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Index

03… Why should I use Digital Marketing?

04… Impact of Digital Marketing

05… Stick to the plan

07… Take advantage of Inbound Marketing

09… Launch a website

10… Optimize the site for search engines

14… Prepare for landing

16… Get mobile

18… Integrate social media wisely

22… Develop exceptional content

25… Master the art and science of blogging

28… Communicate through email marketing

30… Make it viral

32… Follow Digital Marketing trends

34… Analyze results and refine strategies

36… Extra: Avoid common mistakes

38… Get to know us

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Why should I use Digital Marketing?

The swift technological advances and the ever-changing Internet continue to modify the behavior, ideas,

perceptions, and reactions of consumers. As executives and entrepreneurs, the inability to identify new

and upcoming trends leads us to overlook opportunities in the market, a situation that eventually provides

competitors with a threatening competitive advantage.

Based on its current impact, we should not ask ourselves if we need Digital Marketing, but rather how we

should implement this methodology. Digital Marketing serves as a medium to boost business reach, while

increasing sales and fostering competitiveness. In the U.S., a large percentage of companies have

adopted digital marketing, by launching websites, advertising online, or creating social media profiles;

however, for a majority, this methodology still represents a challenge, as an appalling percentage of these

organizations will not obtain a positive return on investment, while many others will not be even able to

measure it.

In fact, an overwhelming number of small and midsized businesses do not have the appropriate

knowledge, resources, or experience to exploit these tactics. According to the research institute

Marketing Sherpa, 79% of the leads created through the internet never convert into sales; deficient

marketing techniques still represent the cause for such poor performance. This guide focuses on a

concept known as Inbound Marketing, which is explained in detail further on. Under this concept,

companies strive to attract an audience, based on a market segmentation strategy, and turn it into a solid

and recurrent clientele.

Whether you consider Digital Marketing an unknown and hostile territory, or you have already immersed

in this world of information, this guide will help you evaluate your current marketing activities. Despite its

complexity, we provide the necessary information to get familiar with this subject. The good news is that

these tactics and their multiple benefits are now, more than ever, in the reach of your hands.

- MHigh

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I m pac t o f D ig ital Mar ket in g

54% more leads are generated

through inbound marketing 61% of internet users research

products online before shopping 70% of links users click on are

organic, not paid 97% more visitors receive companies that blog, by

employing inbound marketing

Cost of Inbound Marketing

The lead-generation cost is 61% lower with inbound marketing, compared to traditional methods

Impact of Social Media Marketers who generate at least one client…

LinkedIn 43% Blogs 43% Twitter 36% Facebook 52%

Most Popular Social Media Sites

Facebook 90%

YouTube 56%

Twitter 50%

Google+ 36%

Others 13%

74% of the companies consider Facebook

important to their lead-generation efforts

Social media have 100% higher lead-

conversion rates than outbound methods

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#1: Stick to the plan INTEGRATE THE MARKETING PLAN

The success of any digital marketing effort depends on 4 main factors: A well-defined strategy, a

digital program that responds to it, consistency, and a metrics and analytics system. The strategy

is formulated and explained throughout the marketing and sales section of the business plan, in

which the objectives, target market, and media selection, among many other elements, are

defined.

A fundamental step in the process corresponds to the formulation of a core message, known as

value proposition, which is used to engage prospects. Consumers tend to look for solutions to

solve specific problems or satisfy needs or wants; as businessmen and women, it is our job to

make sure our sales proposition is perceived as the answer. Through a strong value proposition,

prospects visualize the product or service making their lives less complicated, richer, or more

enjoyable. That being said, this and the rest of the elements in the execution of a digital

marketing plan are defined strategically, using solid information and creative thinking.

DO RESEARCH

An online-based marketing effort cannot be properly conceived without a clear understanding of

the audience: Demographics, psychological, purchasing behavior, and internet usage habits,

among others. Thus, any marketing action must begin with research, as every future action will

be determined by the information we possess about our audience and prospects.

Unfortunately, an appalling number of organizations try to attract the interest of their potential

clients through channels that result unsuitable; in doing so, they find all their efforts to connect

with their prospects ineffective. In this sense, research plays a critical role in the conception of

any online-based marketing effort; it provides a clear perspective of the most suitable channels to

reach our target audience. Case in point, a social media strategy targeting business professionals

might benefit from LinkedIn rather than Facebook, as LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. Research also shows effective ways to communicate with this audience.

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DEFINE YOUR OBJECTIVE

Many companies utilize digital platforms, acting mostly in response to internet trends and,

frequently, not having a clear objective or goal. Their web pages, posts, e-mails, and marketing

messages do not have a reason to be; consequently, the interactions result boring, irrelevant,

and ineffective. These efforts fail to grab people’s interest and participation. Any digital platform -

website, social media page, e-mail campaign, is ultimately a tool that should help us achieve a

predetermined objective, which could be create awareness, promote a product, or provide

information.

TARGET THE RIGHT AUDIENCE

A common mistake is targeting the wrong audience, an action that causes a waste in resources

-time, money and effort. A digital marketing strategy should avoid, or pay little attention to,

people who do not meet the previously-defined target market requirements and criteria. In fact,

the correct recognition of the target market is vital to attract a quality audience, as this group's

possible expectations, wants, needs, and objections have been already established and

discovered. Marketing Research Manager Mani Karthik affirms that the "success in [digital]

media is all about how you design your network and whom you’ve chosen to be with — this is a

basic thing most people forget."

PICK THE RIGHT MEDIA

An efficient digital marketing plan focuses on the selection of the appropriate media, depending

on the audience, its characteristics, and the organizational objectives. In this sense, a promising

program rarely limits its activities to a single digital platform, such as Facebook. It integrates

various digital channels as part of the strategy, including content, e-mail, landing pages, and

pay-per-click, as well as the broad variety of social media sites, most of which allow meticulous

segmentation. Working in synchrony, these channels make our goal possible: attract, persuade,

and convert an audience. ■

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#2: Take advantage of Inbound Marketing

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing refers to the digital marketing technique that helps

organizations be found, convert and delight an audience, and analyze results.

With inbound marketing, organizations grab the attention of an audience by

creating and presenting engaging and persuasive content; the visitors are, in turn,

conducted to a website where they are guided to take action. In doing so, they

turn into prospects. In short, the goal is to create quality leads that, through proper

nurturing, will convert into clients. Although paid advertising is encouraged,

inbound marketing focuses primarily on organic positioning.

HOW CAN I INTEGRATE INBOUND MARKETING?

The structure of an inbound marketing strategy makes use of all the digital

channels available: Search engine optimization, content, e-mail, landing pages,

and social media, among others. Evidently, planning, designing, developing, and

maintaining these media can be a time-consuming and expensive task. Therefore,

successful inbound marketing programs emerge from a solid digital marketing

strategy, which takes into consideration the audience, as well as the

organizational objectives and resources available.

Through an inbound marketing strategy, the previously mentioned tools follow a

well-defined marketing purpose. Social media, for instance, foster and maintain

online communities and lasting relations with the target audience. E-mail becomes

critical to ensure the delivery of informative and promotional messages, which

tend to have high conversion rates. Content, such as blogs, videos, and images,

turns into a magnet that attracts a segmented audience to the digital platforms.

Finally, the website is the medium that receives the audience, provides

information, persuades, and ultimately produces quality leads.

