Online marketing is effective for raising brand awareness and helping a company stay visible—but many business owners want to know this: Can online marketing really have a direct, positive effect on sales? For those looking to boost sales through marketing, there is no magic solution, no secret plan, and no special words that will guarantee success. It’s simply about businesses committing to the basic, proven methods of digital marketing.
There are five particular habits, tips, and strategies that we might recommend to any business owner wondering how to increase sales with marketing. They are outlined in the list below.
It All Starts with Planning
It only takes a few moments for any business owner to sign up for a social media account or to send out a mass e-mail—and while this is sometime of a blessing, it is also something of a curse. The instantly-accessible nature of online marketing tools means that many businesses are prone to implementing them without proper planning—but this aimless approach can render those marketing efforts inefficient, or even counterproductive.
What are the goals for your online marketing strategies? Who are the specific consumers you are trying to reach? Is the goal of your marketing campaign to draw leads to your home page, to a landing page, or to a social media profile? Without a thorough, written marketing plan, any company’s digital marketing efforts are going to prove rudderless.
Forget the Cold Calls
For business owners wondering how to increase sales with marketing, here is what the answer is not: Cold calls and other forms of outbound marketing. You could spend all day working the phones and not bring in a single sale—but thankfully, in the Age of the Internet, you don’t have to waste your time on something so inefficient. Instead, you can create compelling, informative, and educational content, optimize it for search engine rankings, and then watch as hot leads find your brand on the Internet.
Just how effective is inbound marketing? A HubSpot study, conducted just two months ago, found that 93 percent of the companies that engage in inbound marketing see their leads increase. What’s more, the leads generated through inbound marketing are good, solid, hot leads—consumers who are actively seeking to buy whatever it is that you are selling. Rather than promoting yourself through cold calls, then, provide valuable content through inbound marketing strategies, and watch as the leads come rolling in!
Use Video Marketing
To get more specific, businesses benefit from using video marketing as a means of inbound marketing; that is, your company can craft videos showing your products in services in action, providing how-tos and tutorials, or simply opining on trends within your industry. This kind of video educates customers and gives them the confidence they need to spend their money on your products.
And rest assured that video marketing is an ideal way to reach out to consumers. Did you know that roughly 60 percent of all time spent on the Internet is spent watching videos? That nearly half of those who view online videos about a product say they are more likely to buy it? The benefits of video marketing are difficult to overstate!
Get Active on Quora
Another tip for those wondering how to increase sales with marketing: Get active on Quora. Quora is an increasingly popular Q&A resource where users type in questions and seek meaningful answers from industry authorities. That’s where you come in: When someone enters a question that pertains to your niche, you want to make sure your brand is there, positioned as a helpful and authoritative industry expert. For inbound marketing and lead generation, Quora is an essential tool.
Be Consistent
A final word of advice is to simply be consistent—maintaining a singular brand vision (this goes back to the planning stage) and keeping your online activity regular. This might mean that you need to pick and choose the online avenues that you can legitimately remain active on; if your company does not have time for every social network under the sun, make a real, focused effort to build daily activity on Facebook, LinkedIn, Quora, and your company blog. Consistency is the final piece of the puzzle—the final answer to those who wonder how to increase sales with marketing.
Are you still unsure what to do? Schedule a free inbound marketing assessment with one of our professionals
