Internet Marketing

Source: http://interactiveonline.com/blog/marketing-yourself-online

Brochure of the Future

heres a quick look at the future of interacting marketing using brochures!!!

Quick Insight IntoTypes of Online Interactive Marketing

Heres a small clip of different types of online interactive marketing....

Evolution or Brand Spankin' New...???

Online interactive marketing is it new, or is it the evolution of change in society?
The way interactive online marketing works carries the same schematics of marketing of the past, only difference is how it is presented....ONLINE!!!

It’s fair to say that the tactics of online marketing are new, but when push comes to shove we (as advertisers) use the internet, email, promotional spotlights, spam, and advertising mainframes on every webpage possible to attract and retain customers attention and pocketbook, the same way the Radio did in the 20s, 30s & 40s; or the TV through the 70’s, 80’s & 90s.

The main purpose of Online Interactive Marketing is the same of any other marketing scheme....ATTRACT AND INFLUENCE THE CUSTOMER....how we do that online is with personality, intelligent catchy adverts and empathy to attract the consumer.

So is online interactive marketing really any different from regular old television marketing ... or has the way marketing presented itself just evolved with the most popular way to attract a customer???

Wondering about the cost?

An interactive marketing campaign can either be designed by your company or by and external company who will do all of the work for you! These external companies each charge their own fees for creating these campaigns.
Despite the difficulty of finding specific costs, the following chart has been provided to demonstrate past, current, and estimated future spending in the US on interactive marketing.

















The creators of this chart found the following information based on the previous chart:
- Interactive Marketing Will Top $61 Billion By 2012
- Search Marketing Will Triple In Five Years
- Display Advertising Steps Into The Light
- Email Marketing Spend Shifts To Services And Integration
- Online Video Ads Perpetuate A Virtuous Cycle Of Growth
- Social Media Will Drive Emerging Channels To $10.6 Billion By 2012
WHAT IT MEANS: All Marketing Will Become Interactive by Then!!!!
(Source: http://blog.nugg.ad/de/2008/04/28/update-market-news-viii/)

Now isn't that neat!!

It's a cycle!

Source: www.pos-results.com/

Are there comparable marketing tools?

So some of you may be wondering if there are comparable marketing tools.
Interactive marketing is a very unique marketing tool used in order for marketer and consumers to communicate back and forth. It is a great way for consumers to spend less time searching for products and spending more time buying!
It is difficult to identify any other marketing tool that does such a fantastic job at creating relationships with consumers. The internet makes it a great deal easier for marketers to build these relationships.
A similar but less effective way is surveys. This allows consumers to give marketers feedback on the service they receive and the types of products that they prefer. Another similar tool is consumers requesting emails and updates from the marketer.
I personally still find interactive marketing to be the best way for marketers to meet consumers needs. But my question to you is: is it ethical for companies to trace our online behaviours so closely?
What do you think?!

Does your company need help with internet marketing? - You're in luck!

6S Marketing Inc. is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. This company has experienced much success in the Internet marketing field.

By reading the company information, it is fully apparent that Internet marketing can lead to the increasing success of a business if done right! 6S Marketing is one of the many companies that can aid your business in the field of Internet marketing.

http://www.6smarketing.com/

Is It Completely Unique?

I think it can be widely agreed upon that there is nothing like the Internet.

There are, however, some similar ways for companies to market themselves as well as the products and/or services that they provide.

Other ways in which a company can market themselves include:

- television advertisements
- magazine, newspaper advertisements
- billboards
- fliers
- brochures
- phone calls, i.e. surveys, follow-up phone calls
- radio
- mail
- surveys distributed through the mail
- celebrity endorsements

Many of these alternative ways in which to market a company have the possibility to reach a huge audience, but the internet has the ability to reach the widest audience. It also allows an interactive component between the business and the consumer to exist. This is truly unique.

How Has Internet Marketing Developed?

Marketing on the Internet is still relatively new; once the Internet was created and people started to use it companies began to utilize it in order to provide information to their customers. The first websites that were created by companies were text websites that did not include any pictures or graphics! The company’s phone number was given on the site and customers could contact the company if they were interested in making a purchase.

The Internet has come a very long way since then! It became a global phenomenon and companies realized they could reach a global audience. Websites started to become increasingly complex. Technology increased and customers were able to start buying products from websites.

