Return to basics: advertising

Sometimes marketing and advertising are regarded as one and the same thing. They are not. Advertising is just one of the marketing communications tools but because it is so visible, in some cases this important distinction is not made. And in a recession it is relatively easy to cut. But interestingly in the Internet era some of the basic rules of advertising are worth revisiting. Recently a client was starting the relaunch of his business with a new web site. But his business proposition used a new - and in his market - generally unknown business model. It raised the obvious question as to how people looking for the type of service he could provide would know how to search for him? What search terms would they use? Would his site be discovered by his target audiences?  Advertising aims to move people through a process starting with 'unawareness'. You can't sell to someone who is unaware of you or your solution that might meet their actual needs.  So stage 2 is to make the target audience aware of your existence and product or service.  The next step is actually to explain what it is, in short to generate comprehension. Not only to understand the product but to recognise the benefits as well. The game then is to move on to create a conviction that this product is good for them, it is something that has benefits for them. Finally to prompt some response - a 'call to action'. By then the prospect and advertiser should be in some form of contact and the lead progressed to sales closure. So although a web site has become a marketing hub it needs other marketing techniques to bring prospects to the site, a logical path through awareness, comprehension, conviction to an action that leads to contact.

What people twitter about

Research reported by eMarketer today added some substance to the view that Twitter despite being frequently touted as a business tool is actually mainly used for what they describe as 'pointless babble'. At 40.55% 'pointless babble' was the most common use of tweets, followed by 'conversational' at 37.55%. Others were 'pass along value' at 8.7%, 'self promotion' 5.85%, 'spam' just 3.75% and 'news' at 3.6%.  It is news headlines that we have identified as a possible use of the microblogging site, but at present is just at testing level.

Establishing authority is a powerful marketing tool

Establishing authority for a company within their chosen market sector is not only a powerful marketing tool but is rewarded by Google thanks to relevant links into the company web site by others who acknowledge this authority. When we talk about a company establishing the 'moral high ground' it is about becoming recognised experts in their field and building trust in what they say. Rather than merely claim leadership and expertise such a business will earn this position through third party testimonials, referrals and citations by others. What other people say about your company helps build this authority. Research has shown that people have a deep seated sense of duty towards authority and people in authority such as those marked out by wearing uniform, or doctors in white coats. One company I worked for leveraged their whole research facilities as a front line marketing tool. Everyone working in the laboratories wore crisp white lab coats so they were perceived as scientists, Phd graduates were hired and their name and qualifications prominently displayed on the door to their offices, scientific displays were set up around the facility - a subtle mix of  the Science Museum and Disney. There was little doubt that a tour of the facility was impressive and established the expertise of the company. The company were also active in industry committees, presenting conference papers, publishing research, patents, standards, codes of practice and much more. People turned to that company for advice as a perceived authority. Buying products followed on, after all they were the result of all that research and standardisation work so could be trusted and if there was a problem, well there was a wealth of expertise that could be called on.  Today a web site gives less resourced company's an opportunity to similarly build authority, but through content rich web sites. This is a subject we will return to in a future blog that will discuss aspects of creating and maintaining compelling content. As the trend to rewarding updated content by search engines favours blogs and news an integrated PR campaign is just one of the important marketing tools to utilise. 

Marketing v technology

Recent years have given rise to the emergence of a plethora of experts associated with the Internet who promise an insight in mastery of the evolving online world. There are experts from search engine optimisation and usability testing to social networking - in fact practically every element in the development and enhancement of web sites has specialists. So much is written about all these specialisms that some companies are focussing on technical aspects of their web sites at the expense of developing content. It is not surprising there is some cynicism as an increasing share of marketing investment is spent in the online space. Some years ago Intel ran what for them was probably a very successful "Intel Inside' campaign raising the profile of their components but with the result that even in the b-2-b sector customers were making the inclusion of an Intel processor a vital specification issue while largely ignoring the actual functionality of the equipment. Likewise the fear of not having the company web site in the top two or three in a Google search has led to an obsession with the various black arts associated with little understood technical aspects of web sites.

On the other hand, the company web site is a useful marketing tool only because many customers and prospects currently find it convenient to use the Internet to discover information. In the b-2-b area professional buyers will often already have some knowledge of the main suppliers in their market thanks to other marketing activities and be seeking further detail and guidance. An integrated marketing communications programme will work to raise top of the mind awareness of the brand, prompting prospects to look for the web site which many will do by keying in brand and product category into a search engine. Not all searches start on the Internet - display advertising, editorials, mailings, exhibition presence will all have played a role in developing awareness and prompting an enquiry. But once the visitor arrives at the web site the expectation is to access the information needed quickly and easily. This is where content is important. not just product and service details but confidence building information establishing credentials, user experience and application guidance. News has a special role in presenting a current and human face to visitors which strongly enhances credibility by covering a diverse range of company information from new product announcements and contract success to staff appointments and financial results. News can be delivered and presented in an increasing variety of methods from an on site Virtual News Office to RSS, eNews and social networks and from headline news flashes to detailed articles. Further more news can be syndicated to other web sites - even delivered in print as a newsletter, still a popular and successful media.