5 Killer Article Marketing Strategies For Your Business
Posted by Karen Neal on Wed, Jun 01, 2011
As businesses compete for online followers and customers, finding the article marketing strategy that fits your company's image is essential. Article marketing is a proven technique to bring followers to your website. But does your article marketing strategy bring the RIGHT followers to your business?
The important consideration for your company is “who do you 
want to attract?” If you develop a “profile” or “demographic” of the ideal customers for your business, you can use the right technique to attract that prospect. Each article marketing strategy can be applied to a business, and attracts certain types of readers.
1. Print article marketing – This is the oldest form of article marketing and has been used by businesses for decades. By writing articles for newspapers and trade magazines about the business products or services, the company can get free advertising while also educating the audience. This attracts very traditional readers who may not be online savvy.
2. Internet article directories – With the proliferation of the web came several sites that post a variety of articles. Businesses could publish articles on these sites where readers can sift through large amounts of content. As search engine optimization technologies grew, articles became more SEO centric so that readers can find articles that apply to their search needs. Using article directories posts to a large audience, so businesses could get a large number of viewers with no predetermined profiles.
3. Niche websites – Another technique is for the business to post articles to niche websites that specialize in the company’s industry. Trade sites are very popular for other businesses to make announcements of new products or services and to share thoughts on industry issues and trends. For businesses that want to focus in a particular industry group, utilizing a niche website would be greatly beneficial.
4. Guest blogger – By participating in blogs specific to your customer demographics, you can subtly encourage blog readers to visit your website while giving sound reputable advice on the topics. This requires some personalized work and dedicated resources to respond to thread questions. But the online relationships built through blogging provide a unique level of loyalty with your readers.
5. Social media – Even businesses now have Facebook pages that link to the business website. Through the use of Facebook and other social media avenues, a business can orchestrate campaigns to large audiences, and then gain prospects from those who “like” the page. Some businesses have even used Twitter in a similar manner, tweeting coupon or promotion links and on-the-spot notices about business offerings. Social media can provide both specific demographic targets as well as mass broadcast capabilities.
Regardless of the article marketing strategy used, it is important to keep the basic article writing techniques in mind – stay focused on the target audience and subject, use SEO at all times, keep the article informative, entertaining, and authentic. With the right strategy, online business opportunities can grow significantly!