A couple of “newer” ways to advertise on the Internet:

Pay Per Click Advertisements are used to benefit both the website publisher as well as the company selling the product.

Affiliate Programs allows a publisher of a website to advertise a company’s product on their website. If a customer purchases this product, the owner of the website receives a percentage of the sale!

Internet Marketing has had an extensive development process. Now companies are able to interact directly with their target market in hopes of meeting their needs in a better, more efficient, and more cost effective way. Through e-mailing, help sites, blogging, etc. companies are able to collect important data that can further its success. Companies are also able to market themselves more effectively through e-mailing, pay per click advertisements, buying a “spot” on google search, ad-banners, websites, etc.

B2B Interactive Marketing

As consumers, any time we spend focused on advertising usually consists of products that are being marketed to us - the Business to Consumer market. There is also, however, a much greater market for selling at the wholesale level - the Business to Business market. The costs of losing a customer from a B2B perspective can potentially mean a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales, depending on the size of the company. To prevent this, creating a similar interactive approach to marketing as B2C marketers have developed can be very beneficial.

From the link below, an article is available outlining the importance and the benefits of taking marketing to an interactive level within the B2B market:

http://www.pixelbridge.com/articles/index.php?p=138

Interested in a new career?

Does this blog leave you wondering how you could build a career with interactive marketing!?
Well you are in luck! Some companies designate positions to Interactive Marketing.
cnib has a position posted online as follows:

JOB TITLE: Associate, Interactive Marketing

TERM: Full-time

SUMMARY:
The Interactive Marketing Associate is primarily responsible for developing interactive online marketing campaigns, thereby leveraging the web and other digital technologies to maximize constituent participation and support the company’s business goals.

The Interactive Marketing Specialist will liaise with both external agencies and internal stakeholders to execute web-related initiatives. Our ideal candidate understands the online conversion funnel, Web 2.0 community, newly emerging technologies, has a deep knowledge of the interactive landscape, and a passion for web analytics.

Responsibilities include planning, implementing and advancing CNIB’s online integrated marketing strategies to deliver our brand promise and support marketing objectives. You will make an immediate impact by improving the online user experience and generate increasing web traffic, online donations, and online sales orders.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Liaise with the team of internal stakeholders in defining and maintaining the integrated marketing calendar and schedule to ensure that all campaigns, and programs are being implemented and executed according to strategy.
• Lead the strategy, concept development and execution of integrated email marketing campaigns and programs in collaboration with external agencies and in-house cross-functional representatives.
• Manage Google AdWord campaigns, including testing and optimization of keyword bids and conversion points. Conduct competitive research and make recommendations on keyword selection. Maintain a database of keywords, categories, and campaigns.
• Work with the Web Team to make recommendations and manage the testing of website changes and enhancements in order to tailor the online brand experience based on segmentation and behaviour. Drive the web content optimization strategy to create landing pages for optimal visitor conversion.
• Manage tracking, testing, data analysis and reporting of campaign strategies and programs and measures the effectiveness of all integrated marketing mediums utilized, benchmarking success and adjusting strategy and tactical implementation as needed on an ongoing basis.
• Report significant findings and key business metrics, including costs, results, and response for campaigns and data sources on a monthly, quarterly, and fiscal basis. Recommend appropriate analyses to create deeper constituent insights.
• Assist with email list growth and cleansing strategies on an ongoing basis.
• Establish self as a functional expert with a solid understanding of best practices, quality objectives, and project needs for online campaigns. Remain current on email industry trends and concepts, registration and privacy practices and standards and competition

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION:

• Bachelor-level degree or relevant diploma in New Media, Marketing, Advertising, Web Design, e-Communications or related field
• 3+ years of web marketing with a solid track record of success in online campaign management, online media and SEO campaigns, social networking and link building
• Some knowledge of HTML and design concepts. Flash/CSS/ASP.NET development experience is an asset
• Experience with common web analytics tools (e.g. Webtrends, Google Analytics)
• Experience writing creative briefs and working with interactive agencies
• Experience with eCRM ASPs such as Convio or Kintera is a definite asset
• Experience with accessibility practices, including W3C standards, is an asset
• Experience with MS Sharepoint CRM is an asset
• Proven online marketing experience. Portfolio with samples of interactive email campaigns should be provided.
• Segmentation and measurement knowledge
• Ability to conduct in-depth data analysis
• Excellent verbal communications skills
• Proven ability to advocate and negotiate (internal & external)
• Strong written communications skills, including copy writing
• Team building skills
• Creative problem-solving skills
• Fundraising knowledge is an asset

SALARY RANGE: Commensurate with experience

http://www.onedegree.ca/2008/08/associate-inter.html


So if you find interactive marketing fun and interesting its possible to translate that fun into a new career!!