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MORE AFFORDABLE AND EFFECTIVE

Although paid advertising is encouraged, this methodology focuses

primarily on attracting an audience through organic tactics. This

quality represents a valuable asset, as "70% of the links search

engine users click on are organic, not paid," according to the

research institute Marketing Sherpa. The same study found that the

cost of attracting quality leads through inbound marketing is

approximately 60% lower. These numbers simply mean people

search online for the right company to do business, a solid reason to

integrate inbound marketing.

Furthermore, when a prospect visits a website, through organic

searches, he/she is likely to be conscious of his/her need to

purchase a product or service; this visitor might be simply gathering

more information or looking for options. In some cases, he/she might

be even ready to purchase. According to Forbes magazine, “Many [potential customers] are 50-60% of the way into the buy cycle

before they will even make contact with a vendor.” Thus, attracting

prospects organically saves us time, money and other resources,

while lowering cost per sale. Finally, solid inbound strategies become

a recurring source of leads. A piece of content produced in the past

can potentially keep generating leads over time.

INNOVATOR AND AVANT-GARDE

Increasing a company’s “findability” is far more effective than paying advertisements and commissioned salespeople, or any other of the

countless forms of outbound marketing. In his book, The New Rules

of Marketing and PR, author David Meerman Scott states that

businesses must “earn their way in,” which contrasts to the old way, “buy, beg, or bug their way in.” Small and midsized businesses,

which tend to have limited financial resources for advertising, can

incorporate the inbound method to attract and engage appropriate

prospects and generate leads. ■

Launching online-based paid advertising is a rather common practice; however, it tends to be

expensive. Moreover, this tactic won't let marketers take full advantage of the multiple possibilities

available online. Inbound marketing, used as a digital strategy, is an innovating alternative. This

methodology uses several online-based channels for positioning purposes; it also reduces costs and

increases efficiency in lead-generation activities.

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#3: Launch a website Having a website to promote a business or organization is essential. Foremost, this medium can reach vast audiences and facilitate market

segmentation. Furthermore, a website provides an opportunity to build strong relationships with clients. This way, we can attract thousands of

potential customers, while strengthening the business or professional relationships with current ones.

Where should I start?

A website should be a marketing tool rather than an expense. It must be developed to meet

short- and long-term objectives. By not having a marketing specialist involved in the planning

phase, many entrepreneurs and decision makers overlook this fact. Prior to the start of the

development process, the marketing aspect must be considered; in other words, the

organizational goals and the purpose of the site should be reviewed to establish a feasible

action plan.

In this context, the website acts as the central piece in the execution of any digital strategy; it's

the medium that receives the visitors and through which we entice them and, ultimately,

transform them into leads. However, certain criteria must be met. First off, the website must be

easy to find by the target audience, a task accomplished through a search engine optimization

strategy. Also, once the visitor navigates through the site, he/she must be aware of the next

step. An optimal website guides the visitor to take action, leading him/her to request more

information, test a product or service, or contact a sales representative.

Furthermore, a website serves as an electronic representative of the organization, one that

enables relationships with potential customers; a website usually contains important information,

as well as educational and persuasive material. The visual aspect and the structure are equally

important. A cheap-looking website or one crammed with grammatical errors and visible

technical deficiencies gives a negative impression. The design should be catchy, simple, and

easy to navigate, and the structure must make it possible for people to navigate easily. Doing so

will increase the possibility the site will draw people’s attention and influence their purchasing

behavior. ■

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#4: Optimize your website for search engines Launching a website does not guarantee traffic and exposure; to make a website truly visible, a proper search engine optimization strategy (SEO)

is necessary. According to the leading inbound marketing automation software HubSpot, most professional marketers consider search engine

optimization one of the most important lead-generation sources. SEO also provides the highest customer conversion rates. After all, approximately

90% of all internet traffic comes from sites such as Google, Bing and Yahoo!

Search engine optimization is a broad and complex subject, but

these key points explain critical concepts and principles to

understand its foundation. First off, SEO techniques focus on

improving the visibility of a website throughout different search

engines, and the success of an SEO strategy can be

determined by the website's ranking. As with any other form of

digital marketing, the type of traffic to attract must be defined

and studied, including the target audience's characteristics as

individuals and Internet users.

Contrary to popular belief, SEO is a field separated from web

development. A web developer by himself is unlikely to

possess the skills necessary to properly optimize a website.

SEO also changes drastically and frequently. Therefore, SEO

strategies must be reviewed and updated on a regular basis;

sometimes, an element considered particularly relevant in the

SEO world becomes useless; even worse, in some cases,

incorporating outdated techniques can cause penalties by

search engines, like Google.

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This particular search engine, which happens to be the most popular one, modifies and even radically changes

the algorithms used to classify websites within its search results; Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird are some of

these mechanisms. According to Google, the algorithms applied consider over 200 "unique signals" or "clues" to

determine or predict the content users might be looking for. Therefore, for its optimal execution, a search engine

optimization strategy requires constant supervision and scrutiny of these algorithms.

Similarly, before a website's development process begins, certain elements of the structure require attention;

these aspects might eventually have a powerful effect over the site's positioning. First, every page within the

website must be "indexed," so that it will have the opportunity to appear within search results. Second, the site's

usability also represents a determining factor; hard to navigate sites are unlikely to appear in search results.

Third, the sections that have special relevance must be a click away from the visitor. Finally, other elements that

benefit include the size and availability of the site. In this sense, Google recently announced that mobile-friendly

websites will rank higher.

A basic SEO effort consists of additional internal and external techniques. The idea is to select terms that people

could use to find our content or site; these words should be applied to the web page as text and as part of the

HTML code; doing so will increase the possibilities search engines will show a link to the website in the search

results. Search engines depend to a large extent on the text that appears in web pages. Therefore, the content

itself should contain terms people associate with the topic.

TECHNIQUES OUTSIDE THE SITE

Internal techniques are those used within each page to boost their “ranking” in search engines. A website should include keywords that prospects use when online searching; to ensure that the right words have been selected,

we must verify the keywords associated with our business or field on Google. Although some of these techniques

are explained in detail further on [See Search Engine Optimization 101], it is important to emphasize that

techniques within the site might hold relevance in some search engines, such as Yahoo! and Bing, but no longer

in Google. However, incorporating these techniques will still be helpful, virtually across all search engines.

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TECHNIQUES OUTSIDE THE SITE

Search engines do not only detect the content inside a webpage; they also consider the number of pages that link

to that site. Search engines determine the “ranking” of a webpage based on the number of links that come from

other sites. Search engines are particularly interested in sites whose content is closely related to the site being

ranked. Therefore, a clothing brand linked to a restaurant chain is not considered especially relevant. Search

engines also consider links with text descriptions that incorporate the keywords much more relevant than the

plain-old-simple “click here” or the site’s URLs. In the HTML code, the description is found between <a> and </a>.

PAY EXTRA ATTENTION

SEO is not limited to the ranking, as heavy traffic doesn't guarantee success; especially when the website attracts

the wrong audience, and visits become futile. In this context, finding random keywords in high demand might be

more detrimental than beneficial. The most successful positioning strategies require work directly related to the

website and others that have a broader impact on the organization, such as research to define the target

customer and his/her characteristics as consumer and internet user.

