| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 12/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 18 |
| Copyright: Other |
the net result
this week: marketing for free
Marketing for free? No problem! This issue of The Net Result will warm the heart of every marketeer, managing director and financial controller no matter what sector of the industry you’re in and no matter how big or small your organisation.Here are some top tips on simple but effective marketing techniques that you can implement without spending a single penny, peso or peseta.
Linking your site to someone else’s may sound strange but it’s a good way of building traffic. Finding another company that is in the same field as you, complements what you do, but doesn’t actually compete with you is ideal. For example, Speedy Gonzales Running Holidays might consider linking with Shoes ‘R’ Us retail chain, Sweat-No-More toiletries manufacturer or even Super Fit sports training services company.
Whichever part of the industry you are in, you should try to identify non-competing organisations with common objectives, with a target audience the same as yours and actively looking for ways to increase traffic to their site.
Even if only 0.5% click through to your site, that’s still extra traffic and it hasn’t cost you anything.
The most attractive propositions are generally unusual or differentiated information that is helpful to their customers. In our sporty example, a guide to the top 10 destinations by running ability or a weather chart showing current conditions in relation to sports would all be relevant.
Links can be structured in a number of ways. With a basic link, the partner company adds your URL to a relevant page on their site. This doesn’t cost anything for either party because it’s equally beneficial.
As your site develops, you may gain a reputation for having interesting content, other Web sites will acknowledge this and add a link to you without even needing to contact you.
Check your Web site statistics to see if any sites are already doing this. If so, contact them and explore ways of working together.
The more interesting reciprocal links allows both companies to add the URL of the other’s site. Extended links involve a deeper partnership that could include revenue-earning opportunities from selling each other’s products or services.
Banner barter is another concept that will generate free additional visits and clickthroughs.
You and your complementary partner can swap free banner space on your respective sites at no cost. It doesn’t really matter whether or not your sites have the same volume of traffic, you just agree on how many times you want your banners to be seen which is generally called impressions.
How long it takes you to deliver that volume is of little importance as you’re both addressing an audience that is likely to be interested in your products and services.
E-mail barter works in a similar way to banner barter, where you each dedicate part of your customer newsletters to your partner company where you can talk about the company, its products and services, invite customers to enter a competition or simply give out useful and related information. Always provide a link so customers can find out more or request information with a single click.
The other great free marketing tool is PR.
Try to identify which publications are likely to be interested in your organisation and tailor your contact strategy to them. Try and find an interesting hook or angle – the greater the relevance, the more likely it is that it will be used. It can be time consuming to organise but it’s a good way to communicate your key messages and the editorial environment will help your message.
So, overall, it’s perfectly possible to do some good marketing campaigns that are absolutely free. While they don’t have the same impact or reach as an expensive advertising campaign, they are worthwhile and by complementing other activities can help deliver greater value and ensure you make the most of your marketing budget.
Business boost: linking your site to someone’s else is a good way of building traffic
top tips for free marketing
n Basic links: identify complementary but non-competing companies which share the same audience profile as you and talk to them about adding a link to your site.
n Reciprocal links: build a mutually supportiverelationship by adding links to their site in equal numbers to the links you receive.
n Extended links: where relevant, look at revenue-earning deals between you and your partner. Can you sell related product on your site? Can you earn commission onclick-throughs? Are they interested in special travel offers from you or even exclusive travel offers? Explore different ways of creating a deeper partnership.
n Content is king: increasingly today, content is king so try and create some interesting, unusual but above all useful information and publish it on your site. This will beparticularly attractive to potential partners. Make sure you keep it up to date.
n Banner barter: swap banner space on your site in equal measure.
n E-mail barter: swap space in your e-mail marketing in equal measure.