Arsenal Football Club revealed its new online marketing strategy recently, along with its ambition to become the Premier League’s “Tesco Clubcard” through its fan membership.

The north London club will be placing its CRM system at the heart of the new internet marketing initiative, starting off by making it easier to become a member – with different levels of privilege depending on the level of membership paid for. This will effect access to priority tickets, online access to resources such as the Arsenal video library plus a new raft of special offers and promotions.

Speaking to Marketing Week magazine, Arsenal’s head of marketing Charles Allen said that “we are investing in a CRM system to register interests and passions so we can then send those people on appropriate journeys of affinity and provide access at an appropriate level.”

The main vehicle for the online marketing drive will be social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Currently it boasts 10.5 million Facebook fans and 1.5 Twitter followers. These will now be targeted with various special offers and membership options.

Google remains the undisputed king of the search engines, according to new research – news that will come as no surprise to online marketing professionals.

The study by Experian Hitwise found that Google controlled a massive 90.64 per cent of the search engine market, in a year where British consumers have used search engines 2.3 billion times in January alone.

Yahoo and Microsoft Bing slightly improved their market share, with 4.16 per cent and 2.98 per cent respectively, but Google was untouchable, despite taking a slight drop in search share compared to December 2011.

The implications for online marketing are clear, Experian market analyst James Murray pointed out.

“Search is one of the most crucial elements of online marketing and our data shows that search is growing, with nearly 100 million more visits going to search engines this January than last January,” he said.

As well as the likes of Google, social networks like Facebook, Reddit and YouTube are becoming ever-more popular in driving internet traffic to commercial sites, Experian said. Internet marketing efforts need to bear this in mind and make content that is easy to share.

For its part, Google is striving to capitalise on the lucrative social network market, with researchers finding out that in December 2011 in the US some 49 million internet users visited its new social network Google+, a 55 per cent increase compared to November.

With mobile marketing becoming such an important facet of online marketing efforts these days, it is important to remember some of the ‘golden rules’ in this fastest-growing of areas. Here’s five top tips to help anyone planning a mobile internet marketing campaign make the most of it:

1. Make it short, sharp and punchy! Since mobile devices such as smartphones are most likely to be used on the move, and many possible transactions will take place during public transport journeys or waiting in a queue, it makes sense for online marketing campaigns aimed at mobile users to be divided into “bite-size” portions, making it easier for the potential customer to read and digest the content. If a marketing drive drags, the bustling mobile user will lose interest.

2. Ensure the personal touch. Because mobile phones are uniquely personal – they are far more “part” of the person using them regularly than computers or even laptops – they are perfect for tailoring online marketing campaigns across a wide variety of personalised platforms, such as social media giants Facebook and Twitter, SMS and email. A canny marketing strategy realises this and concentrates on being accessible, personal and fun.

3. Include video content where possible. People like watching video clips on their smartphones – and even more so, people like making films on their smartphones. As part of your campaign, encourage potential customers to make their own videos and post them on your website directly from their handsets. In this way, the campaign helps to create its own online “community” or a small-scale social network of its very own, instilling brand loyalty and encouraging participation in further promotional events.

4. Use mobile marketing as part of an integrated campaign. When mobile marketing techniques such as SMS form part of a comprehensive online marketing drive encompassing an optimised website, blog posts, SEO and PPC campaigns, the results can be spectacular. To make the most of this, make sure your site has campaign-specific landing pages for all of your mobile banners.

5. Tie your campaign in with other popular features among mobile users. Owners of smartphones and tablets use them all the time to receive news reports and gossip, weather forecasts, information about local events and sporting updates. Try to bundle some of this content with your own campaign, offering extra mobile content, money off coupons or other incentives. This tactic is especially effective for local businesses seeking to expand their local customer base.

photo credit: oberhkev

With the New Year upon us, many businesses – especially brand new small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – may well be looking at the whole concept of online marketing for the first time. Although they may already have an online presence such as a website or a profile on a social network such as Facebook, this is far short of the massive potential for new business and increased profits that the world of internet marketing can offer. Here, then, is a guide to getting the New Year off to a flying start with a basic plan for an initial online marketing campaign:

