The WWW as an Advertising Medium and a Virtual Flea Market
The www has attracted a great deal of attention in recent
years, perhaps significantly in the influential business world.
Reporting on the web is currently fascinating to general readers
and listing of web addresses is useful to customers. Serious
advertising and marketing practitioners, however, are by now
aware that more systematic research is required to reveal
the true nature of commerce on the web. This is true particularly
from perspective of the web in marketing communication especially
the web as an advertising tool.
Many organisations still have to explore the web as an advertising
tool, using theoretical models of consumer and industrial
buying behavior. Fortunately AFRICOM has developed a Web Conversion
Efficiency- its power to convert a user from being a passive
Internet surfer to an interactive user of the medium. The
web is a new medium based on broadcasting ideas and facilitates
a two-way communication between actors. It has the facility
for individuals to communicate directly with one another regardless
of distance or time. The web offers marketers and advertisers
the ability to make available full color virtual catalogues,
provide screen order forms and elicit customer feedback either
quantitatively (on-line structured research surveys) or qualitatively
(open ended e-mail). Web is not a transient phenomenon. It
warrants serious attention by advertising practitioners.
The web has grown almost 20 fold in the past 4 years.
To date little research has been conducted into the nature
and effectiveness of this medium. Most of the work done so
far has been of descriptive in nature-"what the medium
is". This however does not address more specific issues
of concern such as communication objectives that advertising
may have and how the web may achieve these objectives that
advertising may have. Neither do these studies assess the
effectiveness of this new medium from the perspectives of
the recipient of the message (the buyer).
The web is rather like a cross between an electronic trade
show and a virtual flea market. As an electronic show it can
be thought as giant exhibition hall where potential buyers
can enter at will and visit prospective sellers like a trade
show. They may do this passively; by simply wandering around,
enjoying the sights and sounds, pausing to pick up pamphlets,
or brochures, and the ingredients still remain the same with
those of conventional trade fairs. As a flea market it possess
the fundamental characteristics of openness, informality and
interactivity typical of the community and market place. The
central and fundamental probe facing conventional trade show
and flea market is how to convert visitors casually strolling
around the exhibition center or market into customers. Similarly
a central dilemma confusing the web advertisers is how to
turn surfers into ultimate purchasers and become interactive,
repeat purchasers.
An excellent illustration of a network to be a virtual flea
market is being built by AFRICOM, which recently became the
first company to be awarded a licence to build and operate
a public data network. The company is using state of the art
technology to enable advertisers to communicate and interact
with their audience using an electronic enquiries desk; electronic
brochures for general information and electronic customer
care support to deal with routine problems faster and effectively.
Even some banks in Zimbabwe are adopting this concept. Customers
can transfer funds, make payments, write cheques, talk with
electronic tellers (where they are always first in time.)
and see bank manager for additional requests, complaints and
general feedback.
In summary different organizations may have different advertising
and marketing objectives for establishing and maintaining
websites. One organization might wish to use the web as a
means of introducing itself and its new products to a potentially
wide, international audience. Its objectives could be to create
corporate and product and inform the market. Thus the can
be used to move customers and prospects through successive
phases of the buying process. First attract net surfers quality
or convert ignite those interested into interactive customers.
As the demand for targeted and effective advertising venues
continues to grow, so does the ability of service providers
to institute adverts directed at very specific markets.Keyword
bidding is commonly related to the growing pay per click,
or pay per placement search engines, but there exist marketing
opportunities that allow for the placement of ads, text based
or otherwise, that are sourced only during specific keyword
queries.
The value inherent in these advertising options is strongly
dependant upon your ability to correctly target, and communicate
with your market. One provider of such a service is Google
Adwords. Achieving a listing is very similar in nature to
pay per click based keyword bidding, with the exception that
the end result is a text based ad to the right of the usual
search results relative.
Payment for services is based upon the positioning of your
ad, which is dependant upon the number of advertisers who
have chosen to associate with that keyword. Google will even
generate an estimate of costs associated with specific keywords,
based upon previous search volumes for that term.
As in all ad based marketing efforts, the copy of your advertisement
can play a strong role in its overall click through rate,
and thus its effectiveness in promoting your property. Take
the time to carefully develop your ad, and be willing to experiment
with different ads to allow for some response rate comparisons.
This can be done when everyone everywhere is networked for
those who need the model on how to convert surfers into use
email Kennedy.
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