Learn the Basics of Internet Marketing to Boost Productivity
What is Internet Marketing?
Internet marketing is now often called so many other names –web marketing, e-marketing, i-marketing, online marketing, digital marketing and the like. However, in simple and plain language, it can be defined as the marketing of a product or service that a business or person offers through the use of the world-wide web or internet.
Why is internet marketing a big advantage to many businesses?
With internet marketing, all types of businesses have enjoyed the lower costs of advertisements and information dissemination. The internet’s interactive nature has always benefited business marketing through instant responses and its ability to elicit them in the fastest way thats possible. Furthermore, internet marketing has tied together creativity in all aspects, technicality, product developments, advertisements and sales. Now as a beginner in this world of internet marketing, you will be responsible for tasks of bringing in potential clients by providing them the company or the service that suits their preferences or needs in various internet venues. You will help those customers find the product that they are looking for.
The objectives or targets are the people who have computers with internet access. Entrepreneurs such as you can visit your online store anytime. Consumers can also do the same whenever or however they want. The future of the world-wide web is so bright with its projected online consumer traffic reaching almost 60%. Of these over 80% of these customers are shopping online. So if you have resolved to make it successful for you, you may now just find yourself enjoying the benefits of having an online business that will give you more profits in the long run.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an online practice in which a business rewards an affiliate for the customers or visitors brought in by his marketing efforts. The rewards are either cash or gifts (gift cards) and are given for either a site referral or an offer completion. In this process, there are four players – the network, merchant, customer and publisher. Recently, this market has grown to be quite complex with the secondary players (like affiliate management agencies), super-affiliates and third party vendors (specialized). It works by simply using an affiliate’s website to drive traffic to the merchant’s own site or to allow some visitors to be forwarded to the merchant’s web page.
This is how it works – you need to have a web page that contains the link that directs your users or visitors to the main page or to the online store of the merchant. When one of your site’s visitors clicks on that link and purchases something from whichever merchant’s website, you will get a commission or a referral fee. Hence you are the one driving traffic to your merchant’s website through your own web page. The merchant will now pay you whenever a visitor from your site buys something or signs up for something on the site.
E-Mail Marketing
This is one of the most cost-effective and efficient methods of internet marketing that promotes your business. In order to execute a successful and effective e-mail campaign, you need the correct information to achieve your desired results.
E-mail marketing is a widely used direct marketing method that makes use of e-mails to communicate a commercial message to your target market. It is the process of sending messages to previous or current customers in order to encourage them to do business with you again. This in turn enhances your business relationship with them. E-mail marketing is also a technique used to acquire new clients and convince your current customers to buy something at once or as soon as possible.
There are numerous advantages in using this type of internet marketing. For one, almost all internet users have an e-mail account that they check regularly.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is basically the process of marketing your business through social media portals such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. This allows for businesses to have a more dynamic and personal interaction and a much more permanent connection with their clients and potential customers.
Strategies in social media marketing can be as simple as maintaining of a blog, a Twitter of Facebook account or attaching “tweet this” icons to the end of your ads or articles. It can also be as complex as having a full campaign that includes social networking, blogging, tweeting and spreading viral videos.
As marketing is the process of informing consumers what your main business is, who you are and what your products are; social media further helps in introducing your business to a larger global network of possible customers.
The use of the social media to prove a business’ identity and also to create business relationships with people, who do not have the chance be aware of your products and services, is a highly recommended option in internet marketing. Moreover, it is a pathway that can be accessed by anyone who has an internet connection, and is an inexpensive way to implement your marketing strategies and business campaigns.
