The first paragraph of this article serves as a catchy summary. Do you recall those Super Bowl and World Cup commercials featuring talking hand puppets, scantily clad women, cowboys herding cats, and crude lettering on cardboard? Can you name a single .com company that splurged millions on these brand awareness ads? This type of marketing is reminiscent of a reckless spending spree with no clear strategy other than "brand awareness". The key takeaway from this article? Focus on targeting customers online.
Use keywords that your customers might use in a search engine to find your site in your overall online and offline marketing strategies. This will help you stay focused on your customer niche and ensure context relevancy for your website, which is crucial for high rankings on search engines like Alta Vista, Google, and Inktomi.
Advertise where your customers frequent online. This doesn't necessarily mean top-tier websites, which are typically more expensive. Consider second or third-tier community sites and use online media buying to save money. Check out One Media Place for some unsold inventory and bid competitively!
Make opt-in email marketing a central part of your campaign. Now is the time to negotiate a 90-120 day media plan with market leaders. Yes Mail, for instance, offers a discount of 10-30%. Use HTML rich media for better ad copy and improved clickthrough results. However, if you're a B2B, stick to plain text.
Post to Newsgroups announcing special online contests, promotions, or giveaways that build over a finite period of time. Get the online community talking about your brand. Remember, any PR is better than no PR.
Ask your existing customers where they would recommend you advertise to reach them online. People appreciate having their opinions valued, and their input could provide valuable insights.
Incorporate guerrilla marketing techniques to drive your business in unique ways. Visit Jay Conrad Levinson's website, the man who coined the term and developed many of the techniques.
TV, Radio, or Billboards can be effective for brand development, but they can disconnect you from online customers. Plus, they're typically expensive.
Negotiate a good deal for yourself and don't believe the sales rep when they say all inventory is sold out! There's plenty of unsold inventory out there.
There's a storm brewing, and it's not just at your local movie theater. It's time to build viable business models based on selling tangible goods and services.
Be real and clear about what you do, how you do it, and what the value is. This will enable your audience to quickly understand what your business is all about.
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