Marketing Mix of Online Interactive Marketing: Place

Product placement in a virtual environment requires interactive marketers to carefully observe the click through patterns of purchasers in specific demographics. Pin pointing the more popular 'places' products are being found provides marketers with an indication of where capitalizing their promotional efforts will have the best payoff.

It is the goal of marketers to minimize their costs for maximum market share. Using an interactive marketing approach to the placement of products online reduces the risk of useless, while costly, advertising.

Marketing Mix of Online Interactive Marketing: Product

A product can be defined as the final good that is sold to consumers. Products that were once only ever purchased from a store can now be bought with a few clicks of a mouse.

Monitoring online purchasing trends provides marketers with an idea of the types of products being purchased by different individuals. As explained in the B2B marketing section, once online customers can be identified, or reached, marketing to them becomes much easier. And with possibilities for purchasing almost any product or service online comes the opportunity for marketing to work interactively with consumers based on their spending habits. No matter what product a marketer is trying to advertise, targeting the individuals most likely to purchase it is simplified when past online purchases are being tracked.

Marketing Mix of Online Interactive Marketing: Promotion

Promotion is a means of communication between the seller and buyer. In traditional marketing, promotion has four elements, advertising, public relations, word of month, and point of sale. For online interactive marketing, promotion includes banner promotions, web public relations (WPR), E-leaflets, and having a domain name. First, placing banner advertisements on WebPages in one of the most common form of promotion online. Banner ads have the most effectiveness when they are placed on where the potential consumers to browse. Second, web public relations (WPR) is the approach of prompting product or service by placing articles or news worthy stories on WebPages or review sites for consumers to read. Third, E-leaflet is the least effective promotion. It is the way of promoting product or service via Emails, but most consumers will think these emails are junk emails and only a very small percentage of consumers may reply. Fourth, having a domain name is the most important stage of promoting product online. The most popular websites around the world, such as google.com, yahoo.com and ebay.com, have the recognizable domain names. 

Marketing Mix of Online Interactive Marketing: Price

Price of a product or service is a number, a formula, or an agreement about how much is will cost. For online interactive marketing, pricings is also the most digital of marketing actions. Traditional pricing was about finding original costs and how much consumers are willing to pay, taking account competition pricing then setting the selling price. Pricing on the Internet is very competitive. Many costs, such as salespersons’ salaries and store management costs have disappeared for complete online marketing, placing price pressures on traditional retailers. Moreover, the Internet gives consumers more opportunities to get the best deal. Website such as eBay, Amazing and Kelkoo offer consumers the details of product, and also they helps consumers to dictate price. Consumers can compare the similar product online. Also, payments, such as paypals and credit cards, are very convenience. 

Marketing gone Mobile

There are countless ways of attempting to attract new customers; the real challenge is to create an interaction between business and consumer that helps to develop a loyal relationship. Finding individuals who are interested in being updated on things like upcoming sales, new items, and so on, not only provides this opportunity, it also opens the door to individualizing a company's marketing. When businesses have an adequate amount of information to reach their consumer, combined with knowledge of past purchases, marketing on a more customized level becomes a much easier process.

Marketing to these individuals has become possible through mobile text advertising. Companies such as Remax are already taking advantage of this, forwarding their clients new listings on the real estate market that meet the criteria for their specified house search.

Here is a little clip to show just how it's working:

Breaking News on Internet Marketing!!!

Google has teamed up with media corporation WPP in creating a grant program to help support research on how online media advertising influences consumer behaviour, attitudes, and decision making.

WPP and Google will contribute up to $4.6 million over three years to recipients of the Google and WPP Marketing Research Awards Program.

