I chose to write my blog on Mobile Advertising and Marketing. This subject hits close to home for me. What I mean is that I live on my phone. I would be lost if I didn’t have my phone, but I hate advertisements that come across on it, but on the same note I absolutely love them. There are several different forms of mobile advertising and marketing. I am familiar with three of these styles.
The first style that comes to mind is commercial advertisement. There are close to 6 billion active mobile subscriptions across the globe (Mobile Advertising and Marketing – 5th Edition, 2011). That is compared to the merely 2 billion internet users. So many of us now days have smart phones, Ipads, notebooks, etc. The one thing each of these has in common is applications (games, music, readings, etc.). One of the greatest things about some of these applications is that you can pay for the applications (they are usually pretty cheap anywhere from $0.99 to $2.99) or you can get the “free” version of the application. The free version is the version I always get. The reason that they are free is because they receive money from companies that advertise with them. There is some sort of ad that appears on your screen every once in awhile. They are usually interactive ads. They consist of a small commercial or print ad and then you can push the screen and it will take you to that company’s website, a place to buy what they are selling, etc.
One of the greatest advantages to using the applications as a company’s way of advertising is that they can be customized. A great example of this would be a company that is selling a book. A great place to advertise this would say be with people that like words, word games, etc. I would say advertise on a game like words with friends.
The second style that I am familiar with is the text message advertisement. I live for these. I actually used two of these text messages this weekend. Both were types of mobile coupons. I have registered my cell phone number with a couple of companies that I use on a regular basis (i.e. JoAnn Etc. and Redbox) Once a week I receive some sort of coupon from JoAnn’s its usually a coupon for a discount on a new item or an advertisement about their new sale/clearance item. Depending on how much I rent out of Redbox that month determines how many coupons I receive the next month and to what extent those coupons are for (anywhere from $0.25 to $1.00).
One of the large advantages to text message advertising is seeing how many people you are reaching with your advertising, as well as who is using it. In other words it’s an easy form of advertising to measure. A lot of the text message advertisements contain some form of discount. That discount has a code on it. The codes are usually distinct to the person to the text. When the person uses it you can then trace the code back to the phone number to see who is using it. You can also track how many of the text messages codes are used in comparison to some of the other discounts/coupons.
The third style is one I find the most innovative and the most interesting. So many of the current phone companies have done aligned themselves with some of the bigger internet names. An example is the Android that has snapped up Google. Any Android phone that is purchased is equipped with the Google aps. This has become a great marketing technique for both the phone and the internet player. So many internet surfers are pro to one search engine or another. I myself am partial to Google and love everything that Google has to offer. When I purchase my smart phone Android had not made the alignment with Google yet. However, the fact that I could easily hop on Google with the touch of a button is one of the many reasons that I went with the Iphone.
There are so many different ways to gather information to make your campaign successful. One of the greatest tools out there for companies to use to determine if internet marketing would be affective for them, where they should advertise, how they should advertise, etc. is the Mobile Advertising and Marketing report. This strategic report provides pages of unique business intelligence and expert commentary on which to base your business decisions (Anonymous, 2010).
In short there are many different forms of mobile advertising and it demand for it is growing more and more each day. Companies need to stay on top of it and take full advantage of it. It definitely gives them a leg up. I’m curious to see to see how much advertisement is mobile versus other forms in the next couple years.
REFRENCES
Mobile advertising and marketing – 5th edition. (2011, Dec 22). PR Newswire, pp. n/a. http://search.proquest.com/docview/912249811?accountid=41205
Research and markets: Mobile advertising and marketing 3rd edition says mobiles will account for 11.7 percent of digital ad spend in 2014. (2010, Feb 19). M2 Presswire, pp. n/a.http://search.proquest.com/docview/444434426?accountid=41205
I chose to write my next blog on search engine marketing (SEM); what do you need to do to be successful, how affective they are, and how fast they are growing. Let’s face it technology is growing. There is not a business out there today that does not have a website (or two). However, what good is a website if no one visits it or can find it.
There are two basic types of search engine marketing. The one form is organic search engine optimization (SEO) which is basically described as the more clicks that you get off the search engine the better your site is considered; therefore, the better position you have on the search engine. Many of the more popular search engine sites today are organic search engines (i.e. Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.)
There is also the paid placement; which is best described as just what you would think; the more you pay the better position you have on the search engine (the closer to the beginning of the list). Most of these ads can also be found on organic sites. However, they are the ones to the left/right/top of the page. They typically have color and are much like a print ad.
SEM/SEO have come increasingly popular in the last couple years due to the increase in traffic on the internet and also the return on investment. It has become one of the easiest ways to track success. It is easier than any other form of marketing. You can track how people are coming to your site. Are they getting there on their own (by just typing in the address) or are they getting there from another site/hyperlink. This allows you to determine which search engine is bring you the most traffic and allows you to place more emphasis and money towards those ads to increase the traffic. It also allows you a better look at what is not working: Why are people not coming to your site? What are the people that are at the top doing different on their sites? What you can you do to improve your site?
One of the greatest things about SEM/SEO is that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out. Obviously there are things that the professionals do that Joe Blow could not, but if you are a small company that is just getting started you can definitely do it yourself. The most important thing to remember is that once you drive people to your website you need to keep them there and you need to keep them coming back. The key is to show the consumer how much you care about making them happy and making their experience/purchase an enjoyable one. Great customer service is key.
