Webmarketing: Why You Should Consider Branching Out For 2020

Are you not reaching the amount of clientele you should be? Are sales lagging and you aren't quite sure how to get your head above water? Have you been forced to reconsider your key demographics?

Are you dealing with bad press and need a great Crisis PR ad campaign? Well, webmarketing could be the answer to all your problems.

There are currently over 966 million websites. How do you make your website stand out when there are so many options available? Have you considered webmarketing for social media, the importance of mobile optimization and SEO in the digital age?

If not, you could be losing out on a huge market share. Read on to find out more on how to rebrand and expand with webmarketing.

What Are You Really Selling?

This may seem obvious, but in truth, there's a lot more to it. Successful brands know that webmarketing isn't just about selling a product, it's about selling a fantasy. Makeup doesn't sell makeup, they sell the idea of being beautiful and desired. (Victoria Secret, we're looking at you too.)

Restaurants aren't selling food, they're selling a convenience to a busy mom or a place to make new memories with friends. They're selling a Tinder user the perfect place to meet that person they've been talking to for weeks now.

They're selling a new menu that makes it possible to dine out without breaking up with your diet. Figure out what you're really selling.

If you haven't considered this before, this can be an excellent step in the right direction as you grow your digital presence. This is the first key to establishing new markets, niche, markets, and turning dismal sales into dollar signs.

Once you know what you're selling, you can start to brainstorm on what webmarketing tactics best suit your product.

Focus on What Makes You Different

One mistake companies often make is forgetting what makes them unique. Even worse, some companies try to hide what makes them unique.

Instead of branding yourself as one of a million other companies offering the same product or service, find your niche. If you're an independently owned bike shop, stop wasting time trying to make your website look like it's competing with Sports Authority.

Focus on what makes you different. People who shop with you appreciate that they're buying from an independent bike shop. They love that that you grew up biking and go mountain biking every week.

Consumers love authenticity. Maybe you start by sponsoring local cycling events in exchange for a prominent feature on their website and multiple backlinks to your page. Maybe you create a national campaign to sell a locally sourced or niche product that you make yourself.

This is the kind of product that you can take to nationally consumed cycling blogs or social media influencers who are also cycling enthusiasts. (Be sure to check the analytics to make sure their followers line up with the demographic that needs your product or at least enjoys cycling.)

For a more in-depth understanding of keyword research, please check out our keyword research guide:
Beginner SEO Guide: How to Do Keyword Research

Establish Your Target Market

Once you've established what it is that you're selling, it's time to figure out your niche. This means picking specific segments of the population that you can market to.

Let's take that makeup line for example. Now, we've already established that we're really selling beauty and the feeling of being desired. How do we establish our target market?

Well, you should start by taking a look at your product line. What makes your product different?

Is your anti-aging foundation something that people can't get enough of? Market to baby-boomers and Gen-Xers looking to get ahead of the aging curve.

Do you make glitter eye-shadow in every shade of the rainbow? Great, let's focus on millennials, drag enthusiasts, ravers.

Do you make cruelty free paraben-free shampoo that makes your hair smell amazing? Focus on vegan blogs, festivals, and farm-to-table buying, socially conscious types.

Each one of these products should use different webmarketing tactics. No two products are the same and their marketing campaigns shouldn't be either. Make sure your website, product packaging, and ad concepts are all in alignment.

For a complete step by step guide to finding your niche, please check out the following guide:
How to Find Your Niche: Your Step-By-Step Guide

How Bad Press Can Be an Invitation to New Markets

Just because you've gotten bad press recently doesn't mean that successful webmarketing has to be an uphill battle. Sometimes it just means refocusing your efforts on a new demographic.

It's all about spin, folks. Let's use an example:

After a conservative news host, Sean Hannity recently denounced Keurig for pulling advertisements from his show. Keurig chose to do this by disagreeing with Hannity's decision to promote values they did not believe were in line with their company.

Hannity responded by encouraging his viewers to show their distaste for the brand by smashing their own Keurig coffee makers. Many viewers decided to follow his advice and take out their frustrations innocent coffee makers across the U.S.

Initial Observations

Now, face value on this is terrible. You've got someone with a national platform and a huge viewership denouncing your company and encouraging others to do the same.

Let's imagine that your adult conservative market is absolutely committed to never buying another Keurig product again. What should you do?

Well, maybe it's time to pivot. Consider using webmarketing tactics to target an opposing demographic.

We would recommend capitalizing on all the free press your receiving to reach a new audience that supports your decision and also needs coffee pots.

The Pivot

Let's say you decide that instead of targeting conservative coffee drinkers, you decide it's time to shift your campaign audience. The first place you could start is with Huffington Post readers.

These readers like companies that take a stand on issues. They're similar to your original market in that they consume news articles, so they've likely heard about the story.

