Internet Advertising That Clicks

According to Pew Internet, 71% of adults use the Internet. That statistic probably isn’t surprising to you. But how are you capturing the attention of those adults? Obviously, not all web users are shopping for your services; however, web advertising is an effective tool to reach the ones who are.

Spending on online advertising in the U.S. – as a percentage of total media advertising spending – is expected to increase from 6.6% in 2007 to 11.3% by 2011. If you are employing some type of Internet advertising, either on trade media or industry-related websites, are you sure your ads are as effective as they could be? Most importantly, do you how to make your ads even better?

Skyscraper ads (a.k.a. sidebar ads) are recommended because they receive two to three times more clicks than banner ads. Skyscraper ads are vertical so users continue to see them as they scroll down a page. In addition, the ads do not interrupt users like pop ups, pop unders or rollovers. How many times have you gone to your favorite website to have an ad pop up over the screen? This can be annoying, and often times, you accidentally click on the ad, inadvertently driving up that ad’s click-through rate.

Here are a few more tips that we found to help make Internet ads more effective:
  • Ads with rich media or video. Their click-through rates are actually more than five times higher than standard-sized banner ads. While rich media ads do not match the click-through performance of pop ups, they do garner better conversion rates.
  • Ads that use video or animation. Online video ads are up to four times more impactful than other online formats, with the majority of viewers watching over 70% of the content provided. According to eMarketer, spending on online video advertising is expected to grow from $775 million in 2006 to $2.9 billion in 2010.
  • Video content. Viewers are more than five times more engaged with video content with which they can interact.
  • TV ads versus online ads. When comparing the same ads on TV and the Internet, online ads beat TV ads in boosting brand awareness and purchase intent.
By following these few simple tips, your Internet advertising is sure to click right along.

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Are You Talking to Me?

Research shows that the world’s largest market segment (women) insists that more than 80% of marketers don’t know, or understand, how to reach them.

This proclamation extends far beyond the confines of the household. Consider that the majority of purchasing agents and managers in corporate America are women, and over half of new business start ups are women as well. What marketers must realize is that women customers tend to be more demanding and more discerning than their male counterparts, and females tend not to buy as early in the sales cycle. (Patience is a virtue.) The great news is that once you win their business, women are more loyal to the brands they choose and are also more inclined to offer more referrals. What this means for you is that women are measurably more profitable per marketing dollar.

So, what should you keep in mind as you create your marketing campaign and formulate your messaging? Here are a few pointers:
  1. Don’t focus on product features. Focus on ease of use, warranties and customer support instead.
  2. Men buy, women shop. So, don’t make a long story short – offer details that matter to them.
  3. Use first-person and second-person language.
  4. Organize your marketing message by life stages, not age.
  5. Men purchase to make others envious, while women purchase because they can relate to other purchasers.
  6. Don’t focus on the end product. Focus on how people use the product.
Consider the quintessential, classic example of male and female buying behaviors: The decision a couple makes to purchase a car. The husband wants to know 0 to 60 stats, horsepower and how the engine sounds as it winds up to 7,000 RPM. Women want to know that they can easily fit up to three car seats in the back seat, that the volume controls are on the steering wheel and that a small tissue box can fit in the console. Qualifiers to purchase? Radically different!

Don’t miss out on capturing this largest and most profitable market segment.

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What's Hot in Online Marketing

The latest form of word-of-mouth advertising isn’t said, it’s read. Social networking websites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com are one of the newest marketing trends, drawing millions of dollars in annual investment. It's no surprise that savvy marketers are snatching every opportunity to get their online advertisements posted on these popular peer chat sites. eMarketer.com reports that marketers spent approximately $920 million on social networking sites in the United States in 2007, with $1.6 billion projected for 2008. This phenomenon could also increase on a global scale, from $1.2 billion in 2007 to $2.2 billion in 2008.

Because social networking is so popular, some companies are creating their own online communities accessible from their home pages. This increases traffic on the websites, has the potential to add sales and allows companies to monitor more closely what is being said about them. For instance, more banks are implementing this as a way to help small business owners network with other owners.

