| GBR Web Bits |
|
Expand Your Online
Advertising Horizons By Peter Koeppel Many of today's savviest advertisers
are now allocating more and more of their advertising budgets towards the
Internet. Companies like Ford and Samsung are leading the way. In fact,
online advertising will reach about nine billion dollars this year. And the
online advertising market is growing at a rate of twenty-nine percent, which
is far outpacing the growth of other advertising forms. One factor contributing to this growth
is the rising popularity and accessibility of high-speed Internet.
Making the Internet more convenient to use, these faster connections used to
be available only in limited areas of the country. Now half of American
households have broadband Internet connections, and they spend
approximately fourteen percent of their media time online. The Internet offers advertisers many
unique opportunities to target users. Advertisers can target their messages
more effectively, communicate on a more personal level, and measure
responses with great accuracy. But as with any type of advertising, you must
purchase and place Internet advertising effectively. If you want to shift your advertising
efforts to include online media, use the following tips to plan an effective
strategy. Know Your Target The first step for any advertising plan
is identifying your target audience. Then you develop a campaign strategy
that will efficiently reach your target and attain an acceptable return on
investment. But when dealing with Internet advertising, this may be more
difficult than it seems. The nature of the online medium fosters
a convergence with other mediums. Over half the people online are also
watching television simultaneously. And fifteen to forty percent of people who
purchase a product from a direct response television commercial or
infomercial are making the purchase online rather than calling a toll-free number.
So television and Internet are converging in a number of ways.
Broadband connections even allow advertisers to deliver television commercials to
consumers online. People tend to go back and forth
between the two mediums, which expands your advertising horizons. Therefore,
advertisers should develop strategies to integrate television advertising with
Internet advertising to maximize their response and results. But this requires
insight into your target audience's online habits. Some of the more sophisticated
advertisers who make media buys on the Internet use a technology called
behavior targeting, which allows them to see which sites someone came from and
which ads they clicked on. This anonymous information allows
advertisers to customize their message to various site visitors, depending on
what types of ads they click on. Consider Your Options Many types of online advertising and
marketing services exist, such as pop-up or pop-under ads; banner ads;
rich media ads, which include flash ads, interstitials (a page inserted in
the normal flow of content between a user and the site), and superstitials
(a page that loads behind an active web site, meaning the user doesn't see
the ad until it's totally downloaded and ready to run); streaming audio
video; skyscraper ads; rollover ads that expand as your mouse runs across them;
e-mail sponsorship ads; newsletter and e-zine ad sponsorships; advertorial
placements; search engine optimization; and affiliate programs where one web
site promotes another web site's products in exchange for a commission
and transactions are tracked through unique codes. Each of these options
offers advertisers unique advantages for reaching their target audience. A huge demand for Internet advertising
on the major net portals, such as CNN, Yahoo, MSN, etc., exists. This
demand has actually caused a shortage of time slots. As a result, companies who
are interested in running their ads or commercials online should consider
doing so on their own web sites. Recent technology enables anyone who
comes to your site to view your commercial regardless of what type of
browser they have. So when a person goes to your site, the commercial
automatically starts playing. The complexity of all these online
advertising options requires that you work with an ad agency that has a
thorough knowledge of the medium. An experienced online agency can help you
decide what Internet options are most cost-effective and effective for your
company. Incorporate Online Advertising into
Your Budget Any company can advertise on the
Internet; you can even sell business to business products and services online.
If you currently advertise in television, radio, or print and you'd
like to move into the Internet, try allocating five to twelve percent of
your budget towards online advertising. However, not all online advertising is
inexpensive. Some big brand advertisers pay $300,000 to be on
popular web sites for a day, which is equivalent to what you would spend for
a thirty second primetime television spot on a major broadcast network. But
Internet advertising, especially on the big sites, is very valuable. Some companies put all their
advertising online because they find it most efficient for generating leads or new
business. But sometimes the quality of the online leads you're generating need
to be qualified, since the Internet attracts a wide range of prospects. Online advertisers like the measurable
results they get from the Internet. Results are typically measured using
some kind of tracking system. And typical means of measurement are cost
per click, cost per impression, cost per acquisition, or cost per sale. This
information allows an advertiser to see the effectiveness of their ads in
more concrete terms than with television or print. Taking Your Business Online Many companies are interested in moving
their advertising campaigns online because this medium is very precise and
the results are measurable. Plus, you can tell it works from the number
of big brand advertisers who have recently taken their campaigns on the
net. But the online medium is also very complicated. You have to
understand your target audience's browsing habits so you can effectively reach
them. And to put together an effective Internet advertising campaign, you
really have to understand how to use the different options. A savvy media buyer
can help you navigate through your world of online advertising
possibilities. When you use these tips to develop an
Internet advertising strategy for your company, you can keep in touch with the
huge number of people who are spending more and more time online, and
ensure you stay ahead of your competition. About the Author Peter Koeppel is Founder and President
of Koeppel Direct, a leader in direct response television media buying,
marketing, campaign management and creative strategies. With over 20 years
of marketing and advertising experience, Peter has helped Fortune
500 companies, small businesses and entrepreneurs develop marketing
campaigns to increase profits. Peter
is a Wharton MBA and improved the media
buying strategies and advertising for clients such as The Hair Club for Men,
Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, Ben Hogan Golf, H.J. Heinz and DIRECTV.
For more information on his work, please visit: www.koeppeldirect.com or
call: 972-732-6110. |
|
|