Millennials are another example of a market that may share views with many in the Huffpost crowd. Millennials are the most inclined to care about companies that are ethical and socially responsible.

Millennials also like slightly edgy but morally conscious content, so you'd have to consider a shakeup on how you advertise before trying to reach a new market. Consider what would you need to change about your ads before reaching out to this new demographic.

You could consider a clickable ad campaign that features a cosmetically smashed yet still indestructible Keurig machine. Perhaps this Keurig can still make coffee despite the fact that conservatives hate it?

After all, Fox News has done its best to kill it. Yet that little coffee maker is still going to get up in the morning and work for next to nothing while swimming in mountains of student loan debt (Ok, maybe without that last part).

Do you see where I'm going with this? Reach your new audience by figuring out what they care about, what they like, what they want, and how you can sell it to them.

For further reading about your online reputation management, check out:
Online Business Reputation Management in The Digital Age

Aligning and Partnering with Brands

Finding brands that align with yours can be a great entry point for gaining a larger audience. The key is to find brands that are similar but not competition for your brand.

Influencer Marketing

If you're a lingerie company this means maybe reaching out to an Instagram model whose style matches up with your brand. Maybe that model would be willing to partner with you on a capsule collection that she can promote to her millions of followers in exchange for a piece of the profits.

These partnerships can be fostered on a variety of hosting websites. These websites act as an agency and pair influencer with brands. This can be a great way to open up a dialogue with a social media influencer.

SEO Blogging and Webmarketing

Another great way to connect your brand to a larger audience is through SEO blogging. SEO blogging is one of the most relevant webmarketing tactics because it helps boost your website in web search responses.

When consumers use search engines like google to look for a specific product, they often choose from the first page of responses. This means how your company or website ranks in search engine queries is the difference between making the sale and never being seen. You can't buy what you can't find, right?

SEO blogging is easy to introduce to your website. By including a blog on your website with multiple articles you can help boost your search rank.

But how? Here's how it works.

Keywords organically sprinkled into articles help your brand associate itself with web queries. This also helps Google to recognize your website as an authority on the topic.

Websites that are perceived to be an authority get higher priority in search results. The more content you have, the more of an authority you are.

An added benefit of blogging is that you can give your returning audience new engaging content to interact with. If you're staying on topic and writing authentically this can be a huge asset.

For a complete guide explaining SEO and SEO Blogging, take a look at:
What is SEO?

Continue to Engage Your Audience

Once you've mastered webmarketing, how do you continue to engage your new audience? How do you make sure your customers come back to your site again and again?

Create Exclusive Content for Your Website

Giving the customer something they can't get anywhere else is always a great choice when marketing your company online. This can mean creating video content that shows your customers just how you do what you do.

Maybe its video of you making those amazing watches they can't get enough of. Maybe you use our brand alignment tips and decide to do a behind the scenes video of the design process and photoshoot for your new capsule collection with that social media star.

You could even insert this media into an SEO blog post that utilizes important keywords. Triple word score. The point is that the options are endless.

Keep Your Website Updated and Exciting

If you are engaging in all of these webmarketing tactics, you can expect to get a lot more web traffic than normal. This means if you want to get maximum retention of your new customers, you need to always keep your website looking new and exciting.

If you aren't updating your cover page and you aren't offering new products, you give the consumer very little reason to continue to engage with your brand. Always give the customer a reason to come back.

Always Ask

Only you can decide how to speak authentically to your brand and your target demos. Use your imagination to come up with what you think appeals to your market, but don't be afraid to bounce your ideas off someone who fits the role for your target demo.

This means if you're an adult who makes skateboard shoes marketed to teenagers don't just decide you know what kids like and where they are most likely to see your ads. Getting a webmarketing specialist is a great way to find out how to spend your money wisely. Marketing specialists track data and are well versed in online trends.

They can tell you how to reach that mommy-blogger type and what websites your content is most likely to find success when advertising.

Again, there is no one size fits all model for webmarketing success. Remember what makes your brand special and what sets you apart. Know what you're really selling and who you're selling it to.

Take time to make sure your content is on brand and appealing to your target demos. Never give up just because someone gives you a harsh review or bad press. Consider it an asset an use that momentum to pivot your campaign or open up to a new a new market.

Want to dominate by leveraging your data?  Take a look at:
The 10 Elements of a Successful Data-Driven Marketing Strategy

Your New Campaign

Capitalize on webmarketing with SEO blogging and keywords that get your products seen. Create cross-branding opportunities with brands align with the style and feel of your product.

Once you know exactly what you want, take your ideas to a marketing specialist for fine tuning and campaign planning.

You have everything you need to take your brand to the next level. Create a viral webmarketing plan that breaks the mold. All it takes is a little ingenuity, marketing expertise, and planning.

For more information on how you can grow your brand with webmarketing and SEO expertise, contact us or check out our blog.