Programs are also being created to help marketers understand, monitor and interpret what is being said on the Internet. The washingtonpost.com reported on May 26, 2007, that a sports marketing company in Charlotte, North Carolina, created Buzz Manager, which is a "web-based research tool [that tracks] relevant chatter on behalf of [its] client[s]." One of the biggest clients and most avid users of Buzz Manager is NASCAR®. Information is gathered from sports blogs, message boards, podcasts and social networking websites about drivers, sponors and the league. It’s then "analyzed for content and impact" and rated. "With one glance, driver[s] can tell if [they're] connecting with fans on a given day or in a given week and, if so, whether fans like what [they] represent or don't." This is important for NASCAR because it depends heavily on sponsorship, and new opportunities are being created because of the sport's increasing popularity and fan following. It's not unheard of to spend from $15 million to $20 million a year to sponsor a front-running NASCAR team. Sponsors, who "want and expect a return on their investment," welcome Buzz Manager to help them determine if advertising and sponsorship dollars are being spent wisely. If sponsors want a return on their investment, they "have to know what's resonating with fans and what isn't."

Google Analytics is another online resource for companies. Google Analytics helps companies learn more about visitors to their websites and how the visitors are using the sites. Based on this information, marketers can enhance their advertising efforts, create stronger marketing campaigns and improve their websites.

Interested in learning more? Seroka can assist you in establishing or strengthening an online presence, creating a more effective website, increasing awareness about your company and building a stronger brand image.

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Elements of a Successful Viral Marketing Strategy

Let's even out the playing field first. As you are likely aware, viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence.

We know viral marketing works. We read about it all the time and frequently hear about its overwhelming success. But a recent study by Jupiter Research suggests that only 15% of viral campaigns are successful. The culprit? Poor content. So, how do you create a viral marketing message that works? Start by reviewing some recent statistics on elements that promote email sharing, as well as tips for a successful strategy.

If you decide to conduct a viral marketing campaign, a successful strategy should contain as many of the following elements as possible to gain the most powerful results:
  1. Give away products or services.
  2. Provide for effortless transfer to others.
  3. Scale easily from small to very large.
  4. Exploit common motivations and behaviors.
  5. Utilize existing communication networks.
  6. Take advantage of the resources of others.
Let's take a closer look at each.

1. Give away products or services.
"Free" is the most powerful word in a marketer's vocabulary. Most viral marketing programs give away valuable products or services to attract attention. "Cheap" or "inexpensive" may generate a wave of interest, but "free" will usually do it much faster. Viral marketers practice delayed gratification. They may not profit today or tomorrow, but they know they will profit if they can generate a groundswell of interest from something free.

2. Provide for effortless transfer to others.
The medium that carries your marketing message must be easy to transfer and replicate: Graphic, email, website or software download. Viral marketing works on the Internet because instant communication has become so easy and inexpensive. As for the marketing message, short is best. Consider the classic message, "Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com." The message is compelling, compressed and copied at the bottom of every free email message.

3. Scale easily from small to very large.
What does this mean? Take a look at the weakness of the Hotmail model alluded to in #2 – that a free email service requires its own mail servers to transmit the messages. If the strategy becomes a huge success, mail servers must be added very quickly. If the virus multiplies and kills the host, nothing is accomplished. So be sure to plan ahead.

4. Exploit common motivations and behaviors.
Clever viral marketing plans take advantage of common human motivations – the desire to be cool, greed, popularity, feeling loved or being understood. Design a marketing strategy that builds on common motivations and behaviors for its transmission, and you will have a winner.

5. Utilize existing communication networks.
Most people are social, and social scientists report that each person has a network of eight to 12 people among family, friends and associates. The broader network can consist of scores of people, depending on position, job function, etc. People on the Internet social scene have friends too. They collect email addresses and favorite website URLs. Learn to place your marketing message into existing communications among various people, and you rapidly multiply the message's dispersion.

6. Take advantage of the resources of others.
The most creative viral marketing plans use resources of others to spread the word. Affiliate programs, for example, place text or graphic links on other websites. A news release can be picked up by periodicals and can form the basis of articles seen by hundreds of thousands of readers. Now someone else's newsprint or website is relaying your marketing message. Someone else's resources, not yours, are depleted.

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