…your company.
That’s the actual title of a post at smashLAB that I couldn’t help but stop to read…if that title didn’t grab you, step away from the computer, you’ve been online too long.
Eric Karjaluoto takes us all to school with a post from the heart, and a solid observation of what’s really going on “out there.”
Part motivational, part gut-check and all wit, Karjaluoto makes a case for not cutting back too far during the current economic nightmare; that now is the time to strike. One of his many ideas that has stayed with me is the reality that right now Marketing dollars go farther…and can be heard more clearly. In good times supply and demand dictate higher advertising costs, higher promotional costs-everyone wants to be heard. When its quiet, and its very, very quiet right now, a company with an aggressive marketing plan will be heard, and will stand out.
I discovered Eric’s post on the ideasonideas blog yesterday, about a month after it was written. Too late to use any of it to try and sway a friend/client that his drastic cut-backs would not only leave him talent-poor and stagnant, but cause him to miss an incredible opportunity for growth. His boards decision to cut-back staff by almost 50% this week puts a lot of talented and once-loyal employees on the street looking for work next week. What irks me most is that the majority of cuts were “preventative.” In other words, the ship wasn’t sinking…but it could.
Although my lifestyle is not what it was 2 years ago, its been almost 11 years since I’ve had to fill out a job application or go on an interview. For those reasons alone I am grateful. Helping my small-business clients and independent business owners gain a bigger Internet presence and a stronger base in their chosen niches is icing on the cake.
It’s not often that I need outside influences to motivate me. But as I write this post I am very eager to put some other thoughts from Eric into action.
Summertime in the desert is quiet time. Economic fear, and reactions based on those fears, are making it quieter than usual.
A perfect opportunity for me, and you, to get LOUD… and to present our skills to a few businesses that may just be able to use them.
As Web 2.0 becomes less of just a buzzword and more of a reality, the types of sites webmasters need to publish will increasingly become more important. In other words, mini-sites are slowly dying and cookie-cutter article sites are on the way out as well. Web surfers will become more value-focused and web companies will become larger.
Over the next few years expect larger conglomerates to be buying up profitable websites in their chosen markets. Expect smaller sites to either be bought or driven out of business. My intention is not to scare you, but this outcome is inevitable.
Large businesses have always taken two approaches to their desired markets. They either buy their competition or they push them out of business. You want to be prepared when this trend begins on the Internet.
Being a webmaster and online marketer, you should be preparing for one of two scenarios. To position yourself for a buyout to a larger company or to become the larger company that dominates your chosen market.
Whichever route you choose is entirely up to you, but I would suggest that it would be in your best interest to begin focusing on authority sites. You can either start building them or turning your current sites into them. Whatever your approach may be, I assure you it will help you sleep better at night.
What Is The Definition Of An Authority Site?
One cheap, easy and effective method of online advertising is link exchanges. These are a virtual meeting of the minds where website owners around the globe get together and exchange their website addresses to gain increased website traffic. This is a great way to drum up some free website traffic as the majority of link exchanges are a completely free service.
A second worthwhile tactic for online advertising is using online message boards. Simply posting your website address in the link of your signature when posting or replying to topics related to your website, many viewers will see it and some will even click on it! The service is completely free for you. It is important that you completely understand that spamming on message boards will hurt your business, maybe even permanently. These days people remember spammers and scammers- they are not liked by many people. To work around this, post valuable, relevant, meaningful content and, as mentioned above, put your website address in your signature.
If you’re still lost as far as what and where is the best place is to advertise online, be sure to use other online resources and search for other methods using the search engines.
Exposure and relevance are two factors to keep in mind when doing an ad campaign. A lot of exposure and circulation gives more people the opportunity to see your ad and visit your site. Relevance is also important because you want your ad where it will be used. You would not want an ad selling car parts on a page designed for young women.
Relevance in advertising is something that many of the big advertising providers are just now catching on to. It seems that the more relevant content is to the supporting advertisements, the better the click thru rate and ultimately the purchase rate for customers going to advertiseras websites.
One of the best ways to maximize your advertising dollar is to advertise on search engines. Tags that are in close relation to a user’s search will hopefully make your webpage one of the first ones to appear on the search results. By having your webpage at the top of the search results, you will get more advertising results.
At the end of the day, whatas the best place to advertise online? This can have more than one simple answer. The best place to advertise online is to have a compilation of resources at your disposal, from search engines, to relevant click thrus on websites and blogs, and spiraling all the way back to the free advertising resources that we started talking about. Diversifying your campaign is easily the ticket to your success.
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