Question

Introduction to E-commerce

Over the course of your day online, via computer or phone, you come across many advertisements and promotions. Make a list and describe in detail all the different marketing communication tools you see being used online. Which do you believe is most effective and why?

please do provide references

Answer 1

The various tools used for online marketing are as follows:

1) E-mail Marketing: This is where a product or service is marketed to you by direct mail. It can be from platforms where you have registered your mail id or from brands who have acquired your mail id from third parties. Thus the messaging can be targeted to your need or general marketing that is meant for a wider audience.

2) Social media marketing: This is where you are marketed products or services through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. The ads can be tailored based on your searches and social media activity and thus can be better targeted. As people have at least some basic information on social media like age, gender, geography, education, etc. social media can provide easy reach to the target audience.

3) Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This is where you design your website and online content in such a way that it has a better chance of being featured in internet search results. This can either be done by paying the search engine (like Google) or taking care of things like keywords, using relevant hashtags, etc.

4) Pay-per-click marketing: This is where click boxes are placed on popular websites that are aimed to attract the user and click on the box. Once clicked the box redirects the user to the website or page as intended by the marketer.

5) Google Ads: Google being one of the largest search engines and also a provider of various internet-based services including the popular video streaming platform Youtube can place your ads to the consumers through its network. Google Ads can be used to create campaigns and target specific groups of customers.

The effectiveness of the different options depends on the product/service and consumer information one has. If the product or service is new and the aim is to create maximum visibility than options such as e-mail marketing, SEO and Pay-per-click are better as they can take your message to a wider audience. If the product/service is a niche and you are sure about the target audience than it is better to go for social media marketing or Google Ads where you can target specific set of customers to ensure you are using your resources only to reach the intended customers.