Online Marketing as defined by Connect + Trade is “Everything you do online, and all offline activities that lead online”. That being about as wide a definition as can be, we also break it down into these 4 elements of online marketing.
1. Online Presence: How You And Your Products Look Online
Doing business is based on trust. A strong online presence is the 21st century’s equivalent of the well-kept storefront that gives potential customers a good first impression. It is how you demonstrate that you are a serious business selling quality products in accordance with the rules of the market. It is how you recreate for a global market the level of trust found naturally in a small, local market. Connect + Trade gives you and your products a strong online presence on our platform, and employs web designers, copywriters, graphic designers, photographers, and videographers to give you a great presence all over the Internet. That is the first element of online marketing.
2. Inbound Marketing: Guiding Searches To You
People no longer seek out sellers to look for products. They search for products, look at the first handful of search results, and buy from the seller that looks safest and easiest at an acceptable price. Inbound marketing is about guiding those searches to you and converting them to sales. Connect + Trade optimizes your products for search so that when people search for what you offer, they see your products, they like what they see, and they buy. That is the second element of online marketing.
3. Outbound Marketing: The Right Message To The Right People
The main strength of social networks like Facebook and Linkedin isn’t that they bring your message to whole world, it’s that they bring your message to the audience of people most likely to be receptive to your message. Social networks know almost everything there is to know about their members and their entire business model is sharing that knowledge with marketers. Connect + Trade’s expertise in social marketing delivers the right message about your products to the right people across borders, oceans, and time-zones. That is the third element of online marketing.
4. Peer-to-Peer: Helping Others Help You Sell
Word of mouth goes further than it ever has before, and is more valuable than ever. Seeing a friend, or even a group of strangers, recommend a product is more likely to convince someone to buy it than any hard-sell message from a salesman. Peer-to-peer marketing is about turning your happy customers into ambassadors for your products. Connect + Trade helps you help others sell your products for you through ratings, reviews, recommendations, and social media mentions. That is the fourth element of online marketing.
