Throughout the ages as technology improved and evolved, new forms of marketing developed. The radio made the way for audio ads, jingles, and other catchy forms of advertisement that still are transmitted by radio stations to this day. When television was developed, commercials were able to put into practice the basic design elements that made print ads to appealing, and thus there were many new ways to market a product. As the internet became a standard source of information for most people, there emerged from the recesses of marketing the painful advertisements that the late ‘90s internet will be famous for the flashing banners, the flash banners with sounds and animation, and most dreadfully the popup.
However, the internet has now become a medium of constant communication, rather than static webpages. Web 2.0 is among us, with the ability to allow companies to market their products through word of mouth and virally. Or, consumers can spread negative reviews and feedback and utterly crush the debut of a product this effect is visible in many recent movie’s opening week profit. Consumers attend the movie, their phone in hand with the ability to post short messages that could be seen by anyone with access to a computer; and of course, consumers do. This can be positive, such as the social media influenza that struck when Cloverfield was first released in early 2008. Within hours of the movie’s first airings it had become the trending topic on Twitter, and the subject of many Facebook status updates. It was a massive success, and it owed most of its fame to online word of mouth.
The key to successful marketing through social media networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube is to create a sense of community. Members of these sites enjoy following or subscribing to those other members who they think have interesting or unique content they then become a community of members who love a product, and who spread news of the product by links to friends, co workers, and anyone they think might enjoy it. This is how viral marketing succeeds and gains notability, and becomes almost an internet fad. Most advertisements that go viral, whether intended to do so or not, tend to be things such as funny videos, interactive flash games, or even just a memorable image or text.
However, for every company that successfully runs a marketing program through social media, there are ten who merely fill users’ screen with what they perceive as spam that should be ignored and deleted, rather than an interesting message that should be spread. This is mainly because their attempts at marketing were very impersonal, and sounded as consumers expect advertisements to sound like fake, cheesy, and attempts to shove products that they would never want at them. It may also fail because the target demographic isn’t properly aimed Twitter, for example, falls mainly in the 25 34 age demographic, while Facebook has much more of a teen audience, as does Youtube.
Eye catching, not obtrusive should be the basis for any form of online advertisement. In the early days, animated banner ads were mildly annoying but occasionally useful. Then entered the animated flash ads, that expanded across a user’s screen and were accompanied by sound and music. Not only were these far too obtrusive, they also led to banner advertisements being viewed solely as a hindrance, and many users went so far as to block them. Even text advertising, such as on Twitter, should be sure to be pleasing to look at so this means no capslock, and proper capitalization where needed. Many companies think that adopting less formal typing methods would allow them to integrate themselves with the consumers better however, this just makes those users who type slightly better dislike your brand. This dislike is then spread by word of mouth, negating any benefit the marketing attempt produced.
Internet marketing isn’t an impossible form to master, despite it being new and not as well documented as other traditional forms. It can be extremely beneficial in spreading information on your brand, as well as generating customer familiarity much more so than traditional television or print advertising. It’s a form that can generate customer responses that spread like wildfire, and are remembered as part of the internet’s culture. After all, technology is changing don’t let yourself and your company fall behind.
Author Resource:
Trond is an experienced Internet Entrepreneur. He is an expert in the Make Money Online industry and has written several books about search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing. Visit his blog at http://www.moneyonline.net and look out for his new e-book at http://www.mesterweb.no
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