PR through Internet Banner, Sales Promotion on Internet, Direct Marketing on Internet

Digital display advertising is graphic advertising on Internet websites, apps or social media through banners or other advertising formats made of text, images, flash, video, and audio. The main purpose of display advertising is to deliver general advertisements and brand messages to site visitors.

According to eMarketer, Facebook and Twitter will take 33 percent of display ad spending market share by 2017. Google’s display campaigns reach 80 percent of global internet users. Desktop display advertising eclipsed search ad buying in 2014, with mobile ad spending overtaking display in 2015.

Digital display advertising is an online form of advertising in which the company’s promotional messages appear on third-party sites or search engine results pages such as publishers or social networks. There is an evidence showing that this advertising can increase the number of website page view of a company from most types of customers except from the non-authenticated visitors who visited the website before. The main purpose of display advertising is to support brand awareness (Robinson et al., 2007 and it also helps to increase the purchase intention of consumers.

Social media is used by many organizations. One example is, in 2014, ASOS and Nike collaborated with Google Hangouts to create the first shoppable video web chat on Google+. The video is an example of display advertising used for commemorating 27 years of Nike’s Air Max shoes. The video advertising aimed at creating brand awareness among users and convincing them to watch the Hangout and purchase products from the display advertising itself. Consumers were able to shop by clicking the display advertising. According to an ASOS statement, display advertising has contributed to an increase in both the number of users visiting its website and downloads of the ASOS App by 28 percent, with users having then visited the website eight times a month, on average.

Importance of formats of display ads

Two students of the “Amsterdam school of Communication Research ASCor” have run studies about the audience reactions to different display advertising formats. In particular, they took into consideration two different types of format (sponsored content and banner advertising) to demonstrate that people react and perceive formats in different ways, positive and negative. For this reason, it is important to choose the right format because it will help to make the most of the medium. It is also possible to add:

• Video;
• Rich Media Ads (Expandables): flash files that may expand when the user interacts on mouseover (polite), or auto- initiated (non-polite);
• Overlays: ads that appear above content and that are possible to remove by clicking on a close button;
• Interstitials: Ads that are displayed on web pages before expected content (before the target page is displayed on the user’s screen);
• Sponsorship: including a logo or adding a brand to the design of a website. This can also can fall under Native advertising, which is an ad that can seem like Editorial, or “In-Feed”, but has really been paid for by the advertiser

Sales Promotion on Internet

Websites.

These days if you are going to be successful you will need a website to promote your brand and all of its offerings. That’s not to say you will fail without one: many smaller small retailers uses sites like ebay and Amazon to sell their goods, they provide a wider reach. Ideally you will have your own site (you could use both).

The website provides you with an ideal platform to inform customers what is going on.

E-mail Marketing.

E-mail Marketing, a form of direct marketing is another good way of informing customers of a sales promotion. As mentioned above, you will need to encourage users to ‘sign-up’ to receive updates. You can do this via your website or even social media sites.

Web Adverts.

If you have a retail website then you will also want to engage in web advertising. There are many formats, you can create banner (horizontal), Skyscraper ads (vertical) or pop-up ads (they appear in the middle of the screen). There is also the option of using one of the ad facilities of the many social media platforms that are out there.

Search Engine Optimisation.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a process that enhances your standing on the search engine page ranking. This is a difficult process, but a key driver for success. A few years ago, but it needs updating. Needless to say if you are not on page one you should consider a ‘Pay Per Clicks’ (PPC) process (another form of web advertising).

Digital Market Places & Affiliate Marketing.

As mentioned earlier, platforms like ebay and Amazon (digital market places) can be used to supplement your retail process (particularly if you are a small organisation).

There is also the option of using the affiliate marketing process to support you promotional campaign. The likes of Groupon and Living Social are a particular type of affiliate marketing platform: they will focus on special deals. The example below is from Living Social.

Direct Marketing on Internet

Targeting Specific Customers with Specific Offers

Direct marketing allows you to mail advertisements or broadcast commercials directly to the customers who are most likely to want what you’re selling. Marketing professional Dave Dolak points out that direct marketing appeals to a customer’s desire not to search extensively for the goods and services they want. If you own a sushi restaurant, for example, you may benefit by only mailing your menus to locals who have eaten at your restaurant before or have expressed an interest in spending an evening in a sushi restaurant.

