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Some Valuable Content Gems From The B2B Content Conversions Conference April 2013

The B2B Content Conversions Conference was held recently on 22nd and 23rd April 2013 - Times Center NYC. This conference presented key insights on how to manage the content lifecycle. The reputed speakers http://content2conversion.com/speakers/ shared their thoughts which were shared on Twitter - #B2BContentEvent .

I hope the cut, clarity and the true color of these content gems have been preserved as we share the valuable content gems of the conference as follows:

@TripKucera Trip Kucera, Aberdeen Group

32% of companies have a robust content marketing strategy, up from 16% in 2011
We're in the age of data driven marketing
Content marketing has got to be about value
Marketers need to understand when and where they see content.
Lead Management is like scotch: Distillation generates value!
Good leads are made through valuable interactions
Offers are becoming content-like
Marketing leaders save $10k cost per new customer compared to followers. Do it right.
leaders say it takes 10 marketing touches to fully engage a qualified buyer
top 3 challenges: need skills, content quantity and content relevancy for content marketing success Top challenge for content marketing: lack of talent and resources.
Leaders are more likely to have a robust strategy in place
Become subject matter experts to offer great content
Content marketing is everyone's responsibility
Content marketing is primarily managed internally because it is strategic
It's content marketing, not content sales
Leaders align content with buyer personas & the right stage of the sales funnel. Followers don't.
Measure content specifically in the context of the buyer's journey.
it is becoming more critical to bring Sales into the content conversation
Think about content as marketing offers. Get granular in the way you measure content
Content marketing is the alchemy of intent
37% of firms are managing it all in-house
Think about the incremental value of content

@juntajoe Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute

Content marketing is a business strategy
We're not renting the media with content marketing- we're owning it!
When you start a content marketing strategy , it can never stop. It goes on forever
Content Marketing is creating & curating valuable, compelling & consistent content to change or enhance behaviour
Content Marketing is a promise to our customers that we're going to give them something of value
Content marketing should change or influence behavior.
Content Marketing is a lot like sex. Just because you can do it doesn't mean you're good at it
If you do not have a documented Content Marketing strategy, you don't know where you REALLY stand
85% of corporate blogs have 5 or fewer posts
Only 36% believe that content marketing is effective.
Have a content marketing mission- the ultimate litmus test!
600% increase in leads for indium when Content Marketing strategy became 'engineers talking to engineers
Content Marketing Mission: 1. Core target audience 2. What will be delivered? 3. Outcome for that audience?
Think like a Publisher or Journalist, not like a Marketer, when developing your Content Marketing strategy
Pull back - more content may not be the answer
Develop content marketing mission first
marketers are doing much and not seeing ROI
If you're thinking about video, stop thinking of it as an advertising piece. Look at it as a value-add tool
The most important thing about video is audio, and keep it short.
Think about ROO: Return On Objective,
Have someone that owns the content feedback
Content marketing is a promise to our customers that we're going to provide true value.
Get Found, Get Shared, Get Leads
Content Marketing's home has always been in customer retention.
The biggest untapped opportunity for B2B content marketers? SlideShare,

@marketingprofs Ann Handley, Author

Features of the best content marketing: Utility, Inspiration, Empathy
Want to make your content share-worthy? Think about helping your customers. What would they thank you for
It's not about a task or channel, it's a mindset. Creating the kind of content that is sustainable
Don't think content tactics before you create a content strategy.
The best marketing feels like something you WANT to consume
My pet peeve: we make Content Marketing WAY too complicated!
Content marketing can be boiled in the 5 Ws of who, what, when, where, why and then how.
The best content is packed w/utility, seeded w/inspiration & is honestly empathetic
The Content Team graphic pic.twitter.com/EgBUYDpD4f
Newer content channels popping up: Instagram; Tumblr; Slideshare; Pinterest all poised for growth
Use social sites as storytelling platforms rather than just sharing platforms
A real test of meaningful content marketing: would your network thank you for it
If your customer signed your paycheck, what would your marketing look like?
The biggest piece of being a publisher is to think of your content in the eyes of your customer.
If you're thinking about video, stop thinking of it as an advertising piece. Look at it as a value-add tool
If your customers love what you do, they will follow you.
2 things that go into the success of content: the science and the art of it.

