Planning your marketing strategy? Go digital and direct | QBA ...

Posted on May 18, 2011 by contentkings

There was a time when an advert in a national or local newspaper or a blurb about your company on television or radio was considered a pretty good marketing strategy. After all, most all of the population consumed their media through those platforms. In the past decade or so the world of marketing has moved on to say the least. As internet use became mainstream, the subsequent explosion in social media captured the imagination and the spare hours of the population, making online visibility a must for all businesses.

Subsequently, terms like Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) have become commonplace in almost every marketers vocabulary. If they haven?t come up in marketing strategy discussions about your company then you need to ask why and inform yourself very quickly about the impact both have on your company?s profile and how you are perceived by consumers and the public, in general. Key to any strategy these days is how you interact and engage with your customers online ? and you must never forget that once you?ve posted a response or a message on a public forum like facebook, it?s there for the world to see.

However, for business owners all over the country, integrating a successful online and digital marketing campaign can seem both costly and time consuming. Both can be if you don?t have the correct roadmap from the outset and have clear goals of what you want to achieve. Is it higher visibility? Are you trying to attract customers from a certain demographic? Are you simply seeking more brand recognition? These questions and answers must all be thrashed out at the beginning if you are to see real results. What?s more, every cent that you pour into an online marketing campaign ? whether it?s a one off or part of an ongoing plan ? is measurable. This means that you can see what?s working and what?s not and tailor your campaign accordingly. Do you know exactly the return you are getting once you?ve handed over in the region of ?5,000 for a once-off ad in a national newspaper? Probably not. The advent of analytics for online activity has made it much easier to see where your money is going and therefore delivering real value for your company year-on-year.

If you?re not quite sure how to get started here ? and, let?s face it, most of us need to be 100 per cent focused on our core business these days ? then the Quality Business Alliance can help. We can put you in touch with companies that have signed up to our Business Code of Ethics and have been vetted by our staff as being a quality business in the digital area. One thing is for sure: if you don?t shop around here, the price can vary wildly, as do the real results. Get in touch with us if you need more information.

Outside of what has become conventional digital marketing, Ireland (and Dublin in particular) has seen huge growth in the number of networking events. Typically these events were organised by organisations like the local Chamber of Commerce but membership fees for associating yourself with these communities are becoming prohibitive for many businesses. At the QBA, our low membership rate allows you to network with other members at our bespoke events or on our website without so much as a dent in your ongoing operational costs. And now, as more and more business owners begin to engage with each other directly, the benefit of networking ? once little more than an excuse for a free glass of wine and a reason to escape the office for a couple of hours ? is becoming clear. Networking costs you nothing more than your time and, if that means picking up a thousand stones until you find what you?re looking for under one, then it?s a worthwhile investment. Remember that, although you might not necessarily meet someone who you can do business with directly, there is always the chance that referrals will come your way later.

While there is obviously still some benefit in using media like newspaper, television and radio, digital and direct marketing can do more for your business in a much more measurable and controlled way. In the first half of last year, Irish businesses pumped ?54 million into online advertising, a jump of over 12 per cent on the previous year. We are of course waiting for the figures for the first half of 2011, but if anything, the trend will have increased and will continue to go one way. So when you?re hammering out your marketing plan for the second half of the year, ask yourself one key question: can you afford not to be part of the upward curve?

?

Source: http://www.qualitybusinessalliance.ie/blog/planning-your-marketing-strategy-go-digital-and-direct/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=planning-your-marketing-strategy-go-digital-and-direct

virgin america std manchester city tinkerbell beach boys