VirtualMV/Internet and Web/Promotion/Content

Introduction

 * Without effective promotion, your website is unlikely to be seen as often as you would like.
 * As you have invested time and money in the site, promoting it certainly makes sense.
 * The site will not achieve the aims hoped for if the target audiences do not know it is there and are not often reminded of it.
 * The person or people in an organisation who have the responsibility for marketing should develop and help implement a website promotional strategy.

Promotional Strategies
A promotional strategy should address:
 * who is managing the strategy and the decision-making paths
 * promotional techniques (see the next topics in this section of the website for promotional ideas) – for each ask:
 * why deploy this technique?
 * how will it be deployed?
 * who will do it?
 * what is the implementation schedule?
 * what resources are required – people, money and equipment?
 * what are expected benefits – and how will they be measured?


 * risk management strategies – what could go wrong and how you will deal with it
 * the internal communication plan – how the strategy will be explained and sold to everyone in the organisation, its sponsors and supporters
 * its strategic fit with your organisation’s marketing plan
 * the evaluation plan – what processes and criteria will be used to assess the success of the strategy and how any necessary changes will be made.

Promotional Techniques

 * Register with an existing search engine
 * Do it yourself (may be free)
 * Ask someone else to do it
 * Advertising the organisation’s website address in traditional media
 * magazines
 * newsletters
 * posters
 * billboards
 * newspapers
 * television
 * radio programs
 * books

Ensure that the website’s domain name appears, or is mentioned, whenever you have interaction with clients or customers.
 * letterheads, invoices, receipts and envelopes
 * emails
 * business cards
 * packaging, wrappers
 * uniforms
 * signage on buildings, windows, vehicles
 * recorded messages on staff mobiles and the office switchboard number

Other promotional methods you might consider include:
 * issuing press releases about virtual events, additional features on the website or reaching milestones
 * entering Internet awards
 * inviting reviewers to review the site and write it up in magazines and newspapers.