BY Adam Fridman

Getting an audience in the Internet door can block out the next and more important question - now what?

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Many companies spend countless hours and dollars scheming ways to get people to their websites. Marketing campaigns, public relations, SEO, direct advertising, promotions, social media, online ads and websites themselves can suck companies--especially startups--dry.

But they're essential because if you're not online, you're not real and what's the point in being online if no one is going to where you are?

At the same time, the right focus on getting an audience in the Internet door can block out the next and more important question--now what? Now that you've gotten a click and someone is actually on your site, what do you do?

Here are four tips on what to do once you get people to your site.

Be different. For heaven's sake, make your landing page memorable. One of the worst things you can do is get someone to your site and have it look ordinary or indistinguishable from your competitors. Go for the "wow."

Think of it like this--you're spending time to get the invitations just right, you'd better not skimp on decorations.

Engage. There are thousands of ways to do this. The best is hire a good web designer and push them to be creative. Be bold. Use innovative colors and graphic images or animation. Try the latest web gadgets. Some, like Parallax, look pretty cool. Don't just decorate your space, plan and invest in things for your visitors to do. Asking them to flip through a virtual catalogue of your product offerings or read a blog is not the way to go.

Video content works. So do podcasts and audio clips. But don't just read what's on screen--go shorter, more creative or more in-depth. Howard Bennett, owner of Vamoose Tattoo Removal posts videos to their frequently asked questions and blog page to answer commonly asked questions in their industry. As a result, they saw a major uptick in website engagement and ultimately visitors at their Tattoo Removal Center.

There are also services like Jebbit which specialize in boosting post-click engagement through brand interaction and rewards (that's coming next)--keeping your audience on your site longer.

Some companies are going even further, like GoodPeople, a marketplace of hand-selected outdoor and action sports brands. Co-Founder, Mike Elberts, says "It's not enough to just offer great products. You need to help tell the story behind the products and give people the tools to engage with each other and to discover new things. That's why we see ourselves as a social marketplace with content as our engine."

Incentivize and reward. It's tough out there. If they found you, reward them.

You can do this with cat videos, office webcams or jokes. Most anything will work. But make their visit worth their time; don't let them leave thinking, what was the point of that?

If you're a retail company, offer an online discount. Post things online that your audience won't find anywhere else--not just discounts but different products. And new ideas. Making your online visitors feel as though they are part of an exclusive community helps too. And it's a great way to...

In 2014, Liquor Barn, an online liquor store began an initiative to grow their Facebook page following so they can later interact with fans. To incentivize website visitors to "like" the page, they offered 5% discounts from a customer's total purchase. As a result, they saw an increase in over four thousand Facebook fans in just five short months.

Capture. Finally, don't spend all that time and effort getting them in the door, entertaining and educating them and let them leave without getting their name and number.

If you can, don't simply offer a newsletter signup. No one wants more newsletters. Your audience doesn't read them so they're becoming a bad marketing investment. Instead, link your capturing tool to your engagement and incentives. Give more discounts, member points, notify them when a new cat video passes 5,000 views or a CEO in their industry is interviewed--whatever it is. But like everything else, make it engaging and customizable.

The bottom line is don't do half your online job--have a plan for what to do when your Internet marketing campaign works.

What do you think? Is this something you can benefit from or do you have a few tricks up your sleeve that are just as powerful? Make your voice heard by leaving a comment below. Don’t forget to hit the share button if you know others who will find this post useful.

I.C. Collins ~ Author, Educator, Trainer and President: Has One Simple Goal: Improve a Million Automotive Sales Consultants Lives with our ebook "How to Succeed in the Automotive Sales Industry"

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