Solavei

 

While researching internet advertising trends and new directions, I came across a few pages mentioning Solavei and whether it was a good decision. I wanted to get some opinions from others if any are using this service and how they feel about it.

 

So what is Solavei you ask. Well, it is simply a cell phone provider that offers unlimited talk text and data for $49 per month. Built on the backbone of the T-Mobile 4G network, they offer one of the least expensive plans available. That's good you are thinking, but what is the catch? Well they do no marketing and expect you, the consumer, to advertise for them. Well that makes sense, right? You would want to share a good deal with your family and friends anyway. It gets better still. Did I forget to mention that they compensate you for how many friends and family members sign up with you? So you can actually make money by using this service and telling others to use it as well. Pay your cell phone bill or your mortgage depending on how many people you have sign up.

 

I am usually very skeptical about too good offers, but I haven't heard a lot of negative feedback about this offer. I would think quality, customer service, and information protection might be sacrificed, but I haven't read much regarding these issues. This is the link to the website if anyone is interested: http://www.solavei.com/. Let me know what you think and if you or anyone you know has had experience with this company or maybe another company using similar marketing strategies.

World's Largest Professional Network: LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the social network of business professionals. Allows access to more than 150 million members, it can be an extremely important and effective advertising opportunity when used correctly. According to LinkedIn, as of September 30, 2012, it operates the world's largest professional network on the Internet with more than 187 million members in over 200 countries and territories.

The demographics and targeting options of advertising on a social network are powerful and a key difference of other Pay Per Click advertising outlets. It's those differences that get people excited, but often times they seem to be the reason why people give up too quickly on them. A mind shift has to occur no matter which paid search outlet you use so you can understand your options, adapt your targeting, and achieve your goals. LinkedIn Ads are painfully easy to get started using and it's one of the smoothest systems for quickly getting you going. That said, that ease could easily lead to missteps and result in your campaigns not running effectively. So when you sit down to do this, take your time!

My husband is a construction contractor that has been using LinkedIn for a long time. LinkedIn help him to promote more his business on the market. As a powerful player on the business scene, it demands to be acknowledged, respected, and integrated into any successful marketing strategy. Successfully he integrated LinkedIn into his business by creating a quality profile. So, what are you waiting for!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linkedin

How internet advertising is impacting all other forms of advertisement.

Some TV networks have been focusing their attention on shows that they can produce on a low budget, due to the fact that TV Advertising is weak right now. Networks are also pushing Pay-TV, which would then create less viewership. Many networks are providing streaming over the net to attract more users as well as gain from internet advertising revenue.

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research provided some statistics on how companies that use exhibiting plan to adjust their advertisements over the next several years. “The report found that 64% of companies that use exhibiting as a primary tactic plan will continue to exhibit at the same level in the next several years, while 19% said they will increase exhibiting levels.

Electronic and digital tactics will be the big winners in the future: 82% of marketing, communications and sales tactics executives will increase use of social media outlets, followed by 77% who will increase marketing on mobile devices. Use of online meetings/forums will increase by 74%, and marketing on the company website will grow 71%.

Use of direct mail fared the worst in prospects to increase, 13%, compared to 58% who will keep levels the same. Print advertising will suffer the worst, with 38% of marketing and sales professionals saying they will decrease its use, followed by direct mail, 28%, and exhibiting, 24%“

As the social media trend continues to grow and the internet becomes more easily accessible, there will be an increase in companies using social media to advertise. If we think about the Yellow Pages or any other type of phone book, how often do we use them today? Sure companies might advertise with the Yellow Pages, but it will be on the website, www.yp.com.  The tangible phonebook will eventually become a thing of the past.  The tagline “Let your fingers do the walking” will only be referenced in trivia questions.

http://www.associationtrends.com/news/trends/headlines/exhibiting-to-stay-at-current-levels-print-advertising-diminishing

Pinterest as Internet Advertising?

Like most women, we have all heard of Pinterest.  I personally feel I might have an addiction to just see what is out there, how to everything, and look for funny or inspirational quotes.  But, I have never really   thought about Pinterest as an internet advertising forum.   Well if you haven't you either than believe me it is coming.  Based on statistics of purchases and amount of re-pins, Pinterest is generating a lot of buzz. 

Pinterest by the Numbers
Pinterest's traffic increased by a staggering 5,124% from 2011 to 2012! What also has advertisers foaming at the mouth is that Pinterest buyers tend to spend more and purchase at greater frequencies than users from the other top 5 major social sites. And traffic from Pinterest produces 4x the revenue-per click than Twitter. Pinterest reportedly generates 17% of Shopify's entire social media-driven revenue.


