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online Marketing 71
now it’s over 10 per cent. There are two primary reasons for this shift. The first is that mass-media has become less and less effective in conveying a message. People have learned to tune out most advertising; and with TiVo, people can fast-forward through television commercials. The second reason is that more and more people are choosing to access information on their computers rather than their televisions, radios or newspapers. ‘Follow the eyeballs’ is the mantra of the business.
Historically speaking, the reshuffling of advertising dollars from one medium to another is nothing new. In 1950, Procter and Gamble spent 5 per cent of their marketing budget on the then relatively obscure medium of television. Five years later, television advertising accounted for 80 per cent of their total marketing budget. Perhaps history might be repeating itself; in 2008, P&G spent only 2 per cent of their $44 billion marketing budget in the US on online activities.
ONLINE MARKETING STRATEGIC PLANNING
As with any strategic plan, the first step is to define the objective. When it comes to online marketing, there are five possible objectives:
STEP 1: DEFINE THE OBJECTIVE
1. BRanD aWaReness
Initially, branding online consisted of building a website. It’s grown in sophistication since then, and to describe it in detail would fill up the pages of this entire book. The key thing to remember is that online branding is a very different process than in the offline world. Users can only see, hear – and for those who play video games – touch the product. Without taste and smell, branding a physical product is very similar to branding a service. One needs to create content that informs and entertains and convinces someone to act. Developing a strong online presence requires the following:
• High placement rankings with search engines;
• Active monitoring of social media networks;