In the digital age, it might seem like online advertising is simply everywhere. But the technologies used are still relatively new and unknown. They certainly can be difficult for the layperson to understand. Even in the field of advertising, which has always needed to embrace new formats with flexibility and creativity, online advertising can be difficult to comprehend, even suspect. Despite this, online advertising continues to appear ubiquitous. It’s everywhere you go and if you’re like most of us, you find yourself wondering if it really works and how.
Targeted Advertising
The truth is, it does. There are several benefits to online advertising, but the most important has to be the creation of targeted ads. Using the information that you generate by visiting various sites on the internet, companies can arrange to show ads that are related to the subjects and products that you are demonstrably interested in. This makes it much more likely that they will find you a receptive audience and successfully discharge their message.
Broad Reach
Advertisements on the web reach a vast market simply because of the speed that internet culture progresses at. The internet has a global reach and if you wait long enough, everyone will see your ad. You don’t need to wait long; however, as page views and click-through’s can take mere seconds. Since advertising is about reaching as many people as possible as quickly as possible, this approach is widely successful. It’s also the explanation for why you see that one ad everywhere you go.
New Creative Possibilities
The very recent nature of the internet works in its favour when it comes to advertising techniques. Since we are still working out what can be done with the internet, the opportunities for what can be done with online advertising are almost limitless. Advertising online can take many different forms and work together to create the untraceable groundswell that occurs when something ‘goes viral.’ You can advertise online using picture, text, sound, and animation. You can use banners, rich media, intertials, and broadband commercials. All of these options combine to make powerful marketing tools.
Choosing Online Advertising
Online advertising is the whole package. It gets the message out there quickly and simultaneously to broad and targeted audiences; it provides inherent tools for tracking data about the ad’s targeted population and its overall effectiveness. On top of it all, it’s affordable. You can make an incredible impact online with a small fraction of the marketing budget that you need for print and other media.