It is important to understand the audience deeply, including ideas and purchasing behavior. By simply focusing on

“keywords” of high level in the content and pages, we will attract a vast audience, while reaching many people that may not be part of the target market. Many companies fall into this trap, because they merely depend on

SEO free tools or those that are part of their paid SEO campaigns. ■

90% of all

internet traffic

comes from

search engines

44% of all internet shoppers begin by using a search engine

40% of online shoppers lose companies without an optimized site

75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results

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S earc h Eng in e Opt imizat ion 1 01

1 Title: The title of the page appears on the upper section of the browser

and is specified inside the <title> element which is, respectively, part of

the <head> element.

2 URL (Web Address): The file name is part of the URL. Therefore, we

must use the associated keywords as part of the HTML document’s name.

3 Header: When the keywords are used in the header section, search

engines will identify the site as related to that specific topic, which will

improve the page’s ranking.

4 Text: The keywords should be located as part of the text within the

section <body>. We have to repeat these words a few times throughout

the page’s content; then again, our writing should not sound repetitive, or it will bore the reader.

5 Text Link: The keywords must be incorporated in the text that is used to

create links within the pages, rather than using generic expressions such

as “click here.”

6. Element “Alt” in images: This attribute, which should contain the keywords, is assigned to the images we include in our site; this tactic will

help search engines identify the topic of the page.

7. Pages Description: The page description is located within the <head>

tag and is specified using the <meta> tag. This element should be a

sentence describing the page’s content and topic. This section is not visible in the browser but is displayed when our page appears as a search

result.

Attempting to deceive search engines can be highly

detrimental, as these can detect fraud and implement

sanctions. For example, the web developer should not add

text of the sa e olor of the page’s a kgrou d to fool sear h e gi es a d i prove a page’s ra ki g.

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#5: Prepare for landing Despite the importance of internet marketing, one of its finest instruments gets often overlooked by executives. Landing pages help businesses

and organizations maximize the return on investment in lead-generation activities; these pages also gather essential information about the

audience, which can be used to successfully target quality prospects.

What is a Landing page?

A landing page is a webpage on which a visitor lands after

he/she clicks on a text link or an ad placed in another page

or web portal. Frequently, this page is an extension of a

promotional advertisement, providing detailed information

about a product, service, or promotion.

An optimal landing page targets a specific audience and

offers an incentive for the visitor to entice him/her;

depending on the product or service, this "hook" might be a

free sample, free assessments, coupons, free trials, etc.

This element should be engaging enough to exhort the

visitor to take action (fill out the lead-capture form).

Although the form, design, and content varies significantly,

depending on the organizational objectives, a landing page

encompasses certain elements, which include header,

features, benefits, call to action, contact form, and a limited-

time promotion. When applied correctly, landing pages

strengthen the lead-generation activities, by improving

conversions, enhancing metrics, boosting viral capabilities,

and gathering visitors' demographic and behavioral

information.

“The number one reason businesses don't use landing pages is

because their marketing department doesn't know how to set them

up or they are too overloaded."

- Marketing Sherpa

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IMPROVE CONVERSIONS

Landing pages convert site visitors into leads and, eventually, sales. By

emphasizing enticing elements, prompting the user to take action, and

eliminating distractions, this tool achieves higher conversion rates than

regular web pages. If the landing pages are built correctly, reports are

likely to show an increase in lead generation.

ENHANCE METRICS

There are different metrics that can be used to collect data from a

website, and landing pages make this process easier. In fact, the

subsequent analysis is equally important to monitor campaigns and

make any necessary adjustment. Web developers can make changes in

the design of the landing pages and test them as many times as they

want; doing so will help the marketer determine the elements that

improve the conversion rates. Ordinary home pages make it much more

difficult to identify areas that require improvement, because of the

amount of information displayed, much of which is unrelated to a

specific campaign.

CAN BE SHARED EASILY

Efficient landing pages possess a high "sharable" nature, as they adapt

to multiple marketing channels; prospects can be redirected to a landing

page by clicking on ads placed in social media, blogs, websites, pay-

per-click campaigns, and marketing e-mails. Furthermore, this attribute

works both ways, as landing pages often enable the visitor to share the

information through social media or via e-mail.

GATHER DEMOGRAPHIC AND BEHAVIORAL INFORMATION

Landing pages also provide marketers with the opportunity to track

reconversions of existing leads, which helps identify quality leads; these

refer to the prospects that are more likely to buy. In summary, landing

pages allow marketers to observe the behavior of visitors within the site

and identify high quality prospects, as well as their interests and

motivations. In doing so, these tools help organizations determine the

type of promotions, incentives, benefits, and the type of products and

services that could potentially improve conversion rates. Marketers

often use the information gathered about the visitors’ behaviors and activities to build a more solid marketing strategy. ■

↘ There are 2 main types of landing pages, those that attract people organically

and those used for pay-per-click campaigns. The latter category refers to pages

created as part of a campaign, with the purpose of enticing the visitor to take

action, which can be filling out a form, testing a new item, or buying. Landing

pages that attract people organically are those on which a visitor lands after he

clicks on an organic search result –not paid.

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#6: Get mobile Mobile marketing takes advantage of the internet-based mobile technology in devices such as smart phones and tablets. The practice continues to

gain relevance as there are over 271 million mobile users within the U.S. Through mobile marketing, marketers provide the audience with

customized content and information delivered for promotional purposes.

According to a recent study conducted by Google, 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to an

action, 70% of them within an hour, and over half of them lead to a purchase. The results

of the study also indicate that 74% of the smart phone users employ their devices to assist

them with purchasing decisions, and 79% make the purchase based on these results.

This trend will continue its course, so it is time to get mobile.

A FLEXIBLE WEBSITE

Evidently, businesses must possess a professional website, accessible to all the different

mobile devices available (iPads, iPhones, Androids). Nowadays, having a website

especially designed for mobile devices is equally important. In order to employ this tactic,

two versions of the site are created; the server detects the type of device used to access

the site and, when a mobile gadget is being used, sends the user to the mobile version of

the site. When there aren't enough resources to launch a mobile site, the design of the

site must still be accessible to mobile devices, by conforming to the standard 960-pixel-

width layout.

However, a mobile-friendly website is now indispensable, particularly for organizations

that depend on organic traffic. As of April, 2015, Google's algorithm change increased the

importance of a mobile site. Websites that do not meet this requirement will be overlooked

in organic, mobile searches. Considering that more than half of these searches take place

in a mobile device, according to the statistics portal Statista, this change can potentially

reduce our potential audience by 50-60%. There are different ways to make a website

mobile-friendly. The first method is creating a "responsive" site. It means that the page

and every element (URL, images, text) remains the same, but the site adjusts itself

automatically based on browser width. A responsive site tends to be more appropriate for

SEO.

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The second method is to develop a separate mobile site. It is usually hosted on a sub-domain (m.mysite.com). The

main advantage of this type of mobile site is that organizations can create totally different pages, with different

structures and features, based on users' needs.

WIRELESS PROMOTION

Mobile marketing also serves as a promotional medium. Many companies, especially in retail, send coupons that

customers can redeem in store using their mobile gadgets. Online coupons receive 10 times higher redemption rates

than print coupons. The idea is to think outside the box and find creative promotional alternatives that take advantage

of this trend. Finally, especially larger firms should be familiar with app development, which contributes to creating a

relationship and a meaningful experience for the customer. These forms of mobile marketing present a world of

possibilities.

