Mediaboss Marketing

Much like martial arts, there are many types of marketing.

Here, were going to focus on the 14 types of marketing online.

Because there are so many different forms, each requiring its own set of skills, it would only make sense to call them disciplines.

Some choose to master one discipline, others choose to study many. And just like with martial arts, there are many more who pretend they know when they really dont.

Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving rankings of a website or web page in the unpaid organic search results.

The path of the SEO is to make webpages rank higher in the search engine results pages (aka serp) to increase visibility.

The higher a page ranks, the more visible it is, and therefore will receive more traffic.

At one point, Search Engine Optimization played by a fairly well defined set of rules: Optimize a page for a specific keyword, get links from other websites that use that keyword.

While there is still some level of this, with the introduction of Googles Penguin update, many SEOs who thrived by manipulating the system have found the ground shrinking beneath their feet.

In 2013, Author Rank was introduced and has become a huge factor in how content is ranked in search engines. Many in the SEO industry suspect this will disrupt the game forever.

In a nutshell, AuthorRank gives more credit to verified authors over anonymous publishers.

As social media becomes more woven into the fabric of the internet, search engines factor elements such as social shares, +1s, Facebook likes, and Twitter retweets in addition to the traditional links using the right words

However, its still very important to understand that search engines are still only robots. Sophisticated robots, but robots nonetheless and the first understanding of what a web page is about is going to be based on the text on the page.

There are a number of tools you can use if you decide to follow the path of the SEO, but I highly recommend the following:

If done well, Pay per click is one of, if not the fastest type of online marketing to drive targeted traffic to your web properties.

But when done haphazardly, can cost a company thousands of dollars with little to no return.

Its one of my favorite lead generation techniques because once your campaign is optmized, youre able to calculate a fairly accurate and predictable ROI.

Whatever you do, dont go into Ppc under the misconception that youre just going to target a couple of keywords, write some copy, then watch the dollars pour in.

Far from it actually.

With Ppc, the entire goal is to turn passive viewers into interested prospects, and interested prospects into buyers.

To do this you must first entice users to click on an advertisement and send them to the perfect landing page with copy that matches the ad .

The idea is that you want to keep similar phrasing throughout the experience so your new visitor stays grounded throughout the experience.

Pay per click ads are no longer just displayed on the sidebar on search engines, but can be displayed on niche websites, or act as sponsored stories on social networks. They can be displayed as product listings, or as a video advertisement. They are targeted, either by search term, profile interest, or by the website on which the pay per click ad is displayed.

For some excellent resources on getting started with Ppc check out:

Think of email marketing as the bridge between the top of your sales funnel ( Awareness Seo, Social Media, Online Networking) and the sale.

Sure, email is not as sexy as its younger, hipper counterpart Social Media, but its one of the most direct and private forms of communication. Because of this, its still one of the most effective types of online marketing in terms of driving sales.

The best email marketers embrace the private nature of email communications and take care to treat their email subscribers a little more special than non email subscribers.

This could be done by giving access to exclusive content, special email subscriber discounts, personalized deals, or other insider goods not accessible to the outside public.

Email is also a popular form of marketing because, when your email campaigns are set up properly, you can tie exact dollar amounts to individual customers.

This allows you to create hyper targeted messaging that reflects you understand where your customer is in the buying cycle. Are they just looking or are they an evangelist? Creating email marketing programs for each stage of the customer lifecycle allows you to deepen loyalty and directly increase revenue.

One major disadvantage for email marketers is the constant evolution of spam filters in email programs. Companies must also make ensure their program does not violate spam laws such as the United States Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM)

And of course, we havent even talked about Autoresponders:

For resources on getting started with email marketing:

Did you know Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world, and the third most visited site, period?

While it may seem that a standard commercial might be the easiest way for a business to engage in video marketing, this is simply not the case.

Video can be incredibly social, and smart video marketers are blurring the lines of whats acceptable for branded content.

Take for example the Old Spice Guy or the WalMart Clown. Both videos make great use of humor to deliver their message, and the commercial side is almost secondary to the goal of making you laugh.

Because of this, video can be an incredibly powerful tool to deliver the right message to the right market and attract the right kind of customer from the very beginning. (Understanding your target market and a well defined brand character go a very long way in making this actually work though.)

Personally, video marketing is one of my favorite types of online marketing because it fuses together so many different elements: Copywriting, Seo, and of course Video Production.

Unfortunately, the biggest misconception about video marketing is that you can shoot a video on your webcam, slap it up on Youtube, then watch the revenue pour in. This couldnt be any further away from the truth, and if video marketing is something youre considering, I would highly recommend you get the proper training before taking your video efforts to the next level.

It may seem strange to see blogging on this list, because many of the things weve talked about may seem encapsulated in blogging.

But really, a blog is just a channel. It can host videos, podcasts, text articles, news topics, sell affiliate advertising, provide instruction or insight however at the end of the day, what youre talking about isnt blogging, youre talking about content that fills the channel.

