Technology has had a huge impact on the marketing field. Traditional methods of marketing like print, television, and radio continue to be used, but many of these channels are falling by the wayside.
Bennet Schwartz discusses how technology has changed the field of marketing, explaining how these updates are influencing the industry.
Interactivity
One of the most exciting changes that technology has brought to the marketing industry is the possibility of interactive advertisements. Customers are able to put a personal spin on the ad campaigns they love. For example, Coca-Cola offered consumers a way to personalize their own Coke bottles online if they could not find a name they wanted during a certain promotion.
Volkswagen created a promotion that allowed ad viewers to turn a magazine ad into an interactive presentation. It was called the “first-ever test drive in a print ad.” When a smartphone was held over the ad, it displayed customized information.
In Sweden, Reebok put up a shoe display with a speed camera and stated that the person who could run past the sign the fastest would win a pair of free shoes. This campaign combined many of customers’ favorite aspects of advertising, from a sense of fun to free items.
Targeted Email Marketing
Email marketing has made a huge difference in the field. With email marketing, customers can be targeted with different messages at each point of their sales journey. They are often tempted to put themselves on the email list because they will receive a discount or free item if they sign up.
Reaching Customers Everywhere
Today, most consumers carry a smartphone wherever they go. This means that they are always reachable by advertisements and marketing campaigns. When ads use the phone’s location, they are able to serve coupons and other specials for nearby stores and restaurants.
Social Media
Social media has made another deep impact on the marketing world as a whole. Today, people want to be engaged with their favorite brands and products on social media. This provides another source of customer data to the marketer as well as an opportunity to reinforce branding. Social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat all appeal to different demographics, and agencies can choose who they want to target very easily.
Influencers are another important aspect of social media marketing. Influencers are willing to post on their popular accounts and advertise for brands. Influencers are particularly attuned to the younger generations.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization or SEO is one of the most useful tools used by today’s marketing agencies. With SEO, a website can be tweaked to rise higher in search results on Google and other search engines. In the past, SEO was crude, but today, it is more complicated to pull off. There are many resources online for learning SEO techniques and applying them to your business’s website.
Content Marketing
Today, one of the best applications of technology in marketing is the use of content marketing. Content marketing involves creating videos, blog posts, and other forms of information that can help to further a company’s marketing goals. Content marketing is used together with SEO to create a searchable item that will have good placement on Google.
Cable Television
While cable television is an older technology, it is still a force in marketing. Cable channels are able to accept targeted ads to run on certain channels in certain communities. TV ads tie into Internet marketing and print marketing, making a good campaign.
Internet Ads
While interactive ads, social media, and email marketing are all huge, display ads shown on websites are still a big business. Internet ads can be shown in many formats, including banners, landing pages, and information gathering pages.
The science of creating an Internet ad has developed a great deal over time. Understanding how to make an Internet ad work takes years of expertise, but today’s ad agencies are experienced in making sure their campaigns are targeted to the right demographic.
The Impact of Technology on Marketing
Technology in marketing has continued to improve over the past decades. From the beginnings of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s, companies have been refining the methods used in Internet marketing. Marketing has become more immersive than ever before, and companies need to be sure that they are using all of the technologies they can to make their messages have an impact.
Bennet Schwartz is a strong supporter of technology in marketing. Schwartz wants companies to understand how important digital marketing can be to their bottom line. Combining these techniques can be a big help in planning a useful marketing strategy. When the right combination of techniques is used, companies will find that they have an advantage over the competition.