Building Personal Relationships

Traditional online marketing is usually impersonal because it is done over a large scale. Direct marketing techniques encourage you to be much more personal with your prospective customers. Gary Elwood, a writer for the real estate agent advice website Real Estate Growth, reminds you that direct marketing allows you to add personal touches to your advertisements. Instead of sending countless metered letters bearing address labels, this targeted approach means you can hand-write the customer’s addresses and demonstrate to the customer that they are being contacted by an actual human instead of a computerized mail service.

Quick Response

If you cast a very wide net with your advertising, you may have to wait to see results or engage in contact with customers. Give to Get Marketing, a firm that helps businesses reach out to consumers, asserts that direct marketing garners a faster response. Instead of simply hoping to build awareness with a new customer base, direct marketing puts you in contact with people who already want what you have to provide.

Eliminating Unlikely Customers

The privacy laws that govern direct marketing may seem like an obstacle. The Federal Trade Commission maintains a “Do Not Call” list of citizens who have expressed a desire not to receive any telemarketing calls. This restriction can be a drawback because you’re prohibited from cold-calling these people. There is, however, a great benefit. Instead of wasting time trying to sell to consumers who don’t wish to speak on the phone, you can concentrate your efforts on people who are interested.

Internet Sales Techniques to implement in your online business to generate and even increase your sales.

1. Use Content Marketing

A company today cannot survive without a proper content marketing strategy. No matter your content strategy goal (lead generation, brand awareness, website traffic, increased sales, etc.) the end goal should be the same increase the amount of revenue coming in and to increase business. Take the time to look at your content marketing strategy, review and revise it as it is necessary. Remember, content is king, and those with the best content and most current content will rule their market.

2. Create Coupons (or Deals) To Promote

Coupons are a great way to attract visitors to your website and shopping area online. Plus everyone wants to get a deal, so by having a coupon people feel they are indeed getting a deal or savings. You can promote your coupons online on social sharing networks or simply email to a list of clients and/or prospects.

3. Up-Sell

Online there are many opportunities to up-sell your customer without being pushy or feeling awkward like you may on the phone. Strategically placing upsell options during the point-of-sale process can increase your sales two-folds. Give bulk purchasing incentives to save money, discounts based on their payment method or plan, or offer an extra item or future discount based on them purchasing more, pair or show additional items based on what is in their cart, etc.

4. Create a Sense of Urgency

While promoting your deal, create a sense of urgency to complete the purchase. You can do this by putting a deadline on your promotion or offer and make it stand out. Even think about throwing in an additional deal if they complete the order by a certain time.

5. Make Checkout or Signup Area User Friendly

Take the time to properly research and study user preferences and needs. Have your IT team conduct a lengthy amount of user testing to ensure an ease of doing business with your company. Also, be sure to have any forms on your site tested as well. Keep them simple and only ask for the amount of information you absolutely need and nothing more.

Also, be sure to have a customer service team available for any and all questions that may arise during the purchase period, 24-hr online chat features are a great way to do this if you can sustain it.

6. Include Something for Free

A great way to retain a customer is by making their purchasing experience the best it can be. You can simply include an extra item when delivered or if you feel you need to encourage purchases you can offer an extra FREE item while your customer is shopping on your online store. Who doesn’t like something for FREE?

7. Highlight Special Features or Products

You see a lot of companies doing this now, but it does seem to work. Highlight your top selling products, products on sale or any special (or New) features you are trying to promote. This is a great way to move people through your website and make it easier for them to search for particular items. Someone may choose a different (more expensive or better) product if they feel other people use it more often.

8. Use a Clear and Prominent Call-to-Action
9. Add Images or Product Demos

Videos can dramatically affect the number of visitors on your website and the number of conversions you will get. In fact:

• 46% of people say that they would be more likely to make a purchase if they have seen a video or demo of the product first (Eloqua).
• The average user spends 88% more time on a website that uses video (Eloqua).
• Video and email marketing can increase click-through rates by more than 90% (Mist Media).
• Having video on your landing page or homepage makes it 53% more likely that Google will rank you on page 1 (Mist Media).
• Of 80% of video users, 46% of them took some sort of action after viewing the video (Video Brewery).

10. Include Customer Reviews or Testimonials

It is no secret that people who can build trust in their market are the ones who will get repeat buyers and people promoting and sharing their information. A great way to build trust is by including customer reviews and testimonials, even better include a video testimonial.