this through networking. Online networking. Virtual networking.
Join groups like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, KnollStuff, etc. There are so many of them! Join a handful of
them and keep them up. In other words, join in the discussions of the group,
contribute something daily if you can. If daily is too much then as often as you
can. The idea is that you're networking, you're involved! You wouldn't start a
brick and mortar business in a town without joining the chamber of commerce,
would you? The same holds true for websites. These social media groups are the
Internet's chamber of commerce.
3) Be the leader of your
pack.
If your website sells name tags, then your website is about name
tags. What else would it be? Well, if you want to SHOW your target audience that
you sell name tags and that you're an expert on selling, making, creating name
tags then you need more! Your website (or you could open a separate website)
could have a directory of businesses in your local area. It could also host a
directory of business events, conventions, etc. You could also showcase some
creative uses of name tags (how people have used them at parties, for games,
etc). For that matter you can even have some party games that can be done with
name tags. The idea here is to be more than the obvious. Of course your website
is going to be about name tags. But what makes you a better name tag company
than the other guy? Let your audience know!
4) Create a Widget
If you don't know what a widget is, it's basically a small program
that you can place on your website and it provides information or a task.
Widgets can be clocks, timers, financial calculators, movie directories, photos,
weather data, lists of "whatever you want", and much more. It spans the range
from fun to political, tech to non-tech, name it, there's a widget ou there in
that field. You can grab a widget from someone or you can make your own. The
idea is not only to have the widget on your website but to share that widget. As
your widgets get copied onto other websites, your website gains popularity and
more incoming links and more traffic.
5) Talk better than you
write?
As an Internet Marketing firm, our most difficult task is to get our
clients to write. Write blogs, articles, etc. It just doesn't happen. But maybe
you're better at talking than writing. Okay. Then create a podcast. It's easy -
you simply record your voice. You can talk about a different product or service
each week. You can broadcast your podcasts not only on your website but on
directories. You are basically sharing your knowledge, your stories, your
business expertise in your field with your audience. They get to know
YOU!
Well, you get the idea here. Be Creative!!
Don't just hire an SEO firm to optimize and market your website, many other
companies are doing the same thing. You want to stand out, you want to be
different. So, implement these creative internet marketing strategies, you'll be
pleasantly surprised.