1. Consider Your Goals. A business owner needs to work out exactly what an online marketing campaign is intended to achieve. These goals are often the same as a traditional marketing campaign’s – generating new leads, increasing your revenue stream and boosting customer service.
2. Draw up a rounded strategy. Planning is essential for the success of any campaign, from the business to the military! Good online marketing companies will discuss what resources and tactics are available, and which fit your business model and will help you to achieve your goals. Make use of them.
3. Learn on the job. Don’t just leave it to the professionals – learn the basics involved in internet marketing yourself, so you are better placed to track the success of the campaign and offer suggestions. One move might be to learn the rudiments of blogging, or social media such as Facebook and Twitter in order to make a personal contribution.
4. Draw up measurable objectives. Without proper benchmarks for success, you won’t know whether your campaign is working, or working to its full potential. A few benchmarks for success, such as a set number of new customers registered online over a period of time, or new followers on your Facebook fan page will help you and your online marketing consultants to tweak the campaign to make it even more effective.
5. Ensure you have a realistic budget. Although resources will never be infinite, sadly, it is worth making a sufficient investment to fund an effective online marketing campaign and to hire a competitively-priced company. There will also be ongoing costs associated with websites, for example, such as keeping content properly updated, upgrading the site’s features as new technology (such as flash animations) comes into play, and routine, day-today site maintenance.

photo credit: Sirsnapsalot

With out Christmas List to Santa safely in the post, let’s take a look ahead to 2012, with a couple of New Year’s resolutions aimed at ensuring online marketing success over the next 12 months:

Improving your online marketing profile via social media has to be a big component of the New Year – if not the biggest. Get those fan pages up and running on Facebook and your account ready to roll on Twitter, along with messages urging customers to “Like” or “Follow” your brand.

Try to look up customers who were once frequent sights on your email listings but who have gone quiet in 2011. Many may be pleased to hear from you and as long as you are not seen to be pestering them, re-engagement efforts can improve your internet marketing successes.

As with all New Year’s resolutions, too many will cause you to lose your focus and willpower – so just bear these in mind for now, and OMD will keep suggesting other routes to online marketing success during the Christmas period – and beyond!

photo credit: Sean MacEntee

A recent study revealed that the primary online marketing portal for businesses remains their corporate or company website, despite the rise of internet marketing campaigns on social media.

The survey, by tech firm Demandbase and the Focus business network found that only personal referrals and recommendations from satisfied customers trump online marketing initiatives based on company websites when it comes to producing sales. Researchers found that such sites were seven times as effective at generating leads as social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

Furthermore, almost 25 per cent of respondents admitted the most sales leads came from their website, followed by 14 per cent who selected email marketing campaigns. Online advertising came next, and social media scooped only 3 per cent of respondents’ recommendations.

Demandbase chief executive Chris Golec commented: “Despite its increasing influence, it’s important to keep in mind that no business sale is made without the buyer going to the corporate website first.”

photo credit: Asthma Helper

In the last 18 months there has been a huge surge in both the popularity and reach of social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and now Google+. So how do businesses go about marketing a commercial website when everyone is spending all their time on social sites? Some businesses have taken themselves lock, stock and barrel over to Facebook in order to ride this social media wave.

But while social media channels are a perfect source of web traffic because they allow a high level of targeted marketing, a good business website is still an essential part of online marketing. A customer that finds you on Twitter, Facebook and suchlike will invariably expect to find a smart-looking website showcasing your products and services in all their pixelated glory.

SEO is NOT dead, inbound links are still crucial, and on-page SEO can’t be overlooked just because you signed up to every social channel available! Abandoning your website for a social platform may seem savvy in the present social media surge, but remember that ‘your’ Facebook real estate is still owned by someone else.

The key to a successful online marketing campaign is to treat your website as your core online presence, and use social media to promote, sell and communicate with customers. It’s your website and you own it – don’t be afraid to shout it from the heady heights of Twitter Towers and Castle Facebook.