Online Marketing 101 Part 1 - Introduction

You know you need to enter the digital age, and you know that means you need to be doing more online marketing. You’ve made a Facebook page and invited your customers, but there’s a world of other online marketing activity to do. Where do you get started and what does it all mean? Let’s start by defining some of the basics and establish some starting terminology:

Online Marketing

Simply put, Online Marketing is marketing effort from the web that drives people to your business. It’s comprised of three types of media: owned media, earned media, and paid media.

Owned Media

Owned media consists of the things that you have created and have control over. This will consist of things like your website, your Twitter account, your Facebook page, your e-mail list. This form of media is generally where you will interact with either customers who are already interested in your services or have already purchased. This is where you try to clarify as much as possible rather than try to grab attention

Paid Media

Paid Media is a little easier to understand the gist, but it is also one of the hardest to manage correctly. Here you will see things like AdWords, Promoted Posts, Banner Ads, or other ways that you pay to be in front of someone’s face. This is where you try to grab people’s attention as much as possible, and where you deliver your value proposition rather than trying to illustrate exactly what it is you do. You don’t have much time of someone’s attention, so you have to be efficient with your communications in Paid Media to get the most out of your advertising dollars.

Earned Media

Earned Media is the spread of messaging about your company by outside sources. Owned and Paid Media haven’t changed nearly as much with the advent of internet marketing as earned media has. Earned Media is your reward for quality content, attentive SEO, satisfied customers and finding ways to interact with fans. Earned media is an incredibly efficient way to drive business to your website if you can capture people’s attention effectively.

These are the basics of online marketing, and your marketing strategy should include a distinct plan for how to optimize each one. If you have any further questions, or want help understanding the right mix and strategy for your company, schedule an appointment today.