This year was quite an eventful one for online marketing, in terms of case studies and innovations that were launched and popularized in 2018.
What was important to note is that many of the biggest marketing successes of the year were established in a world where digital marketing was already the norm. As more and more business operate successfully online, marketers have been forced to keep pace with the times, and develop new strategies and tactics to stay relevant.
To reach the world, one needs to understand the various tools and tactics used by marketers today. This article will explore the most influential marketing platforms and how businesses can benefit from using them.
The Growth Of Online Marketplaces
With the rise of online marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, reaching the ‘world’ is much easier than ever before. The platforms have democratized buying and selling, opening up a whole new venue for businesses to succeed.
eBay is the world’s largest online marketplace, with around 270 million active monthly users and thousands of global employees. In 2018, the company took in over US$16 billion in gross merchandise sales each month.
And Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, is also a marketplace, boasting over 300 million active users each month who trade and buy nearly everything online. In fact, if you can’t find it online, you probably won’t find it in a physical retail store either.
These platforms have been extremely effective in connecting people with the products they want, but they’re also making it easier for businesses to reach a much broader audience. Thanks to features like targeted marketing, Facebook’s Instagram, and Google’s and Amazon’s search engines, it’s now possible to attract potential customers from all over the world.
Why Online Marketplaces Are Important
Thanks to the rise of online marketplaces, companies of all sizes can now effectively operate online, without having to worry about distribution or physical stores. Since Amazon and eBay exist in nearly every country around the world, it’s now possible to attract customers from almost every location.
The growth of online marketplaces means that even small businesses can have a global reach, thanks to the internet.
That said, there are a few downsides to this incredible growth. The first is that the world is much more connected than it’s ever been before, which makes it much more difficult to stand out from the crowd. The second is that since these platforms are all-encompassing, it’s much more difficult to target specific audiences and have meaningful conversations with potential buyers.
And finally, the sheer volume of information available online can make it very difficult to gain traction and make an impact, especially if messages and content get buried under mountains of data.
The Growth Of Social Media
The internet evolved from a handful of universities and research labs in the 1960s to the global phenomenon we know today thanks in part to the growth of social media.
While social media began as a way for people to keep in touch with friends and family, the platforms have since evolved to become much more than that. Thanks to features like videos, live videos, and interactive stories, social media is now a venue for businesses to engage with potential customers, as well as other platforms like Google+ and Twitter.
As social media platforms continue to evolve and develop, marketers must continue to stay ahead of the curve. The next step in social media marketing is likely going to be an even more immersive experience, as businesses and brands try to keep customers engaged and entertained between sessions and clicks. Since almost all businesses operate online now, whether or not they have a physical store, they can and should be active on social media.
Why Marketing On Social Media Is Important
Thanks to the rise of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, businesses and brands can now have an online presence, whether or not they have the cash to pay for advertising on mainstream media channels. While social media is a powerful tool for marketing, it’s also a very crowded space. That means it’s much more difficult to gain traction and make an impact, as content often gets buried under mountains of data.
To succeed on social media, marketers need to develop niche audiences, join relevant communities, and engage with potential customers consistently and regularly.
Since business can now operate almost entirely online, marketing strategies have shifted to focus more on the digital sphere, using platforms like Google, Bing, and social media to gain brand awareness and make a global impact.
The growth of digital marketing, SEO, and PPC means that almost every field has become important, in terms of gaining business traction. It’s no longer just about selling products, but about marketing and engaging with customers to drive business growth.