This research hopes to contribute to more effective and more measureable advertising performance and also hope to benefit from the application of some of the world’s finest research programs into how media influence consumer decisions. In addition to funding already provided, WPP will also make accessible Brandz- which is the annual study of brand perceptions by consumers.

More information about grants and other aspects of this program can be found at http://research.google.com/university/marketingresearchawards/. So go check it out!!

Check it out!

An article has been written on TMCnet about an organization who has won an award related to interactive marketing!

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/10/16/3709001.htm

Why marketing for u(s)?

The name of our blog, "Marketing for u(s)", is based on the number of companies that are now forced to compete for our attention, loyalty, and therefore retention. As the number of companies directed at providing the same products increases, our choices as consumers obviously increases as well.
Therefore, in order for us to remain loyal to a certain company, marketing efforts are becoming more individualized to attract AND keep our attention.

How Does It Work?

So now that we know what interactive marketing is, we need to know how it actually works!

Customers of today are more informed and less susceptible to sales and marketing efforts compared to previous years. Therefore, marketing of today needs to be personable, intelligent, and empathetic. Marketers need to treat their consumers as individuals and make them feel as if they have a personal relationship with the company and its workers. This can lead to customer loyalty – a most sought after commodity of any business.

There are surprisingly countless ways in which a company can participate in interactive marketing! A couple of ways in which interactive marketing can be utilized is through:

- Customer surveys
- Company blogs
- Company websites
- Help sites

A few ways companies can benefit from using interactive marketing include:

- Increased communication which will lead to a higher understanding of each consumer individually
- This higher understanding of the individual develops market research which leads to company adjustments, innovations, and success!

Trends about Internet Marketing

Trends about Internet Marketing

Mobile eCommerce Picks Up Speed (more and more consumers are viewing advertisements on their mobile phone via the internet- for example the Blackberry)

Internet serving as test bed for T.V: New shows are more and more showing their pilots of new sitcoms on the web to easily and cost efficiently, check the reaction of target fans.

Social Networking Goes Mobile: Gaming on mobile devices are becoming more frequent. And new technology is allowing interactive gaming between friends via the web on their cell phone

Voice Communication: will allow consumers to search the web using their voice (you'll pay in order to save yourself lots of thumb typing on your cell phone or regular typing on your desktop or laptop.) Which could in turn making internet use faster and more productive
Video Phone Calls Over the Internet: isn’t it fun to see the person your talking to?? That’s why this idea is taking on followers over the last couple of years… how is this possible?? Simply by cheap bandwidth and media-savvy younger demographics that are into social networking sites.

Internet Media Pricing Affects Offline Media Pricing: More and more business’s are turning to online advertising- for example job advertising via Craigslist- that they can track whether or not their ads are working?- Smart? Of course… Why pay for print advertisements in the yellowpages if you don’t know if their working when you can track your ad’s by “pay per click??”

What's the point?

Some of you may be wondering why internet marketers choose to use interactive marketing.

Simply put, interactive marketing allows marketers to efficiently support its customers which will in turn create a more loyal and engaged consumer base. In other words, it prompts interaction between marketer and consumer, while building a relationship.
By using interactive marketing over the internet (as it can be done over many different medians), marketers have a much broader reach, makes the business more discoverable, and can quickly distribute information to consumers.

Overall, interactive marketing is a fantastic way for marketers to provide customers with information more pertinent to each individual, creating a long term relationship.

The Circumstances Under Online Interactive Marketing

Online interactive marketing has many benefits for both marketers and consumers. There are some circumstances under online interactive marketing.

First, the sufficient technological situations are the most important under online interactive marketing. The organization should have the technologies of web site design, virtual information management, blog operation and so on. Also, the organization should use security technologies and methods to guard against unauthorized access, alteration, or dissemination of personally identifiable information during transfer and storage.

Second, the respectable financial situation is another considerable circumstance. The organization should have purchase good electronic facilities, such as a high technology CPU, DSP, GPU and so on. The organization also should purchase some software to operate online marketing, such as a firewall, systems software, programming software and so on. The organization should pay higher salaries to the talents.

Third, the organizations should have the ability of devising a code, which provides guidelines for conduct in online interactive marketing, such as disclosure of all substantial risks associated with a product or service, and avoidance of false or misleading advertising.