@BrennerMichael Michael Brenner, SAP

It's not about what we sell- it's about what we do for our customers.
Our buyers are bored
Our buyers are looking for marketers to feel interested in their needs
In Content Marketing, act like a publisher—and publishers need to make money
We're bombarding our prospects with too many messages.
Our buyers are looking for marketers to feel interested in their needs
Deliver what your customers are looking for
Stroytelling should be at the center of your Content Marketing .
If buyers ask a question, you must answer - Deliver the answers they are asking for
Create an editorial board @ your company if there are multiple people creating content.
50% of SAP's content is coming from external sources, including 100's of authors - Author Curation
Author curation: Find authors on selected topics.
Content mktg metrics: reach, engagement, conversion.
Influencer Marketing is key to amplifying your content (stories)
SAP is starting to include calls to action within their Content Marketing articles
We exist within a content ecosystem
The biggest challenge in marketing is to get people to stop selling.
Content Marketing should not focus on talking about what you sell, it should focus on what you do for customers
The blog post @BrennerMichael mentioned during his presentation http://bit.ly/15DVgVv 8 Steps To Build A Content Hub That Converts [Slides]
Focus on subscribers as your conversion objective.
digital attribution is still a huge challenge, with last click metrics still ruling the day

@Tweetsfrompawan Pawan Deshpande, Curata

Curation is everywhere, reddit, digg,etc.
32% of marketers share content from blogs, industry pubs or online outlets w/ custrs
curation is relevant now b/c consumers have too much content
Why is curation relevant? Consumers have too much content. Marketers have too little
The content beast has a very high metabolism:
think beyond your brand… include your competition
95% of marketers are using OPC( Other people's content) today
CMOs care about both creative and metrics

@jasonthibeault Jason Thibeault, Limelight Networks

Stories are a container of ideas
By 2017 video will take up much of internet traffic
You message needs to be connected regardless of device.
Narrative arc is what connects us to our audience, gives them a reason to connect with our stories.
The digital relationship pyramid pic.twitter.com/nnBiTQgXzU
If it is not connected the audience gets disengaged

@MargaretMolloy Margaret Molloy, Velocidi

Content means Brand, trust and relationship builder
There is no single attribution. It's a math problem

@lbfeldman Lori Feldman, Cigna International

Don't underestimate the importance of listening. Listen before you speak and develop content.
Stopping and listening, and seeing what's resonating in a given market is key
Listen to your audience and create content accordingly
The days of the one-size fits all website text are over
Don't forget pictures and graphics in your content. Images can resonate globally
Common mistake in Content Marketing : publishing without engaging, not initiating two-way conversation with customers
Revenue is important. but don't forget relevance & shareability of content to get audience to come back.
If we're not all sharing in this digital world, we're doing ourselves a disservice says
To get to the point of revenue, marketers must not forget the point of sharing (targeted/compelling) content
Think like a publisher; be an educator. Your audience is looking for insights. -- Tell, don't sell

Mark Wilson, @Avaya

Be provocative in content marketing,
Content Marketing must be... simple, unexpected, offer credibility, have a motive and told as a story
Instead of asking people what keeps them up at night, tell them what should keep them up at night.
Marketers are probably the worst people to write content
to make your content compelling, be provocative and snarky when writing
Marketing needs to look like a Newsroom, not a cubicle farm
Come up with a non-standard point of view and defend that view.
Content Marketing must be... simple, unexpected, offer credibility, have a motive and told as a story.
Serving a niche market is how you get BFFs - become the definitive source for that community
great content doesn't distribute itself - split out publishing from editorial. In Content Marketing separate editorial (is it interesting?) from publishing (medium, frequency)
For a quick Content Marketing win, segment, then address audience needs
I don't care how many people are tweeting, not tweeting, etc. At the end of the day, we're here to drive revenue
Mobile content is a lot more popular

@LeeOdden Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing

81% of b2b buyers start with search engines
Optimized marketing means your brand is the best answer when and where buyers need it
Must integrate SEO and content, but optimize for customer experience
Anticipate demand with search and create [I would say satisfy] demand with content
Search often validates what users find on social
The definition of optimized marketing pic.twitter.com/lJHCYiNtc1
Great content isn't great until it gets found, consumed and shared.
Not everyone in your audience will be motivated by an infographic
Be the best answer for customer needs and that matches your brand value
Optimize for engagement AND conversion, then through to purchase and advocacy
Optimizing is about making it easy to attract, engage, retain
Facts tell, stories sell. Stories are essential for your brand. It's key to amplify
Optimization is an ongoing process! If people have a great experience they're more likely to DO something
every author at your company should have Google+ account
4 types of content: Evergreen, repurposed, curated, and co-created
16% of daily Google search queries have never been seen before. Keyword research is a goldmine for content ideas
There are many content marketing tactics, but are they integrated? Alignment is powerful in the customer journey.
Investing in high quality content doesn't mean anything if people cannot consume it, says
You want to create anticipation
Real influence isn't huge fan & follower counts, it's niche communities that take action.
The quality of your content will contribute to shorter sales cycles

