We are in the tail end of Summer with Fall on the horizon. But, before you know it, Fall will be here, the leaves will turn color, and autumn will be in full swing here in Boise, and you will be drinking apple cider or pumpkin spice flavored beverages. 

For you, this will be the perfect time of year for you to start anew with not only the seasons, but your website, too. Together, we will walk hand in hand through this new season of reasons you should consider beefing up your online marketing  efforts. 

Here are five things you can do to make sure your online marketing efforts come to fruition this fall.

1. Make Your Presence Known 

To make your presence known, you will need to use an array of platforms and channels to get your message out there. It is also important to narrow in on what platforms  your intended targeted audience is visiting. There’s no need to focus too much on one platform since you do not want to miss out on other channels to spread your message. 

So be mindful when it comes to making your presence known since you will want to take into account the various avenues people may be taking to get to their destination-- your site. Using Google Analytics to see what is working for you, or not working for you, will greatly help when it comes to making decisions regarding your online marketing  efforts. 

If you are looking for ways to make your presence known to your targeted audience, below are some steps you can take to get you where you want to go:

• Strategize to track your progress 
• Create a solid foundation for your platform
• Continuously be optimizing and improving 
• Provide consistent and valuable content 
• Be present and engage with your audience 
• Create relationships and connect with those in your marketspace 

And if you are not convinced yet, according to Google, 97% of consumers will use the web to search for local businesses. If the majority of your potential customers are online, then you should be, too. Having a strong online presence is especially important for your online marketing efforts, no matter the size of your business or the industry you are in. 

2. Partner and Position Your Strategies

Online marketing is not a one size fit all situation, so what fits one business may not fit another business. The best way to approach your online marketing efforts is positioning your strategies, so they make the perfect partnership. 

For instance, you may plan on aligning your business strategy with your online marketing strategy. Aligning your strategies will keep everyone on the same page, as well as help your business meet or exceed your goals. 

In the process of partnering and positioning your strategies, you will want to everything to be built around your brand. You will also want to ensure that your strategies fit within your vision. You’ll want to make sure the culture of your company showcases positivity and motivation-- you will want to construct your online marketing strategy to be built around the nature of your business. 

And if you are having trouble aligning your strategies into the perfect partnership, you will want to make a focus canvas to keep you on track to reaching your goals: 

• Timeframe 
• Meaning beyond money (Your Company’s purpose) 
• What Makes You Different from Your Competitors 
• The value your company provides 
• The goals your team is trying to reach 
• Who your target audience is & how you can help 
• What’s important about now 

It’s not an easy task to align your strategies into the perfect partnership. Remind yourself to get back to the basics if you are struggling to pair your partnerships successfully. 

Once you get to a place where your strategies are aligned, you will want to create goals that go along with the objectives you are looking to complete. Lastly, you will want to see which channels you want to use to communicate the messages that go along with your strategies. If you follow these steps, you will be off to a great start for a successful online marketing strategy. 

3. Research The Playing Field (Marketspace) 

You will want to research your competitors beyond the products and services they offer-- dig deeper into the research of your competitors. 

Look into your existing customers and ask them about the things they like about your company more than your competition, and vice versa. By doing this, you will be able to get honest feedback on how you can improve your online marketing efforts. 

While conducting your market research you will want to identify the customer’s problem, then develop a research plan, and collect data. After conducting all of your research on your competitors, you will want to take action based on those insights you gathered. 

Some strategies you will want to put into place for your online marketing strategy  are:

• Uncover the keywords the competition is using 
• Analyze their rankings against keywords 
• Research their most shared content 
• Track their new links 
• Keep an eye on their social activity 
• Read their blogs and newsletters 

To keep up with researching your competition, there are some tools out there so you can keep tabs on them. These tools include  Google Alerts, Marketing Grader, and SEMRush  to just name a few. 

4. Create Value for Your Customers 

Whether you are a big corporation or a small business like we are, you will want to let your customers know their opinions matter, and work to build a long-lasting relationship with each of them. 

By building customer relationships built on trust, you will be able to get returning customers, as well as make your brand stand out from your competitors. When you provide customers with real value, you not online boost your online presence, but you also show your customers or clients that you truly do care about them. 

The more value you provide to your customers, the more likely they are to recommend your company in reviews, and the more likely they are to refer you to their friends and families. 

Not only should you provide real value with your presence, but you should try truly connecting with your customers. Through building relationships, you will learn more about your customer’s needs. Rather than telling people about your business, have conversations with them to pinpoint what your customers need. Then, follow up with showing them you have a solution to their problem. 

To keep your customers coming back, you will want to exceed their expectations, ask for feedback, connect with them, and show them appreciation. Something you will want to keep in mind is that you will want to give them the opportunity to experience your brand, understanding their relationship with your brand, along with making them feel special within your brand. 

Still scratching your head, wondering how to build strong customer relationships to boost retention? Well, here are seven customer relationship and intelligence techniques you can use in creating long-lasting relationships. 

1. Using customer service as a marketing tool
2. Adding value to what you are creating 
3. Listening to what your customers are saying 
4. Building loyalty via VIP treatment 
5. Earning trust and social-proof loop
6. Using brand personality to be relatable 
7. Delight your customers with gifts (a discount or present on their birthday)

Providing real, honest value to your customer should be your top priority. Plan on keeping your ears open to genuine feedback, and encouraging advocacy and personal connection through social media. Having a relationship-focused approach will help to build strong networks of customers that build your brand’s loyalty. 

5. Construct Clear Calls To Action 

Constructing clear calls to action for customers is important, no matter what your online marketing strategy is. Calls to action can be anything from contacting your customer directly, connecting with them on social media, or inviting them to sign up for your monthly e-newsletter. 

Also, do not forget to make sure your call to action clearly communicates what the user can expect when they click on a button, or how they can take the next action. 

So how do you create a clear call to action? Craft calls to action that have good design, high visibility, actionable text, short length, and a sense of urgency. You will want to make sure your calls to action have these two things, such as a no-obligation statement and a sense of urgency to respond right away. 

By no means is creating clear calls to action easy, but, with these seven call to actions tips, it can be a piece of cake for you:

1. Start your CTA with a strong command verb 
2. Evoke your words with emotion and enthusiasm 
3. Inspire your audience to take a desired action 
4. Highlight the fear of missing out (FOMO) in CTA
5. Understand your devices 
6. Don’t worry, be a tad creative 
7. Integrate numbers when needed 

Keep Your Online Marketing Efforts Going 

Now that you know all the things you can do to beef up your online marketing, we are now going to walk through how you can keep your online marketing efforts going. 

First, you will want to upkeep your social media presence, be in the top of your local search results, keep up with your website’s social sharing features, and keep up with marketing technology trends in the marketplace. 

Next, you will want to educate, evolve, and enhance yourself and your team about your online marketing strategy  going forward. And if you are a small business like us, or if you don’t have a huge budget to spend on online marketing, here are some online marketing tactics  you can use: 

• Tighten up your SEO 
• Comment on relevant content 
• Respond to online reviews 
• Create a referral program 
• Keep your business current on maps 

A Website That Fits You 

With Autumn almost upon us, it is crucial that you are thinking ahead about fresh ways you can beef up your online marketing efforts. 

Building out an online marketing strategy can help you keep on track for success, along with giving your business a boost in profits. So, if you want to learn more about how Neoreef can ramp up your online marketing efforts, feel free to fill out our online form or contact us at (208) 629-2921.