The Results of Online Interactive Marketing

In our modern society, online interactive marketing is getting more focused. Online interactive marketing is proving that interactive marketing is successful and beneficial to both marketers and consumers. The following are some facts on online interactive marketing:

· Online interactive marketing has had profound effects on the marketing industry. Activities such as downloading music, corporate blogging, and checking a bank account balance online, seem like second nature.

· Online interactive marketing offers more options to consumers. It solves the time and location issues. For example, Amorzation.com and eBay are now allowing people who live in areas of the country that marketer do not target to find products on the internet that they would not have been exposed to otherwise.

· Online interactive marketing creates brand awareness and increases loyalties of customers. It provides for wide converge and affects for better envisioning for potential customers how the product can be used and what the actual benefits are.

· Online interactive marketing increases the level of audience engagement and brings significant results. The audience interacts with the content displayed. It helps them to get better purchasing decision-making process.

· Online interactive marketing builds good relationship marketing through a way of providing much more personal caring than traditional marketing. Customers are demanding more in their expectations of how they are serviced and which levels of service they receive. So, the more personal caring, the more competitive advantage, and also the more customers.

This type of marketing offers more opportunities of consumption to customers, and it helps them to do better decision-making process. It increases the productivity and customers’ loyalty for the marketers.

B2C Interactive Marketing

Interactive marketing has only been a recent, but rapidly growing, endeavor. Companies like amazon, as mentioned before, have introduced a new and more beneficial way of targeting their customers that provide a big competitive advantage. Eventually, a more individualized approach of attracting customers will become a standard tool in marketing. There are however, already some great examples of how interactive marketing can benefit us as customers:

1. iTunes provides customers with the option of downloading songs for $0.99 per song. After songs have been downloaded by an individual, itunes is able to select similar songs to recommend for the next purchase based on patterns of other downloaders. It's easier to justify spending a dollar to listen to unfamiliar artists than making a cd purchase at a store. The included suggestions for similar songs also save time that might have been spent looking for new music, whether online, or at a store.
2. Air Canada has also developed their marketing to reflect their interaction with customers. A frequent flyer to the same destination, for instance, will be informed via email if an inexpensive flight is coming up.
   
3. Amazon cannot be left out of the equation. Because reading is not nearly as popular as it once was, few (if any) critiques are available on new authors and books. Amazon saves the trouble of seeking out this information by recommending a selection of books that would likely be enjoyed based on previous purchase knowledge.
   

The use of interactive marketing has benefited both companies and customers. Business to Customer (B2C) relationships have developed this reciprocal relationship because it simply makes sense. If a company wants to market products to those consumers likely to purchase them, interactive marketing provides the opportunity to do so. Customers are updated on products they are actually interested in, and in doing so, a more loyal relationship is developed between the them and the companies willing to take the time to market at a more individualized level.

What is interactive marketing?

What is interactive marketing, anyway?

According to Wikipedia:

The definition of interactive marketing comes from John Deighton at Harvard, who says interactive marketing is the ability to address the customer, remember what the customer says and address the customer again in a way that illustrates that we remember what the customer has told us (Deighton 1996).

Two-way interaction is what makes interactive marketing stand out, and what makes it so effective. Traditional marketing techniques focus primarily on pushing information out to potential customers. The problem with this is that the information consumers are receiving isn't quite what they want to see. Interactive marketing is a game-changer, both for marketers and consumers. It enables marketers to turn their marketing efforts into a true conversation, which thereby helps keep customers engaged and help ensure that companies will get the maximum return on their marketing dollars. For consumers, interactive marketing is a plus because it allows them to find out exactly what they want to know about products and services that interest them.

Amazon is a good example of a company that truly understands interactive marketing. Amazon recommends books and other items to them based on their purchases history. So, for example, if a customer has purchased several science fiction books, Amazon will recommend others in the same genre. This helps both parties. The customer may be exposed to some great books that they would really enjoy, and would not have heard about otherwise. For Amazon, directing their marketing in this way ensures that they are directing specific, relevant information at their customers instead of just advertising random books and hoping the customer will like them enough to purchase one. Look for a further analysis of analysis in a future post!

So, to sum it up: interactive marketing is all about keeping consumers engaged by obtaining some information from them, and then using this information to provide them with a customized message that is tailored to their wants and needs.