This is a guest post by Leigh Hanney, Head of Marketing at RetailMeNot.com and Blogger at semsamurai.com
I talk to a lot of people about online marketing, some are super experienced and others are really only just starting out. But so often I hear the same story from both ends of the experience spectrum… and I can’t help but feeling that too many people in the online marketing space have their blinkers on.
Rather than assessing many opportunities at once, they choose one channel and are running full steam ahead, without even a glance to the side…
A prefect example of this is someone who devotes their entire marketing budget and man-hours to PPC ‘because the ROI is so good’. Awesome, but there is something missing here.
PPC is great, and when it makes you money consistently all the more power to you. But as a channel PPC is something you have to invest in time and time again to ensure that same return continues. Don’t get me wrong, I love PPC and will continue to love PPC, but to be truly successful marketing online you have to broaden your horizons. You need to create the Perfect Storm.
There are so many other channels out there that can work fantastically well, but if you’re not trying them out, then you are missing out on capturing a larger potential audience. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, email marketing, article marketing, SEO… this list goes on!
I like to think of executing a truly awesome online marketing strategy in terms of creating the perfect storm. Sure you can be super successful by managing an awesome PPC presence and delivering return on your spend every month, but imagine if you were also able to harness the power of Twitter followers, the social interactions of Facebook and the viral elements of Youtube… Just imagine the potential.
Internet marketing is not just about kicking goals with one channel, it’s about connecting with your audience via as many channels as is possible. This then creates the perfect storm. And sitting right there in the middle where all these storms interconnect is you, reaping the rewards.
This is the “depth versus breadth” problem and it crops up everywhere. Several things conspire to keep people on a single track:
1. You really do have to go deep into a subject at some point to get any benefit out of it.
2. Once you learn something that works, it’s easier to keep doing what works than to go deep into something else. Lot of risk there.
3. Breadth is risky because you may not get enough expertise to be effective in any field. And it has the associated risk of being an outsider in all fields.
How to fight it? Hard. Go deep in several fields to create opportunities for that perfect storm. Much easier said than done.
Hello Dennis Yu Editor,
I hope you’re doing great!
I’ve got few guest post topics that you may like to publish on your website, here:
1- 5 Essential Tips To Setup A Web Hosting Business
2- 7 Ways to Accelerate Your Business & Online Marketing
3- 10 Ways You Can Easily Manage More Clients For Your Web Design Business
4- 5 Basic Digital Marketing Terms To Enhance Your Sales Approach
I am certain your audience would love reading about it.
Would you like to have a look at it please?
In the case, you’re not satisfied with the topics mentioned above, I can write on any other topic of your choice.
Sincerely,
Mark Taylor