When do you use the Internet?
As you know, in today’s world where the Internet has become widespread, it has become an indispensable part of everyone’s lives, including making travel reservations, meal reservations, ticket reservations, information gathering, and posting on SNS.
In the business world, websites have changed from tools used to disseminate corporate information to centers of corporate activities that connect directly with users.
Along with this, the importance of web marketing is increasing as it can be expected to be more effective at lower costs than other media.
Here, we will introduce the necessity, measures, and benefits of web marketing that are easy to understand even for beginners. Get your business on track with the power of web marketing.
What is web marketing?
Web marketing
is marketing that is primarily carried out using the Web as a medium. The purpose of marketing is to raise awareness of a company’s products and services and to promote sales. Web marketing is the use of websites to more effectively increase awareness and promote sales.
Web marketing is a world of rapid technological innovation, and it is said that various changes occur every day. A feature of web marketing is that it is easier to judge whether or not tracking measures are effective than traditional marketing because it is possible to check users’ actions on the web.
Purpose of web marketing
Before the spread of the Internet, whether selling goods or providing services, it was common to go out and acquire customers on your own, handing out flyers, and making phone calls.
However, these days, most people have smartphones and computers, and it has become commonplace to look up something you’re curious about on a website.
Against this background, those involved in attracting customers and promoting sales are also required to use the Web for marketing.
Although it is easy to lump it all together with one word, Web marketing, there are changes in the trends of each target generation and generation, so it is important to carry out sales promotions that match the times.
In the past, companies used to attract customers by creating Internet homepages and sending out
email newsletters
, but now they are required to create websites that are easy to view on smartphones and make effective use of SNS and apps. Sho.
Web marketing does not end once you create content; it must always be done in a way that suits the time.
To that end, you need to keep an eye on things such as what kind of services current potential customers and customers are looking for, and what trends are emerging.
Advantages of web marketing
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of web marketing.
The biggest advantage of web marketing is that you can appeal to people all over the world who are browsing the Internet at once.
Since only the people who are interested in the content you create will gather, you can easily narrow down the list of potential customers.
Being able to attract targeted customers with pinpoint accuracy also leads to opening up sales channels with less labor and costs.
Company information, flyers, business cards, etc. cannot be easily reprinted, but with “web marketing,” you can easily change the content on your computer, so you can easily change direction if the response is not good.
The history of web marketing is still young, and long-established companies with older managers may not change their traditional methods.
If your rivals are in such a state, even a new entrant can quickly turn the tide.
On the other hand, young business owners often use web marketing skillfully, so in order to lead their businesses to success, it is imperative that they create content that stands out from those around them.
If it is difficult for you to do it yourself, you can leave it to a web marketing professional, so be sure to take advantage of that.
How to incorporate “web marketing”
When incorporating “web marketing” into your business, it is important to try and error and try as many possibilities as possible.
Many business owners who engage in “web marketing” but are not successful tend to have biases such as “focusing only on the homepage” or “enhancing the content of e-mail newsletters only.”
Even if you are using the web, this is a huge waste.
If you have a main medium such as a homepage, email newsletter, or blog, after creating content, you should build a system that allows you to spread it to other channels such as email, Twitter, Facebook, and LINE.
When conducting web marketing, it is important to identify the target and user interests.
There are examples of people thinking, “It would be better to have more information,” resulting in content that is broad and shallow, and examples of people not being able to find the information they really want because there is too much content.
From the user’s point of view, think about content that is simple, easy to understand, and that will further arouse their desire to purchase.
In order to attract potential customers, it is important to create articles that include many keywords so that they can be searched by the target audience, and to update them regularly.
It is also effective to make meaningful use of tools such as access analysis to find out what age groups, genders, and regions users are flocking to your content, and where they are visiting from.
Based on the analysis results, you can enhance the content by changing the content and wording to suit the age group or gender, or disseminating local information.
Frequent updates like these will capture the hearts of users and grow your business.
