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Copyright © 2008
Christian Fea
Web based marketing strategies are based on the trends set by traditional broadcast advertising tools: commercials, radio spots, billboards and print advertising. These mediums are effective but broad ranging, which can be a bonus or a setback. These traditional modes are akin to having a newspaper boy stand on a corner yelling "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" to sell the morning newspaper to passersby. This type of advertising will certainly reach more people than if the gentleman stood there in silence, but this form of marketing does not differentiate between potential clients: it uses the same technique to reach all customers.
The same is true for other traditional advertising and marketing techniques. Billboards have the capacity to reach tens of thousands of people, but only if they happen to look up and notice the sign as they walk or drive by. Print advertising is slightly more specialized because the customer has already expressed an interest in the potential subject matter that will be advertised by purchasing the specific magazine or newspaper. Ads in each print venue generally appeal to a wide target audience previously identified as interested in the subject matter of the specific magazine or newspaper in question. We all know this instinctively: a maker of women's anti-aging wrinkle cream is less likely to run an ad in GQ than they are in Vogue, and a maker of men's shaving cream is less likely to run its ad in Vogue than it is in GQ. Personalized marketing just isn't possible in such a high volume domain.
Personalizing your advertising online
The benefit of Internet advertising is that it excels at one to one communication. You are able to reach a much more specialized audience than has ever been possible with traditional forms of advertising. You can drive traffic to your site by advertising in several different ways, at a fraction of the cost of one television, radio, or print advertisement.
The Internet has its own form of broadcasting, which can occupy several different strategies. Web based advertising allows you to reach small, targeted groups of people, or even one person at a time, that are already likely to have an interest in your product.
Targeting your niche customer
There are many ways of targeting specific individual groups of people, without significant overhead cost. Placing ads on a website that has a similar client base to your product is a very effective marketing tool. With this strategy, the burden of identifying a client base is alleviated, and the owner of the web site does the work of identifying clients in the arena where you place ads. In a sense, you piggyback on the market research that this website has done, and they gain revenue from your advertising—so it is an even exchange that benefits both parties.
Direct email is a tool that allows you to market to individuals - much like direct mail does in the traditional marketing scheme. This is a more aggressive tactic that reaches a client in a more personal way, and it is accessible to the client on his own terms. A direct email can be read and browsed when a client has time and chooses to do so, whereas a traditional print ad will be forgotten as soon as the magazine or newspaper is put aside.
Creating a personalized marketing strategy is what distinguishes Internet advertising from traditional marketing techniques. Web based advertising is a revolutionary way to reach individuals, if you know how to us it.
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A strategic Collaboration Marketing consulting firm. He empowers business owners to discover and implement Integration, Alliance, and Joint Venture marketing tactics to solve specific business challenges. He demonstrates how to create your own Collaboration Marketing Strategy to increase your sales, conversation rates, and repeat business.
Contact: christian@christianfea.com
http://www.christianfea.com
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