There are so many ways to ensure that your website and your search engine marketing is successful beyond paying for an ad, doing it in color, or having flashing lights. One key is to make sure that regardless of what the customer types in your website will pop up. Many companies suggest at least twenty “key words” are listed for your website with the search engine. Take Tide for instant. They would want to make sure if a customer typed in: Bleach, Detergent, Soap, Tide, Laundry, Wash, Clean and so many more that their site would pop up and that they would be close to the top if they did.
It has been proven that SEM/SEO is the most successful when they are run right alongside a print ad or a TV ad. An example of this would be “GODADDY.COM” and their super bowl. They ran a very successful TV ad and it made so many people jump on the web and search for them. They had so much traffic to the point that it shut down several websites, including their own. When you went to Google/Yahoo/etc. you saw ads for their company all over it. You would click right on it and it would bring you right to their site.
Technology is growing rapidly and staying in front of the consumer is becoming more and more difficult. Companies today need to stay up to date and need to spend their marketing dollars in the most profitable way. The internet has become the best way to and one of the only ways to do that successfully. Social media is becoming a huge way to do this, but search engine marketing is definitely still one of the most successful forms of internet marketing.
REFRENCES
Barron, B (n.d). Search Engine Marketing : Lost in cyberspace? Admedia
Roberts, M. L. (2008). Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and Offline Strategies (2nd ed.). Mason, OH: Atomic Dog, a part of Cengage Learning.
Search Engine Marketing 101. (2011) Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 112(2) 20.
FOUR I’S OF INTERNET MARKETING
Internet marketing is a lot like standard print and TV marketing in so many ways. It is so different in so many others also. Internet marketing also has a lot of advantages over those other forms of advertising when they are done right. Internet marketing can be more personal and more involved. Its effectiveness can also be measured greater and easier. In the following you will learn about the four I’s of internet marketing, how they are used, the advantages that they provide, and how they can be measured.
The first I is Interactive. So much of what is online is interactive. What I mean is that the consumer is involved in the advertisement. They need to do something in order to make the experience/advertising work. This can be as simple as a chat room, survey, a game, etc.
If you advertisement is interactive you are making the consumer a part of the process and drawing them in. This is a great way to gather information from you customer. You are getting direct information from the consumer without confrontation. It’s a great way to measure their satisfaction and ways that you can improve to ensure they will continue to be a happy customer. Walmart has been known to send an email after your online purchase asking you questions about your experience. If you answer the questions you are entered for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card.
The second I is Information-driven (gathering of information). Companies can track the actions of their consumer’s clicks on their websites. The information can then be compiled and used to help predicted movements of consumers based on what others have done. It can also be used to help track how consumers are getting to their websites. If one website is bringing them more traffic they can put more effort into the advertisements on that website. It essentially allows for their money to be spent more intelligently.
If they use the information to track their consumer’s actions it can be beneficial to the consumer. It could save them time and/or find things they didn’t know that they wanted/needed if site is able to predict what you are looking for based on previous consumer’s searches and clicks. Best Buy is one company that uses this. When you click to look at an item it shows items along the bottom that they feel you may be interested in based on your search and previous consumers interests and purchases. It’s also a great way to make an “up sale” that you might not make if it had not been right in front of the consumer. Much like the candy and gum racks at checkout lines. This will become more and more important as the competition grows on the internet. Companies will need to stay one click ahead of their consumer.
The third I is Immediate; essentially an answer/satisfaction right away. One of the struggles that on-line companies have had to compete with is immediate satisfaction. You are not going to get product in your hands at the end of the purchase when you are buying things from Target.com. A lot of companies have had to slash prices and offered on-line discounts to help counter act this. However, some companies have been able to corner this, buy offering more information instantly (at just a click) about their products. An example is using interactive chat rooms. These also allow the company to respond immediately to a customer’s questions and concerns. Having an immediate response (no waiting in line, no waiting on the hold) to a concern or a question you can keep from what may have become an unhappy customer to a happy customer.
There are a few companies that use all of these above examples and have also been able to get your purchase in your hand instantly at the time of purchase. That is ticket sale companies (i.e. stub hub). In minutes you can find the event you want, see the tickets that are still available, purchase those tickets, and print off your tickets in the comfort of their own home.
The fourth and final I is Involving. This I brings all of the previous I’s full circle. All of them have the same purpose and that is making the consumer more involved. The purpose of making them more involved is to force them to take an action and making them involved in the purchase. It is a fine line though and depending on how you use it. It could become annoying and back fire on you. One of the things I find most annoying is when you go to website and have something pop up and block everything on the screen that you are trying to look at. It has made me so frustrated to not be able to close some out without clicking to the website that I have gone to other on-line stores for my purchase.
One website that has made the experience involving but yet affective is FANDANGO.com. It has advertisements that run across the top and sides of the website (most of the time movie trailers and/or banners). If it catches your eye and you want to learn more about it you can click on it.
Any advertising/marketing regardless of the venue needs to follow the standard guidelines/rules to be successful. However, if a company can find a way to use all of these (or at least some of them) and use them successfully they can have a largely successful campaign internet marketing campaign. Internet marketing is growing exponentially and grow more and more important as technology increases and the demand for instantaneousness increases. Companies can increase their awareness and remain to be adaptable and reactive with their actions and advertisements.
REFERENCES
Roberts, M. L. (2008). Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and Offline Strategies (2nd ed.). Mason, OH: Atomic Dog, a part of Cengage Learning.
Pinto, J. B. (2012). Internet marketing: Then, now and in the future. Ocular Surgery News, 30(1), 20-20. http://search.proquest.com/docview/921332580?accountid=41205
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