Main measures and methods of web marketing
From here, let’s check out the main measures and methods used in web marketing. Broadly speaking, web marketing has three purposes: attracting customers, serving customers (sales), and promoting repeat visits. Of the four measures that I will explain below, SEO measures and advertising operations are particularly suitable for attracting customers, SNS operations are particularly suitable for attracting customers and customer service (sales), and e-mail magazines are particularly suitable for promoting repeat visits.
SEO measures
SEO
measures are also called ”
search engine
optimization.” This term refers to optimizing the content of your company’s website so that it ranks high in search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
In order for a website to appear at the top of search results, it needs to be evaluated by search engines as “a high-quality page that can meet
the needs
of searchers.” The system is such that you can’t get to the top with the power of money, so this is a method that allows you to work while keeping costs down. If you can get to the top of the search results, you can expect an increase in the number of accesses.
Advertising operation
Advertising using the Web as a medium is called
Internet advertising
, and the types of operation include “listing advertising,” “ad network advertising,” “affiliate advertising,” and “retargeting advertising.”
Among these, listing advertisements are used to display on search engine search results screens, similar to SEO measures. Listing advertisements are advertisements that are displayed in conjunction with website content or searched keywords, and bids are placed in an auction format for each keyword.
Mail magazine
E-mail newsletters are a method of sending e-mails to e-mail addresses on your company’s customer list. Also called email marketing.
Email marketing is not just about sending emails all at once. There are marketing methods such as changing the content of the email according to user attributes and sending multiple emails based on a predetermined scenario using step emails.
SNS operation
SNS marketing that utilizes highly influential SNS such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube is also popular. In recent years, more and more people are gathering information from SNS rather than search engines.
Therefore, by using SNS to disseminate information as a company, you can increase awareness of your products and services, promote sales, and attract more customers to your site. The use of SNS is increasing among various generations, but it is said that SNS marketing is particularly effective among young people.
How to start web marketing
Next, let’s check out how to start web marketing.
Setting web marketing objectives
First, decide “What is the purpose of web marketing?” Web marketing can be expected to have various effects such as increasing awareness of your company’s products and services and promoting sales. By deciding in advance the direction in which your company will implement web marketing, it will be easier to formulate future measures and strategies.
set the final goal
Once you have set your purpose, it is time to set your final goal based on it. A final goal is a specific goal that you want to achieve, and it is said that by setting it in advance, you can clarify what you need to do now and make it easier to achieve results. If possible, your goal should be something that can be expressed numerically, such as “increase sales of your company’s 〇〇 product by 1.5 times.”
At this time, you need to be careful not to set goals that are too high. By setting goals that are achievable, you can steadily move step by step toward achieving your goals.
Set KPIs
KPI is an abbreviation for Key Performance Indicators, and is a detailed goal that is used as an indicator to judge whether or not you are making progress toward your goal. By setting KPIs, it becomes easier to see specific marketing effects and understand current issues. Additionally, you will be able to come up with effective measures to achieve your goals, rather than ad hoc measures.
Possible KPIs to set include the number of clicks to your website, product purchase rate, repeat purchase rate, and conversion rate.
Clarify your target
Next, clarify your target and do
targeting
. By setting targets and clarifying the customer base that will be interested in your products and services, you will be able to create more efficient
marketing strategies
. When setting targets, decide based on user demographic information such as age, gender, occupation, and place of residence.
Collect and analyze data
In order to plan and consider web marketing measures, we collect and analyze data such as surveys, number of accesses, number of member registrations, and average price per customer. When collecting and analyzing data, we collect two types of information: “quantitative data,” which is quantified, such as the number of accesses, and “qualitative data,” which is not quantified, such as customer feedback. Gathering and analyzing information will clarify the issues in your current marketing activities, allowing you to consider improvement measures and come up with more effective measures.
Based on this information and the goals you have set, we will consider measures that are suitable for your company.
Main tools used in web marketing
Next, let’s check out the main tools used in web marketing.
marketing automation tools
Marketing automation
is also known as MA. Marketing automation tools are tools that can visualize and automate marketing activities when developing customers.
It is a perfect tool for managing lead nurturing, providing appropriate information to each prospective customer, such as by sending different emails depending on the consideration stage. If you have an issue such as not being able to follow up with potential customers due to a lack of manpower, you may want to try incorporating this.
