A blog is like an online opinion column where the author writes about a topic he or she has specialized knowledge about.  It’s generally written by one person and it’s understood that a blog is that person’s own point-of-view.   Blogs are one of the best ways to reach your customers because they contain lots of information.  People like reading them because they take an informal tone while at the same time provide useful information and advice.  What’s even better, blogs tend to rank well on the search engines which improves your SEO and boosts your rankings.  Blogs become an entrance point to your website and are a great gateway for introducing visitors to your company.

2.       Videos

People love watching videos.  If you need proof, just take a look at YouTube.  Millions of viewers watch millions of videos every day.  Videos are a great way for people to learn and a great way for you to attract potential customers to your site.

To use video for lead generation, the first thing you need to do is make a video.  Make your video something instructional that provides useful information to your clients.  The trick with these videos is to make it “useful, but incomplete.”  That way, people feel like they’re learning something, but they still don’t have quite enough information to do it themselves.  The next step in this process is to direct your customers to your website where they will find more informational articles or videos along with information about the product or service you offer.

3.       Quizzes

Quizzes are a fun way to get customers interested in what you have to offer.  To use this technique, create a quiz centered around your product or service.  Make it interactive and relative to your customers.  For example a weight loss company might create a quiz about the nutritional value of certain foods.  After the quiz has been completed, provide advice and information related to the topics covered and make suggestions for how that person can improve.

4.       Forums

Making use of forums in your industry is an excellent way to stay connected with your customer base, to scope out the competition and to generate leads.  Find a popular forum within your industry and create an account.  Right away, join in the discussion, making comments wherever you have something useful to say.  Once in a while (but not too often because people will start to think you’re spamming and you’ll lose credibility) comment about one of your own products and services and link to your website.  Make sure your comments are relevant to the discussion and not just there to give yourself some traffic.

5.       Articles

Writing articles and creating article writing campaigns is a great way to connect with people from all over.  Use a distribution site to send out your articles and they will get picked up by bloggers and article writers all over.  Make sure to include a short bio about yourself at the end of the article and a link to your website.   This way, when readers are finished with the article, they can visit your site for more information and to look at your products and services.

6.       Social Marketing

Social marketing is all the buzz these days.  If you want to get in on the action, choose two or three sites you want to get involved with and then make your presence known.  Before making your decision, be sure to check out the demographics of each site so as to ensure that you are reaching your target audience.  Once you’ve decided on your sites, create a page for yourself and fill it with content related to your business.  Update it regularly with useful content related to your industry and relevant links.  Don’t always direct people to your own website; be sure to include links to other sources as well.  This way you’ll gain credibility and people won’t see you as abusing the system.

Interruption advertising worked for a long time, especially for large corporations.   Now, however, the game has changed.  And the internet had a major role in this change.   People no longer respond to interruption in the same way they used to.  In the olden days you could run a commercial on TV and viewers would race to the store to buy your product.  Now, interruption advertising is so commonplace that viewers have found defenses against all the unwanted interruptions.  The result is that this form of advertising just doesn’t work anymore.

Just like television commercials and print ads are losing their effectiveness, so are most forms of advertising online.  Banners, skyscraper ads and flash videos don’t capture people’s attention these days and actually have the opposite effect of annoying people.

Nowadays, advertising needs to be much more subtle.  It’s no longer about shocking people into paying attention.  Rather, it’s about providing useful and relevant information that is going to solve some kind of problem.  This is not direct advertising.  In fact, it’s a very indirect form of adverting.   Instead of telling people what they need, it’s about building relationships with people and gaining trust.

Effective online advertising includes the following components:

• Article writing campaigns- articles should provide information that is relevant to your business and useful to your customers.  “How-to” articles work well along with articles that give expert advice.    An important point to keep in mind about these articles: Do not sell.  This isn’t the time or the place for selling.  No one wants to read a 500-word sales pitch.  Focus on adding value and helping people.  It will build trust.

• Blogs- blogging has become one of the most effective and important tools for advertising online.  A blog is like an online opinion column and has an informal tone.  Basically, it’s one person sharing what they know with the world.  They generally should not contain any sales pitches, except for once in a while when something special and exciting is coming to the market.  One major advantage of blogs is that they tend to rank well on the search engines.  This helps customers find your site and boosts your SEO.

• Google AdWords- these four line advertisements are becoming one of the most popular and effective ways to promote your product.  They only appear when someone searches for one of your keyword terms so ads are targeted.  When people are looking to buy something, they appreciate getting a targeted ad that helps them find what they’re looking for.  When using AdWords, it’s important to test your ads to make sure they’re effective.  Run two ads simultaneously to find out which one pulls in the best results.  Then, improve upon it and run it again alongside your improved ad.  Working this way will help you achieve optimum results.