QR CODES

QR Codes, or Quick Response, allow people to visit a website or access online content simply by scanning the code

with their mobile devices, instead of having to type the site’s URL. For promotional purposes, marketers use the QR

code to direct visitors to mobile-customized landing pages, which highlight limited-time offers. Small and midsized

businesses can make use of this technology, by adding the code to their promotional print materials.

DELIVERY OF INFORMATION

Many public places offer free internet access via router –hotspot. In order to activate these services, users are often

redirected to promotional landing pages that emphasize a product, service, or promotion. Other technologies, such as

Bluetooth and, at lesser extent, infrared system, allow the delivery of information to potential customers through mobile

devices.

Proximity marketing refers to the service of short texting. Through this system, marketers send promotional messages

to multiple mobile users within a predetermined geographical area. This tactic is more useful to achieve customer

recurrence. A GPS-based technology can also be used to geographically segment, location-based services and user-

controlled media. The latter entails the client installing an app and expressing interest to receive information in the

future. ■

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#7: Integrate social media wisely Considering the current trends in the industry, social media sites come to most people’s minds when “internet presence” is discussed. These

social-based sites are used to build lasting relations with audiences and create and maintain brand awareness. When trust has been properly and

constantly nurtured, social media can even advertise products and services. Furthermore, social media pages can be optimized to be easily found

by individuals of interest.

Unfortunately, only a limited number of small and medium-sized

companies have managed to exploit the benefits of these sites.

Those who succeed do so by understanding their audience in more

depth. This way, they have mastered not only the ability to produce

messages that engage but also accomplished an important function

within the marketing process. Social media, for business purposes,

have evolved, by facilitating loyalty programs, analytics, and

advertising.

A well-maintained social media strategy keeps an organization on

people's minds, but the impact of it gets deeper. First off, quality

posts and constant updates maintain the audience interested and

engaged which, in turn, leads to loyalty. Similarly, analytics, such as

those presented on Facebook free of charge, provide much insight

about your audience: Demographics, online behavior, posts

relevance, etc.

Many marketers claim these sites cannot produce sales. It makes

sense, as people do not login to these sites to “shop.” Then again, using the right incentives and applying the knowledge about the

customers can indeed lead to a sale. Swell, an online-based clothing

store, excelled this technique by offering coupons, giveaways, and

other promotions.

Naturally, the need and the way to implement social media as a

marketing strategy differ considerably depending on the type of

business and its size. That being said, the importance of these sites

depends on the company’s clientele and goals, as well as the type of

product/service being sold/offered. Finally, before selecting a social

media platform, these questions must be answered: Are our clients

fully engaged to these sites? Is it easy to reach the right audience?

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FACEBOOK

Facebook is the most visited website worldwide with over 1 billion

users, and still growing. The social network reaches audiences

through computers and mobile devices, which means Facebook

facilitates geographical and behavioral segmentation. This guide

provides some handy tips for the more efficient use of Facebook as a

marketing tool.

TWITTER

Twitter is an important site to monitor conversations about a brand,

product, service, idea, or a company; interact with clients; provide

customer service; promote sales; etc. Like Facebook, Twitter helps

marketers segment geographically. Also, by using hashtags,

companies often draw the attention of like-minded people based on a

specific topic.

GOOGLE +

By May 2013, Google Plus had over 100 million registered users,

totaling 390 millions to include members drawn by other services

provided by Google, such as Gmail and YouTube. This medium’s advantage lies in the synergy created by Google. The expanding

social media increases visibility of the content published, whether it

is presented as comments, shares, or #1’s. By doing so, Google Plus

can considerably improve ranking in Google’s search engine.

LINKEDIN

LinkedIn focuses on professional activities, and it was created for

similar purposes. Having a presence on LinkedIn helps organizations

get more relevance within an industry. For example, companies and

individuals that offer professional services tend to interact with

potential clients more effectively or even find qualified employees, all

in LinkedIn.

YOUTUBE

YouTube can provide businesses with a rather promising audience.

It can be particularly useful for service-oriented businesses. For

example, a licensed psychologist, known as Dr. Janine, offers advice

in different subjects. At the end of each video, she mentions her

contact information for those who are interested in professional, paid,

help. Technical aspects must be considered as well as public

speaking abilities. Advanced computer software is also used to

create animated, promotional videos.

PINTEREST

Pinterest is used to create and organize a virtual pin board in

relatively any subject; members can share these “pins,” which can appear in form of images and videos, with other users of Pinterest or

through web pages, blogs, and other social media sites. Visitors of

Pinterest utilize the site to upload things they like or that inspire

them. With Pinterest, many companies focus on lifestyles rather than

on service or product promotion. The idea is that the brand, product,

or service will be perceived as attractive based on positive

association.

INSTAGRAM

Instagram is an application for mobile devices that allows users to

upload, share, and conceptualize, with filters and frames, pictures

and videos. For a company, Instagram works to promote new

products and offers, display customers using the product, show

behind-the-scenes, present images that endorse a positive image of

the company, launch contests, or share pictures and videos

previously uploaded through other social media sites. The idea is to

connect with clients on a personal level. ■

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FACEBOOK TIPS…

Social media platforms entail thousands of possibilities to reach and entice audiences; depending on the industry and the market in which an

organization operates, other forms of engagement emerge. Here are some Facebook tactics that have actually worked.

Tip #1: Take advantage of Facebook's cover photo

Add a call to action and an exclusive offer within the description of the cover photo. Users tend to click on

the image for a closer look, being exposed to the image description. Many companies include a “button” with a call to action as part of the cover photo design. Doing so makes this image more relevant and

useful. Visitors see this call to action when they land on the page or in the news feed.

Tip #2: Provide a successful landing on Facebook

In one of its previous versions, Facebook allowed community managers to include a landing page, which

they used to advertise an item, highlight an offer, or mention the benefits of “liking” the page. This method changed, but there is an alternative solution. Create a landing page tab and redirect visitors to that

particular section.

Tip #3: Use images for higher engagement

The usage of images, such as pictures, videos, infographics, etc, increases the page’s engagement considerably. It is recommended community managers add a visual with every post. This content must be

catchy at first sight and interesting; this way, while scrolling the page, the reader is enticed to stop and

pay close attention to the post.

Tip #4: Turn the page into a contact platform

Enable visitors to contact the team, by providing thorough contact information: telephone, e-mail, map,

website, etc. In some cases, incorporating contact forms help and encourage people to ask questions or

make suggestions privately. Facebook has also created a feature to contact pages’ administrators via private message. Let followers know you’re listening.

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Tip #5: Create a network

Pages are often part of networks; administrators list as a favorite another page, especially if it is somehow

complementary in nature. An accountant’s page can be linked to a management consultant’s and vise versa. This way, both pages are interconnected, advertising one another simultaneously. Particularly

within small communities, several businesses, from different industries, can “like” each other’s pages to boost traffic.

Tip #6: Develop new page custom tabs

The static HTML iframe application can be used to build new tabs with additional content on Facebook

pages. The tool can create a spot for people to sign up for a newsletter, promote a product or service, or

create dynamic content or a landing page. Many marketers develop custom tabs to launch a platform that

links directly to a sales point, such as Amazon.

Tip #7: Increase page reach

A large audience entails more possibilities the page’s posts will achieve high engagement. Use the organization’s current clientele and audience, by giving them reasons to like the Facebook page. Include the URL in print materials, e-mail signatures, and other social networks’ “about” sections. Within the office or shop, include a QR to automatically send people to the Facebook page.