So is Pinterest next to be invaded by internet advertising or has it already happened?  I go on pinterest either looking for something specific or just searching what is popular.  But, when I see something I like..it can be hard to find where to find the item to purchase.  I just pinned a pretty lipstick color.  Said it was made by NYX and sold at Ulta or Target.  So, hey I was in Ulta this weekend..and thought what the heck, let's see if I can find it.  Nope!  I searched through every lipstick for color name given in Pin.  But, I had no idea how hold the pin was.  It could very well be last year's color. 

I can see Pinterest being phenomenal for internet advertisers to tailor to your preferences but how will it work?

http://dashburst.com/infographic/advertise-on-pinterest-how-to-guide/



By: Rosemary Drum

Online Behavioral Advertising

Cookies Are Your Friends

After reading the blog by Joanne Frears: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/mar/20/online-behavioural-advertising-rules, I have reconsidered my take on cookies and other forms of internet tracking, at least the non-intrusive types. I used to worry about privacy, information protection, and the like. Reading her take on advertising made me think how much more annoying pop-ups, banners, any online advertising would be if companies had no way of targeting their ads to specific audiences and just bombarded everyone randomly.

 

I would rather receive ads for products and services that I am interested in than women's hygiene products. I mention that because for awhile the coupon printers at a retailer's POS consistently gave me coupons for feminine hygiene every other time I shopped there. Made me wonder if the company really paid someone to print these pretty colored coupons without targeting to individual's purchasing habits. Gave me a pretty poor impression of the company and its use of funds.

 

As for the whole privacy issues and personal information gathering, corrupt companies and individuals will always find a way around any laws, guidelines, and protections meant to secure these. I would rather we utilize new technology to its best advantages instead of trying to squeeze it so tightly that only the dishonest companies who ignore rules and guidelines prevail.



 

Direct Mail Marketing

Should Companies Move Away From Direct Mail Marketing?

 

My mailbox is flooded daily with postcards for lawn work, clipper magazines, credit card offers, etc. My response to these well placed ads consists of tossing them directly into the trash can. It is not that I am disinterseted in saving money or trying new services, but this outdated mode of advertising does little to nothing to encourage me to utizile a specific product, service, or company. Now John Robertson disagrees with me in his article: http://biznik.com/articles/eulogy-on-the-death-of-direct-mail-marketing. While I do like his point about reading postcards, I would still consider this too costly and ineffective as more companies would just start to flood mailboxes with postcards, thereby reducing their effectiveness.

 

It is my contention that if these companies were to better utilize their resources and move to a more online approach that my chances of "buying" would increase ten-fold. I at least scan over every email that is sent to me, and I have repeated purchases at stores that offer online coupons and discounts. In fact, my android phone notifies me of every email and displays the first few lines automatically until I clear it from my notification bar, read the email, or delete it. Companies are also advancing green initiatives to entice environmentally sensitive consumers to them, so why not put direct mail marketing "out to pasture" and move to completely digital advertising?

 

I would like to hear your thoughts on this. I have read many articles against letting go of direct mail marketing because it is described as incorrectly executed, but I think it is time to let go of the past and expand into new horizons. Please feel free to share any thoughts, questions, links, etc...

PayPal is making much easier mobile payments for retailers and shoppers

There is no doubt smartphone and tablet shopping is thriving. Sales from smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices grew 81% in 2012.
As smartphone infiltration continues to climb, retail sales made from smartphone devices are expected to reach $27 billion by 2016, according to one study by Forrester Research, Inc. that excluded tablets. That would be 8% of forecasted e-commerce sales without even considering sales from tablet devices.

As mobile and tablet shopping continues to rise, so does the need to ensure your payment system to adapt to a mobile lifestyle. PayPal is making that happen for many retailers and shoppers with PayPal checkout. According eBay CEO, John Bonahoe, PayPal grew by 26 million users in 2012 and handled almost $14 billion in payment quantity. They expect mobile payments to exceed $20 billion in 2013!

Its a convenience and ease way of using PayPal checkout from a mobile device that can save you time and money. There are many shoppers already know about PayPal that are using it to make a purchase online or even to transfer money to your bank account. You just need to set up an account, put your payment information and saved then you are ready to go!

So, why not have PayPal account set up on your mobile device or tablet?

Groupon as an Internet Advertising Strategy for your small business….

One very popular strategy for today’s small business owners to attract new customers is to target people who are searching online for discounted products and services by using an online coupon company, such as Groupon. Companies like Groupon will partner with a local business each day to offer a deeply discounted deal of at least 50% off. Groupon has become a popular addition to many Internet advertising strategies for local small businesses and the fastest growing Internet Company in history and the first to reach $1 billion in sales in only seventeen months since its establishment. Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that provides discounted printable or digital vouchers for purchase at local businesses. Groupon offers one "Groupon" or group coupon per day in each of the cities it serves. People can sign up to receive notice of these local Groupon coupons in their city or community.

