In a world before online marketing, advertising was based on predictions of interest due to likely demographics of the target audience. Television adverts were targeted in the sense that the advert was run between programs which were watched by a targeted demographic of the population, for instance beer commercials during sports matches, as both sport and beer’s best customers are predominantly male, and in the age range of 18-35.

With early online marketing a similar approach was taken, banner advertisements would be placed on sites relevant to the advert. However evidence suggests that this is not overly effective, with only 0.09% of visitors clicking on the adverts. Other forms of online marketing have proved intrusive, with pop ups often prompting a negative reaction.

Google provided one of the first effective methods of online marketing through the adverts that support its search engine in the sponsored results. The online marketing was targeted to the user as it responds to what the user searched for and displayed results which may be of interest. Social media has taken this one step further, with adverts based on the information a user has communicated about themselves. Furthermore, the way brands interact with users on sites such as Facebook is very similar to how users interact with each other, making it seem less like online marketing, and instead treating the user as more of a fan of the brand, which helps develop loyalty. Stores such as Wallmart now even provide applications to help Facebook users buy gifts for their friends, disguising online marketing as a helpful tool.

The internet also allows more interactive media, with games and contests available to facilitate online marketing and give the user more involvement in the advert. Yet this is not the pinnacle of social media, the growth of location as an element of social media has great potential for facilitating geo marketing as does the migration to smartphones for mobile marketing. Online marketing will only continue to grow with new innovations in the social marketing field.

Rumours have grown stronger in the last month that Facebook is set to enter the smartphone market currently dominated by Apple and Google by producing an operating system of it’s own.

The new Facebook phone project, supposedly codenamed ‘Buffy’ will develop a Facebook customised user interface based upon the Android system, to run on an HTC device. Other wilder rumours have suggested Facebook may even sell the phone for free, and this may not prove bad business sense due to its mobile marketing potential.

Google currently gives away its Android operating system to handset manufacturers for free, with the revenues coming from online marketing on Google’s online services which are integrated with the operating system. Facebook could increase its revenues from online marketing in a similar fashion by increasing web traffic to Facebook through integration with the phones operating system. There are further opportunities in mobile marketing and even geo marketing for a potential Facebook phone as the social networking site makes location more of an important factor in sharing.

Google and Apple have built many high end phones, so Facebook’s strategy may well be to target the lower end of the market knowing they can make a return from online marketing. The Amazon Kindle Fire has a similar low end strategy, undercutting the iPad on price and features, but through mobile marketing the revenues can be recouped from the sales of ebooks for the device, and also from online marketing advertisements subsidising the lowest priced Kindle.

While Apple may produce all aspects of their product in house and receive the largest share of profits in the smartphone industry, its rivals have shown that the value of online marketing as they generate profits through technology by using devices as tools for mobile marketing and online marketing in their primary businesses.

Geo marketing has long had an important presence in online marketing, with many stores and restaurants making sure to promote their presence on Google Map and Facebook Places. However, geo marketing now has a more important role to play in online marketing as many social networking sites are now bringing geography into the equation.

Facebook’s new updates place greater emphasis on geography, with status updates now including the person’s location. Facebook photos can now also be tagged by location, and all the data about where a person is brings a new avenue for targeted online marketing. Facebook adverts traditionally targeted people by their interests and other data they had volunteered to the service. Now they have shared where they are, advertising can be localised. If they are currently there, businesses have the opportunity to target users with mobile marketing offers.

Foursquare is another popular social media app which has always had its focus on geography. The app’s philosophy is to allow users to get more from their city and see what their friends are up to. Of course this is where businesses can target them with mobile marketing by telling them what is going on in their city and providing offers.

This week the iPhone application ‘Oink’ launched promising to cover online reviews in their entirety, not just reviewing the restaurant but the specific meal. As apps such as Oink grow it will be crucial that customer satisfaction is met as smartphone users can share their approval or otherwise whilst still sat in the restaurant.

Geo marketing will continue to grow as location becomes an increasingly significant part of social media, and social media will continue to lead the way for new methods of online marketing and mobile marketing.

La industria de marketing movil en Kenya está empezando a crecer con la creación de la sede en África del Este de la Asociación de Marketing Móvil (MNA). Desde que la industria móvil local llegó al país hace una década, ha existido un vacío en planificación y políticas respecto a cómo direccionar al consumidor en temas relacionados con lo móvil.

Esa confusión ha hecho que muchos empresarios se distanciaran de implementar estrategias móviles para sus negocios, enfocando sus esfuerzos en programas publicitarios para desarrollar en el marketing online y el SEO.

Para solucionar este problema se ha creado la MNA, la cual busca asociar a todas las empresas de marketing movil del territorio y controlar la forma en que se realizan estas campañas.

En diversos sitios web se puede leer sobre los beneficios y las diferentes estrategias que el marketing móvil tiene para ofrecer a los distintos empresarios.

La MNA posee más de setecientas compañías afiliadas. Hacerse parte de esta organización le asegura una cobertura ejemplar a quien esté interesado en hacer marketing por este medio. El propósito principal de MNA es el de utilizar la tecnología móvil en marketing.

Como se puede constatar en los distintos blogs en Internet, la tecnología móvil es posible gracias a la promoción, educación, medición, guía y protección del espacio de esta.

De igual manera, es posible ver en la web del MNA, que la asociación está destinada a proveer una industria para encontrar, discutir, planear y trabajar en cooperación, y resolver los ejes transversales de la tecnología móvil.

La Asociación de Marketing en el Este de África se convierte ahora en uno de los mejores y más reconocidos estrategas en el marketing móvil. Las innovaciones que se están adelantando permitirán crear una plataforma que hará que más empresas utilicen el marketing móvil y así alcancen más clientes.

Como se lee en diferentes y reconocidos sitios Web especializados, con la conectividad de servicios e información a través del Internet se hace necesario que los proveedores de software empresarial y servicios tengan que hacerle frente a Facebook, Twitter y a todas las demás redes sociales, ya sea a través de un software de colaboración, un CRM o cualquier otra herramienta cuyo objetivo sea alcanzar mayor cantidad de potenciales clientes o empleados en la Red.

En días pasados se lanzó un programa relacionado al marketing online perteneciente a la Suite de Adobe Marketing. Debido a la alta demanda del Marketing Online, sorprende el tiempo que se tardó para que Adobe creara y lanzara el Adobe Social Analytics, un software diseñado para el análisis de redes.

Adobe Social Analytics no estará disponible hasta el tercer trimestre del año en curso. La nueva plataforma está diseñada para una época en la que las redes sociales, el SEM, el marketing móvil y el vídeo son tan importantes como el tráfico normal de cada sitio Web.

Aunque la herramienta de análisis Web Site Catalyst y otros componentes de la Adobe Online Marketing Suite ya tenían la capacidad de medir Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, así como el acceso móvil y de datos de alto nivel sobre otro tipo de interacción digital moderna, Adobe Social Analytics promete elevar el nivel de comprensión, entendimiento o análisis de dicha información.

Para los vendedores con páginas de fans en Facebook, por ejemplo, el Adobe Social Analytics proporcionará una visión más profunda en la demografía de los usuarios, así como sus gustos y sus comportamientos.

Gracias a Adobe Social Analytics las empresas serán capaces de medir el uso de aplicaciones de Facebook y aplicaciones móviles para determinar la eficacia de las diferentes estrategias de marketing móvil o marketing online que lancen al mercado virtual.