Back in the day, marketing was a much simpler strategy. There were far fewer methods of communication and companies did not have the resources to collect as much data as they do today in order to generate targeted advertising. Radio used to be king when it came to customers learning about new products on the market, but those days have long passed. With the internet seemingly always available through smart phones, tablets and computers, online advertising has become one of the best ways for companies to let the consumer base know about their products and services..
Where do Today’s Customers Learn About New Products?
With major internet companies monitoring your every click online, they know what products will interest you and offer targeted ads along the same line of your internet activity. Facebook even monitors your posts to friends, searching for specific keywords which can almost instantly update the ads one sees. Talking about making a trip to the Alps? Boom, ads instantly appear for snowboards and outdoor enthusiasts! It’s almost scary, but this is how people learn about your products today. This is a great way to let the right people know about what you offer. Twitter can be a cheap way to let potentially thousands know of your product. One interesting tweet that gets retweeted by the right people can spread like a wildfire through the internet. Also, companies can use Twitter to search out people looking for and talking about certain products.
Just Pin it!
Pinterest is the latest craze online, with millions of users it can be a great way for your product to get noticed. Pinterest is all about sharing, or pinning images that interest you. When one friend pins something, their whole network can see it which gives a product great exposure over a relatively short period of time.
A Solid Link
LinkedIn allows users to do much more than search for jobs or post their own open positions. Companies can use their LinkedIn profile as a type of fan page, posting deals and the scoop on their latest products and services. This social network is becoming increasingly popular, especially with workers in the IT field who use LinkedIn’s services in high numbers to research products and discuss them with others who may have already implemented the same product or service in their own company. LinkedIn also offers direct ads that only will show up for people in their targeted audience.
The Search Begins…
This might be old news to some, but nonetheless, it is still worth mentioning that it is not just about advertising either, many resourceful people will use search engines to find what they are looking for. Making sure your website gets top placements on the major search engines (eg. Google, Yahoo, Bing etc…) is very important. It’s a pretty simple concept, you can’t sell your products and services if the customer can’t find information about them!
Aside from the obvious, time-tested methods of informing customers about your product through media like television or magazines, social networks offer the chance to let the right customers know about your products or services in much greater detail than a 30 second spot on TV or a one page ad. It is very important for all businesses to use social networks properly, setting up fan pages and generating interest in their name. Even if you like to be “old school”, it’s necessary to take advantage of a service like Yodle’s services, or places like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, that can help you if you want to get the word out on your latest and greatest developments. There are so many different social media sites now that customers use, and I could probably write an entire post on each one of them going into detail, but hopefully this post has served as a starting ground to delve deeper into the social communities and get your product discovered!
