Why internet marketing is more important than ever?
In these tough financial times, where the current economic climate is dictating how businesses are performing or not performing, marketing and brand awareness is more important than ever. Valuable revenue is being lost where SMEs fail to recognise the need of gaining a strong online presence. David Bryan – Managing Director of a successful West Midlands Web Design and Internet Marketing company states “many businesses are in danger of being left behind and missing out on valuable new business if they fail to embrace the power of search engine and social media technologies”. David successfully runs Opace Technology Solutions and he says that “many local firms throughout the Midlands can significantly improve their business profits as well as generate new business if they present themselves online and incorporate social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn into their marketing strategies. Even having a blog on the main company website can be great for business. It is time for companies to stop bccing their entire database and connect with the real world”. David also points out that in 2011 there will be some large changes to the way search engines rank websites and he expects to see many company websites either re-launched or re-vamped as they try to get to grips with creating fresh and interesting content for their online marketing: “Getting presence online does not mean having to spend huge amounts of money. By simply following some basic search engine optimisation techniques and taking full advantage of social media, you can secure new business cost effectively”. The problem is that many SMEs are oblivious to just how much impact internet marketing can have on the success or failure of their business. Many businesses are under the illusion that merely having a business website is enough. Another common misperception is that we as consumers still look for businesses in the yellow pages and newspapers. Although this is partially true, the large majority of us are now using search engines like Google. While many businesses are still spending time on traditional sales and marketing, they are failing to realise that they also need to invest time and effort into marketing strategies that utilise the internet. Social media sites are not just for kids and the under 25’s. Facebook has accumulated over 500 million users, with a high percentage of this figure being businesses that are now using Facebook Pages to promote their brand online. Research also shows that Twitter is the top social media platform for Fortune 100 companies, with over 50 percent of these companies having a Twitter presence. Of the companies only using one social network, over 70 percent of them just use Twitter. By selecting and utilising social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn correctly, it can do wonders for businesses of all sizes. Despite this fact, companies still seem to be pretty dismissive of social media marketing. What they are overlooking is the fact that they act as free advertising and can prove to be a successful method of building brand authority and communicating with the masses. David reinforces this by saying how many of his own customers have also had this perception initially: “Much like the idea that Facebook is for kids, Twitter is also often ignored by businesses because they don’t understand it. Many have the image of tweets being about someone reading a book or waiting for a train. However, promoting company blogs via Twitter, interacting with your customers and keeping them informed about new products, services and company news can help to win new business and customers, as well as repeat business from existing customers. Plus it can help boost the website’s presence in search results. It’s not all about who is following which celebrity”.
Opace Technology Solution’s success stories?
Opace Technology Solutions have worked with a wide range of clients, from small one man bands to large international companies, helping them to grow, deliver more sales and succeed using the internet. Opace have had 100% success rate with their clients and in several recent examples, Opace have helped their customers to achieve more than a 50 times return on investment, in less than 12 months. Two key examples can be seen below: A local driving instructor, who was previously struggling to find new students was desperately looking for some marketing assistance. Opace delivered the client a basic content managed website with search engine optimisation. The client is now no. 1 in Google for the major keywords in their location and they are attracting on average 50 website visits per day and 20 enquiries per week. This might not sound like a lot, but out of these, about 10 will become new students. Over a 12 month period the client’s business had transformed so much that they operating with 4 new driving instructors and covering the whole of the West Midlands area. The client said the following about Opace: “Since starting search engine optimisation my website about four months ago, my enquiries have gone through the roof. I have now had to advertise for new driving instructors to join my team. I will be looking to expand my business and web site to cover the whole of the UK in the not too distant future – thanks to Opace”. Another example is a cosmetics retailer. When they approached Opace in 2010, they had an Ebay account and a very basic website which wasn’t generating any sales. In just over 12 months, Opace had developed them two new e-commerce websites which were generating nearly 1,000 visits per day, internationally. This was mainly through a mixture of search engine optimisation, blogging, social media and newsletter marketing. Due to the quality of their products and low pricing, a large number of these visits turn into sales, making this Opace’s greatest success story to date. This is what the client said about Opace: “A pleasure to work with this professional, diligent and courteous company. Prior to working with another web design company I had spent a lot of money and many wasted months getting my website launched. Then Opace came along and within one month my website was designed as I wanted, with all training, and technical needs catered for. In addition, Opace created a professional newsletter which together with SEO has led to a continuous rise in visits to the website with a direct increase in sales. Without hesitation all my future web design and SEO requirements will be going through Opace”.
Background to Opace Technology Solutions
Before establishing Opace Technology Solutions, David worked within some of the leading business and technology consultancies as a senior IT consultant and technology architect. His role included working across a number of government change projects including the NHS, HMRC, Police and Ministry of Justice. Whilst on these projects, David recognised the need for an IT consultancy which specialised in delivering goal-orientated technology and internet marketing solutions. David says: “Goal-orientation is the key to the services we offer. I don’t believe in jumping straight into a solution or design, so for me the internet is simply a tool, which if used properly can help a business to succeed and achieve a measurable return on investment. But they first need to have a clearly defined vision and goals”. Since starting the business in only 2009, David has built Opace Technology Solutions into a very successful company that offers a wide range of services including creative branding and design, web development, e-commerce and internet marketing through search engine optimisation, social media and video marketing. What’s more impressive is that the reason for the rapid growth is due to the fact that more than 80 percent of Opace’s own clients have come to them through the use of SEO, blogging and social media marketing. Opace current consists of a team of 11 specialists and a number of key strategic partners. The team are always available to provide advice, support and assistance to any business, whether they are a new start-up looking to grow or an already established enterprise looking for new ways to market their products and services.
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