The site allows merchants in various markets around the world to open an online store and post their daily deals via the site. 

Groupon has cut spending on US-targeted display and contextual ads more than 80% in the past few years- a amazing cut for a company spending $100 million a month on advertising. Now that daily deal giants have entered the fight, what does it mean for local online advertising? Obviously, as one can imagine, companies like Groupon can change the local search game. Before they entered the domain, it was a gold mine for local businesses trying to make the most of how customers were finding services.

Do you think Groupon is a good marketing strategy for small businesses?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupon

Location Based Social Network

Have you ever heard of Four Square, Urban Spoon or Yelp?  These are a few location based tools that users can take advantage of to find services, restaurants and other businesses.  It is just another form of advertising on the internet.  Companies are finding more interactive ways to advertise their local products to people on the go. 

When facebook analyzed their advertising revenue, one thing stood out.  Many of their users were accessing the site via a mobile device.  There was no advertising on the mobile site and this meant much lost revenue. With the company now on the public stock market, the main  goal of the organization is to increase the wealth of their shareholders.  Advertising on their mobile sites is critical to sustaining growth and a strong revenue stream.  There are several companies that work with facebook that offer local services. 

GPS, global positioning systems, allow for social networks to identify the location of a user.  This technology is a critical tool for internet advertisers to reach their potential consumers.  There is a Boston based company called Bytelight.  The company uses LED lighting technology to track a consumer's movements based on the mobile device.  The technology can provide coupons to consumers as well as analyze the patterns of movement in a business so that owners can better interact with customers. 

Source:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/225436

Minding....MY business

Privacy may be a thing of the past... Today, many sites are collecting data from you without your knowledge.  The information may not always be stolen, but sometimes willingly provided. How do we willingly provide our personal information without knowing?  It's simple... Ask yourself this question. How often do you read all of the terms and conditions on sites that require you to approve before proceeding?   I am certainly guilty of just clicking accept without reading the fine print.  I say that I would never physically sign a contract without knowing what I'm getting into, but that's exactly what is happening.

Internet advertising is a growing business. "Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. reached $9.26 billion for the third quarter of 2012, making the quarter the biggest on record, according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report figures..."  This gives advertising companies a big reason to learn more about their target audience.  The more information Advertising companies have, the more successful their marketing attempts can be.  Advertising companies are experiencing a high volume of business thanks to consumers divulging information on the Internet. The potential revenue growth could force companies to find more creative ways to gain your information.  

Who's minding your business?

Source: http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/pr-121912

Online advertisement have built in racism?

I have a question to pose to you or more something I want you to do before reading further in this blog.  Go to a search engine like Google and enter your first and last name.  What type of ads pop up once the search engine has completed it's search?

For me, my name returns the following ads: 
Amazon.com for records by Rosemary Clooney
Plants or Nursery for a Rosemary bush in a drum container

Well, I came across an article in which shows that Googles Ad Sense might be biased.  Think how surprised you would be to enter your name and see ads for arrest records or judgements or liens. 

This happened for Latanya Sweeney.  This googled her name and found ads for her suggesting she has an arrest record.  She began to try other names and see what ads were returned.  She tried African-American names and Caucasian names and found very different results. 

Based on all the information these search engines and Internet advertising approaches there are, do you think that this is racial profiling or just a bad algorithm?

By:  Rosemary Drum

Source:  http://www.salon.com/2013/02/04/online_advertisings_racism_mess/

Users response to Banner Adverstising

I have often wondered how many users actually respond to Internet advertising ploys.  Using the Internet to research products or even find the best price is a great tool for consumers.   But what role or how big a role does the Internet advertising play in creating new sales or more brand awareness. 

An article written by Mike Sachoff on WebProNews speaks on the response to banner ads. 
He finds that "Nearly half of Internet users who respond to display advertising eventually do a search related to the ad they viewed, according to a new study from iProspect."  This new study found the following information:

31% respond by directly clicking on the ad
27% respond by searching the product or brand
21% respond by typing the company web address and visiting directly
9% respond by using social media

So I ask you, how do you respond to Internet advertising?  I personally respond by search the brand or product or going directly to the company website.  Mainly I do this due to security of computer.  I have a fear of false advertisements or viruses in form of advertisements.  So I feel safer searching the product to make sure legit and then visiting the website. 

But, I want to see how everyone else responds to display advertising. 

By: Rosemary Drum

Source:  http://www.webpronews.com/more-than-half-of-internet-users-respond-to-display-advertising-2009-05