e-Marketing

The use of digital technologies and platforms in marketing practice. 

In the fragmented media landscape, customer attention is directed to a dispersed range of media.

The growth of social media platforms as an enormous pool of potential customers has lead to large shifts in the marketing spend of businesses. Traditional and mainstream mediums (television and radio) are in decline. Advertising revenue is shifting to digital media (mainly Meta and Google).

Businesses pay Google AdSense to be on the top listings for searches that include specific words. This enables more potential customers to see their link first. To be on the second or third pages of searches is no good for sales and recognition.

Using email databases is a highly effective and cost efficient form of marketing. Email addresses can be obtained from previous sales and members of rewards programs. These customers can then be sent promotional materials for free.

Businesses now create coherent marketing campaigns across multiple platforms; websites, social media, YouTube videos, blogs, vlogs, podcasts and live events to capture attention, build brand awareness and generate sales.

Using technology enables marketers to:

• Target specific markets directly (geographic, interests etc)

• Measure impact of marketing (views, clicks, engagements)

• Monitor and build consumer profiles (direct recommendations)

Research indicates that the impact of Social Media advertising is limited. One Facebook, 8 of every 10,000 ‘views’ leads to an engagement. How many of these lead to sales (the ultimate aim) is highly questionable.