ONLINE MARKETING 101
INTRODUCTION:
While door-to-door sales still exists, the majority of consumers learn about, go looking for, and conduct transactions
online. This means that your ability to reach your potential consumers will require you to have a digital presence.
Online marketing is the use of the internet to promote your business and sell your product or service1. Your digital
presence can take many forms and can grow and adapt along with your business. In your early stages it is important
to identify the areas that are most aligned with your overall business plan and identified in your more detailed sales
and marketing plan and then to determine how much of a budget you have to spend on each.
As you think through each of the areas, consider how much of your digital presence you want or need to be text
based versus visual, versus video. Once you have established the basics then each individual component and each
platform you choose will have options for increasing components such as video or creative content, and then
different options for adding data analytics, digital advertising and more.
KEY POINTS:
1. Website: The number one marketing tool a business can establish, your website, is likely your potential
customer’s first interaction with your business, and entirely in your control in how it is set-up, managed, and
presented. When thinking of how to setup your website, there are several factors to consider including how
much time, experience and desire you as the owner have to work on the website.
Domain Name: Start with your web address. How will people find you? Making your URL simple, easy to find,
a.
and easy to remember are all considerations you should think through. Secondly, make sure you check that
the domain name you want is actually available. The simplest way to do this is to type it into your browser
and see what comes up. You can also use resources at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office2.
b. Hosting Service: A website must exist on a server to be viewable via the internet. The type of hosting service
you choose depends greatly on your type of business, what people will be doing on your site, the level of
security you need, and your budget3. Domains and hosting services can be purchased in a single transaction.
Content Management: A content management system (CMS) is the software that allows you to add and
c.
manage the content within your website. Your site’s content helps people to find what product or service
you are offering. If someone can’t find what they are looking for within a few seconds or clicks, they will
likely leave your site4. Web content is stored on the backend of your website and must be updated to keep
your site refreshed. Think about your own comfort level with using websites, creating content, and keeping
information updated as it takes regular effort to be effective as a sales tool.
Visual Design: When you create your website, you want it to be visually appealing to your audience. Some
d.
ways you can achieve this is adding your own personal vision or tone of voice. Use effective typography and
avoid using too many fonts. Images, videos, and other forms of multimedia attracts audience attention and
1 www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/online-marketing-for-small-business
2 www.uspto.gov
3 www.techradar.com/web-hosting/how-to-choose-a-web-hosting-service
4 www.fool.com/the-ascent/small-business/cms/articles/cms-software/
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also tells them what your website is all about. When using stock images, be sure that they aren’t copyright
protected and credit where necessary.
E-Commerce: Do you want your customers to be able to buy your product or service through your website?
e.
If you intend to engage in ecommerce, then you have several other factors to consider including how you will
ensure secure payments and protect your customers from fraud. How are you collecting taxes, and do you
know the rules for taxes from customers in other states? Countries? There are many factors to consider5 when
establishing your ecommerce platform so if this is not an area where you have previous experience, the next
step may be to hire a good service provider to make sure you have what you need and are set-up for success.
f. ADA Compliance: The American Disabilities Act states that “inaccessible web content means that people
with disabilities are denied equal access to information.” To see how you can ensure your website is ADA
complaint, visit the ADA website.
2. Online Recognition: Once you have an established website you need to ensure that your customers can find you
when they do a standard web search. This also means making sure that you own your business’ name and online
presence, and that no one else has posted anything on your behalf. This doesn’t happen automatically because
you created a website, and you must take the appropriate steps early in your process to avoid issues later6.
3. Email: How will your customers communicate with your business? Will you rely on telephone and in-person?
Most businesses will have other forms of communication including a business email address. Ask yourself if
you want customers having access to your personal email account five years after you have sold your business?
If the answer is no, then establish a business email address that is simple, appropriate, and on a platform you
can and will manage on a daily basis. Just like clicks on a website, emails that go unanswered have a negative
impact on your customer’s experience and will deter them from returning. Once you have an established
business email account the next step is exploring email marketing and how you can capture email addresses
from your customers and communicate with them on a more regular basis7. Business email accounts can
generally be established when you obtain your domain name.
4. Social Media: It’s hard to imagine a modern business without a presence on at least one social media platform
or service. Increasingly, customers use social media as their first interaction with a business, and some
businesses even forgo a traditional website and its inherent expenses for a free social media account. While a
social media account can function as your business’ online “home base” it can also be a powerful tool for your
online marketing both in terms of storytelling and advertising. Take the time to look at the platforms you use,
explore their business services (including terms and conditions) and find out how you can take advantage of
services, free and paid, to reach more of your ideal customers. Remember that each social media platform has
a different look and feel so choose the platforms you think will best serve your business’ strategies. Even more
so than some other digital options, social media is only good as the last content you posted so be aware of
the time commitment each platform needs to be truly effective and be prepared for a next step to be hiring
someone to optimize your use of these tools.
Ready to dive into your business’ marketing activities? Learn more at the Department of Economic Development’s
Launch Loudoun program at www.launchloudoun.com or call 703-777-0426 to speak with a member of staff.
5 www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/how-build-ecommerce-website/
6 www.google.com/business/
7 www.fool.com/the-ascent/small-business/email-marketing/articles/email-marketing-tips/
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