What is an
average internet browser looking for online? I’am sure, if God walked into the
reality of an online marketer, this would be the query he would be peppered
with. Such is the varied online habits of the mostly 15-35 year old demographic
that targeted marketing appears mostly a messy confusion than an exact science.
People’s taste varies with every new development of the ‘social’ kind and
allegiance changes as quickly as it is created.
Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn are the new social
media hubs- online gatherings where people flock to in large numbers with
varied intentions- being social, being personal, all business or simply to play
animated games. While an earlier generation would have ventured outside to meet
friends, scanned the newspaper stands for their daily fix of information and
World news, played snooker and hung out at smoky taverns or flirted through the
means of scented letters and eye-grabbing attire, the latest fad is to do all
this online. Everything that is available in the real-world as a service,
product or facility is now available online through the magic of e-commerce.
The latest avatars of this innovation are the deals sites, the B2B and B2C
sites, role-play portals as well as dedicated gaming websites. In a recent poll
conducted by a popular Men’s magazine, more than 60% of the people who polled
would rather spend an idle Saturday online rather than hanging about in the
real world. As Bob Dylan sang, ‘Times they are a changing’.
In terms of
businesses however, this is a welcome development. Marketing is all about
targeting your audience with messages that appeal to them- the bigger the
subjected audience, the better it is in terms of promotional effect and costs
saved. Previously, an average marketer would find it hard to capture his chunk
of interested, like minded audience, however thanks to the present trend of
online social groups, dedicated websites pertaining to specific causes, email
marketing and the ease at which opinions can be mass circulated over the
internet, people with similar interests often flock together and actively advertise
their presence. Online marketing has emerged as a major promotional tool and is
often a more preferred scenario for companies who can afford to advertise big
with a limited budget. Can you imagine a future when conventional business promotion is a thing of the past? If
not, it’s about time you watched ‘Minority Report’ again.
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