Adding value to your business on the web....

However good your product or service may be, on the web you are competing globally for visitors who are increasingly brand loyal to a very small number of megasites (think amazon, tesco, BBC etc). If you don't want to sell on price how can you use the web to your advantage? In this month's feature article we explore some ways to make better use of the web for niche marketing.

1. Stop thinking about 'web sites'
Whilst they tick the box as a business must have, a web site isn't all the web can offer to businesses. Increasingly the internet is home to online software, blogs, viral marketing, podcasts, virtual work spaces and social networking environments. Don't worry if these terms mean nothing to you as yet, the point is that whilst they form part of a 'web site' they are no longer limited to pages of 'information' published by a site owner. This provides opportunity to engage with your potential customers and users in a variety of new and different ways that have never before been possible, all you need to think about now is what you what to achieve.

2. Define what you want to achieve
It's amazing the number of clients we meet who skip this step. We're talking in simple business terms, what are you wanting a web site to do for your business - Do you want more direct sales? more efficiency? to re-enforce your brand values? promote retailers and stockists? raise your profile? - different tools solve different problems so whilst it's easy to follow the herd and get a web site just like everyone has, that'll also mean you are competing with web sites just like everyone else has. So how do you set yours apart from the rest?

3. Clearly define your online niche or Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Again a commonly missed step in the process, and importantly this may need to be more niche than your 'off-line' proposition, However with a limited budget and time, it's much easier to do one thing really well, than taking on the world... and doing it badly. Search engines love specialists as they look to place the 'most relevant' at the top of their lists, so unless your are Amazon or Tescos and can really deliver 'everything' it's best to start focussed and become broader, as it will focus your marketing effort on one clearly defined market.

4. What do you own? - Information, information, information.
The internet is now many peoples' first choice for researching anything and everything. As a smaller business, and especially if you want to avoid becoming a 'discount' outlet, your subject knowledge and ability to help people is your greatest asset. This may not be apparent straight away, but ultimately if it's your business you will have the specific knowledge that others may need, so sharing some of this for free will allow you to become the 'authority' within your niche. The more specific and relevant your information is, the more likely users will become a loyal to your brand, and search engines will list your business above others. But how do you turn knowledge into traffic and business?

5. Put your knowledge to work
The aim of the game is to make sure you are seen as the most relevant and highest profile resource on the web, after all that's who search engines want to put top of their lists. So, back to the new breed of web tools mentioned above, future articles will cover these in more depth, but for now follow the links to read more about each.

* Blogs - This is essentially a web page you update yourself regularly like an online journal or diary, and most importantly that others can comment on publicly This may seem torture on a stick if you hate writing, but once you realise that it's not about perfection - it's about sharing knowledge and ideas, anyone can do it. The aim is to provide content that others can link to. relevant links to your site show search engines that you are better than other sites, after all people won't link to irrelevant or poor quality content.

* Community and social networking - This covers everything from simply answering questions on existing forums and message boards right through to offering your users the ability to contribute and interact with others on your site. Also online web tools like myspace, facebook, flickr, bt tradespace etc are highly relevant (and free) ways to promote your business and brand to specific audiences, but again you need to know what you want to achieve to get the best out of them.

* Pod and Vod casts - These are Audio (podcast) and Video (vodcast) recordings that are delivered and automatically downloaded by subscribers (generally for free). Obviously they must be interesting and engaging, but also a great way to show that you are the expert in your field. Brand loyalty built up through producing regular podcasts is significant, as users get the next episode delivered to them, you are doing the hard work, they simply listen and enjoy whilst being immersed in your brand.

* Viral marketing - A bit of a buzzword at the moment, but it basically means any marketing activity that is spread from person to person (like a virus) usually through people forwarding links or emails. It can be highly cost effective if executed correctly, with successful campaigns generating many millions of page views from around the world. However this method of marketing needs to fit your brand values and be brave enough to capture audience imagination, so not for the faint hearted.

6. Finally - Think laterally
The web is now as competitive as anywhere else, perhaps even more so as the geographic boundaries are removed. If you are to be noticed you have relatively few choices - be the best, be the cheapest or target a small geographic area, and hope that users will 'buy local'. All of these are legitimate ways to succeed, but all take some planing and effort. The good news is that many of the ideas above can be achieved with the tightest of budgets (and a bit of time) providing you think laterally and don't follow the herd. The web offers opportunity to do business in a very 'different' way. Whilst a traditional web site will do, there is still huge potential for those who want to go beyond and do things differently.

Text by Leo White Creative Director Hydrant - a full service creative consultancy based in Cumbria.