Internet Marketing textbook.pdf - Vula

Introduction to internet marketingCHAPTER 1a trending topic (one of the most-mentioned topics) on Twitter for several daysafterwards. In the end, the movie far eclipsed its humble $30 million budget andbecame a worldwide phenomenon. See a detailed analysis and all of the videoshere: digital-marketeer.com/2009/06/24/district-9-movie-experience-viral-andonline-strategy.4. Internet marketing todayThroughout its history, the internet has reinvented itself many times – andthe changes are far from over. The current web is dominated by socialising,cooperation, sharing and personal entertainment. It is a space both for work andplay – an essential tool for virtually every business and the go-to repository forall forms of media culture products. People of all ages are spending more andmore time online, and are turning to the internet for better services, convenienceand life-enhancing tools: just consider how people use online shopping, onlinebanking, web communities that cross all boundaries, instant news and updates,social networks and chat, self-expression and any of the dozens of other thingsthat the web makes possible. 2010 was the first year where online advertisingspend overtook the amount of money spent on newspaper advertising in theUSA. It was the same year that online readership overtook traditional newspaperreadership, which illustrates just how large an impact the internet has had on themarketing and advertising industry.4.1 Global trendsThe internet marketing field hasn’t stood still. Here are some of the current trends:• Social media marketing. Whether it is a fad or here to stay, social media hasmade an indelible mark on the web landscape and, concurrently, on marketingtactics. Social media marketing involves using peer recommendations, sharing,building brand personality and addressing the market as a heterogeneousgroup of individuals. It also uniquely encourages customers to create contentand buzz around a product themselves.• Viral marketing. This form of marketing involves the exponential spread of amarketing message by online word of mouth (sometimes referred to a “wordof mouse”). A major component of viral communication is the meme – amessage that spreads virally and embeds itself in the collective consciousness(“Don’t touch me on my studio” is a recent South African example). Viralmarketing is closely tied to social media, since social media platforms andtheir sharing functionality are the main way that a message is able to “goviral” online. Keep in mind, however, that viral marketing does not make aholistic online marketing campaign and should be just one of many tools usedto create awareness and encourage interaction.• Brand as product. More than ever before, brands are creating personas andidentities around themselves rather than the products they sell. The onlinespace allows customers to interact and converse with the brand personallyand directly.10GetSmarter Internet Marketing textbook