Online Marketing and Your Business

Why do so many individuals and businesses go for online marketing? Well, what if you could advertise your business to millions, if not hundreds of millions, of people worldwide for a low cost? What if you could easily target your advertising by demographic, whether it be age, geographic region, or interest? Would you jump at the chance to reach so many potential customers?

Prior to the Internet and online marketing, the only way to reach a large number of people was by producing a television commercial and paying to have it air on a popular channel. Not only is it prohibitively expensive to create a commercial when you have a small, local business, but it costs a lot to air it on one channel, let alone several. And if you’re an individual who sells products or services, there is no way a television spot is in your budget.

That’s why many people turn to online marketing. With the power of the internet, advertising is cheap, yet reaches more people than ever before. In some cases, internet marketing can even be free—like if you create an SEO optimized blog to advertise your product or service, or when you create a Facebook page for your product or tweet about it.

It’s easy to network on the internet. Many bloggers are willing to advertise your products or services for free if they agree that your product is high quality and in line with the interests they blog about. Other bloggers will “plug” you if you do the same for them in return on your blog. Another way to do online marketing for free is to find chat rooms and communities that revolve around an interest related to your product—for example; if you create hand-crafted stuffed animals, you could join an online community for new mothers—and see if the rules allow you to post an ad. Even if they don’t, there is usually nothing wrong with joining the community and contributing, then mentioning off-hand that you run a business that is related to the community’s interest.

As online marketing becomes more and more popular, there are more paid options as well. These options are still cheaper than traditional advertising, but reach a lot more people. Google Adwords is a way to use the power of the world’s most famous search engine to reach new customers, and many sites sell banner space in sidebars around the main text. This lets you target your audience by advertising on sites related to your business, where more people are likely to be interested in your services.

It’s obvious that the online marketing phenomenon is only going to grow. Many companies have jumped on the bandwagon by offering incentives to customers who ‘like’ them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. These incentives prompt customers to join e-mailing lists, which allows companies to market to them directly using the internet to promote new products.

All in all, online marketing is no longer a niche that any business, large or small, can afford to ignore.

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Why E-Commerce is Good for Your Business

E-Commerce has been around for far longer than you might think. Today, a lot of business is dominated by the Internet, and many people view E-commerce as buying, selling, or trading goods and services online. In reality, anything that involves electronics (the “E” in E-Commerce) to assist a retail transaction is E-Commerce. This includes anything that isn’t the traditional way of purchasing something; for example: going to the bank, receiving money from a teller, and travelling to a physical store where you exchange cash for a good or service.

Anything that involves ordering or processing over the phone, using an ATM, or paying with a credit card counts as E-Commerce, but we are so used to those things now that they seem quaint in comparison to the power of the mighty internet. So many customers find it easier to purchase goods online that business must maintain a strong online presence if they wish to compete.

The days of the friendly mom and pop shop that relied on friends and neighbours for business are almost gone. Although you can still find small, primarily brick and mortar stores, even small businesses usually have some way for a customer to place an order online, or at the very least they have a website. Any time a business uses electronics to market their goods, or advertise their services in any way is engaging in E-Commerce. So, you might not be able to book a massage with your favourite therapist online, but if she has a website explaining and advertising her services she in engaging in E-commerce. And of course, any store that takes credit cards as a form of payment is using E-Commerce too. E-Commerce is everywhere, and is good for your business.

Obviously no business today can thrive without some form of E-commerce. Just try to imagine a business who tried to avoid E-commerce. They would not be able to accept debit or credit cards as a form of payment. Obviously doing this helps a business because many customers prefer these methods, and are likely to spend more. This business would not be able to advertise online, or offer any advice or help over the phone either. Any customer who had a question would have to physically come to the store. How many customers would you lose if you did that? And don’t forget, you wouldn’t be able to order any of your products online, pay for them with a credit card, or have invoices sent to you electronically. You would have to go to your supplier, order your items in person, pay with them in cash, and keep a large back room of paper files to keep track of orders and purchases. Doesn’t sound very efficient, does it?

No one is saying that you have to start shipping orders to New Zealand from your tiny brick and mortar store in Arkansas in order to be successful. But E-commerce is faster and more efficient that trying to live without it, so all businesses have embraced some form of it. E-Commerce is good for your business as you will have access to more customers, bring in more revenue, and be able to keep track of your transactions more quickly and easily.

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