Participation on social networking sites will be executed by 94% of businesses in the coming year. “Despite risks associated with participating in online communities, the internal costs of community formation and management and the fact that we are in the midst of a profound recession, organizations’ continued and enhanced investment in online communities underscores the perceived potential for the value that they may provide to the enterprise,” says Ed Moran, director of product innovation at Deloitte Services LP. “Social media and communities are expected to continue to play a significant role in the way in which companies are interacting with employees, customers, partners and the larger business ecosystem, thereby redefining the very edge of the corporation.” Social media is just one area of online marketing to consider, but it’s certainly one of the fastest growing sections.
One way to decide on your online marketing budget is to consider what everyone else is doing. According to the latest Forrester Research report, the average marketing budget in 2010 will be increasing as follows: 47% of businesses plan to increase their social networking and viral video marketing budget; 44% will increase their internet design/web development; 40% will further increase online advertisements; 38% will increase e-marketing campaign initiatives; 27% will increase marketing technology; 14% will increase their budget for loyalty programs; 11% will increase their branding and advertising in offline marketing campaigns; 7% will ramp up their direct mail; 5% will increase marketing training and staff; and 4% will increase traditional spending on TV, radio and print.
The “2009 Tribalization of Business Survey” found that some of the top online marketing strategies during a recession include: increasing word-of-mouth (38%), improving customer loyalty (34%) and creating brand awareness (30%). Many executives feel this can be best done through the matrix of social networks. However, certain obstacles exist — like getting people to join, return and stay engaged. To gain the best results, market plans should include partnering up with other vendors, running exciting promotions and contests, offering special perks for participating and giving community members something of value for their time. In addition to these objectives, executives are also placing some emphasis on idea generation (29%) and customer support (23%).
Before divvying up the online marketing dollars, executives must first decide which areas are most important to them. For instance, does the company require more brand identification and “buzz” (social networking/viral videos), more established credibility and return customers (affiliate marketing/content publishing), more web traffic (banner ads/pay-per-click), better traffic retention (internet design), or more targeted web traffic (SEO)? Whatever the company leaders decide, they should ensure enough staff is devoted to these sectors to make them work optimally. They must also be realistic about what each area of online advertising can effectively achieve.
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