Tip #8: Make it a page, not a personal profile

Don’t create a personal profile, but a Facebook page. The latter brings more features specially suited for

professional purposes. Personal profiles used as pages can be shut down by Facebook without previous

notice. Using the “Migrate” tool makes the switch convenient, by keeping friends and followers after the transition. ■

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#8: Develop exceptional content As we have discussed, using social media as a marketing tool to engage people is a rather common business practice. Then again, quite often,

unforeseen factors interfere, and the desired outcome cannot be achieved. There are some critical aspects that must be considered before

beginning any activity through social media platforms.

START RELEVANT CONVERSATIONS

Once we have reached the right audience, it is time to connect with

them through meaningful and interesting conversations. Irrelevant

subjects lead to a lack of engagement. Proficient community managers

rarely post simplistic and meaningless comments, such as “like this if you’re cold!” High-quality conversations rely on topics that really grab

the attention of the audience, besides possessing a useful and

entertaining nature.

For example, an online personal trainer can befriend athletes and

fitness enthusiasts and develop original blogs entries with nutrition and

exercise information. Providing useful content will help us gain our

audience’s trust and generate engagement; meaningful conversations

also motivate members of the audience to participate, provide opinions,

or share our content.

KEEP SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES UPDATED

All active communities share one aspect in common: they are updated

frequently. They also read and respond to messages on a regular basis,

by paying close attention to customers’ interactions. This way, customers and prospects feel reciprocity and perceive the human side

of the brand. These simple tips will help our communities encourage

clients and prospects to participate, while providing them with a reason

to visit our platforms on a regular basis.

GIVE THEM A REASON TO COME BACK

Some companies ignore the importance of incentives as a way to

engage prospects effectively. People like to feel special; therefore,

exclusive promotions, product giveaways, or discounts tend to be

persuasive. Customers should be aware that these promotions are not

available to everyone, which provides them with a sense of exclusivity.

Few actions have the power to engage clients as efficiently as

incentives.

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What other tools can I use?

BLOG

Blogging is an excellent internet tool to attract and engage potential

customers through quality content. We must avoid giving away too

much or little information in our articles; let’s try to be concise, interesting, and relevant. Writing blogs related to our business also

gives our visitors an interesting insight of what we do. Blogs entries

should also be sharable through social media sites and e-mail, so

visitors can inadvertently promote our offerings to other potential

clients. [See step #9]

VIDEO

Through video, organizations can become more relevant and their

message more enticing and dynamic. When designing one, we must

emphasize the business’s core strengths and differentiators: what is

great about us and what makes us different. We cannot be shy; after

all, people like to see the human side or an organization and its

participants. We recommend the video tells a story and, if possible,

injects some humor; there is no room for clichés and dull self-

promoting messages, as our objective is to draw people’s attention. That being said, the video must look professional enough to give a

good impression.

Uploading the video across numerous hosting websites will

maximize its exposure. Using YouTube also helps videos get listed

in Google search results. The embed code from these sites can be

used to post the video on the company’s site. Visitors who watch videos through a web page tend to stay longer in it, which increases

the possibility they will take action (Buy, Contact, etc).

The video can also be shared through social media and e-mail

messages. Very often, a simple video of an event, the team working,

or an expert giving advice can boost the brand's exposure

considerably.

PODCASTING

Podcasting is another great way to increase traffic into a website and

market a business online. Many firms invite a guest speaker to

discuss an interesting topic related to the business’s activities in

order to inform and influence an audience. Marketing specialist and

blogger Keith Gilabert explains, “This is a simple technology that is taken quite seriously by many Fortune 500 companies.”

E-MAIL MARKETING

E-mail marketing is an excellent channel to follow up with potential

customers and to communicate promotions and newsletters. E-mail

marketing is known as “permission marketing” because people give permission to be contacted via e-mail on a regular basis by signing

up on a website [See step #10]. ■

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Although there are many other Digital Marketing

channels, these are the most popular and

effective. It is important to emphasize that not

every tool is appropriate or applicable to every

organization or campaign.

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#9: Master the art and science of blogging In its most practical, traditional, and effective form, content marketing presents itself in the form of blog. The main function of this powerful channel

is to attract visitors, entice, and transform them into quality leads. Because of the medium's proven effectiveness, an increasing number of

organizations invest resources in an attempt to create an effective blog. Sadly, only a small percentage actually manages to take advantage of this

medium.

According to statistics provided by the market research institute Market Sherpa,

on average, a company that blogs generates 55% more website visitors.

Besides, a well-developed blog can boost lead-generation activities by 126%.

Nonetheless, to create and maintain an effective blog can be a real challenge,

as "only 22% of businesses are happy with their conversion rates."

Therefore, quite often disappointed executives ditch this tactic; after all, writing

and publishing articles consume valuable resources: Time, effort, and money.

Keeping a blog does not suffice. Mastering the art and science of creating a real

marketing blog requires knowledge, analysis, and creativity. Its effectiveness

depends greatly on the organization's broad marketing approach; however, a

marketing-oriented blog meets the following criteria.

1.- UNDERSTANDING OF THE AUDIENCE

Knowing and understanding the organization's target audience is a basic step,

yet it is often overlooked. An efficient blogger knows for whom he/she writes,

considering the target audience's interests, problems, motivations, ideologies,

and so on. The knowledge of this group's characteristics often provides the

blogger's writing with a voice and tone. It also guides the blog's content, by

revealing interesting and relevant topics. In order to generate topics, the blogger

often makes a list of the problems, questions, and interests common among

that audience. Finally, he focuses on the visitor to exhort a desired action,

determining whether he/she looks for information or options or he/she is ready

to purchase.

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2.- COMMUNICATE

A successful blogger doesn't write just for the sake of it. Even before starting to type, he has

already defined a purpose. In that sense, any piece of writing should stick to its main objective:

Communicate. The blogger begins by determining the message he tries to get across. The

content itself should speak to the readers, provide solutions and influence their thinking. In order

to improve the message's digestibility, the writing must be concise, and the amount of text must

stay limited.

3.- HAVE A PORPUSE

An effective blog responds to short- and long-term organizational and marketing objectives. The

idea is to attract and influence the right audience in order to obtain quality leads. In certain

cases, a blog goes as far as creating demand. Therefore, a blogging strategy begins with a

scrutiny review of the audience and the ways the blog will serve for marketing purposes.

Through this approach, the target audience is defined and an action plan to utilize the blog for

marketing purposes is established. Finally, metrics and analytics tools are defined and a team of

committed experts gathers to bring the blog to life.

4.- CREATE QUALITY CONTENT

One of the greatest mistakes is to create shameless self-promotional content. Besides relevant,

every article must be educational, entertaining, and suitable. When content meets these criteria,

it can boost virality. In order to maintain reliability, informative articles must be supported by an

authority in the subject or by a study, unless this information is common knowledge. When a

blog excels quality standards, the writer becomes an authority in the subject and the

organization a leader of opinion within the industry. Of course, in order to assure quality, the

blog must be consistent, with regular updates.

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5.- MAKE IT FINDABLE

The best way to promote a blog is by making it easy to find. In doing so, the blog considers the

audience's interests, which could be the latest news related to the industry, frequently asked

questions, previous visitors' commentaries, or common doubts or misconceptions. With this

information, the topics are determined and associated with keywords; this process results critical

to properly optimize the blog for search engines. To spread the word, bloggers and marketers

often find external ways to promote the content, creating alliances with other relevant sites or

through social media and e-mail lists. Sometimes, paying to promote key content can boost its

reach.

