How to get to your niche market through digital advertising

When it comes to niche marketing many people don't really take the time to understand the importance of researching and narrowing down their target market.  They just throw advertising dollars at the next "new" thing, hoping they will hit their niche.

A niche market is a specific group of people that share something in common. In the business world they are the groups of consumers that you should be focusing on because they are the ones that will most likely purchase your product or service. They are referred to as your target market.

When I was growing up, we had three television channels.  So, if you wanted to advertise on TV, you had to be on one of those channels.  It was called mass marketing.  But very few people subscribe to mass marketing these days because we have so many options to place advertising. We have cable TV -- with it's defined audiences -- radio, various print vehicles, and of course the internet.  

So how do you reach your market?  Well, as you know, more and more people are on the internet.  So, wouldn't you like to be on the internet?  That means that you can actually find the people more likely to purchase your service or product.  How? You can actually target your customers WHEN they are ready to buy. 

By using keywords your ad can pop up when people are searching for a product or service like yours.  Based on keywords, ads are placed on websites, blogs, or other niche websites your market is viewing. 

This year Google opened up display advertising real estate for small businesses. Before this, only Fortune 500 companies could develop display campaigns and place on sites like national news, entertainment, and blogs as well as heavily trafficked local sites.   Wouldn't it be great if your potential customer was on the ESPN site and your pizza parlor showed up on the site?  And because it is targeted to your geographic area, you don't waste money advertising to someone out of your marketing area.

Advanced targeting options like “remarketing” can bring interested prospects back to your website, increase conversions and profit, keeps your business top-of-mind and help these interested prospects complete a transaction.

Remarketing is the process of your ad “following” the person throughout the internet.  This technique boosts conversions by 48 – 50% or more. You are probably familiar with this.  Have you ever been to a shopping site online and then every time you go to another site you see the same product or a product “you might like” on a totally unrelated site?  That’s re-marketing.

This type of advertising can be tracked for effectiveness as well.  Google makes it so simple to track your conversions and sales all the way back to every keyword in your campaign. 

Create a dynamic online video with little or no money

Over the last five years, technology has made it very easy for entrepreneurs and small businesses to decrease the cost of  marketing their products and services. This is especially true about video. Now, with a little creativity and a few quick clicks of the mouse, you can create a  professional looking video that can be used in many venues and in many media outlets. Here are a few of my favorites:

Animoto 
Animoto is a subscription-based service The number of templates you can use is based on your basic or pro subscription. It's the easiest of the three programs listed here.  All you have to do is upload your favorite photographs.  The templates weave your photos through backgrounds -- from seasonal, romantic, business and techno.  There is a pretty extensive music library that you can use.  Or you can upload your own music.

Goanimate
Goanimate creates some really cool animated videos. It comes with ready-made templates or you can create your video from scratch. The program has a diverse number of characters. So many programs don't offer as many character options. A variety of backgrounds and extra "props" are also available to spice up the visual appeal.  It's a great program for a designer or marketing professional.

VideoMakerFX
I've done several videos using VideoMakerFX.  I have one on my website  It too, provides a sampling of templates but in animated slide presentation form.  Very limited on characters (although they will be adding more in the coming months), but you can mix and match slide templates, move them and re-color backgrounds and text. Much more fun than PowerPoint or Prezi.

Unlike the other two programs, no subscription is necessary -- just a one time very reasonable yearly fee that you can upgrade.  It only takes about an hour to learn and create a video.

While a good visual image always attracts attention, you still need to communicate to your niche with message development and good copywriting.  The combination of strong visuals and clear messaging will make your video awesome!

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Drive sales with your words

Getting the word out about your company can help drive sales.  You already know that.  But with the advent of the internet there are other options other than print advertising.  If you think just putting up a website and leaving it alone is good enough you're wrong, too.  Here are some things to think about:

1. First of all, YES, you need a website.  That is the basic online strategy.   (I'll tell you later about a company who has NO website).  By the way, what is it about entrepreneurs and small businesses who don't have one?  Ok, thats another blog.  Let's continue...

2. E-mail marketing. Stay connected with your customers.  If you are a part of my VIP Marketing Academy you get an email from me once per week, sometimes twice.  I personally think that is enough, unless you are promoting something special.  I personally think it shows you care about your clients/customers. Share some "special" information with them not given out to the masses.

3. Content distribution.  Everyone is saying that if you don't have any content out there you are missing out.  Content is basically articles about some aspect of your business. It positions you as an expert.  For, example, when I am finished with this blog, I could turn it into an article and submit it to SubmitYourArticles.com, EzineArticles.com or GoArticles.com. Not only are will the articles be listed in these directories, but they will distribute them to other social media sites --sometimes for a fee.  I currently have an article listed in SubmitYourArticles.com on the six tips of how to shine at expos and fairs (see earlier blog post).

4.  A blog. This is a blog.  I am authoring some information that will be picked up by search engines (I hope) and distributed throughout the world.  You don't have to be a member of my VIP Marketing Academy to see it.  But I will use it to promote my VIP Marketing Academy.

