Developing successful online marketing campaigns can be a difficult endeavor for small & medium sized business working with a limited budget. However, it does not take an extensive understanding marketing theories and the intricacies of the internet marketing world to successfully launch an online business. Below are some helpful tips for new professionals getting their first taste of the e-commerce world.

1. Choose the right online advertising tools

Depending on the products/services you offer and the vertical in which you belong, it is necessary to carefully plan all online marketing activities. In some cases, social media marketing may prove to be more beneficial in generating brand awareness and sales, whereas media buying campaigns and pay-per-click advertising are more pertinent for immediate conversions. Before you end up wasting $5000/month on Adwords, make sure it’s the right promotional tool for your targeted audience.

2. Choose efficiency over superficial aesthetics

Does your website have a major flash animation banner slowing down the loading time of your site? Are there superfluous aesthetics components causing your visitors to suffer seizures? If so, it might be time to revisit your online marketing strategy and pare down the unnecessary designs that add no value to your business. Websites are meant to simplify the user experience – not make it a complex web of annoyances. Clean websites with a sufficient amount of content also aid SEO campaigns, whereas sites with numerous flash components and little-to-no content will hurt your website’s rankings on search engines. Easy to use websites may seem simplistic, but that simplicity will bring users back on a continuous basis.

3. To Facebook or not to Facebook….that is the question. 

Social media has become the latest craze over the past couple of years, with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other notable sites generating significant amounts of traffic. However, your business should only invest in social marketing if it can help you achieve the following:

• Increase your community organically and get fans talking about your brand.
• Drive targeted traffic to your website and/or blog.
• Generate leads and sales.

Inactive social media profiles will negatively affect your brand, so make sure you not only have the resources to manage social marketing, but also have clear objectives and a long term strategy in place.

4. Failing to Collect Leads

Re-marketing to your users should be one of the main foundations of your marketing strategy if you want to succeed with any internet marketing endeavor. If you invest in lead generation campaigns that drive thousands of subscribers to your newsletter, it will be beneficial to develop campaigns that drive these users back to the site. Incentives and member-only promotions are effective in not only increasing returning traffic, but generating repeat sales over the course of the customer lifetime cycle.

You’re ready to launch…now what?

If you have a comprehensive strategy laid out, it’s best to seek the advice of those who have perfected online marketing in the past. Educating yourself can only go so far; however, consultations with proven online advertising professionals can help you refine strategies and launch successful campaigns. It’s also important to test out different campaigns: the more data you generate, the more you will learn about your target audience’s purchasing behaviours.