6.- ANALYZE

A blog cannot function as a thriving promotional tool without solid analytics and metrics, which

disclose weaknesses, opportunities, and accomplishments. That being said, we must first

determine what requires analysis. Depending on the strategy's characteristics, marketers

measure the number of visitors the articles receive; the number of subscriptions; most popular

articles by author, category, or theme; where visitors come from and where they head after

reading the articles; and finally trends. ■

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#10: Communicate with email marketing E-mail marketing, as a promotional method, is often ignored or overlooked. Many executives concentrate their marketing efforts almost exclusively

on social media. They consider e-mail old and ordinary. The results produced by e-mail marketing, in contrast, often draw a different picture. First

off, e-mail marketing offers a higher return on investment than social media does. Consequently, a solid e-mail strategy can boost sales leads,

while improving message deliverability.

A well-drafted e-mail marketing strategy should increase open rates, create greater e-

mail relevance and lower opt-out/unsubscribe rates.

HIGHER RETURN ON INVESTMENT

According to studies performed by the American Marketing Association, 63% of

marketing professionals indicate that e-mail marketing offers the best return on

investment, also citing it as the most persuasive method to induce customer loyalty and

sales recurrence. To sum up, e-mail marketing provides more leads per dollar invested.

MORE SALES

Similarly, 66% of online sales are directly, or indirectly, produced by e-mail marketing

programs. In this sense, 40% of digital marketing specialists have found that prospects

generated through e-mail marketing are high quality, which means these are more likely

to become paying customers. According to the American agency YesMail Interactive, this

tactic has also a huge impact on the emerging trend of mobile marketing, as "more than

70% of online purchases through mobile devices derive from e-mail marketing."

BETTER SEGMENTATION

One of the main advantages of this medium is its direct approach, which drastically

contrasts with social media; the latter's nature makes messages more generic. E-mail

marketing, on the other hand, makes audience segmentation possible, as well as the

delivery of relevant information based on each group's interests. Market segmentation

evidently boosts the possibilities of making sales and obtaining clients, by leading people

to feel deeply understood and truly valued.

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MORE EXPOSURE

People rarely scrutinize social media's news feed, and the life spam of a social media message lasts only a few

hours. These facts affect the exposure of our messages. Besides, a recent update in Facebook's algorithms has

caused organic exposure through this site to decrease considerably; nowadays, organizations are often obligated

to boost their posts -pay advertisements- to communicate with its audience.

Even when social media updates are displayed, our followers might not be exposed to them for different reasons.

E-mail marketing stands out due to the level of exposure it provides. For instance, according to the Atlanta-based

marketing agency ExactTarget, 93% of consumers check their e-mail on a daily basis, and 74% prefer to receive

marketing messages through this medium. Moreover, the life spam of our messages lasts indefinitely, not to

mention that 76% of e-mails are reviewed within the first to second day they are sent.

STRONGER RELATIONS

As previously discussed, e-mail marketing embodies a more direct method to send messages. Through

segmentation, marketers send different messages depending on each specific group's ideas, interests, habits,

and behavior. By sending relevant messages, members of the audience feel valued and understood; this

phenomenon, over time, generates trusts; the consistency of quality e-mails boosts brand awareness, interest

and, in extreme situations, demand for the products and services offered. Trust, awareness, and interest,

combined, build quality leads.

However, in order to achieve this goal, we cannot send "generic" messages and expect people to respond. As

emphasized with all the other marketing tools, there must be a clear understanding of the audience's behavior

and interests. ■

In order to determine the success of the campaign, the return on investment must be measured. Web analytics

technologies can be installed into websites to count the number of hits every page receives, while social

networks have already these capabilities built-in. To increase the chances of lunching a successful campaign,

rather than a time-consuming flawed one, these efforts should be strengthened through guidance from an

expert, which avoids the often overlooked details that could slow or sabotage the campaign.

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#11: Make it viral The best way to understand the concept “Viral Marketing” is through the analogy from which the term “viral” arose. A successful viral message

spreads from person to person, especially throughout the web, like a virus. The technique refers to propaganda through which our clients spread

the word about our business or organization.

The ultimate goal is to develop and trigger a viral

marketing message that appeals to potential clients,

creating awareness and demand for our products

and services. This message should promote

positively our efforts. In its simplest form,

viral marketing consists of a satisfied

customer who, by referring and patronizing

our business, delivers a persuasive message

that the recipient, who is caught off-guard, tends

to perceive as unbiased and trustful.

This recommendation comes in countless different forms:

“The service is unparalleled,” “The food at the restaurant surpassed my expectations,” or “I found amazing savings.” Viral marketing has proven to be highly effective. The

practice, to start, is technically free for businesses. In order to take

advantage of this form of advertising, the business must start by

providing an outstanding shopping experience through high quality

products/services and a superior customer service. After all, no one

wants negative comments to spread persistently.

THE OBJECTIVE

When developing a campaign, a clear objective and measurable

goals must be established: Build awareness, strengthen customer

loyalty, courageously boost sales, etc. Every subsequent effort must

be aligned to this objective. Before taking any further action, we must

understand our target market, the group of people to whom our

efforts are directed. The characteristics, needs, purchasing

behaviors, and wants should be considered, so that our

campaign adapts to meet these factors.

THE MESSAGE

Based on this research, a straightforward message

should be designed and “implanted” in our customers’ minds: “Best price in town,” “Authentic

Japanese cuisine,” etc. This point exalts the value of the

products and services we offer, by finding whatever it is we sell

that solves a problem or satisfies a need or desire in people’s lives. This way, the satisfied customer will feel encouraged to share this

information he considers valuable with those close to him.

THE MEDIUM

The next step consists of establishing proper channels to foster our

message delivery. When utilizing the Internet to generate viral

marketing, we must design spots where the consumer can express

freely. This feedback is extremely important to understand flaws in

our business, as well as to unveil purchasing habits, which will help

us influence future actions from our prospects.

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For these purposes, technology, which includes all the new massive

communication tools available, allows businesses to guide viral

marketing and considerably increase its reach. When performed

properly, the response rate tends to be high.

Using a website and a well-developed social media page tends to be

as effective for a small or midsized business as it is for a corporation;

in most cases, a big budget is unnecessary. The advantage of social

media and an optimized website lies on their viral nature.

In other words, all social networks available allow users to easily

share and advertise the information posted; similarly, websites must

be designed to give users the same capabilities. Social networks are

extremely popular, but we must also present alternative sharing

platforms to not alienate users who might be non-active social-

networkers.

GETTING READY

The "sharing" capabilities of websites and social networks do not

make our work magically viral. In order to achieve this purpose, we

must use the profiling information we have of our prospects to

develop material that matches their interests. To plan an appealing

viral campaign, we must think of our product or service and identify

related information that might be relevant to clients and prospects. In

order to be viral material, this information is usually entertaining,

controversial, or informative –in other words, catchy and interesting.

APPARENTLY VIRALITY IS A NEW WORD

Let’s think for a second about the type of content we receive from our contacts. Typically, we are exposed to material with humor that

make us have a good time, sensitive and controversial subjects that

touch our personal beliefs and trigger emotional reactions, or novelty

matters that open our eyes to changes in our surroundings

(Technology, news, etc). The material to be used in our campaigns

really challenges our creativity and bullet-proves our analytical skills

as there is no proven formula that applies to each case scenario.

