Most, if not all, businesses in Jacksonville have suffered tremendously from the social distancing and stay at home orders required to contain the coronavirus pandemic. With Mayor Curry and Governor DeSantis issuing safer-at-home and then stay-at-home orders, traffic and sales have progressively dwindled to a trickle. Many businesses providing non-essential goods and services are being required to shutter completely – and there’s really no telling when or if business will be back to normal.
Some estimates suggest the first wave could be under control by June, but even these most optimistic projections warn us to expect additional waves to pop up almost as soon as people begin to move around again. Businesses are likely to be directly affected until a vaccine becomes widely available, and even when coronavirus ceases to be a threat the economic landscape is likely to be changed forever.
More transactions are moving online
While the importance of the internet as an advertising medium has grown steadily over the years, 2020 marks the moment when it became the most important platform of all.
In addition to reaching your customers where they now spend most of their time, more sales and transactions are migrating to the internet. As physical stores close up shop and customers stay home, there are still ways to reach them and earn their business. While it’s true that consumer spending is down across the board, companies with viable online sales strategies are suffering less than those who still rely wholly on in person sales.
Even companies like restaurants that do require physical interaction with the customer are taking advantage with things like online ordering apps and distributed delivery networks courtesy of Uber, Lyft, and GrubHub.
Who benefits from internet marketing?
With the right campaign focus, any business can benefit from internet marketing.
- Retail: Advertise your locations and promotions and make sales online
- Restaurants: Post your menus and food pictures and take orders
- Entertainment: Connect with your audience and keep them up to date on upcoming events
- Professional Services: Create a portfolio of achievements and clear information about what services you can offer
- B2B: Share your success stories and inspire your customers to consider what you can add to their business
What are the specific benefits of internet marketing?
- Increased media exposure: Not only will your online presence be visible to more customers, it will also be visible to more journalists and bloggers who may help your online visibility grow.
- Connect with customers: Keep them up to date on the latest news from your business AND hear their point of view. The feedback provided by social media connections can be invaluable for understanding customer concerns.
- Generate direct sales: Whether you’re selling widgets or taking dinner orders, a well functioning website can be one of your best salespeople!
Internet Marketing: Tactics Beyond SEO
While JacksonvilleSEO.net specializes in search engine optimization, we also understand that not all internet marketing efforts are done with just the search engines in mind. It’s always important to connect with your customers and build a bigger audience through every avenue that’s available. With that in mind, here are some of the internet marketing tactics we’ll put to work (depending on how relevant they are to your campaign!)
- Content Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Media Outreach
- Paid Search
- Maps and Location Marketing
Content Marketing refers to the creation of web content designed to promote your business and products. It can be produced in text, video, and image formats and it can answer a wide array of questions your potential customers may have.
Social Media Marketing means meeting your customers where they spend time online. Communication with your audience is a two way street: you can make them aware of available products, services, and promotions; and they can make you aware of their issues and concerns. Listening can be just as valuable as publishing, in this regard!
Media outreach is increasingly important as an internet marketing strategy because the biggest local websites are often the same as the biggest local newspapers and TV stations. By connecting with journalists and other media professionals, you can increase the exposure of your business online and offline as well.
Paid search is another great way to get targeted search traffic as soon as possible. Unlike organic SEO, paid search involves bidding for specific keyword phrases and paying a small fee whenever your ad is clicked from those searches. The up front costs are a bit higher and there are no residual effects when the campaign ends, but this is still an essential aspect of maximizing traffic and sales/conversions.
Maps and local marketing is all about ensuring that all your business’s locations show up in the various map services available online. Between Google, Apple Maps, Mapquest, etc… there are many places your potential customers can find you online. We’ll make sure you’re there when they go looking!