Interactive Marketing: Changing The Way We Sell

By Author: Henry S Williams
Total Articles: 12
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Unlike traditional marketing and advertising channels, such as print and television, interactive marketing works by reacting and changing to the customer's experience. Interactive marketing has advantages over stagnant advertising because it’s able to utilize things like search engine optimization, social media, and email marketing to both generate leads for a company, while interacting with different types of customers.

Although it’s possible to manage an interactive marketing campaign internally, outsourcing to a reputable interactive marketing agency can yield much better results, and ultimately bring in a higher ROI. Primarily, interactive marketing agencies first analyze where customers are finding and interacting with a brand as well as any potential places that a brand could position itself. These places could include social media platforms or search results for certain keywords relating to the company’s operations. They then develop campaigns that optimize customer interaction on these platforms and continually adapt to changing customer patterns and interaction levels.

Part of any effective marketing ...
... plan is thinking outside the box to engage a consumer. For their most recent Super Bowl ad spot, Pepsi hired an interactive marketing agency to develop a campaign that would help them give back to the community. Pepsi implemented a voting platform where Pepsi drinkers and non-Pepsi drinkers could vote for the best community outreach programs on Pepsi’s website; with the highest voted ideas receiving a sponsorship from the company. Because of the variety of causes propositioned, as well as the interaction users could have when they shared their favorite causes on Facebook and Twitter, Pepsi was able to generate over 75 million votes in their campaign. The interactivity in a campaign like this may not have been possible within Pepsi’s internal marketing team, as the HUGE marketing team in charge of the project was able to not only orchestrate a Super Bowl ad buy, they were also able to implement an easy to use website for site visitors to vote on the philanthropic cause of their choice.

It’s estimated that by 2014, companies will spend approximately $55 billion on interactive marketing projects, eventually eliminating traditional advertising and marketing platforms altogether. This will account for over one fifth of total marketing expenditures for the year. Things like direct mail and newspaper advertising are being thrown out in favor of search engine marketing and interacting directly with customers on social media platforms.

Brands in the 21st century have more control over their brand image and customer perception than ever before. Having an interactive marketing agency by your side to aid in not only developing effective marketing campaigns but help manage search engine optimization and social media strategies can yield higher sales numbers than with traditional marketing platforms. Customers want direct connections with the brands they give their money to; understanding what customers’ personalities are and adapting to their ever changing brand perceptions can ultimately make or break a sale.

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