There are three distinct strategies for online marketing. Consider the home or building owner’s path-to-purchase when deciding where to focus your resources. It all starts with precision targeting – knowing who your ideal customers are – things like geographic location, age, gender and the buying habits of the actual decision-makers. Learn more about planning your marketing strategy in this article.

1. Building Awareness with Prospects

The purpose of all your advertising is to build awareness of your brand. Then move your prospects along the path to become leads. This is done with a call-to-action message in your ads that drives them to your website or Facebook page to get more information that will help them make the right buying decision. These are some of the brand awareness options you have online:

• Google Search Optimization (SEO). Build your business profile on Google and ask your customers to post reviews. Then respond to those reviews with a simple thank you or troubleshoot a problem to demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.
• Paid Advertising. Display ads on related websites, Google sponsored searches and ads.
• Video Advertising. YouTube is owned by Google and provides many opportunities to promote your business using video.

2. Gaining Trust with Leads

It can take up to seven impressions of your business to convert your prospects into leads, then from leads into buyers. Your online marketing strategy should reinforce your call-to-action at every touchpoint.

• Retargeting Ads. These ads appear in future web pages after someone has visited your website. They act as a remember and usually have a call-to-action to bring your lead back to your site.
• Influencer Marketing. Testimonials provide social proof for your business. Strategic partnership with other businesses could also get you some referrals. Think of all anyone that could influence a buyer’s decision and offer incentives to spread the word online.
• Social Media. Present your business professionally. Invite people to like your business page and comment on your posts. This will help to increase your exposure in newsfeeds. See the tips at the bottom of this article. Then boost your popular posts to build your followers to a wider audience.
• Social Media Ads. If you want to advertise on social platforms, contact your Gibson sales rep. We may be able to help you get a better deal through our bulk social media buy.

3. Converting Warm Leads into Buyers

Ideally, your website is integrated with an email marketing platform, like Mailchimp. This allows you to gather lead information by providing an incentive for them to opt-in to your email list. When your leads give you permission to email them, you can build that relationship and convert them more easily into buyers.

• Opt-in Incentives. Provide free valuable and relevant content in the form of a simple article, case study, checklist, tip sheet or infographic that is easily downloaded when they provide their name and email address.
• Email Marketing. An automated marketing campaign of three to five follow-up emails can be to be spent every few weeks to reinforce your opt-in incentive. Each one overcoming objections and making the buyer’s decision-making process easier.
• Chat Box vs. Chat Bot. Websites with a live chat box can engage warm leads immediately and answer questions in real time. Chat bots provide pre-programmed responses to frequently-asked-questions, but are complicated to set up.
• Human Connection. It’s easy to hide behind technology but the best online strategy is to take it offline as soon as possible to continue the sales conversation over the phone or in person.

BONUS: Social Media Tips & Best Practices

If you want to use social media as part of your online marketing, here are some basic tips to engage and increase your audience.

• Consistency.  Communicating on a regular basis with your followers is very important. Your content can be as simple as a photo from your job sites, or of yourself or your team – just remember to work it into your daily schedule to have the best chance to maintain audience growth.
• Content.  Show your followers what a day-in-the-life of your operations looks like, share team photos, or job site photos and bring them into the process so they have an opportunity to find out something about your company and the way you operate before they even pick up the phone to call you.
• Engagement.  Interact with other like-minded accounts. Find partner and supplier accounts and make a point of liking and commenting on their content, so that there’s a two-way exchange of interactions that will also boost your own content. Spend some time on all of your social media platforms daily searching for new accounts to interact with, and taking some time to like and comment on those you already do.