Online Marketing Strategy

In general

If you sell your music online you should consider users’ experience with the Internet, which nowadays should play a central role in the communications plan of every company.

While dealing with Internet communications and online marketing, two basic points should be considered:

1) Monitor experience

• Quantity of information that appears on your screen
• Text(s)
• Animations
• Pictures
• Visual elements
• Sounds

2) Internet experience

• As the user is confronted with a very fast medium, it is important that the information be either:
  - brand new or
  - up-to-date or at least still
  - valid
• 24/7 & 365 days/year
• fast / slow connection
• the quantity of data you have access to is practically unlimited
• everybody can publish anything at any time

General considerations

Online communications are nothing but an additional way to convey messages to your target group(s). Basically, while working on a new web page or online affiliate marketing, you should ask yourself the same questions when you produce a brochure or when you plan an advertising campaign:

• Key messages
• Affinity
• What are your competitors doing?
• Etc.

Planning

When planning your online activities, the very same elements for online activities should be taken into consideration, i.e.

• Objectives
• Target group(s)
• Strategic elements
• Content, including:
  - Interactivity with your target group(s)
  - Integration with other communications channels (adverts, brochures, radio, TV, etc.)
• Actions
• Costs
• Timing
• Budget

Maintenance

The basic difference from a conventional brochure, radio spot or advert is that a web page, adword, etc. needs constant updating and changing. An advantage (a fast way to convey a message) can easily become a nightmare if your messages are not constantly updated. A motto like "less is more" is of paramount importance. Pages and messages should be structured in a way that interactivity for further details is encouraged.

Statistics

This a clear advantage of working with online instruments. Detailed evaluations of your visitors are possible including:

• Daily, weekly, monthly visitors
• Most visited pages
• Visitors via referrers, incl. search engines
• Website referrers
• Geo tracking
• Javascript enabled
• Browsers used
• Key words

Here are some interesting publications that might help you in your online marketing activities.

• Damian Ryan - Understanding Digital Marketing
• Ryan Deiss  & Russ Henneberry - Digital Marketing For Dummies
• Philip Kotler, Hermawan Kartajaya, Iwan Setiawan - Marketing 4.0: Moving from Traditional to Digital