When we add these sharing capabilities into our websites, we should

not make it hard for the users to take action, making it as smooth as

possible. Social networks’ viral virtue relies on their easy-to-share

nature. These sites can be synchronized between one another:

Anything we post on Twitter and YouTube can be published on our

Facebook page and vise versa. Moreover, Facebook and Twitter’s “home” pages literally communicate to our contacts each one of our actions and activities; social media users automatically, and almost

involuntarily, share stories of relevance with their contacts; hence,

every person who interacts with our page is a potential promoter. ■

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#12: Follow Digital Marketing trends

Marketing a business online has become a crucial step to expand business operations, increase the costumer base, and communicate

promotional activities. It also represents an effective way to stay in people’s minds. In this sense, the internet empowers entrepreneurs by serving

as a medium to expose businesses into a dynamic marketplace. However, the world of digital marketing changes constantly, as new trends

emerge.

MULTIMEDIA

With the growth of digital marketing, content has become a requirement. Besides

the traditional written message, which in its purest form appears as a blog,

marketers have begun to incorporate new interactive and dynamic platforms.

Infographics, also known as graphical representations of information and data, have

proven to be quite effective at delivering marketing messages, especially through

sites such as Pinterest and Facebook.

Videos also tend to draw attention, especially when they are interesting, funny, or

polemic. YouTube, being the second most popular website worldwide, is quite often

overlooked by small and midsized businesses. Depending on the industry, videos

can reach a vast number of people worldwide, as they are much easier to become

viral.

IMAGE

Due to the effectiveness of inbound marketing, successful businesses now spend

more resources on creating a professional, appealing, and suitable image.

Amateurish websites, inactive or outdated social media pages, and deficient

message development contribute to creating a poor depiction of a company. The

good news is that professional services are relatively affordable and more

accessible. A professional graphic designer and/or a web developer can build a

dazzling image for the organization, which we can monetize later.

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media in business evolved, by facilitating loyalty programs,

analytics, and advertising. [See step #7]

REPUTATION

Once again, the popularity of social media and other interactive

websites forces us to monitor what it is being said about our

organization. Google Alerts provides the tools to monitor posts.

Assuming our business provides positive purchasing experiences,

we should encourage customers to disclose their opinions through

diverse digital media, such as Yelp. These patrons will indivertibly

become our most effective promoters.

Also, decision makers should establish a thorough procedure to

handle unsatisfied customers, making possible they express their

opinions privately. That being said, these objections should be

addressed appropriately, not only for reputation purposes but also for

customer retention and loyalty.

EASY ABSORPTION

Because of the incredible amount of information we receive every

day, the successful delivery of messages depends on their

“digestibility.” In order to ensure high conversion rates, the content we present must be compact, easy to understand and, preferably,

highly visual. The same applies to websites’ usability and user-friendliness. Infographics and videos, which we mentioned earlier,

meet all these requirements.

MOBILITY

Internet mobile is evidently everywhere, and this trend will continue

its rise in a more sophisticated and advanced way. [See step #6]

QR CODE

Although QR Codes have been around for years, many

organizations, particularly small and medium-sized ones, ignore the

opportunities this technology represents. The use of these codes will

become more creative. Many experienced marketers direct users to

landing pages with exclusive promotions, which also allows them to

track the success of each campaign. Salesmen, for example, can

use the QR Code to increase the traffic to their websites. ■

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#13: Analyze results and refine strategies It is important to validate our digital marketing efforts through a comprehensive analysis of conversion rates and a clear perspective of the return

on investment. The analysis will guide us to make necessary adjustments and smart decisions. This analysis should be performed within a

determined timeframe, which depends on the size and type of each campaign or program; doing so will reveal valuable insights, which can be

used to secure optimum performance.

Web analytics contemplate the measurement, collection, and further

analysis and interpretation of internet data for optimization and

understanding purposes. This study helps us determine the success of

each campaign. An effective analysis will present data to identify

visitors from a demographic point of view, trace them –how they found

the page and the devices used- and know how they interact with the

site. This concept, if applied correctly, will help us achieve the following:

1 – Understand how our site is being found

2 – Identify popular content within the site

3 – Recognize particularly engaging or, on the contrary, irrelevant

content

CATEGORIES

Two main categories exist, offline- and online-based. The latter

examines regular pages and landing pages, scrutinizing the behavior

and preferences of users and the conversion rates. The offline study

refers to those factors which are not necessarily applicable to an active

website. It includes measurement of audience potential of a site

(Opportunity), visibility (Reach), and impact (Buzz).

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RELEVANCE

Google analytics remains the most widely-used platform for web

analysis, allowing marketers to monitor the hourly, daily, weekly, and

monthly visits of a website. Likewise, it displays the number of pages at

which each user looks before leaving, which helps us determine the

convincing nature of our content. Other important information available

includes the average time a user navigates within the site.

The bounce rate shows the percentage of people that visit a single

page before leaving. A high bounce rate means the site fails to facilitate

navigation or to draw interest. Despite its characteristic variability, the

bound rate’s average is 35% to 55% for a well-developed and

organized website. A rate superior to 55% means visitors do not find the

website particularly relevant. In this case, the web developer should

change the keywords to reach an audience that might actually consider

the site important. In some cases, changes in the design and structure

of the website might be necessary.

Google also presents the traffic sources, based on the keywords used

to attract visitors. Through the Referent Sites tool, Google Analytics

exhibits the sites that linked visitors to our content and the keywords

they used to find us.

RESOURCES

There are two forms to collect data, log files, which read data that has

been directly registered by internet browsers. The second method is

page tag, which uses JavaScript within the webpage’s codes. Both provide information to produce web traffic reports.

There are other resources available. The social platforms provide us

with free services to evaluate the return on investment of each program.

Due to the overwhelming amount of information available, especially

when different channels are used, handling all the information from a

single platform results more practical. There are specialized programs

in the market to control all of our online marketing efforts, such as

Marketo and HubSpot.

Web analytics do not only encompass website performance; the study

quite often measures the execution of other online-based marketing

programs: E-mail marketing, sales history, and social media response,

among others. Service providers generally give customers the

necessary tools to conduct analysis.

USAGE OF COLLECTED INFORMATION

Finally, web analytics work as a marketing research tool, facilitating the

recollection of associated data to unveil tendencies and online

purchasing behaviors. Therefore, constant scrutiny and analysis of a

website's performance is critical. After launching a campaign or during a

marketing program, the marketer must study the results and compare

them to make changes, which should also be monitored to assure their

correct execution. ■

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Extra: Avoid these common errors Although internet marketing increases the possibility to boost exposure and profitability, many businessmen and women fail to apply this

methodology successfully. What is the cause of such failure? What are they doing wrong? This article will reveal the most common internet

marketing mistakes made by amateurs and professionals alike.

RELYING ON AN INEFFICIENT WEB DESIGN

A deficient website design will drag our potential

and existing clients away from our business. A

poorly-designed website hardly ever markets a

product or service adequately. A website is a

representation of our company, so it must be

professional, practical –easy to navigate for the

visitors- and well-suited for the type of business.

Besides presenting a professional and polished

image, businesses and organizations must publish error-

free web pages, which should be accessible to all type of

devices and browsers.