@CroweHorwath_US Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing

You have to be able to understand who you're targeting.
Target market segmentation is key in lead nurturing.
Talk about the buyer's journey, the buying cycle.
In lead scoring, pay attention to digital body language
An innovator isn't about new products. It's about someone who wants best practices.
28% of invited executives engage in program after 7 months.
Don't underestimate the power of e-Comms and landing pages.

@madisonlogic Thomas Koletas, Madison Logic

The average buyer is in the research mode for 4 to 6 days.
Leads from content mktg are often not followed up for 2 weeks
Wanna be salesy in your copy? You've got to segment your audience
Video is most compelling content right now. Segmentation is pretty key too
Key question: How do you get intent data

@Robyoegel Rob Yoegel, Monetate

You have to remember that everything you do goes back to the customer
The key is getting the right content in front of the right person at the right time
start Content Marketing by creating content that the sales team needs
Social drives 25% of inbound traffic!!
Search isn't dead - it isn't going away.

@tobymurdock and @pescatello of @kapost

Content development should be someone's job
Only those who TALK to their customers know what their customers want
Sales people should be educators
If you don't have the answer, your competitors will.
You can't really have a content calendar without knowing what to write about,
Ask your audience what they want to read -- critical tactic.
marketers should have content addressing the first questions your buyers ask when researching
Only those who TALK to their customers know what their customers want
4 ebooks a year can fill up your content calendar,

@michaelkolowich

Nothing gets our hearts pounding more than video
More effective lead gen with video by thinking outside the frame
Traditional video is based on an old television model
Content Telemetry = measuring content use, engagement & impact
Engagement: moving visitors from passive to active consumption,
If marketing automation is the rocket, then content is the fuel
People have more tolerance for longer content with knowledge of where it's going and for how long
When content is wired for interactivity, clickstream can be captured
Adobe should allow measurement of engagement in PDFs.
One can't make Spielberg production with every video. Need a strategy using multiple types of video
The key to using video is figuring out how to survive the rest of that video strategy

@JeffFuhriman Jeff Fuhriman, Adobe

Use everything you've got to keep it personal
lets its customer tell the story - the Adobe experience.
Personalization drives easily 40% more conversion on our website
Find your most valued area -- You'll fall fast, learn fast and reiterate fast.
Adobe Target + Demandbase IP can ID who you are BEFORE cookies. Skeaky, but nice given how flawed cookies are

@B2BCMO

The odds of winning today: 4 every 650 leads,1 deal closes in 19 months.

@fdonny Frank Donny, Marseli

Sales leadership will not respect you unless you have skin in the game
A sales person is concerned about 2 things: time and money
On average, 60% of all qualified sales opportunities end up in no decision
Clever analogy of sales and marketing as relay race supporting the revenue supply chain: inquiry > nurture > qualification > selling

@jill_rowley Jill Rowley, Eloqua

Definition of sales enablement: content, tools & training.
Its not quantity of leads, but quality and conversion rates that matter
Contacts from a conference are not leads, scoring means getting sales-ready leads
People don't buy from those they cannot trust.
Sales is only managing 43%
Use social to find, engage and amplify them
Read the content your buyers read and share it across your own social platforms
Enable your salespeople to tell customer stories
Some see prospects, I see future advocates
Social selling is different from social stupid

@TRiesterer Tim Riesterer, Corporate Visions, Inc.

You have to think of it through the entire spectrum.
Sales enablement answers: what are you going to say when you get the meeting
Give sales lead with a cheat sheet on what the lead is interested in to facilitate the first conversation

Drawing Professional and Friendship Boundaries At Work

Author : Bharati Ahuja

The Professional/client relationship is defined by boundaries. These boundaries are the limits that allow for a justified connection between you and your client and are always based on the deliverables and the commitments made at the time of the contract. The focus on these boundaries becomes more important when the contract is a long term contract and the interaction with the client is on a daily basis.

