The New Year is almost upon us and it’s being billed as the year of the consumer. People are using the Internet more than ever before and they’re doing it from mobile devices that allow them to interact, surf, leave reviews and anything else on the fly. If you don’t fine tune your online marketing efforts, you could get left behind. You could find yourself surpassed by your competitors and your customers aren’t going to stick around if you keep up with the same old same old. The following online marketing updates will help you streamline your operations in preparation for the year 2013.
First Impressions
The moment your visitors land on your website, they are going to decide if you are the authority in your niche. If they feel that they can get better or more entertaining advice elsewhere, they’re going to jump ship faster than you can say ‘The Mayans Were Wrong’.
Your first of many online marketing updates should include an overhaul of your website. If you hope to beat our all of your online marketing competitors, you will strive for an aesthetically pleasing design, a relevant and unique message and valuable information your visitors can use.
Long gone are the days of filling websites with rehashed, spun or filler content. You must bring the goods if you hope to rise to the top.
Mobile Is Here to Stay
Mobile traffic is increasing daily and if you don’t convert your website to a mobile-friendly site, you are going to miss out on this lucrative online marketing trend. Don’t just shrink down your site. Your second online marketing update is to create a site that will look good on all mobile devices: Tablets, smartphones, GPS devices or whatever your visitors happen to be using.
Other online marketing updates for mobile-friendly sites include:
- Large buttons spaced far enough apart so that big-fingered people can use them
- Using Fewer and smaller images and
- Providing your visitors with only one or two options.
- No Fixed widths!
Mobile is going to be huge for online marketing in 2013. Get in on the wave now before your competitors do.
Don’t Trade Off Social Marketing Responsibility
It’s common these days for online marketers to drive their traffic to their Facebook or Twitter sites. This is like driving traffic to another site that you don’t own or control. What if the social network changes the terms and conditions and that affects your visitor relationships?
In 2013, your online marketing updates will need to incorporate convenience into your operations. That’s all your visitors are looking for. They don’t want to click-through three times before they find what they’re looking for. If they’re searching for something that can be found on your website, send them to your website and then send them to your social marketing channels. The fewer steps your visitors have to take to get what they want the better.
Reputation Management
Consumers are leaving online reviews like never before. In fact, a Virginia contractor recently sued a homeowner after she left a scathing review on his Yelp account. The review cited missing jewelry, damage to her home and overcharges. The contractor sued her for $750,000 and a judge ordered her to edit her post.
This is but one example of how online reviews are going to be front and center in 2013. One of your online marketing updates must be to control the information you leave on review sites and to monitor your sites often. While you probably can’t do anything about a bad review, (except sue the person apparently) you can entice your customers to leave their own reviews.
Don’t ask for positive reviews, but instead ask your customers to go to Yelp, Google Places, Foursquare and other review sites to let their experiences be heard. The more positive reviews you have, the better your online reputation will be and that’s when business will begin to pick up.
If you do happen to get a bad review, just entice more reviews to hopefully bury it to the bottom. Be active in managing your online reputation and you’ll look incredibly inviting to any customer looking to buy what you’re offering.
Put these online marketing updates to work right now to prepare your website and other marketing materials for the coming New Year. If you do the work now, you won’t have to worry about it as you’re toasting your friends and singing Auld Lang Syne as the ball drops in New York. Have a happy new year and remember that in 2013 the year is all about the consumer. Focus on your customers and their experience with your business and your online marketing business will succeed.
