eMarketer Weighs In on 2010: Online Advertising

David Hallerman, Senior AnalystVideoMore marketers will increasingly embrace online video advertising, supported by the twin boom of video streams and video ad networks.Further suppor

via eMarketer Weighs In on 2010: Online Advertising.

Look Out For That Buzzzzz

Long before the Internet, people shared product opinions with friends and family through word-of-mouth. For years brands have spent countless sums of money on multichannel advertising campaigns to promote their products/services. Today, it is no longer about the millions or in some cases billions of dollars spent, but rather finding ways to become closer to your target consumer to stimulate trust and support to create brand evangelism.

With the World Wide Web, word of mouth has transferred into eWOM, a social networking platform where consumers are able to share attitudes, opinions and reactions about brands, products/services with each other.  Social networking  has provided consumers with the authority to influence a brand’s image and perceptions as people are relying more on the opinions of others.

The multifaceted and influential viral marketing has also become a powerful medium for corporations. The Web 2.0 development have ignited key features of social communication services like social network, virtual reality, and online community sites that have proven to influence a brand’s image and perceptions.

Corporations are beginning to implement viral campaigns using social communication services, such as Twitter, to reinforce their image and influence consumers.  With unlimited online access for everyone, the impact can be profound. There are many other means of social networking platforms, which ones you choose depends on what’s the product or service, your target audience and what is the main objective behind utilizing these platforms.  But the bigger question is which is the most powerful when its time to build that BUZZ?

All Aboard The Internet Fast Track

E-communications is a powerful medium when dealing with social change issues. Reaching audiences of varied cultures and different perceptions, the internet has provided powerful tools that have proven to be more beneficial, than traditional media, in improving the quality of information shared and generating linkages. Consumers worldwide have become aware of the potential that the internet and other social media have provided over the past couple of years, especially with regards to health related information. With rapid access and delivery increasing, so have the prevailing issues and key factors that have been associated with web-based health communications and their implications.

Interactive Health Communication (IHC) is the interaction between an individual and a health related provider through an electronic device or communication technology. The internet has bridged gaps and provided applications that are useful in building awareness and support, health communication needs to be based on scientific evidence and communication theory models, where e-communications is part of an overall integrated approach to reach specific audiences. While consumers and healthcare professionals demonstrate significant interest in using the internet, privacy and information quality, present notable risks in healthcare provider-patient relationship.

The absence of social rapport that is present in face-to-face encounters may influence how consumers view and process information.  It is therefore important to ensure that information shared online clearly indicates its source credibility to ensure that trust is maintained with the intended audience. But more importantly, are patient privacy and equal access to information by all. Furthermore, when applying online health communications to influence behavior change, practitioners need to identify the level of audience exposure to the online channels they plan on using.  Knowledge of their target audience characteristics, the role that online mediums play in effectively reaching their segment are equally important to how the internet is perceived and used by different consumers (including health practitioners and services).  Once barriers have been identified and removed, based on who the target is, internet-based communications and tools, integrated with other traditional media channels, can be valuable in increasing social support, mobilizing communities and providing the needed services.

The internet is one of the most powerful influential medium that can affect health outcomes if used properly as part of an overall integrated approach to health communication.  One cannot ignore the use of the internet and its effect on different audiences; therefore, it is important to continue to eliminate barriers such as access and source credibility.  The opportunity for e-health technology to improve access to information, reach rural or underserved populations, reduce care delivery costs, and integrate health care services and information is significant, and should not be avoided.

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The World At Our Feet

We literally have the world at our feet.  Gone are the days when we slaved over trying to get accurate information to make the right decisions.  Do you remember the long drives from one store to the other to look for that very thing that you want, comparing prices, squinting to read information and barely able to make out the lettering because of the small typo?

I bet that more than three-quarters of internet users, if not all, go online to research a product or service, while comfortably seated in their house, office, or anywhere with access to the world wide web.  I also bet that every internet user has used the information they gathered to actually purchase something? I mean why wouldn’t anyone do that? We have been given the opportunity to become more efficient in our buying process in terms of availability of information, the minimal time and cost associated to getting information, AND making purchases (my husband certainly appreciates it!!).

Research supported by the University of California’s Center for Research on Information Technology in Organizations (CRITO) noted that one of the major attributes to consumers preferring to shop online is because of the availability of high quality shopping experience, and abundance of product information.  And companies are getting it, strategically creating corporate website that give its customers the freedom where they feel more connected to the brand without any intermediary customer experience. As almost 90% of our internet use is for purchase of products or services online, local and global markets have become more accessible and skies are the limit within any market.

With new ideas and models emerging on how to attract consumers, e-commerce through brand websites has become an integral part of business financial returns.  Consumers are conducting billions of dollars worth of transactions online.  This has accounted for the changes in consumer attributes and purchasing trends.  Setting up an e-commerce website seems to be a natural step towards increase in sales revenue.

http://crito.uci.edu/papers/2002/CrossCountryComparisonTIS.pdf

http://crito.uci.edu/papers/2002/USsnapshot.pdf

http://crito.uci.edu/papers/2002/IndustrySectorSnapshot.pdf