Forms of online marketing

Introduction

For the last 25 years we have seen growth in the number of people who are able to access internet and digital platforms. People are now able to literally do anything with their computers at their comfort. They can simply to things like booking travel tickets, research or even online shopping. With the development of social media in the 2000s, consumers became highly dependent on digital devices in their daily lives.

The internet gave businesses and companies an option to advertise on a larger scale. This is through online marketing both directly and indirectly. Online marketing is a form of marketing that uses the internet and other online based digital technologies such as mobile phones and computers to promote products and services. In this article we will explore different forms of online marketing that businesses use to advertise their products by increasing consumer awareness.

Forms of online marketing

For online advertising to be successful, you must set goals, set realistic strategies that will promote consumer awareness on your products or services. For that reason, there are different types of online marketing strategies that businesses use to scale up consumer awareness. We will evaluate each one of them as each have its own benefits suitable for various businesses under different conditions.

1. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing involves the use of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to raise the profile of the business. It aims at scaling up consumer awareness about the existence of the business. It also uses advertising customers that do individual posts on their social networks in order to reach a certain target group. Social media marketing helps the businesses reach target groups that are far from their reach.

2. Search engine marketing (SEA)

Search engine marketing involves the adoption of natural website optimization to promote your business’s website on search engine results page. SEA aims at giving your business the highest possible ranking. With your business being ranked high, consumers searching for businesses offering services same as yours are likely to settle with you as their choice.

3. Email marketing

Email marketing involves regular sending of newsletters to existing customers or potential new customers by e- mail. Regular e- mails helps to remind customers of company news or special actions hence binding them to the company. This method suits your businesses as it involves

Low marketing cost and gives also increase customer loyalty. However, you should only send good designed e- mails with useful information as too many e- mails can be annoying.

4. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves the integration of an external website that post banners and links on their online shops to advertise your company’s products and services. An agreement is signed between the website operator and the business where you pay agreed commission on the period of switched advertisement. Affiliate marketing is very cost effective.

5. Banner Advertising

Banner marketing involves the use of graphic designed banners that you display on social media pages, search engines as advertising material. It aims at reaching the far end consumer. However, it leads to great wastage of content as you have to keep on posting.

6. Content Marketing

Content marketing involves making your brand or products better known by distributing high- quality images, texts or video forms on online platforms. It’s closely related to story telling.

7. Referral marketing

Referral marketing involves increasing brand awareness through recommendations by using social networks.

8. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is similar to referral marketing as it involves recommendations but in this case it uses influential people such as well- known bloggers or celebrities.

9. Performance Marketing

Performance marketing is based on success optimization as it aims at continuously generating more sales using analyses and often programs that are based on machine learning.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the choice of online marketing will always place your business and brand at a place of influence. Online marketing is developing continuously on websites. It’s therefore important for you to consider any of these methods or even combine two to improve your business. No matter the size of your business it will enable you to connect to relevant customers for less.