Marketing online requires a layered campaign that makes full use of all media types available. This includes a static site, a blog, and various social media sites. The point of this layered strategy is to position yourself as an expert or person of interest with something that others want. Ultimately, the aim is to drive traffic to your product or organization.
Internet marketing first started with static sites. They were like a digital brochure. But people crave personal connections, not ads. A few years later blogs were born and they offered a way for site owners to proclaim something and then to interact with readers on a limited basis through comments. The point of the blog was to engage the reader and drive traffic back to the static site.
With the advent of WordPress, blogs have been combined with static pages as an all-in-one package. The constantly changing content of the blog is still the draw for repeat readers. Blogging has become one of the best ways to establish yourself as the go-to person and to keep interest alive on a product.
As people’s lives become even busier, and as more and more people are receiving internet communications on the go via their phones, micro-blogging has become the top disseminators of information. Sites like Twitter and Facebook quickly established millions of users around the globe.
Each layer of online promotion has its own set of tricks, rules, and etiquette. The very best set of books I’ve read for developing an online marketing strategy that builds these four layers into one beautiful cake, icing and all, are written by The Savvy Book Marketer, Dana Lynn Smith. While most of her books are geared toward authors, the information applies equally well to artists in all mediums, product and service sellers, and even organizations.
One book in particular, Get Connected, delivers the information needed for anyone to make the best use of the second most powerful marketing tool on the planet, which is the Internet. Of course, the top marketing tool is word-of-mouth advertising. Making use of the info in Dana’s books will get the buzz going for you.