A customer who encounters a site with bugs or other

inconsistencies will feel he is wasting his time. Equally

important, sites built by amateurs often lack proper

optimization techniques. This error takes its toll on the

traffic the site receives. We must remember that one of the

objectives of any website is to increase a business’s reach.

TARGETING THE WRONG AUDIENCE

Marketing a business to every internet user is a major, yet common,

mistake, which can lead to higher operating costs (money) and a

total waste of time and effort. Our businesses should only reach and

target specific audiences. Let's think for a second. Who’s more likely

to find our products and services useful? Build a marketing

strategy that focuses primarily on the target market. The

product or service must be suited to this market, as well

as the promotional and pricing tactics.

FOCUSING ON A SINGLE MEDIUM

The expression says, “Don’t put all the eggs in one basket.” The same advice applies to internet marketing.

Quite often, online promotional activities of many decision

makers rely almost exclusively on one medium. Some small

companies, for instance, concentrate on social media. These

sites are a great tool to maintain communication with customers

but, in most cases, do not suffice to boost sales by themselves.

There are many great technologies available on the web, and

we must consider each one of them.

BEING UNPREPARED

Many people are simply unprepared for online marketing. They

launch their online businesses or programs without a proper

plan. They fail to define a clear course of action, which is a

huge mistake. As in any business, we have to be prepared

for the obstacles that will come in our way, as well as other factors

that must be taken into consideration. The key to success is to be

careful and set up a proper plan, with short- and long-term

projections, to start any internet marketing strategy.

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USING POORLY-DESIGNED ADS

A poorly-designed ad looks unprofessional and quite often

inappropriate for the segments they target. These ads usually do not

communicate the desired message and fail to draw attention and

interest from the audience. The ads must depict the value of our offer

from the customers’ perspective, after we have defined the objective and understood the customer’s wants. With this information, we develop a clear and persuasive value proposition, which is the

message we communicate. In terms of visuals, when the graphic

design software or the knowledge is unavailable,

hiring services from a specialist to create a

professional ad results in a good investment.

PROVIDING POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

Marketing a business online does not mean

customer service has become irrelevant. We

cannot ignore our customers’ complaints, desires, and opinions. On the contrary,

online marketing presents us with a

valuable opportunity to reach out to

our audience. We cannot take our

customers for granted; communication

channels must be open because, if they are not satisfied, our

customers can simply take their business somewhere else.

NOT FOLLOWING UP

Not tracking the marketing strategies’ progress represents another critical mistake. Not doing so can hinder us from uncovering the

factors that work and those that do not. Besides, we might be

ignoring important opportunities or threats for our businesses. There

are great tools on the web that can help track and measure

marketing campaigns easily.

EXPECTING RESULTS RIGHT AWAY

Sometimes entrepreneurs expect positive outcomes

right away. Achieving success online takes time.

Moreover, when preparing the strategy, timeframes

must be set to give marketers time to monitor the

success of each program and perform necessary

adjustments. We have to work hard and be patient to

accomplish our objectives. Let’s keep in mind that Rome was not built in a day. Patience will be

rewarded when the first positive results become

evident. ■

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Get to know us MHigh is a Marketing firm that provides small and midsized

businesses with consultation and integrated digital marketing

services. In MHigh, we specialize in digital marketing, professional

consultation, and website design and development.

The mission of MHigh is to provide small and midsized businesses

with strategic support in marketing activities and help them achieve

exposure, competitiveness and profitability.

The vision of MHigh is to become a leading and revolutionary

Marketing firm within its niche by achieving permanent partnerships

with motivated entrepreneurs and designing effective and creative

campaigns.

Our clients operate in Mexico and United States within a wide range

of industries, which include retail, professional-service providers, and

nonprofits, among others. Join them!

FOLLOW US

+ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mhighenlinea

+ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/mhigh

+ Skype: Skype: mhigh.net1

Our achievements include an average of…

+ 155% more unique visitors after implementing inbound marketing

+ 80% more leads through optimized websites

+ 34% more sales for our clients’ companies

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ARTICLES AND RESEARCH

Ivan Badyr Salcedo

Marketing Specialist

Badyr specializes in Strategic Marketing and

Business Development, holding a degree in

Business Administration and Management and a

degree in English Literature. Badyr’s experience includes advising businesses in both product- and

service-oriented industries, involving companies in the United States,

Mexico, and The Netherlands.

Miriam Salcedo

Marketing Strategist

Miriam enjoys the business-and-client interaction

and, therefore, understands the importance of

organizations’ public image and communication methods. She specializes in persuasive strategies

and strategic marketing; Miriam holds a degree in

Business Administration with emphasis on Marketing Promotions,

having worked and collaborated in profit and non-profit organizations in

the United States and Mexico.

DISCLAIMER

Visit our website to know our disclaimer, which applies to the content provided in this

book. All content included on this book, including images and text, is the property of

MHigh, S.C. Mexico, MHigh.net and its content suppliers, except when rights from

third parties are indicated. The concept of the firm and the content presented in this

book are original and protected by Copyright laws of the United States of America,

including the DMCA. Any other use, including the reproduction, modification,

distribution, transmission, republication, display, or performance of the content on

this site is strictly prohibited. Neither this website nor any portion of it may be

reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, resold, or otherwise exploited for any

commercial purpose that is not expressly permitted by MHigh.

CREDITS

“All The Marketing Statistics You Need To Know”. HubSpot.

http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics

Blue, S. (2007). "Blog." Marketing Sherpa.

http://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/

Dess, G., Lumpkin, G.T. & Eisner, A.B. (2010). "Strategic analysis." Strategic

Management: Creating competitive advantages. McGraw-Hill, NY. 2-38

Ducket, J. (2011). HTML & CSS: Design and build websites. Wiley.

Indianapolis.

Ducket, J. (2014). JavaScript & JQuery: Interactive front-end web

development. Wiley. Indianapolis

Conner, C. (2013). “Fifty Mobile Marketing Facts.” Forbes.

http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml

Ortiz, A. (2012). “Google: Las empresas sin una Web optimizada pierden el 40% de sus clientes." ElConfidencial.com.

http://www.elconfidencial.com/tecnologia/2012/10/06/google-las-empresas-

sin-una-web-optimizada-pierden-el-40-de-sus-clientes-3324/

Lockwood, M. (2013). “The Ultimate Resource for 2013 Inbound Marketing Stats and Charts.” HubSpot.

http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/2013-inbound-marketing-stats-charts

Statista (2015). "Number of search and mobile phone search users..."

http://www.statista.com/statistics/368746/us-mobile-search-users/

Vaughan, P. (2012). “Why Landing Pages Are an Indispensable Part of Marketing”. HubSpot.

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32566/Why-Landing-Pages-Are-

an-Indispensable-Part-of-Marketing.aspx

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Digital Marketing Program

Increase sales + Boost online exposure + Expand to new markets

Are you looking for expansion, growth, and innovation? Thinking of you, we present an accessible and simple digital

marketing program. We offer constant support, continuous analysis, and scrutiny of results to protect your investment,

besides designing a proposal and subsequent plan based on your goals, budget, and audience.

Strategy Formulation + Web Development + SEO +Social Media + Content + E-mail + Analysis

LE T 'S E XP L O R E THE O P PO R T UN I T I E S T H A T D I G I TA L MAR K E T I N G O F FE R S TO Y O U R O R G A N I ZAT I O N

REQUEST A FREE ASSESSMENT WITH AN SPECIALIST

(520) 249 1575 | http://www.mhigh.net/en

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