ONLINE MARKETING. Benefits. A cost-effective way to talk to millions of customers

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1 ONLINE MARKETING A cost-effective way to talk to millions of customers 67% of UK adults now go online to both research and purchase goods and services*. And with more online shoppers than any other major country**, Internet use among UK consumers is only set to rise. Talking to these millions of potential customers about your business is simple thanks to online marketing. And as all the results are measurable, you can maximise your ROI gaining a lot of exposure for a relatively low cost. Find out more about online marketing at lloydsbank.com/godigital. *Research from the Office of National Statistics. **According to Ofcom Research. Benefits Broaden your reach. Gain valuable insight. Target specific customer groups. Save money. Be environmentally friendly. Reduce your dependence on advertising agencies.

2 SHOW MORE PEOPLE WHAT YOUR BUSINESS HAS TO OFFER WITH ONLINE MARKETING Broaden your reach and exposure With online marketing you can target a larger audience and create more interest in your company, helping boost sales or donations through your website. Gain valuable insight You can measure the results of online marketing campaigns with far greater accuracy than many traditional marketing channels by using the analytics tools provided by many online advertising platforms, such as Facebook Insights and Google Analytics. Target specific customer groups Direct your company s message to specific markets in a way that isn t possible through print or TV advertising. Save money and be more environmentally friendly Using will reduce the amount of paper you need to run your company. Target people who are searching particular words or phrases in search engines. Consult our guide on Improving Search Engine Ranking for more information. Target potential customers in your specific geographic location, using location-based marketing tools like Foursquare for Business and Google Apps for Business. Target by demographics (i.e. age, interests, etc.) through social media advertising platforms, such as Facebook Ads. Save money with free or cost-effective online marketing Social media and the potential for viral marketing, where people share messages from your brand with their friends for free, makes it possible to gain a lot of exposure for relatively low costs. Unlike many traditional marketing channels, such as print or TV advertising, it s possible to create and manage digital marketing efforts yourself, using your own in-house resource, helping to reduce your dependence on advertising agencies.

3 How to do it Select relevant online advertising channels Review the various online advertising platforms available and register for those that will be useful for your company. The different channels will influence the type of creative media you need. Popular types of online advertising include: Pay-per-click (PPC) adverts where you pay a specified amount each time someone clicks on your advert. Examples include: BingAds, Google Adwords. Cost-per-action (CPA) adverts where you pay a specified amount each time someone clicks on your advert and then completes a certain action. Display advertisements visual adverts that usually appear as a banner or sidebar image on related websites that your potential customers visit. Social media advertisements which appear to individuals in your target demographic on social media websites, such as Facebook Ads and promoted Tweets. Affiliate advertising where you pay other websites a commission on any sales of your products/services that are made via their website. Create or buy media Use your own in-house resource or commission the work through graphic designers, copywriters, web developers or full-service digital marketing agencies. Optimise for search engines Ensure you also maximise free marketing opportunities such as creating and maintaining quality, relevant content on your site. If your website content has words or phrases that customers are looking for, a search engine like Bing, Google or Yahoo will be more likely to prioritise it in search results. For more information, see our guide on Improving Search Engine Ranking. Select relevant online advertising channels In addition to paying for social media advertising, use your company s social media profiles for subtle brand promotion: Participate in conversations with your customers and supporters by using hashtags on Twitter, such as the Follow Friday hashtag, #FF, which allows users to promote each other. Gain more followers and engage your existing audience with exclusive offers, competitions and giveaways. Boost your reputation by using social media to provide excellent customer service. Consult our guide on social media for more information. Market your organisation via Keep your target customers updated on your latest products/offers and drive traffic directly to your site by sending out s on a routine basis. Sending can be automated by using a third-party marketing service, such as Constant Contact or MailChimp. Find out more now at lloydsbank.com/godigital

4 Case study Tools UK SW Established in 1989, Tools UK SW was acquired by business partners Jeff Hill and Keith Latham in Thanks to their extensive careers in the retail and tool industry, both Jeff and Keith had a wealth of experience in the field and were keen to run their own retail and wholesale business. Stocking a wide range of tools, towing accessories, winches and hardware, the business has developed a strong reputation across the South West. It now supplies products nationally to companies and individuals through its three websites: Towbars-UK, Discount-Tools-UK and Winches-UK. As a result of doing business online, Tools UK SW has seen a number of benefits, including: Nearly 70% of sales coming through its websites. Increased brand awareness. Expansion into new markets. Jeff Hill commented on how important doing business online has been for his company: We ve had some feedback on the websites from clients across the country and we ve seen a big increase in the awareness of our brand, which is particularly important given our main competitors are major national organisations. Going digital has really allowed us to create a multi-channel plan for growth and since we launched, we have really noticed the benefits. Today, around two thirds of our overall sales come from our websites, which just goes to show the importance of clever and targeted digital strategy. Lloyds Bank is a GO ON UK founder, the UK s Digital Skills Alliance. Together we aim to make the UK more digitally capable by: Investing in digital skills. Building a national programme of action. Inspiring innovative solutions to help the 10.8 million adults not currently online. Together with other Go ON UK founder partners, we are committed to encouraging and supporting organisations and individuals to understand the benefits of using the internet. Useful links Marketing: Promoting your business using promoting-your-business-using Online advertising: online-advertising Location-based marketing: location-based-marketing Please note that these are just examples of the types of analytical tools and social media advertising/marketing platforms available and Lloyds Banking Group does not endorse the services they provide. While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information in this guide is correct, no liability is accepted by Lloyds Bank for any loss or damage caused to any person relying on any statement or omission in this business guide. This guide is provided for information only and should not be relied on as offering advice for any set of circumstances and specific advice should always be sought in each instance. When using these services your agreement will be with the relevant third party and their terms and conditions will apply. Lloyds Bank shall not be responsible or liable to you for any failure by the third party to provide these services in relation to use by the third party of any confidential information supplied to them by you.

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