photo credit: Sean MacEntee

The end of last month saw online concerns mark Social Media Day, with a great many companies taking a fresh look at how the juggernaut that is social media impacts on their internet advertising and online marketing strategies.

It has been a truism of the past two years that social media such as Facebook and Twitter is the place to be when it comes to the future of online marketing, and there is no sign that the engine is slowing down, with Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter advertising more important than ever. It is no longer a happy luxury, it is an essential part of any internet marketing drive.

The inclusion of social media in such a strategy should never be an addition, or an afterthought. It should be integrated into the overall plan and complement other aspects of online marketing, such as mail outs, SEO marketing and Google Analytics.

With almost half of all businesses using social media as an integral part of their marketing strategy, the lessons for the future are clear.

A new report has predicted that online marketing is set to make the internet advertising soar over the next few years – with the market in Britain alone being worth an impressive £17.7 billion by 2015.

The study, by accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said that the rapid growth in the number of digital channels devoted to online marketing was responsible for the rise and rise of the sector, with internet advertising on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter plus classified advertising online fast catching up with the more established form of online marketing – search marketing on platforms such as Google and Yahoo.

PwC also said that the only sector of the UK economy likely to achieve double digit growth by 2015 would be internet advertising, making it the wisest bet for companies hoping to combine marketing efficiency with value for money.

PwC head of entertainment and media Phil Stokes commented: “Product placement, sophisticated social media campaigns and internet advertising are all becoming part of truly multimedia campaigns for advertisers who are themselves increasingly involved in a dynamic conversation with their customers.”

photo credit: Guilherme Neto

Online marketing professionals need to be aware of the latest innovation from micro-blogging site Twitter – Prompted Tweets.

These are a unique form of internet advertising that only Twitter can boast. Whereas previously commercial enterprises needed Twitter users to follow their account, Promoted Tweets allow messages to reach a far wider audience.

Firstly a Tweet is sent to a brand’s followers, and when it is paid for as a Promoted Tweet it appears as content in search results, rather than alongside the results.

As Promoted Tweets are only paid for via Cost-per-Engagement (CPE), a company will only pay when Twitter users Retweet, replies to, select or adds the Tweet to their favourites. A Retweet of the Promoted Tweet is free of charge, thus potentially adding great reach and power to any Twitter-based online marketing campaign.

Skilled internet marketing professionals should have no problem devising Promoted Tweets that are memorable and witty enough to be seen by many, many different users.

photo credit: wwarby

A report recently released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau has shown that revenues from online marketing and internet advertising reached a record high during the first quarter of this year.

The effectiveness of online marketing through various internet-based services such as parcel deliveries and the use of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter has seen a rise of 50 per cent when matched against the very same figures for the first three months of 2010.

These new figures not only show the continued popularity and growth of online marketing when compared to more traditional forms of advertising, but also highlight the number of retailers now looking to online marketing to push their products as the use of digital media grows ever more popular.

Paul Fisher, chief executive of IAB Australia, said that “online video advertising continues to grow strongly, up 47 per cent on first quarter 2010, which reflects the continued adoption of this format by advertisers looking to enhance or replace their TV schedules.”

photo credit: pedrog78

As people across the world settled down to watch the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, online marketing and social network sites such as Google, Facebook and Twitter saw huge amounts of users scrambling to their keyboards to make their thoughts and opinions known.

With the ‘Royal Wedding’ topic trending for many days before on Twitter alone, the interest in the royal marriage was made quite clear, with many internet marketing and online advertising sites taking advantage of the popular occasion to boost their own profiles in the process.

It has since been reported by Google, owners of internet video hosting site YouTube, that the live online stream of the wedding has broken all previous records, with a massive 400 million viewers tuning in to watch the ceremony live, compared to the previous record of 70 million for the inauguration of Barack Obama as US President in 2009.

photo credit: Chi Mobile Shop

Online marketing analysts have identified the need for more reliable platforms when it comes to internet advertising for smartphones, iPads and other portable devices.

A recent report from analysts Tealeaf revealed that of 10 million smartphone users questioned worldwide, a shocking 83 per cent had experienced problems when taking advantage of offers made via online marketing.

Personalised internet marketing is becoming ever more important, and in the seemingly ever-shifting landscape of the sector, the need for reliable systems to capture the confidence of the consumer is becoming clear. This is particularly true when you consider the ever-increasing popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which add a further personal dimension to online marketing and purchasing – especially with versions of both networks configured specifically for mobile devices.

Given this, the challenge is clear for IT professionals and online marketers alike – the technology must keep up with the customers’ desire for effective mobile purchasing.

photo credit: ralphhogaboom

A study of online marketing habits by research company ForeSee Results revealed this week that only 3 per cent of the traffic that commercial websites receive comes from social media sources such as Twitter or Facebook.

The researchers warned that these findings showed that the vast majority of companies are failing to sufficiently exploit the social networking phenomenon.

After looking at the habits of over 10,000 British internet users, ForeSee found that the most common reason that people gave for visiting one website over another was the familiarity of the brand – some 46 per cent of respondents said that this was the main factor that would put them at ease when shopping online and reassure them that they were shopping safely.

Another 13 per cent of respondents said that they would choose a certain website because of the recommendation of a trusted search engine, such as Google or Yahoo. This indicates that the search engine giants still have a lot of influence over the online marketing process.

However, only 3 per cent of respondents said that an encounter on a social networking site had led them to a commercial website – strongly suggesting that there is still a vast untapped hinterland for internet marketing and online advertising campaigns to exploit.

Researchers were also quick to point out that none of the reasons for ultimately visiting a commercial site appeared to have any greater effect on whether the visitor made a purchase on that site. In one example, 74 per cent of customers bought a familiar-branded product and later recommended it to a friend. This was almost as high a proportion as those who were directed to a product via a friend on a social network.