According to a 2014 study, the average American spends 37 minutes per day on social networks? This can make social networking the top online activity in the US.

Also, 46% of all web users look through social media when they want to make a purchase.

It is a well-known fact that having an office or store for your business these days are not enough if you want to stand out in the industry. If you want to reach more customers, you need to have an online presence. You need to do internet marketing or online marketing.

What is online marketing? Online marketing or internet marketing refers to marketing and advertising efforts using the internet and e-mail to drive direct sales by means of e-commerce, in addition to sales leads from emails and websites.

Several small business owners are aware that they can find new vendors and connect globally with consumers via the internet. Unfortunately, there are still others who have not taken advantage of marketing their business online. These are mostly business owners who do not want to spend money on advertisements they believe will be seen by people who would not use their services. But that is seeing just one side of the coin. There are benefits to establishing an online presence:

Online Marketing is relatively simple

Getting started with online marketing is not difficult. To establish an online presence, just create a simple website with a blog and create accounts on social networks where you can promote your business.

You get to introduce your business to consumers

Many years ago, people look for businesses using a phone book. These days, everyone searches online. Using the right marketing tools such as a website and social media among others, you can get the words out about your business faster and easier to the global market. Your chances of being seen by potential customers increase exponentially when you go online.

You can do business 24/7

With online marketing, you don’t have to close your store which is what you usually do with your brick and mortar store. Your customers can order your products and/or services anytime. You can earn income while you are out or even when you are sleeping.

Targeting your local area is easy

You can easily target your particular local area by using the right tools and techniques such as geographical keywords. You can also sign up on local review websites and make sure that mention your location on your social media platforms and websites so that people who are searching your business with a mobile device will find it quickly.

You can expand your market

You can quickly expand your market once you are actively engaged in online marketing, provided you can deliver your products physically or digitally. You can expand your business across the nation or around the globe.

Online marketing is affordable

When you have your website, you can start marketing your website by writing on your site’s blog. At the same time, you can reach potential customers by using Twitter and other social networks. Just make sure that you write high-quality content with relevant keywords on your blog and social media accounts. Doing so would help increase your chances of being found by consumers.

 

Still not convinced? Here are more findings from the study cited above:

• 2 in 5 small to medium businesses say they gained new customers via social media

• 70% of business-to-consumer marketers acquired customers through Facebook

• 68% of Twitter users are more likely to buy from brands they follow on Twitter

• 37% of Twitter users will purchase from a brand they follow

Don’t get left behind. Takes your business to the next level through online marketing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tweet