Blogging makes this list because managing that channel is really a skill on its own.

Scheduling content, tagging and categorizing content appropriately, managing internal link architecture, optimizing navigation items these are just a handful of items that a real blogger manages.

Blog management is critical to the success of the blog as its fundamental structure is what helps search engines index your blog for the content you want to be known for, and visitors to go to appropriate pages within your site.

If youre considering following the path of the blogger, the Problogger book is an absolute essential read.

For more resources on blog management:

Content marketing is one of those buzzwords that keeps flying around, yet very few people (including marketers) really understand what its about.

If blogging is really about how everything is distributed and structured, content marketing is the practice of creating media that brings the person interacting with it towards one of the following four goals:.

The primary purpose of this kind of content is to spread throughout a community and get maximum exposure. Generally this kind of content will appeal to the different extremes of your markets personality.

This can be done through humor, shock, motivation, sadness, anger, being remarkably cool, making people smile, cute, or incredibly honest.

The trick for something to go viral is that it has to appeal to a humanity that is shared with a large group of people. (This is why more viral videos feature cute babies or animals more than anything else)

The goal of this kind of content is to start a conversation within a community.

This can be done by leveraging big news items (newsjacking), addressing a common problem, exposing a dirty secret (or really any controversy) or creating a valuable, game changing resource.

When looking to create discussion content, there is one singular purpose, get people talking. Yes, this can lead to viral sharing, but the intent of the two types of content is very very different.

While the first two types of content marketing are essentially about raising awareness, getting the lead conversion process to work properly is about creating content that gets your viewer to first identify their problem, then say, I need help

After that, its about offering a solution to help fix that problem. (in fact if this is a problem for you, request a strategy session with me, and we can find ways to fix this)

Structure wise, this is very similar to lead content but the lead nurturing cycle is a lot shorter if not virtually non-existent.

Generally speaking, the reasons this kind of selling content takes place is because

A.) the cost of the product is low, and therefore is a lower risk or

B.) the key phrase people are using to discover the content indicates theyre further along in the decision making process (theyre searching for product reviews, comparisons, etc)

Content marketing has to always have one of these four goals at its core in order to keep it focused.

Without one of these four goals, youre creating content for contents sake which over time will leave you frustrated and your viewers confused.

For great resources on content marketing:

While one true unified definition of Social Media marketing exists, many have embraced the use of social platforms to promote their brand.

If I were to define the starting process of social media marketing:

I would look at various social media channels in a very similar way as a traditional media buyer.

This would mean looking at the usual suspects Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Youtube, Pinterest, Linkedin(maybe) but then also niche networks, forums, active blog communities, and any place where theres active two way conversation happening.

In these networks, I would be seeking a core customer type and pay close attention to the language theyre using, the questions theyre asking, and the content theyre sharing.

During this process, I would seek to identify the taste makers within the community, and determine the best ways to appeal to them.

Using this approach, I would then create content or report to a content developer, the types of content that would stand out to each smaller network, then distribute to only the communities that will find it the most relevant.

This is the exact inverse of what many social media marketers do.

The more commonly practiced technique is create THEN distribute where this approach is more intense listening, create, distribute selectively

Perhaps the most misused approach for social media marketers is the share everything with everyone approach.

By using a more strategic and calculated plan, you can develop marketing communications that show many layers and build a much wider audience over time.

While Network Marketing and Social Media share similar roots, the network marketer takes the work the social media marketer does, and takes it a step further.

If the Social Media marketers job is to identify the smaller networks and appeal to the collective mindset of the group while identifying the influencers, the network marketers job is to build relationships with those influential people.

Taking those relationship skills a step further, the most notable trait of these professional networking masters is their ability to connect people within their own network with each other.

At a moments notice the network marketer can recommend a handful of service providers of different skill levels and price ranges. Network marketers commonly spend a lot of time emailing, commenting on blogs, interacting in forums.

The network marketer also realizes that for any piece of content to Go Viral, the content must not only be good, but they must also plant seeds with the bigger content distributors.

Because of their vast network, the network marketer has a pretty solid understanding of what content will gain the attention of a particular network , and if they dont create the content itself, you can bet they know the best person for the job.

And you know the best place to start finding great professional networking opportunities? LinkedIn

For more resources on Network Marketing

Where the last two disciplines focus more on outreach, community building is what happens after youve brought people in.

Community building is a field of practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community among individuals around a common interest.

The primary belief of community managers is to use brand properties as a hub to facilitate the conversation between users.

Doing this increases brand loyalty, and builds a core group of enthusiasts that will be the first to interact with and share brands content.

If network marketers build relationships on the individual level, and Social media marketers are focus more on mass communication, Community managers are those who set the stage for interacting with the brand and with each other.

Much of community building is reliant on trust. Chris Brogan and Julian Smiths Trust Agents will help you learn how to build that trust.

At the time of this writing, one of the fastest emerging trends in online marketing.

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The 14 types of marketing online - Online Marketing Strategist