Saturday, July 13, 2013

6:56 AM

Internet Marketing Plan with red markers
The term multi channel marketing has always existed in business, and it is a term to indicate the successful employment of different channels in order to help the success of a particular business. As such, it is really a self explanatory term; an example of multiple channels within which to successfully conduct your business (and allow it to expand and grow exponentially) could be a retail outlet, a mail order method of sales and an online store.

The Composite Elements

All these elements can work in unison to form a powerful single entity where to market goods or services, allowing a business to gradually strengthen and become more popular over time. Multi channel marketing is now a term which can be attributed solely to online marketing practices, though it really is no different than its land-based counterpart. Multi channel marketing online entails essentially the same methods of being able to sell goods/services online through more than one channel; this may mean taking advantage of video sites, social networking sites in order to sell goods and acquire popularity more quickly, and, most importantly, SEO and indexing techniques.

This latter aspect is absolutely crucial to ensuring your business will reach each potential channel adequately, and fulfil its multi-channeling scope in full flow. Let us look what multi-channel marketing means in practical terms, and how entrepreneurs can make the most of the technology available to successfully market a product through various online channels.

Marketing through a variety of Channels Online

The majority of users are now no longer confined to searching for a product in the comforts of their own home, but are likely to begin a search at home and continue that search as they go through their normal daily routine. For instance, they may search for a particular pair of shoes on a desktop PC while leaving for work, then continue that search on a tablet or a mobile phone when it is safe to do so. All this means that creating an interweaving network which connects through a variety of channels is essential to the longevity of any business.

Users will spread the word of a product through social media for instance, and hence it is important for a business to establish a social network presence as part of a multi channel marketing strategy. While social networks like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube (to some extent) are an important part of user engagement and interaction, call to action methods are more important for converting leads. Therefore, it is important to use viral marekting methods (e-mail, Pay-per click) as another form of multi channel marketing for your online business.

Buying adverts which will be displayed on social media is important, just as Pay-per click marketing, Affiliate marketing and link building. A strong multi-channel network isn't just created by nurturing only one single aspect of your business, but knowing how users search and interact online. You are then able to correlate all these elements into something stronger and more durable over time. The Importance of SEO Organic results are still essential to a business, and getting indexed highly can still make or break the success of a website. This means that SEO is as important as ever, and particularly more so as Google places emphasis on quality content through various algorithm updates (i.e. Panda, Penguin, etc...). Proper keyword research, including KEI, is absolutely essential to successful multi channel marketing. SEO is essential for any aspect of an online business anyway, and therefore it is important to bear this in mind at the very early stages of your multi-marketing strategy.
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Jen Jameson is a social media manager at SEOBrighton.com a leading UK based search company. Jen enjoys playing the violin, baking cupcakes when she is not updating the company twitter and facebook.