Build Your Business with the Right Marketing Tools

When I think about change, I think about iPhone. The minute you buy an iPhone, the next iPhone model emerges. The minute you get the new iPhone model, well, I think you know where this is going (especially those of you holding your latest iPhone model).

It can be exhausting trying to keep up with technology, and believe it or not; it can be even more exhausting trying to keep up with the different ways these technologies are used.

It is hard to conceptualize in today’s world, but the Internet is fairly new; it has only been around for about 40 years. With the introduction of email marketing, social media, and podcasting, in addition to more traditional offline tactics, marketing options have skyrocketed. As someone who researches best marketing practices, I will say that the number of options can be overwhelming.

Furthermore, these options change each and every year. Last year, email marketing was all the hype, but this year other trends are becoming the latest and greatest. If your company wants to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to best marketing practices, consider these top 5 marketing tools and how they are helpful:

Marketing Tools You Shouldn’t Live Without

Your Subscriber List – Consider AWeber

This is one of the most important tools a small business marketing department can utilize. Your subscriber list is essentially your list of customers or clients who subscribe to your emails, newsletters, or other news sources your company may provide. 

AWeber offers auto-responder features so you can follow up with your customers or welcome new customers to your list. This software also allows you to track your email marketing efforts, segment your subscribers, and create newsletters, to name a few.

Your Blog – Guest Post with Quality Content and Utilize Social Media

With sites like StumbleUpon, Twitter, and Facebook, social media is expected to be bigger than ever in the coming years. One great way to utilize social media and create an online presence for your brand is to guest blog. If you can create quality content and spread it around the Internet, readers will be more likely to visit your website to see what else you have to say.

This leads me to the importance of blogging. If you have successfully established readers through other websites when they come to check out your website, you need to be prepared. Make sure you have a blog on your site to hook the readers and make sure the content on your blog is just as high quality.

QR Codes Will Help you Market to the Commuter and the Technologically Savvy

Smartphones have become a part of just about every internet user. The years ahead will prove to be the year of fast information. Now that so many smartphones offer Internet services, people have come to expect their information fast. Your company can tap into this mentality by creating a QR code. In a sense, a QR code works like a bar code.

Your company can create a QR code for free and then use the code as an advertising tool. People will use their smartphones to take a picture of the code, and it will send them straight to your website (or whatever you wish). I would recommend using Kaywato to generate a code. Try it; it only takes about ten seconds!

Local Marketing

Unfortunately, the economy is not expected to get too much better in the coming years, so people will probably not be jumping at the chance to spend money. However, when people do need a product or service, it makes sense that they will want to stay local. If you can prove that your company can offer better quality services because of location (which should be simple!), you will have a better chance of reeling in customers. Consider marketing through your local newsletters and radio stations, sponsoring local sports teams, and utilizing local search engines such as CitySearch and Local.com.

Overall, internet marketing will continue to be determined by the latest technologies. The Internet is only going to become more popular. Currently, about 1 billion people are using the Internet to surf the web, and this number will only continue to rise. If you can create a successful online presence for your company and market to the right online sources, you should find yourself in a good situation until you have to upgrade.