| As more and more people are getting tuned into the idea of making money online, internet marketing trends are constantly and quickly evolving. Being able to identify the trends and tap into them with an up-to-date marketing plan can really set you ahead in your business.
Here are just a few of the current hot trends:
The Economy
Today's rough economy is the subject of many business conversations. This goes for internet marketing as well. We will continue to see recession-proof internet businesses being marketed as well as various money-saving plans, tools, clubs and forums. If you aren't already bringing up the state of the economy in your marketing, it's time to start.
Less Hype Marketing
For a while, one of the biggest Internet marketing trends included lots of hype. So the web was made up of one big glaringly flashy advertisement after another, each competing for your attention. It finally seems to be hitting home that flash and hype is not the way to go. While it might initially capture some interest from your target audience, you'll need to support it with great high-value content to keep them interested. Your customers are looking for solutions to their problems - make sure that you offer these in your marketing message.
The money is NOT in the list (exactly)
Most of you have heard the saying. . ."the money is in the list" or the leads that you can generate from your marketing. This is not exactly true. Building up a huge list really won't do you much good unless you actually interact with the people on the list. The money is in the relationships that you develop with the people on your list. Learn how to develop relationships with people by using auto-responders, participating in forums, Facebook and Twitter, etc.
Niche Marketing
Along With the economic downturn, businesses are focusing on more and more narrow niches. This is counter-intuitive but smaller, more targeted niches will bring you more traffic than large broad ones.
Social marketing continues to dominate
And more and more businesses are tapping into this trend. It's been proven that adding videos to your marketing mix increases traffic to your site as well as the amount of time a person spends on your page. Along with all of the other social media tools, the use of video is increasing dramatically. Some people are intimidated by the idea of doing videos. The important thing to remember is that your potential customers want to see other real people, not some sort of corporate actor, so just be yourself and you will draw more people to you and your business.
Quick customer service
If you want to maintain relationships with your customers, you must respond to their needs immediately. If you can't, they will turn to your competitor who can.
Knowing and understanding these general Internet marketing trends and then adapting your business to keep up with them can really put you at an advantage. |