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How To Start Your Own Website

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, How To Start Your Own Website data-lazy-srcset=

Over the past few years, Internet technological innovations have made it much easier for anyone to create their own website. But as easy as the process has become, most people still do not understand the correct way to get a website started. There are plenty of templates and website builders you can use to create a professional looking website, but those initial steps in starting the site can be confusing for new website owners.

Make A List Of Domain Names

The first step in starting your website is to figure out a concise title that best represents your business, and you do that with old fashioned pen and paper. If your company is called the ABC Corporation, then an address such as ABCCorporation.com would obviously be appropriate. But what if that address is taken? Would your business be better represented by something other than a .com website? You need to make a list of 10 or more website addresses that would fit your business and be easy for your customers to find.

Find A Web Hosting Company

A web hosting company will sell you your domain name and host your website as well. It is easier to get your domain name and hosting through the same company because then you would only need to go to one source for support. There is a wide variety of hosting companies to choose from, so take your time and find the company that you feel most comfortable with. You can even call the support phone number for the companies you are considering to determine which company offers the kind of support that you feel you will need.

Find The Domain Name That Is Available

Once you have chosen your web hosting company, it is time to get out your list of potential domain names and check available domain names. The best way to get the right domain name is to prioritize the list you have created and buy the first name that is available. Your web host may recommend that you buy more than just the .com extension to protect your domain name, and that is not a bad idea. When your company becomes successful as a .com, your competition could buy the .net address and cause problems for your business. To protect yourself, you should buy as many of the popular extensions as possible.

Buy Your Domain

Once you have decided which domain names you want to buy, it is time to make the purchase. It may take a day or two for your website to show up on the Internet, but it is worth the wait. Once your site is active, it is time to establish your online presence and grow your business.

It is easy for marketing experts to tell you to buy a domain and start your website, but most people who are new to owning a website are not sure what it means to choose a domain. With some practical advice, any business owner can take the necessary steps to choose the perfect domain name and get their business online quickly.

Viral Marketing: What Is It and How Can You Use It?

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Digital marketing grew rapidly these past few years. There are more instruments to use and campaigns to run today, allowing businesses – from small businesses to giant enterprises – to achieve their marketing objectives in an efficient and measurable way.

While content marketing and social media are very popular, more businesses are turning to viral marketing as a way to generate buzz and attract a bigger audience. What is viral marketing and how can you use it? We are going to answer those questions in this article.

What is Viral Marketing?

Viral marketing is a type of marketing campaign that utilizes existing websites and networks of users to deliver key marketing messages to a wider audience. By targeting key users on different platforms, the same marketing messages can reach a vast number of viewers in a relatively short amount of time.

Viral marketing differs from conventional content or social media marketing in one particular way: this type of campaign relies on the content of the campaign to be interesting enough for it to go viral. When the campaign is configured properly, a simple marketing message can get thousands of shares and re-shares across multiple platforms.

In most cases, viral marketing uses video content. Audio-visual contents work better in attracting user engagement and persuading the audience to share the content with more people. At the same time, video content adds that extra dimension for a bigger chance of going viral.

How Can You Do Viral Marketing?

From the definition of viral marketing itself, it is easy to see the elements you need to prepare for a successful viral marketing campaign. For starters, you need to determine the platforms you want to target for the campaign. Aside from popular social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, we also have sites that specialize in viral and funny content such as apextribune.com.

Understanding the platforms you’ll be using and the audience you want to target is important. The insights will help you tailor your content perfectly; once again, the goal of fine-tuning the message is to increase its chances of going viral once viewers start seeing it.

Once the campaign is carefully formulated, you can start executing the plan and let the audience to the rest. Keep in mind that not all content will go viral upon impact. That brings us to the next part of this article: how to go viral.

How to Go Viral

There is no definitive secret or recipe to going viral. The biggest challenge of viral marketing is getting the campaign accepted by the audience the right way. Only then will you see the impact of the campaign amplified to new heights.

That said, you can take steps to increase the chances of your campaign going viral. Adding gamification, understanding the audience’s taste and preferences, and using content that relates well to the target viewers are some of the tips you can use to get started. Do it right and viral marketing can catapult your brand and your products or services like no other digital marketing instrument.

The 5 Pillars of Internet Marketing for New Businesses

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Launching a startup is a challenging and often humbling venture. Although financing your business idea is the first milestone to overcome, once you’re up and running, it’s time to channel your energy into targeting your niche audience and marketing your product.

Most entrepreneurs understand the value of good marketing, but many of them don’t have the budget to give their business the promotion it deserves. Luckily, digital marketing is the single most effective way to reach a global audience, and it won’t blow your budget. To help you get your marketing strategy off the ground, here are the five pillars of Internet marketing for new businesses.

