Internet Citizen Marketing: The One Strategy for Web 2.0

We’ve been overexposed to advertising.  We hear them on the radio, watch them on tv and see their glittering banners on the Internet.  We go to their websites, browse their portfolios and read their testimonials. We walk away with no more confidence in their offerings than before we started.  Enter the Internet Citizen Marketer.

Internet Citizen Marketing?

One of the mantras to success in the last decade was to “have friends in high places”.  Today it may be more relevant to think about “having friends in many places”.  IM (instant messaging) and social networks on the Internet have made it possible and enjoyable to interact with friends on a daily (if not hourly) basis.  We share all kinds of information, from important life-issues to trivial matters.  Very often, without even realizing, we endorse brands by giving a quick review or recommendation to our friends.

Who is the Internet Citizen Marketer?

You and me. Anyone who has a camera phone, owns a blog, uploads photos, writes reviews, leaves comments, participates in a social network etc, is a potential marketer for your brand.

Why Internet Citizen Marketing Works

The most obvious reason is because Internet Citizen Marketers do not market brands, products or services for a living.  They have no agenda or incentive besides sharing their experiences with like-minded people.  Consumers will have increasing faith of your products after reading about them multiple times, from different sources.

Another reason why Internet Citizen Marketing is becoming more effective is the breaking down of barriers between people.  Consider how common it is to go online, meet a total stranger and add him or her to your network of friends.  In fact most successful social networks encourage you to tag or bookmark another user based on common likes and interests.  Generally, people put more weightage on the opinions of these total strangers whom they consider experts compared to (somtimes) even close friends or relatives.

The Social Networking User Behaviour Study conducted in April 2007 showed that 1 out of every 3 internet users refer to sites with user-created content like YouTube or Amazon to help make decisions on whether or not to buy something.

Another study shows that as much as up to 90 percent of consumers acquire enough information from surfing and reading reviews from other users to become reliable experts to friends and family.  Though individually, they each have a relatively small sphere of influence, the information that they share can significantly influence purchase behaviour.

The Takeaway

Most of the time, businesses hear about marketing with social mediums like Facebook or Twitter and get excited to jump on the bandwagon.  However, the most common questions asked is usually about ROI or what type of returns to expect.  Marketers will be disappointed to learn that is difficult to account for social network marketing in quantifiable terms.  When you make a new friend, can you attach a value to him or her?  You never know when friends will provide you with a referral, but it usually doesn’t happen until they know you well enough.  In order for them to want to know you better, they have to be genuinely interested in you.  Come on too hard with your sales message, and they will recognize you for a spammer.

Universal Friend-Making 101: Stop telling them about you, instead ask them to tell you more about themselves.

Repeat Visitors: Who They Are & How to Get Them

Attracting Repeat Visitors for Repeat Business

The number of repeat visitors is a key metric used to measure the quality and performance of your website. Each repeat visit signifies a user’s interest in your website and it’s offerings. Repeat visitors are more ready to be converted to clients, it is no wonder businesses are willing to invest time and money to identify that factors that encourage repeat visits.

This week, we are going to share some insights that may be helpful to your business in generating repeated visits.

Why Online Businesses Love Repeat Visitors

• Signal of Intent/Interest
  Having a steady stream of repeat visitors signifies that people are interested in what you have to offer. Having acknowledged this interest , businesses can devise ways to convert these interested parties into customers. (e.g. Web-promotions to entice these visitors to take action)
• Lead Nurturing
  Some products and services have longer conversion cycles. A visitor who stumbles upon your product may not convert immediately, he may take weeks or months to decide on a purchase. During this time, your website and content can play a big part in engaging him until his purchase.
• Cost Effective
  Studies have shown that it is cheaper for businesses to focus their marketing efforts on repeat visitors than it is to acquire new ones.
• Free Marketing
  A repeat visitor is more likely to recommend your products and services to friends. In turn, these new visitors will place your products and services in high-regard, since they came from a “trusted source”.

How To Encourage Repeated Visits

• Fresh Content
  The concept behind the Internet is Information, and that is the same reason why visitors will come back again and again. Successful websites update their content very frequently because they know that their visitors are hungry for quality information.
• Share your Expertise
  Your visitors value expertise and will return as long as you are ready to share it.
• Make Commitments
  Some websites have a section (i.e. articles or blog) that is updated at regular intervals. Having a weekly or monthly column (and sticking to the schedule!) will express your intention of providing quality information to your visitors regularly, and in time, they reciprocate with repeat visits.
• Providing Means to Interact
  A “Contact Us” form is a simple way to provide a level of interaction for your visitors. Once visitors are aware that it is a 2-way channel they will start to respond to your content and offer invaluable insights. In some cases, interaction can even help to create brand loyalty. More developed interaction platforms include forums or messaging systems for registered users.
• Pro-active Engagement
  If your visitors are not coming back, make them! Email Marketing is a good way to provide snippets of information from your website to your visitors. Even your email signature can be used to inform your contacts of news and updates.
• Web Visibility
  Optimize your website and content for the Search Engines. Being highly visible across many networks and partner sites makes it easier for visitors to find you. A professionally designed website inspires faith in potential clients and provides them with a smooth browsing experience.

While there are still a lot of methods you can use, this list should start you on the path to attracting repeat visitors to your website, hence increasing your online revenue!