Information Technology Applications in Marketing - Essay Example

Information Technology Applications in Marketing Print Media is Dead Print media being dead is one of the principal concerns raised by many people all over the world. The most pertinent issue stems from questioning whether print media dies, or it is its business model that will succumb to increased virtual media platforms. It is evident that physical wares magazines, books and newspapers, will no longer be the key to interaction via media; neither will it be the most lucrative means to deliver entertainment, factual information, general news or educative material. However, this does not imply that print media is bad; it simply gives the assertion that digital media is better and more reliable. This is because digital media has numerous advantages like: search ability, speed, marketing interface and perhaps most importantly, data feedback. Digital media, therefore, transcends the constraints posed by physical media and incorporates the best of personal interactivity. More importantly, digital print has been known to reduce incremental cost of production, as well as, that of content acquisition and distribution. The reason why print media is dying is because every newspaper pays writers to acquire publishing content. This makes it difficult to compete with digital media, since the latter provides free content. In the past, printed media was the most influential platform for acquisition of information since there was no other basis of doing so. At the present time, numerous individuals have resorted to electronic media like websites, e-newspapers, and online television, among others. This has led to a huge drop in newspaper circulation for the past ten years. However, this does not mean that print media is completely obsolete because up to today there are loyal readers that prefer to get news from newspapers and other print media (Reid, n.pag). This is a notion opposed by Josefowicz (n.pag)who insists that print media is bound to die owing to poor reception and increasing popularity of digital media at all societal levels. The principal sector likely to bear the brunt of print media deterioration is that will journalism. A journalist is forced to acquire distinctive information because the internet is a threat for print media. Despite the extensive efforts of acquiring information, it is made available to people who can easily access or even download it for free. For this reason, the print industry has to lower its cost in order to sustain competition in the news industry, and this will inevitably cause its failure and that of journalism. People have always paid for monthly subscriptions for newspaper or other print media like magazines. Currently, however, individuals can acquire information free of charge from the internet, a principal predicament that is shaking the print media companies financially, because they do not have the capability to offer free information. However, as Josefowicz (n.pag) states, the internet is the big problem, but in some cases it can be utilized as a solution. Print media companies can earn revenue by borrowing the internet’s business model for increasing advertising. Nevertheless, print media is still effective and in some cases it holds a variety of advantages over digital media. For instance, print media offers tangibility, an element not available in digital media. This is crucial; magazines or newspapers can be preserved for future reference, while it is possible for internet advertisements or information to get lost into the cyber space under circumstances like virus attacks. Additionally, print media has credibility owing to its sense of legitimacy. This is due to the fact that information is acquired by competent journalists, and is reviewed by editors before being unveiled to the public. This is unlike in digital media where virtually everyone can gain access to information and deliver it in a manner that lacks credibility. Content Marketing Content marketing refers to a promotion method of collecting as well as distributing of relevant and imperative information to customers. This is done in order to acquire, attract, as well as engage a clearly defined and comprehensive target market or audience. Content marketing is also done with the common goal of attaining the objective of promoting reasonable and beneficial consumer action (Parker n.pag). Principally, content marketing encompasses the art of conveying information to the actual or prospective customers of a particular business, regarding the prospects of the business without trading. Content marketing is, therefore, a form of non-interruptive marketing. This is because, rather than pitching a business’s products or services, one delivers information that makes the customer more knowledgeable or more intelligent about the products being sold. The fundamental nature of the content marketing strategy is the certainty that if a business, has consistent delivery of precious information to consumers; they will eventually foster the business purchases and eventually customer loyalty. This is one of the principal reasons that makes content marketing one of the best ways to get customers to buy products and services. Additionally, content marketing is utilized, when referring to virtually all marketing actions that are centred towards or around sharing and creating content that attract customers’ attention. The process of sharing high quality information, which is relevant for prospective customers, assists the content marketers to influence buyers’ decisions as well as improve the brand recognition and loyalty. The imperative nature of the search engine’s ranking, as well as, the need to have regular provision of helpful content drive the engagement with customers on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. This is a clear indicator that content marketing is continuously becoming more imperative to contemporary