Traffic Generation

Your business could have the smartest, most visually stunning site on the web, but if no one knows how to find it, then it’s not going to generate sales. To grow your enterprise, you need to maximize your website visitors – otherwise known as traffic. To increase your website traffic, you will need to create compelling ads, utilize social media accounts, and optimize your site for search engines using SEO tactics. If you’re not acquainted with SEO practices, you can hire a professional Internet marketing company like DAGMAR Marketing, Jacksonville SEO Company to optimize your website and help you attract more visitors.

Conversion

It’s no good sending Internet users to your website unless they’re going to buy your product or sign up for your services. To turn site visitors into paying customers, you need to increase your conversion rating: the percentage of visitors that become leads. CRO (conversion rate optimization) companies can help you work on your website development and improve your landing page design for maximum sales.

Automation

Marketing automation is the software that exists to automate repetitive tasks from multiple channels. For example, for your business to perform seamlessly, you can automate your payments, email marketing actions, advertising, and even social media updates. Automation can also help you generate leads into sales by automatically “targeting” site visitors or previous customers and encouraging them to return to your page.

Content

It’s not enough to have a slick-looking website or a killer social media campaign; if your site lacks well-written, relevant content, then you’ll have trouble driving your visitors to take action. Outsourcing to a professional writer is the most cost-effective way to create a voice for your brand and deliver engaging content. Keeping a company blog also creates a stronger connection between you and your prospective customers, maximizing sales opportunities.

Reporting

Reporting is a crucial step in your Internet marketing campaign – without it, you have no way of knowing whether or not your strategy is working. Free software like Google Analytics allows you to monitor your website traffic, assess the most popular areas of your website, and analyze conversion rates.

No two businesses are the same, so it stands to reason that no two marketing strategies will be the same either. By using reporting software, you can optimize your marketing campaign to best suit your business and improve your chances of success.

5 Simple Marketing Tips for Improved Brand Visibility in 2018

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | 5 Simple Marketing Tips for Improved Brand Visibility in 2018 | Marketing and SalesFor some time now, having an online presence has been crucial in business. As more consumers turn to the internet to shop, search and even socialize, ranking #1 on Google can put you in front of your competitors and increase conversions. While the internet proves far more competition than ever before, this ease of virtual accessibility can be both a dream and a curse. While it expands reach, allowing companies to access a global market, the increase in opposition means it’s also far more difficult to engage your demographic. Plus, 2018 means new ways of marketing your business digitally, as our ever-increasing world becomes more dependent on technology.

However, even in an ever competitive space, there are many ways to give your brand the advantage, so that your company has a fighting chance. Here are five marketing tips to increase your brand’s visibility this year.

Maintain Your Blogging Schedule

In 2017, many companies tried their hand at blogging, incorporating a blog into their business’s website. By doing so, you’re allowing yourself, as an employer, to become a trusted and knowledgeable authority figure in your industry; writing and publishing content that caters to the needs of your audience, whether it’s for your customers or clients, improves your business’s reputation and makes your business seem more reliable. You’ll become a reliable and trusted source for certain areas of business, and if your posts are well-written, engaging and offer something of worth, people may share your blog posts, organically elongating your reach.

Throughout 2018, you should continue to maintain your blogging schedule (posting at least 2 or 3 times a week). According to Hubspot, companies that published 16+ blog posts per month got 3.5x more traffic than companies that published a mere 0-4 monthly posts; 53% of marketers also admitted that blog content creations are their top inbound marketing priority. Therefore, create a schedule where your team continues to blog regularly so that your business can continue to publish consistent posts.

Choose the Best Social Media Platforms

There are many social media networks up for grabs. However, you should only select the ones that relate to your audience and key demographic. Trying to tackle them all is hugely time-consuming and can cost unnecessary money. By selecting the key social media platforms for your business, you will generate true results from your marketing efforts.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are the go-to for many businesses, and they seem set to continue being popular throughout 2018, but if your business cannot thoroughly utilize them, you should look for alternatives. For instance, Instagram is a social media platform tailored for photography; this is ideal for fashion labels, artists and even website designers, but for SEO companies, it may not be so fruitful. Facebook and Twitter, on the other hand, can help most companies, and all businesses should set up profiles with both platforms. Both Facebook and Twitter are also ideal for sharing your blog posts with customers, helping to improve a brand’s visibility.

When looking for a social media platform that drives the best conversion rates, you should consider the following:

  • Facebook continues to be the most popular, with over 1.94 billion users and drives a conversion rate of 1.85%.
  • Instagram’s popularity is continuing to rise and is becoming the number social media platform for e-commerce businesses with a conversion rate of 1.08%.
  • YouTube produces a conversion rate of 1.16%, Twitter 0.77% and even Pinterest brings in a rate of 0.54%.

