about internet marketing

The method of promoting goods, brands, and services through the internet is referred to as internet marketing. It entails using web ads and digital campaigns to enter a larger market. It is also known as internet marketing in other ways. It encompasses a wide range of operations, including internet, email, and e-commerce advertisements. The method entails establishing electronic consumer relationships through promotional activities conducted through wireless media. It incorporates the innovative and strategic aspects of the World Wide Web to plan, create, and execute sales campaigns at different stages of the customer interaction period. This essay analyzes the concept of internet marketing by highlighting the techniques, strategies, and advantages involved with its use.

Strategies

Below are some of the strategies that may be used in internet marketing.

Affiliate Marketing

This refers to a marketing technique where a business agrees to pay blogs, e-commerce sites or online retailers for each visitor or sale that is made by the websites (Roberts & Zahay, 2012).

Display Advertising

Involves the practice of displaying advertisement banners on other blogs and websites for the purpose of increasing product awareness and boosting traffic for business content (Hanson & Kalyanam, 2007).

Email Marketing

It refers to a marketing process that makes use of promotional efforts that are geared towards reaching out to current and prospective customers via email.

Inbound Marketing

This strategy involves the process of sharing free valuable content to the target market as a means of sensitizing them to become loyal customers. This can be achieved by creating a business blog.

Social Media Marketing

In this strategy, a website is promoted over the internet through social networks such as Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ among others.

Search Engine Marketing

This marketing technique promotes a business through paid advertisements that appear on search engine result pages (Charlesworth, 2009). It involves contextual advertisement, paid placement, search engine optimization or paid inclusion.

Search Engine Optimization

Refers to the process of improving the visibility of a website or webpage in a search engine through unpaid process (Mohammed, Jaworski, & Paddison, 2003). This technique promotes content on SERPs through link building, social media marketing, keyword search and placement.

Importance

Wider Reach

Internet marketing promotes growth and maximization of revenue by enabling a business to overcome barriers of distance (Chaffey et al., 2009). Goods can be sold without establishing outlets and retail stores in different geographical regions. The target market can also be widened by setting up an export business that does not require a chain of distributors across different countries.

Low Costs

The cost of promoting a business through internet marketing is much lower as compared to the traditional methods. Some of the online advertising techniques that are used are completely free and have proven to be time-saving. The business will spend less time finding customers and transacting with them. The costs associated with renting and maintaining physical stores in addition to hiring employees are not incurred. Moreover, stock does not have to be purchased for display in a store. It just has to be kept in line with demand so that the goods are available once an order is made.

Personalization

Through internet marketing, an online retailer can personalize products and offers based on the profile and purchasing history of a particular client (Hanson & Kalyanam, 2007). This can be done by tracking the product information which is displayed in websites visited by potential prospects. The information obtained can be used to make offers that are tailored to meet their needs. It can also be used to design and develop cross-selling campaigns that would increase revenue.

Relationships

Internet marketing provides businesses with a platform where they can build relationships with clients by increasing loyalty and retention levels (Chaffey et al., 2009). This is usually done after the first transaction with a customer. The online retailer sends an email to the client for confirming their transaction and thanking them for their purchase. A relationship can only be maintained if clients receive special emails that have been customized and personalized to meet their needs. The platform also gives customers a chance to provide feedback and product reviews in forums. These practices make the customers to feel as if they are a valuable part of a wider community.

Social media

Online businesses are able to take advantage of social media’s growing significance. In the contemporary society, many individuals have directly engaged in social media platforms for recreational and communication purposes. The growth and expansion of an online business has a direct link with social networking. Online businesses that incorporate the social marketing strategy experience a significant growth in the revenue generated from sales. Consumers from all spheres of life can be targeted through online marketing.

Internet marketing serves as a vital tool in the business arena. It enables an enterprise to reach out to a wider target market, specifically the millions of people who are connected over the internet worldwide. The associated marketing strategies are used to boost sales and expand business operations. The emergence of technology in the corporate world has changed the scope of doing business in many parts of the world. An effective strategy ensures growth maximization and gives a business a competitive advantage over other players in the market.

References

Charlesworth, A. (2009). Internet marketing: a practical approach. Routledge.

Chaffey, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F., Mayer, R., & Johnston, K. (2009). Internet marketing: strategy, implementation and practice. Pearson Education.

Hanson, W., & Kalyanam, K. (2007). Principles of Internet marketing. South-Western College Publishing.

Mohammed, R., Fisher, R. J., Jaworski, B. J., & Paddison, G. (2003). Internet marketing: Building advantage in a networked economy. McGraw-Hill, Inc..

Roberts, M. L., & Zahay, D. L. (2012). Internet marketing: Integrating online and offline strategies. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.