4Squared Media

In the marketing world “Promotion” is a key component of your marketing mix.  The promotion of your product or service can take a variety of forms.  Common methods include advertising, direct sales, and referral business.  Traditionally the promotion of products have been executed using print, radio, TV, promotional items, etc.  All of these are still viable forms of marketing.  As technology is progressing we as business owners must consider using new and innovative forms of marketing along with traditional methods.

In steps the internet.  With the power of the internet there are many new ways to promote products online and reach a world audience with your message.  Remember that frequency and reach are two key components of marketing.  So the idea is to be able to reach your target market with the greatest frequency possible in order that consumers will remember your brand.

I sell websites and internet marketing for a living.  At first I sold websites without marketing because I didn’t understand business or marketing.  As I began to understand marketing I realized that it was a disservice to my customers to just build them a website without talking about marketing.  If you are new to the world wide web as a marketing tool the temptation is to believe that having a website will bring you customers.  The reality is that a website without proper marketing behind it will bring as much business as a drawer full of brochures.  Until you put the brochure into the hand of a potential customer it will do you no good.  The same goes for your website.  It is essential to have a professional website, but don’t expect that a professional website will bring you business.  Marketing brings you business.

So then what’s the take way?  The point is, as business people we must have a plan for marketing our business.  That plan should include harnessing the power of the internet.  Internet marketing is more cost effective and more measurable then traditional marketing.  With internet marketing you have the option of paying for performance.  You have the option of only paying when you actually get visitors.  With internet marketing you can choose to go “organic” which means you simply spread the word about your site through mass propagation.

The web has opened up opportunities for business owners that previously would not have been possible. It would be very expensive to create and distribute your own newspaper in order to market your products, but the web lets anyone become a publisher.  Anyone can share their knowledge and spread the word in order to build their reputation. On the web anyone can have his own TV channel or radio show. People want to do business with experts that have a proven track record and they are using the web to find those experts.

The time has come to leverage the power of the internet and add it to your marketing mix. There are many options available to you. I’ve created another article that defines some of the internet marketing terms and methodologies. 4squared Media is here to help you get a handle on the options available to you and help you put together an effective internet marketing campaign as a part of your marketing mix.