Also, there are various tools you can use to make your brand stand out through the above social media channels. Software such as Clickfunnels and Leadpages allow you to create beautiful landing pages that effectively advertise your products and services to consumers. These software tools include templates for you to quickly and easily create stunning pages that will excite your prospects and turn them into subscribers and customers.

Master Instagram Stories

It’s predicted that by the end of 2018, nearly half of all Instagram users will be fully utilizing Stories, meaning brands should grasp this particular practice and master the art of crafting and engaging and interesting Instagram Story. Stories are ideal for businesses to stay on top of people’s minds, create a digital community and publishing exclusive behind-the-scenes or launch footage. Instagram Stories is perfect for engaging with Gen Zers, who are 22 years old or below.

The Rise of Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality (AR), has impacted mobile gaming with the likes of Pokémon Go. However, Apple announced that the iPhone 8 and X would incorporate a chip that allows the phones to provide the users with AR experiences that are likely to soon appear in social media. Although AR is still being developed and is a new feature, it’s likely to make headway. It’s conceivable that brands will soon be able to project their products into the homes of social media users.

Continue with SEO

Google is continuously releasing algorithms in the hopes of providing relevant and useful search results to their users. The latest algorithm was Google’s Fred, which saw the end of overtly ‘spammy’ websites, which profited from adverts rather than a user-friendly experience. If you’re wondering how to market your product on Google using SEO, then businesses are expected to cater to the user, rather than for profit, while incorporating the new SEO trends for 2018. For instance, long tail keywords are more effective than ‘caveman keywords’ due to the increased popularity of voice search through Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. It’s forecasted that in 2020, at least 50% of all searches are going to be through speech or images. How can you ready your business for this, then?

Instead of imputing broken sentences such as “best Italian restaurant New York,” people are more likely to speak in fuller sentences like “what’s the best Italian restaurant in New York City?” Therefore, the use of punctuation and more conversational language will be a game changer in the business of SEO.

Technology and digital trends tend to adapt and change frequently, and so businesses have also to adapt accordingly. It’s imperative that your business keeps tabs on the trends as they are as successful as they are fleeting. While many continue to prosper, 2018 could bring in many new digital marketing trends no one is prepared for, making others extinct. Remain knowledgeable, and your brand’s visibility will continue to increase.

What Are The Best Ways To Get Online Exposure for New Products and Services?

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The success of any business, or product, depends directly on social influence and exposure gains. More exposure means that more people see what you have to offer, and why your business or product is a better choice than your competitors. Here are the best ways you can raise your online exposure profile.

Social Media Marketing

If your company does not have a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram page, you are missing out an important part of your marketing strategy and a huge opportunity for growth. Social media has grown in importance in the online marketing world significantly in the past ten years, and it has the power to reform the rankings of successful businesses and put yours at the top. Being able to reply individually to all customers – whether they are reviewing your service or product, sharing a complaint, or asking a question  – will show that you really make time for your clients, and care more about them than the contents on their bank account. Google+ has also gained a lot of traction in the past couple of years and is able to rival the daily users of even the dominant social media page Facebook. Having eye-catching titles that come out on top of a Google search for your specific niche will encourage more customers to try your product than someone further down the list. There is also the opportunity to do competitions and promotions across your social media accounts, where the conditions are sharing the pages and following all accounts that your company have to offer. Therefore promoting your business, without having to spend the time physically sharing it.

Blogger Outreach

Getting as many positive reviews about both your brand and products out there as possible will be a great way of gaining exposure. Get a positive review on a high traffic website, and you’ll see your sales rocket. Professional journalists or bloggers tend to have a loyal following of readers that will trust their reviews and recommendations, and if they have a large following, you will be able to reach a mass amount of people overnight. However, it can give you an endless stream of work if you are approaching bloggers individually and the promotion of your company could potentially read too much like an advert, turning off interested customers. Luckily, there are companies that help to bridge the gap between your business and the blog websites; simply reading through a review of FATJOEs Blogger Outreach Service will show you how simple it can be to reach your market, without doing all the legwork yourself. Companies that offer these services have creative writers that work your link in by using a natural, non-affiliated, anchor text in a guest blog catered to the host blog’s style, to ensure it isn’t overly promotional.

Create YouTube Videos Showing Off Your Products and Services

Not only can you embed any videos you make onto your website, but the comments section allows for further feedback from your customers. The videos themselves will allow potential customers to have a more in-depth look at your products and can be very persuasive if you manage to weave in a strong sales pitch. Customers can also gain a greater understanding of your services if you create a video addressing some common questions. If you have a unique style or way of doing things, you can display that here. It’s a chance to be personable with people who are interested to know more about your business, so keep it friendly and engaging.

There are many more ways to gain online exposure for your business, but these examples above are the most surefire way of increasing your visibility online.

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