When you have to communicate and interact with a client on a daily basis and have developed a great rapport with the client then there is a great possibility of friendliness creeping into the way you deal with each other.

Having a friendly rapport with the client is not bad but when this friendliness makes each one of you take each other for granted then there arises a situation where the professional relations blur. In a professional relationship, you can be friendly with your client, but not your client's friend. This may result in adversely affecting the quality of the services that need to be provided to the client.

As a professional, you must draw a very clear demarcation about the power that you have.

This requires you to:

· Recognize that the power of a professional relation exists

· Understand the elements of that power

· Accept that these elements create an imbalance within your professional/client relationship, and then

· Use your power appropriately within the professional/client relationship to maintain or increase the efficiency of your work and deliver quality services

This clarity of the demarcation will also make the client appreciate the work done by you. Danny Brown in one of his articles has mentioned that:

We all want to be friends. We all want to have the most amazing relationships. And, often, that can be the case (or a close resemblance to it).But we also want to be successful – for our clients, our customers, ourselves and our families who depend on us to keep a roof over their head. If we confuse friendship and relationships with friendliness and professional relationships in that order, we run the danger of losing sight of crucial decisions that need to be made.

The main catch here is that in the process of creating clear professional boundaries does not mean that we need to be high handed or totally curt and unfriendly but we need to be clear about the limits which are set for maximum mutual benefit.

The Professional Boundaries:

· In a professional relationship, you can be friendly with your client, but not your client's friend.

· Every deal or action should have a mutually benefit you and the client as it is a business relation

· Don’t talk about one client in front of another.

· Always have a written contract as this protects both the parties and can be very useful whenever there is a dispute or disagreement.

· Don’t play favorites.

· Don’t’ discuss personal issues or reveal personal information to the client.

· When a client crosses boundaries , it should be immediately brought to notice so that it is not repeated.

Professional boundaries define effective and appropriate interaction between professionals and the public they serve. Boundaries exist to protect both the professional and the client. We usually enter the danger zone when a friend becomes a client or a client becomes a friend.While we look out for our friends unreservedly, often we can’t offer the same support to our clients, vendors, customers. If you know where the cut-off point is then you know where the help can begin and end.

It is solely your individual professional responsibility to maintain the boundaries. when faced with an issue that is causing the blur, work out the options and develop and implement an action plan. And finally, don’t panic—you are human. Therefore, the heart of ethical practice is taking responsibility for your actions or seek the advice or consultation needed to restore the boundary appropriately, and, ultimately, continuing to learn and grow professionally as a result.

Having A Schedule And Being Organized – A Personal Perception

Author : Bharati Ahuja

I work as an independent entrepreneur and have a very different approach towards having a team. Instead of developing a team in-house I prefer co.ordinating with professionals and execute the project by allocating the relevant aspects of the project to the identified experts in that field.

And over a period of time some professionals become a necessary part of your organization. This way you get to work with professionals who are passionate about their work and the clients also get high quality results.

One does not have to bother about the team management issues and one can focus on upgrading the quality of service so that satisfied customers generate a WOM which accelerates business opportunities without much direct marketing methods. This in a way encourages entrepreneurship further.

I do not have any qualms about a 9 to 5 job but to each his own. As a job entails a different set of responsibilities and demands a different approach to work as compared to working as an entrepreneur.

Just the other day a business associate after observing my way of working asked me so you do not have any schedule for the day?

The chuckle in his voice made me think – Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

After giving thought to it I realized that yes if you are working 9 to 5 then you need to have a schedule as you are a part of the team and reaching at a fixed time and having a certain way of working according to the systems of the company become very important.

But as an entrepreneur even if you do not have a schedule does not necessarily mean that you are disorganized as the priorities of the day become your schedule.

· If you have a presentation then everything else may take a back seat.

· Especially when you are in online business the working hours can be 24/7 .

· If you need to give quality time to your children at a certain time of the day due to their busy schedules then that day working till late at night becomes something unavoidable.

· That is the plus point of working independently as you decide what is the priority of the moment and work according to the need of the hour which gives a lot of spontaneity of thought and eliminates the element of the boredom which arises due to having a strictly fixed schedule.

· Of course the challenge is of meeting deadlines by repeatedly working on the progress of the project and co-ordinating efficiently with proper communication becomes the focus of every decision .

