You know, formulating SEO and marketing strategies for web-based businesses can seem like a daunting task, and there are lots of “gurus” out there who have a vested interest in making it all seem like an impenetrable mystery (that’s how they build their followers and get their ebooks and courses sold!).
But when you’ve been involved in these areas (SEO and marketing, especially content marketing) as long as we have, you learn that you need to stay current with the latest tweaks and changes, but that fundamental principles (SEO) and strategies (marketing) have not really changed all that much.
Two Time-Honored Approaches to Web-Based Marketing
To cut things down to the level of what is really necessary, there are two different approaches to setting up your web business marketing strategy: structure it around the passage of time or structure it around important events. And most web-based businesses can make use of both strategies at the same time.
Marketing Strategies Based On Time: There are a number of different ways you can do this. If your business is seasonal in nature, or your products or services sell better (or worse!) during certain times during the year, make sure that your marketing strategy reflects that.
For example, if sales are strong during the first quarter but are lousy in the third quarter, then ramp up your marketing before Q1 comes around, and keep it to a bare minimum as you enter Q3. You could organize your marketing efforts directly according to seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter), by calendar quarters or even by specific months.
Marketing Strategies Based On Events: This approach to marketing requires a bit more thought and creativity. Are there events or happenings around which it would be effective to “get out the word” about what your business is doing, and what it has to offer? This is when your business needs to step out on the stage and wave your flag for all to see!
What events might be important to you? An obvious one would be holidays, but this is usually something that is covered in the first approach. There may be times when you might be doing a presentation, or giving a seminar or webinar or a podcast. You could also anchor your web business marketing efforts around times when you are running sales or special promotions, doing a contest or giveaway, or a special celebration.
We consider this a separate type of web marketing strategy because, from year-to-year, these things may or may not happen, or they may not take place at the same time every year. So more thought and advance planning is usually required, as this type of marketing approach is not as straightforward as anchoring your marketing strictly by seasons or the run of the months.
The Big Take-Away: Overall, your goal is to match your marketing outreach to the best times of the year or best event(s) when your customer interest and activity are highest. When your target demographics indicate that people are busy making buying decisions, you need to be findable! This will also allow you to save resources (time and money) by not marketing when the fish are not feeding.
Because, in marketing a business, it’s just as important to know when not to market, as it is to know when to do it — and to know how not to market, as it is to know how to do it.