I'm only going to mention these four this time because I don't want you to get overwhelmed.  So, here is your homework:

You don't have to do all of these right away.  Choose TWO

1.  Think about what you would want to tell your customers on each of the platforms
2.  Decide how many times you want to send information out if you decide to do a blog, submit articles or do e-mailing.

HINT:  You don't have to write everything from scratch.  Once you get information about your product or service, you can re-purpose it and use it in all four categories.  If you are not a writer, then I suggest you get a content strategist to help you.  Or....you can e-mail us and we will walk you through it.

Bring in Customers with Sales Promotions

"Bring in Customers with Winning Promotions" makes debut

I completed the Bring in Customers with Winning Promotions e-book.  While this e-book benefits my clients and readers, you have to understand that it is part of my marketing strategy, also.  You see, I want to provide content that is relevant for my clients.  After all, that is what my business is about -- providing marketing advice.  

Similar to you, I have to continue to produce while also marketing my other services.  Yes, it is very time consuming.  But as I say, if you don't do it, you won't have a business. It took well over 20 hours to research and write.  But as a business owner I have to "make the donuts".

Are you interested in creating content to distribute to your clients?  It is a good way to engage them and brand you as an expert in your field.  I will be doing a blog on that soon.

If you choose to get the e-book, I hope you find useful information in it. If you want an e-book that has promotion ideas, a handy 12- month listing of special days,  and events that you can use to develop your promotions, then this e-book is for you.  Also, I have examples and resources you can use.

Want to get it?  Click here

If you sign up for the VIP Marketing Academy, you will get a free download.

When will they learn?

When I was reading the link I have included below, it made me say "sho' you right!" It really hit home and says what I tell entrepreneurs and small businesses all the time: The money you pay someone to do what you are trying to do will actually bring in MORE money.  

And while the link speaks about a content strategist, it could very well speak about marketing specialists, website developer, social media specialist in general.  

The article just reminded me of a client that wanted to nickel and dime every little thing and then say, "I can do this myself". It's sad because they are doing it and they are in the same place they were in four months ago.

So, here is the link:

http://www.startupnation.com/grow-your-business/market-your-business/not-hire-content-strategists/

Get sticky with me

You've put months into having your trade show booth designed.  Now it's finished or very close. You walk around your new booth like a proud parent when it suddenly dawns on you; you need promotional handouts to go with it!  Where to start, though?

The key to a great promotional handout for a trade show event is that it provides needed information about you and your business.  But for it to stick, in other words, not get thrown in the trash, it has to have something a little more than just information.

One of the very best ways to make sure your trade show booth handouts don't get thrown away but will stick is to put an offer or coupon of some kind on them.  Coupons that a person can use after the trade show event practically guarantee your handouts won't get thrown away.  After all, your customers will want to use the coupons!

Sweepstakes and raffle offers also work well and assure your handouts will be read, kept and, better yet, used.  To get someone's attention these days means you usually have to give them a little more than just information.  They want STUFF.  And so having a simple sweepstakes or raffle offer in your trade show booth handouts means that your handouts are more likely to be read and held on to.

And here's a great tip that many people forget.  By using this sort of trade show booth handout, you have the opportunity to gather names and addresses.  And it's so easy!  You can use them for follow up using direct mail, email newsletters and other marketing promotions long after the trade show event is over.  

So the last thing you want to do is think a trade show booth event is all you have to do to make a sale.  Use a sticky handout that allows you to gather contact information and by continually reaching out to those people who have shown an interest in you, you'll ensure they show a return interest in you!

Watch for my Promotions E-book this month! 

Sign up for the VIP Marketing Academy at Fluidcommunications.net

It's time to advertise

I've run into so many business owners who have analysis paralysis. (I have fallen prey to this too). But at some point we have to stop analyzing and DO something.  We have to make a decision.  And as an entrepreneur, you know that not all decisions will be the golden one.  But sometimes you have to get going.

Advertising has to be done. So, in order to give you a chance to exhale and make the decision, I put together the e-book Media Buying Insider   It will be a FREE download available to my VIP Marketing Academy within the next week.  It describes some techniques you can use when buying media, what media is hot and what is not, and how to target your advertising to your niche market.  And it is written so everyone can understand it.  Here is an excerpt:

"What you want to do with your advertising is place it where YOUR customers ARE. Your customers are increasingly on the internet – either on the computer or on their smartphones. The best answer is to use small business advertising that only charges the owner when and if it works. There are several ways of doing this.  You may have heard of pay per click advertising.

Pay per click is available with numerous online merchant sites as well as hundreds of newspapers across the country and the globe. Simply put, a small business agrees to pay a specified amount to the publisher, or the merchant site, for each ad that entices a consumer to come to the small business site. The price paid is generally an amount that the small business owner has bid on. This means they have bid on keywords that describe their business.  More and more newspapers are offering this option as they struggle to maintain competitive online with eBay, Craigslist and other pure pay classified and marketplace sites."

Remember, digital advertising is here to stay!

If you are not a part of the VIP Marketing Academy, sign up at www.fluidcommunications.net