· As Liz Strauss has mentioned in her article http://www.successful-blog.com/1/be-irresistible-the-7-key-steps-to-becoming-your-own-boss/ It takes commitment to become your own boss — a commitment to yourself, to the people you serve, and to the value of what you offer. That commitment has been in every success you’ve won. Make the commitment and you’ll become an irresistible force.

Connect To Yourself First then To The Rest Of The World

Twitter the micro blogging conversation tool has entered our lives and has been successful in creating a virtual life for most of the people on twittervile. That virtual life is so full of conversations and updates which need to be followed real time.

Twitter started as a conversation platform which seemed to be an excellent replacement for SMS or texting but with millions of people joining it and the integration of tweets being featured on search, it has become a real time information tool which updates you even before the news channels can have the breaking news headlines.

Moreover the use of social media as an online marketing tool has a certain compelling factor which may give the feeling of missing out on something important if you are not connected 24 X 7. This brings havoc in the real life schedules .This infact can be considered as an occupational hazard for the people working in the online industry.

After the regular use of Twitter, usually people get habituated to check on the tweets the moment they are out of bed but this is a dangerous habit which no doubt keeps you updated but surely creates a state of turmoil for your family and health.

First connect to yourself then to the rest of the world. Your Gym, Yoga, Walk or exercise routine and spending time with your family on the breakfast table are the most important things in the morning which cannot be replaced by any other professional assignment. Once you start the day with this positivity you have already taken the first step to face the day ahead with zeal and energy as more than the caffeine it is the oxygen which is needed early in the morning.

We do work with different time zones and mornings do not always co-relate to the break of dawn to many but if we choose to work this way then we need to decide our own body clock and see that we follow the schedules which go according to our timing schedules.

But unless you connect to yourself and give importance to yourself then you can never give it to anyone else. Everything boils down to discipline and efficient management, just because we have access to the broadband 24 X 7 that does not mean we add life to our GRAVATAR and become lifeless in real time.

The following video explains the efficient use of managing and monitoring social media:

What Is IP Delivery And How You Can Use It?

IP based delivery is serving content to users based on their IP address. Serving different content to users from different countries or locations is not cloaking and is very much a white hat technique. Cloaking is showing different content to users and different content to the search engine bots which is not as per the Google guidelines.

The reason for varied content targeted based on IP address could be to display region specific Ads, varying costs for shipping as per the location, change the language as per the location or even different discount rates as per location.

The following 2 videos explain how Google handles this aspect of IP delivery.

Why Setting Up Of Targets Is Important For Business Performance

Every journey starts with a destination and time frame in mind. If there is no destination then that is called wandering. Business is also a journey which you embark because you want to achieve something – money, fame, knowledge, satisfaction for something done with the best of abilities, etc. When you set up targets at the beginning of the year you get a direction for the future and you get a chance to analyze and look back at the plus points and the minus points of the past year.

Once you set realistic and smart targets it is possible to chalk out a plan for achieving them. Hence , they give you a direction and you start thinking of how to make them real. Some of the things which get included in the plan are:

What resources you need to achieve the target?
What strategies you need to set to achieve the target?
What is the financial implication for achieving the target?
What improvements are needed in the existing structure of the organization?
What would be the KPPs – The Key Performance Parameters?
What attitudinal changes are required in the organization - as the first step taken in order to hit the target is to set a positive frame of mind that it is achievable and possible?
The whole team has to have that positive spirit?

The answers to these very questions give you the direction and you start seeing the path ahead. But, the targets should be smart , realistic , achievable and time bound as only then responsibilities can be assigned and valuable resources like time and money can be allocated. I believe that brain storming to set the targets on the basis of past performance and the future trends is a must at the outset of every year . The periodic review of the targets set surely give a clear idea about where the business is heading to and if inspite of a lot of effort and planning the targets become difficult to achieve then those situations tell you a lot about the market conditions and hence again you can gear the direction accordingly.

Does Your Company Has The Vision, Mission And Value Statements Spelt Loud And Clear ?

All companies usually have a Vision Statement and a Mission Statement . Many companies also make it a point to display the Value Statement.

But, how many companies focus on these statements when the teams are being trained for setting targets and achieving them? short term targets affect the long term goals of the company.
Your organization's vision is all about what is possible, all about that potential. The mission is what it takes to make that vision come true.