AB testing tools
AB testing is a process of changing part of the content to create patterns A and B, and determining which one has the better results, and is mainly used for measures to improve landing pages. . AB testing tools are tools that can automatically switch between content patterns to determine which one is more likely to encourage user action. By using AB testing tools, you can expect to improve your site exit rate and
rate.
Access analysis tool
An access analysis tool is a tool that allows you to analyze the access status of users who visit your company’s website. It is widely used on
e-
commerce sites, corporate sites,
owned media
, etc.
By using access analysis tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you can find out not only the number of accesses, but also the actions taken by users, the pages that are frequently viewed, and the pages with the most exits. is understandable. You can also check user attributes and access sources. This is a tool that can be used to understand points that need improvement based on this information and plan measures.
Notes on web marketing
Web marketing has various benefits, but it may be difficult to achieve great results right away. When starting web marketing, you need to be careful about proceeding with a long-term perspective and setting reasonable goals and plans.
Also, be careful not to publish low-quality content. Web marketing is effective if you can send out high-quality content that meets customer needs, but if you send out low-quality content, you may lose trust in your brand.
Job details of a web marketer
Let’s check out the job description and what you would do if you became a person in charge of web marketing, also known as a web marketer.
Those in charge of web marketing are responsible for “planning and drafting web content,” “operating websites,” “operating and managing SNS,” “SEO measures,” “operating and managing web advertisements,” “data analysis and planning improvement measures,” etc. will be carried out. It also plays an important role as a communication hub when teaming up with internal and external members to advance measures.
While performing these various tasks, I will continue to learn about trends and the latest trends in the web marketing industry, and will work to develop effective measures.
Skills required for web marketing
From here, let’s check out the skills needed to implement effective web marketing.
Expertise in web marketing
Of course, you need specialized knowledge when doing web marketing. Web marketing is a method that many companies are already implementing, and other companies are trying to achieve similar results. In order to send out content that is of equal or higher quality, it is necessary to have knowledge of the trends mentioned above and the latest trends in the web marketing industry.
In addition, technical knowledge such as website security and display speed is also necessary for SEO.
communication skills
High communication skills are also important in order to achieve results in web marketing. In order to be involved in website production from a marketing perspective and to implement many customer attraction measures, we need to communicate with a variety of parties, including external partner companies, and work together as a team. Communication ability is an essential skill in order to move forward with measures smoothly.
PDCA thinking
Whether you can achieve solid results with web marketing depends on whether you are able to use PDCA thinking. PDCA is a cycle of repeating planning, execution, analysis, and improvement. PDCA has four elements: PLAN (planning), DO (execution), CHECK (confirmation), and ACT (improvement).
If you have your own content, judge its performance from the target’s perspective, consider content ideas for improvement, and create the outline of your plan. After that, we will actually create it and visualize the results through post-delivery analysis. The process is to identify issues based on the analysis results and consider improvement measures.
By going through this cycle quickly and repeating it, you will be able to steadily improve the issues and achieve results in marketing.
Successful examples of “Web marketing”
Let’s take a look at some successful cases of actually incorporating “web marketing” into business. If there are parts you can incorporate, starting from there will help you get off to a smoother start.
Success story: Part 1
Because we handle major products, we couldn’t compete with major companies in search.
Therefore, we gave our products unique names and conducted web marketing mainly on SNS, and received a lot of feedback from the younger generation.
In this case, naming was key. This is an example of success by using shop names, product names, and service names that people want to search for.
Success story: Part 2
We provided content that we thought was good through various media, but we didn’t get much response.
As a result of actually conducting a survey among our target audience, we found that there was a big difference between the information we recommended and the information they wanted to know.
As a result of rebuilding the website to reflect their opinions, we are now receiving many inquiries.
In this case, there was a misalignment between the users and the management. By listening to a wide range of voices, not just your own, you will be able to create content that your customers want.
summary
◆Since trends in “web marketing” change depending on the target generation and age group, it is important to carry out sales promotions that match the times.
◆In order to lead your business to success, it is urgent to create content that stands out from those around you.
◆Web marketing uses analysis results to power up content and update it frequently to capture the hearts of users and grow business.