When it comes to marketing a business there are a lot of ways to do that. If you asked a professional marketer, they would mention a few top ways including SEO, SMM, and traditional methods. The big question, especially for newer businesses or ones that are rebranding, is what are these and which one do I pick. If that’s your question too then keep reading because that’s what we’re chatting about today!
Let’s start with what is marketing at its simplest definition so we’re all on the same page here. Marketing is the act of selling or promoting something to solve a problem for a group of people with a specific problem. Now this ‘promoting’ can be done online or offline.
SEO is Search Engine Optimization. Meaning that it ties into search engines and increases how often a certain website is found and by whom. For most business owners it tracks unpaid traffic called Organic results and shares how well your website is “ranked” among other businesses. An offshoot of this is known as SEM or Search Engine Marketing. Businesses using SEM will track paid traffic through a pay-per-click campaign. That means for every time you come up in the search for keywords and someone clicks on your information, you’ll pay a preset amount. It is what it sounds like, paying per click. SEO and SEM both work by matching up keywords on a website and on a search engine. This method can bring a lot of clients in, but it also needs a lot of attention because the method of figuring out rankings, called an algorithm changes a lot. It’s a good method of getting clients if you’re willing to either put a lot of time into learning how it works or hire someone who understands it well and can help you weather the algorithm’s changes.
SMM is social media marketing. Again, something that relies on an algorithm or method of determining results that can change rapidly and often without notice. This time though it’s on one of the numerous social media sites out there. With social media marketing, you’ll be posting information about yourself, your business, and your products on a platform of choice. This information, called content, can be shared through writing, photos, graphic design pieces, and even videos. Some forms of content work better on different platforms so some work better with writing and others with videos. You’ll also need to comment and engage with the content of other people hence the word “social” in social media. This form of marketing also needs a lot of attention and planning, but it is something that is a little easier to do on your own. However, if you’re strapped for time or simply don’t have the interest in creating the level of content that social media marketing needs, you’ll want to bring in someone who is a professional and is skilled in this type of marketing.
Lastly, Traditional marketing. This is the “old school” way of marketing. Flyers left on doors, postcards in the mail, phone calls, billboards, and networking events. It takes just as much time as the other two, but it’s less online and more in-person work. This is where my personal sweet spot is because I design the materials used for this type of marketing. It’s more versatile as you can better tailor what parts of it you use to how your clients experience things and what will work for your personal business. Depending on how you use structure it, it can get expensive. That said, Even though it’s an older form of marketing, it still works.
Ultimately, you’ll want a mixture of strategies. I can’t tell you what’s right for you in an article like this one because your marketing, branding, and communication strategies should be custom-tailored to your individual business. What I can tell you is that you need to know your audience who you are selling your products or services really well. This way you’ll have an idea of where they like to spend their time and what type of marketing they will respond to best.
Hopefully, this gets you started thinking about how to better market your business. Talk to you soon!
By the way, If you’re ready to take your business to the next level through clear and unified branding book a 15-minute no-pitch consultation call today by clicking here