The long term goals are set keeping the vision statement in mind but mostly the short term targets are influenced by the mission statement. And of course the values are the whole aura engulfing each and every thought, word, deed and action taking place in your organization.

All these inter woven together create an identity for your company which gives a unique image to the company and develops the company culture. Each and every team member contributes to the realization of these goals, targets and the image carving of the company.

Hence, it is very important that each and every team member is aware of the essence of these three statements which are not merely words but the source of the wholesome energy needed by the company to tread the growth path which has been set.

Once this is accepted by each and every employee only then it is possible for them to work as a family as the thought behind the action is usually the binding or bonding factor between people working together.

Whether a solo entrepreneur enterprise, an SME, a humble startup or a well rooted giant company , all have to keep on focusing with what their company identifies with as only then the full team can move in one direction.

The top management has to keep on reviving this knowledge periodically or on a daily basis in a subtle way as the main responsibility of the top management is to monitor growth and keep up the culture of the company and eventually achieve the long term goals i.e visions set by the visionaries of the company and harness the creative energies of the missionaries (the employees) of the company in sync with the mission.

There is a great insight on what happened to Yahoo when their focus shifted from their identity as a technology company to a media company on the following link:

http://www.paulgraham.com/yahoo.html (A MUST READ)

The following extract from the above mentioned link explains the confusions in the mind of the people working at Yahoo. When such confusions arise and the top management does not pay heed to it them the future cannot be bright.

“One of the weirdest things about Yahoo when I went to work there was the way they insisted on calling themselves a "media company." If you walked around their offices, it seemed like a software company. The cubicles were full of programmers writing code, product managers thinking about feature lists and ship dates, support people (yes, there were actually support people) telling users to restart their browsers, and so on, just like a software company. So why did they call themselves a media company? “

It is never too late to ask yourself - What does my company identify with?

The Type Of Images You Use On Your Website

A picture speaks louder than words. Images on a website have got their own importance from the search engine’s bot perspective as well as from a visitor’s perspective. Hence the images that we add on each every page should be well thought of and of related to the content.

The images add the color coefficient to the web page and also offer text content to the search engine robots in the form of ALT TEXT which is one of the on-page optimization factors for SEO.

Usually, we see most of the sites buy ready images from the numerous websites available for the same. We see board room images, people shaking hands denoting partnerships and finalizing deals. These images have perfect models modeling for the pictures and having perfect smiles which may bea dentist’s delight.

But, the questions asked in this context are:

• Do these images project the right impression of your company?
• Is your team so well-groomed (look-wise)?
• Don’t you think that such images are an insult to the hard working team that you have?

I am sure you have the answer for the above questions.

No company has a perfect looking team and the atmosphere at work is constantly not all grins and smiles and achievements. To reflect the true image of your company the images put for the product page,’ the team ‘or ‘about us’ page should be the actual pictures of your team members and the actual shop floor pictures of the product being manufactured or the of the office in which your staff is working to make the targets set by you a reality.

Having no images on the site is better than having the artificial smiling images. If you just adopt this change I am sure it will add to the credibility of your online business.

Focus on the content and value your product and people by putting them forward on the real estate of your web page.
Putting the right content and reflecting the true image of your company is like adding the soul to your website.

Your Website, You, Your Marketing Team, The Internet/Web Marketing Mix & A Right Holistic Approach

Web marketing is replacing the traditional methods of marketing at a very alarming rate. We see more and more people wanting to market on the web and are willing to divert a larger part of the marketing budget for online presence of their business.

The options of creating an online presence are many and what will be the optimum fit for your business type shall solely depend on the nature of your business, the online advertising budget, the willingness and the knowledge of your marketing team.

There are various platforms available on the internet , for advertising on the web. Some of them are as follows:

• Search Engines

• Email Campaigns

• Advertising Networks And Affiliates

• Web Directories And Portals

• Press Releases

• Social Media Sites

Search Engines

For building a web presence on the search engines the website has to be made SEO friendly and optimized so as to rank high for the targeted keywords. This can also be achieved by enrolling for a PPC program and pay the bid amount in order to get a ranking under the sponsored listings list on the search engines.

The footprints can be created on the search engines even if you do not have a website . You can add the details about your business on the Google maps or Bing maps and get a local listing for your business.

Now a days search engines have many options on which your business can have a presence on. For eg. Videos, blogs, discussions, news, books, shopping, images, maps, updates.