business operations, especially in regard to customer relations (Parker n.pag). There are several reasons that have made content marketing preferable as a marketing strategy to many businesses and individuals. First and foremost, it is because of the drastic decline in the efficacy of traditional marketing techniques. Some of the old ways of marketing and advertising mostly use print media which is becoming marginalized every single day. This is because of the technological advancement that is taking over the marketing sector. Many prefer digital advertisements because they reach people fast and they are efficient, since any potential customer can be able to access the information regardless of their location (Parker n.pag). The other key reason why content marketing is becoming one of the most utilized promotion methods in the world is because of the rise of the internet popularity. It is evident that consumers have plainly shut off the old world of marketing. This is because most of the populace own DVRs and that makes them skip television advertising, and they often ignore magazine adverts, and they have now become more proficient at “surfing”. This allows the potential customers to take online information into account and not care about any other modes of advertisement like banners or bill boards since the internet has rendered them irrelevant. Most of the brilliant marketers have come to discover that traditional marketing is getting sidelined thus becoming less efficient by the minute, thus the internet offers a better way of marketing and advertising. Many companies all over the world have also come to appreciate content marketing (Parker n.pag). This is especially the case for the telecommunication industry, because people are constantly searching for the best mode of marketing in order to get their products information known to potential customers even before the product is released to the market. Front page and SEO Search engines seek to build an index of all the available web pages through the use of crawlers. This works in a manner that, when one enters a search query, the search engines retrieve the most important web pages from the index by sorting them in accordance to the ranking aspects. SEO increases the rankings of a web page for popular search phrases that customers input into key search engines such as Google. There are diverse tactics that can be applied to facilitate easy access to information, about a prospective flower shop that is on Main Street in Newark and mainly specializes in “ervaftterb” flower, roses and Akins. These tactics are important in guaranteeing maximum consumer searches (Webdigia n.pag). First and foremost, it is imperative to identify what many customers like; hence creating a social keyword glossary is highly pertinent. The front page should have the names of the three types of flowers available and the flower shop’s location. The location is essential because; when searching for a shop to buy flowers, it is essential for customers to have the guarantee that flowers are fresh, since travelling a long delivery distance might spoil them. Customers are also highly likely to inquire about the available types of flowers. For these reasons, the location and flower types are the most probable keywords to be typed into the search engine. Another tactic that is extremely imperative is avoidance of keyword stuffing. This means there should be no overuse of the keyword on the search engine, since this may contribute to the slow operation of the respective (Webdigia n.pag). Additionally, there are other tactics that a flower shop owner can utilize in order to improve the odds of being on the top ten lists on Google or other search engines. For instance, one should make sure that they create a unique but extremely accurate title page. It is also imperative to utilize descriptions or Meta tags. The other important issues include learning how to improve the site structure of the URL. This makes the page easily retrievable as well as navigable for the user. It is also imperative to accurately describe the page content or information. The content titles should be short and precise and not very descriptive. This is because, when the words are many, then there will be an issue in relation to the flow of information traffic. The title page should be of a limited length; in order for the title to fit in its original context when shared on the social media cites (Webdigia n.pag). For instance, facebook and twitter are some of the imperative media platforms that will be utilized. Therefore, placing the title in its business context would serve to ensure that the page can be viewed by many people when shared, as well as, when it is saved as a book mark. If the title fulfils all these qualities, then people are likely to click and share it with others. This is due to the fact that, in cases where people do not get the right information when searching for a specific item on they tend to give up. It is also discouraging, since the amount of time spent searching for the item is lost and the item cannot be found owing to its placement on the last page or its complete inaccessibility. Additionally, it is important to know how to link the front page with the other WebPages because people will be able to access your information, even when searching in other title pages (Webdigia n.pag). In summation, SEO articles need clarity as well as simplicity and this is one of the principal tactics that the flower shop owner should apply. Works Cited Josefowicz, Michael. The Fallacy of the 'Print is Dead' Meme, Media Shift, 2009, 18 March 2013. Reid, David. 'Papers battle online new sites', The BBC's flagship technology programme. 2006, 18 March 2013. Parker, Rachel .What is Content Marketing? 2013. 18 March 2013. Webdigia. What Does Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Do? 2013, < http://webdigia.com/search-engine-optimization>18 March 2013. Read More