In one of our articles, we explained in detail the difference between some of the most commonly used terms in the internet realm – Internet Marketing vs. Digital Marketing vs. Inbound Marketing. Today, we are going to focus on Internet Marketing and throw some light on how it manages to give excellent results. This article will cover the 6 pillars of Internet Marketing on which the whole concept of online revolves.
What is INTERNET MARKETING?
Internet Marketing is the described as marketing over the internet, using digital devices, such as laptops, tablets, desktops, etc. It involves all those activities which are done over the Internet using digital devices and all those activities as well, which are done using digital devices, however with the non-involvement of Internet. Eg – SMS marketing (SMS MARKETING is done using digital devices, however there is no usage of the internet)
What are those 6 pillars?
The framework for internet marketing is derived fro Inbound Marketing. Inbound Marketing is a term which was developed by a company named HubSpot. The term simply means that a business does not reach out to its customers. Instead it increases it’s visibility over the internet to drive relevant traffic and engages with its potential customers to close the final sale.
Now, let’s understand these 6 points in detail.
1. VISIBILITY
Visibility simply means increasing the online presence of your web portal. The most basic requirement for any business who wishes to be over the internet is to reach out to the maximum number of people it can. As a matter of fact, visibility is directly proportional to a company’s revenue. The more your brand is visible over the internet, the more are the chances of people purchasing your products or services.
Consider this example –
Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, you are skeptical to step outside to buy grocery.
What will you do? Most of the people would search online, on Google. You would use some search terms for your Google Search. These search terms in internet terminology are known as keywords.
Let’s say, you search – “BUY GROCERIES ONLINE”. You will see something like this –
The page that you view above is known as SERP (Search Engine Result Page). Google displays 10 results on SERP.
Now, how often you check all the 10 results (forget going to Page 2), while making a purchase decision? Probably, NEVER! As per a survey done by Google, approximately 93% of the people never go to Page 2 of Google. They remain on Page 1 while searching for a product or service. Perhaps, the more interesting part is that out of those 93% of the people who never go to Page 2 of Google, 70% approximately will just check the first 3 results on SERP.
The first three results on SERP are known as the GOLDEN TRIANGLE. Why So? It’s the crème de la crème. If your business is appearing in the top 3 search results on SERP, it simply means more visibility, which will lead to more visitors, which will lead to more lead generation and finally more sales and revenue.
2. BRINGING TARGETED TRAFFIC
Well, just when you though visibility is the key to a successful business, THINK AGAIN! Yes, visibility does help you to increase business revenue as explained above, but lead conversion will be well defined only when you are getting targeted traffic, i.e., people relevant for your LOB (Line Of Business).
There are 2 ways to bring targeted traffic to your website –
Outbound Marketing
Outbound marketing refers to the form of marketing, wherein a business reaches out to people to increase visibility and convert them into customers. The lead conversion rate for outbound marketing is generally low because, truth be told, no one wants to be disturbed with cold calls, or cold email-marketing (wherein you are emailing the user without their subscription consent…perhaps we will cover this in the upcoming articles). It may be referred to as the PUSH form of marketing.
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing refers to the form of marketing, wherein a business does not reach out to its customers, however it increases its visibility on those platforms where its target market is likely to interact and engage with their advertisements. For Eg. – If you are a real estate guy and are looking to generate leads, you will most probably advertise on platforms like magic bricks, 99 acres, housing, etc. If you are digital marketing agency like us, lets say lightscamerasocial.com you are more likely to engage customers on Google who are searching for marketing related keywords, or on platforms like LinkedIn, or on blog publications, like this one.
The conversion rate, as in the lead conversion rate for Inbound marketing is far higher than that of Outbound marketing, because who so ever is interested in your products or services will come to you directly, instead of you pushing the customer to close the sale. It may also be referred to as the PULL form of marketing.
Thats the second pillar of Internet Marketing – Bringing Targeted Traffic.
3. ENGAGEMENT
Let’s recap the first 2 steps covered so far. So what we did, we simply increased our VISIBILITY over the internet and advertised on those platforms which are most likely to provide us with TARGETED TRAFFIC as per our Line Of Business. What next?
Next comes the most important part – Engagement.
Engagement refers to an activity or a group of activities that are intended to provide the visitor of website, with information about the various products/services on your website. Let’s say you visited a website, which does not have enough information on the product or service you are looking for. Chances are you will leave the website.
Not engaged is opportunity lost! So, how to engage?
We would suggest you to have lots of touch points, or CTA’s (Call-To-Action tabs on your website), include registration forms on your website, some engaging videos, and most importantly engaging content.
To quote an example from our website –
This is a registration form meant to capture the attention of the visitor. Its necessary to have such forms, coupled up with engaging content and proper Call To Action tabs.
Another example –
This is a video which features on the top of our website. Such activities help in building engagement.
A more engaged visitor on your website, will undoubtably be curious about your products/services and will browse more web-pages of your website. The more webpages of your website they browse, the more information they acquire and the higher are the chances of converting such a prospect into a client.
4. CONVERSIONS
Conversions refers to Lead Generation.
What is a LEAD?
A lead is simply a prospect customer. Any visitor who has shown interest in your products or services is a lead for your business. Leads are further converted into sales.
Conversions are of two types –
Micro conversion
Micro conversion refers to small activities on your website that generate the interest of the visitor. Eg. – reading good content on your website, watching a particular video, reading about a specific product or service. Micro activities further lead to Macro activities or conversion.
Macro conversion
Macro conversion refers to all those activities which are larger in nature and are closer to closing a sale. Eg. – Filling out the registration form on your website, calling your helpline number, commenting on your blog post. etc. Macro conversion implies that you have successfully managed to capture the initial interest of your lead, basis which they are more eager to proceed to the next step.
Macro conversions finally lead to SALE!
5. MEASUREMENT
Advertising over the internet without measuring your results is like putting a billboard in a place where no one visits. Its of no use…waste of time and energy! The best part about internet marketing is that there are a myriad of tools using which you can measure the performance of your daily marketing activities. Unlike traditional form of marketing, where a business cannot accurately measure the performance of an advertisement in print media, or radio advertising, using Internet marketing, it can be measured very easily.
One of the best tools that you can use in Internet marketing to measure the performance of your advertisements over the internet, or the performance of your website is Google Analytics. The best part of the tool if that its absolutely free. Also, its one of the most widely used and one of the most accurate tool in the internet marketing domain.
6. RETENTION
More than acquiring new customers, the more important role of a business is retaining old customer. Retention can be done through internet marketing techniques, like email marketing, SMS marketing, etc. The main idea is to keep your existing customers engaged and keep your business at the top of their mind, so that whenever they come across someone who is looking for services that you offer, they spread positive word of mouth.
Perhaps, their is no denial that Word Of Mouth has been the oldest and most prominent form of any kind of marketing, not just internet marketing.
So, how did you like the whole explain of internet marketing and its 6 pillars?
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