Email Campaigns

Email campaigns are conducted by sending details and information about your company products and policies via a newsletter or well designed emails. In order to gain success via this method one needs to collect a long list of email ids or develop a subscriber base through your existing website. There are many professional marketing companies offering this service and there are many bulk emailing softwares also available in the market.

But there are certain factors to be borne in mind when you have email campaigns:

You should have a web server which follows the standard norms for sending bulk emails (i.e the no. of emails sent per hour should not increase the limit else it will result your domain being enlisted in the spam list.)
The email should have an unsubscribe link in it so that people who are no longer interested in receiving the newsletters can opt out of it.
The email should have a complete email signature with all your contact details and links to your social media accounts and website.
The email should not be sent very frequently.
You should not expect everyone to reply to you or contact you as the conversion ratio for email campaigns is very very low.

Advertising Networks And Affiliates

An online advertising network or ad network is a company that connects advertisers to web sites that want to host advertisements. Increasingly, ad networks are companies that pay software developers as well as web sites money for allowing their ads to be shown when people use their software or visit their sites. The best example is Google Adsense where the website which displays the Ad. gets a certain percentage of the Adwords amount bid as per the bid for those keywords and Ad.

Affiliate marketing means using one website to drive traffic to another it is a form of online marketing, which is frequently overlooked by advertisers.

In both these types of advertising it is obvious one needs a very strong targeted network to drive traffic and achieve conversions.

Web Directories And Portals

A web directory also indexes the web and lists websites but unlike the search engines the directories are classified into categories and the websites are listed under the relevant categories and are human edited.

The listing in the web directories can be free or at a price depending on the policies of the web directories.

A web portal, also known as a links page, presents information from diverse sources in a unified way. Apart from the standard search engine feature, web portals offer other services such as e-mail, news, stock prices, information, databases and entertainment.

Portals provide a way for enterprises to provide a consistent look and feel with access control and procedures for multiple applications and databases, which otherwise would have been different entities altogether.

Getting the website on directories and portals may or may not result in traffic to the site but surely adds to the web presence and if the portal or directory is of some repute and standing on the web then it is a valuable inbound link which in return helps in affecting the rankings of the site in the search engines.

Press Releases

A press release, news release, media release, or press statement is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. Commercial press release distribution services, such as PR Newswire, PR NewsChannel and Business Wire, distribute them on the web and this in turn results in a multifold web presence for the website.

Social Media Sites

According to Wikipedia Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media use web-based technologies to transform and broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues.

The most frequented social media sites by the netizens are Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, wikis, myspace, etc. these social media sites are conversational platforms hence these sites help you to develop business relations and also can be used to interact with customers and to be customers using strong Public Relations.

Being a socially responsible netizen and keep in mind the theories of inter-personal relations, etiquette, ethics and develop a social reputation which will by itself give a boost to the business objectives you have.

One cannot create an identity on the social media by just tweeting quotes or retweeting famous top tweets or by following the herd mentality. Carve a niche for yourself by being unique and by sharing knowledge and information.

Sales and conversions no doubt are the business objectives but social media is not a market or a mall for displaying goods and services but a platform for interacting with each other and developing the goodwill and a genuine online reputation for your company which surely will result in recommendations and a good WOM and needless to say that in return the realization of the business objective cannot be far behind.

Just like in the real world there are many options for advertising – Newspapers, Magazines, TV, Radio, etc. similarly, you have options for online advertising also . As all these forms of advertising are in one or the other way connected to each other.

The best option is to have a healthy balance of the marketing mix online so that your website gets the maximum value for money spent and the maximum web presence for all the effort put in.

Next time you think for an online marketing strategy , please discuss with your online marketing team regarding what would be the best option and the right mix and prepare a priority list because online strategies take time in churning out results and sending you targeted traffic.

As this targeted traffic has the potential for getting converted to the online business that you are aiming for.

Once the web presence has been achieved and your website starts getting targeted traffic , analyzing the data and taking corrective and decisive actions is the only way to future proof your online presence.

Hence, It is the complete holistic approach to online marketing which will spell SUCCESS for your business online.

You must have surely read in many offices and shops – We cannot spell Success without ‘u’

On the web ‘U’ stands for the ‘USER’ & ‘USER EXPERIENCE’

It goes without saying that right from the time the website is designed or the domain name is decided till it acheives the world wide web presence it is the user who has to be the focus around which all decisions have to be taken.