8 Ways the Internet Changed Marketing Today

Before the internet, traditional marketing was the go-to place for every business that needed visibility. But, besides being hard to refine and execute, it was also costly. For instance, many small businesses needed extra support to afford TV, Radio, or Billboard services. However, today any small business will survive without broadcasting. And that is because of the several ways how the internet has changed something about how companies are marketing.

With over 4.8 billion people on the internet today, every business is now investing in digital marketing. And one of the critical reasons is internet marketing is affordable. It costs 62% less than traditional marketing. In other words, you can always tailor internet marketing services to fit your business budget.

As the way things look, there is an outstanding achievement the internet has brought into the business world. And in this blog, we have listed 8 key ways how the internet has changed marketing today. But before we dive into them, let’s first understand what internet marketing means.

What is internet marketing?

Internet marketing is also known as digital or online marketing and advertising. It’s a method of using the internet to boost a brand’s visibility to reach its target audiences. Below are some of the internet marketing strategies that will generate leads and traffic to a brand’s products:

•  Search Engine Marketing (SEO)
•  Pay Per Click (PPC)
•  Social Media Marketing
•  Email Marketing
•  Content Marketing
•  Affiliate Marketing
•  Influencer Marketing

These strategies give you the ability to take control of the entire marketing process. For instance, you can determine who will see your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram adverts based on their demographics. In the long run, this improves your business’s engagement and conversion rates, which isn’t the case with Radio or TV adverts. Below are more ways how the internet has changed marketing today.

How the internet has changed marketing

Looking at the internet and its influence in the business world, we have seen new marketing tools and strategies. And that is part of the changes we are talking about. So, here are the 8 critical ways how the internet has changed marketing for better branding and service delivery:

1. Business Directories.

The internet has changed many aspects about how businesses are marketing, and one of these is invention of business databases. Before, new businesses would struggle to get adequate visibility since there was no one to help. Thanks to the internet that gave birth to business directories. With business directories, new businesses can get listed on the internet. As a result, customers can find their services easily.

Simply put, business directories are websites that list businesses within niche-based categories. In other words, if you run a cleaning business, then find a business directory for that niche. When you do so, always provide the right information about your business, such as business name, official website, contacts, location, etc.

This way, you can earn business visibility and credibility. Additionally, Business directories are a source of backlinks driving traffic to your website. Here are some of the popular business directories you may look out for:

• Google My Business.
• Apple Maps.
• LinkedIn Company Directory.
• Bing.
• Yelp.
• MapQuest.
• HubSpot.
• Best of the Web (BOTW)

2. Strategic Marketing (especially using SEO).

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been with us since 1997. So that is 26 years as of the time this article was published. And that means SEO came along with the invention of Google (1998) and several other search engines. Not sure how businesses were doing it without SEO. But we don’t want to go back there. We definitely cannot do without SEO in this era of search engines.

SEO is unarguably a key driving aspect for all successful companies. In fact, 93% of all online experiences start with SEO. That means it is SEO that determines how customers find your business online and interact with your content.

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This kind of strategic marketing allows you to target keyphrases prospecting customers use in search engines while looking for services related to yours. In other words, if you sell sneakers, you would want to know which phrases people use in Google to find sneaker shops. Then, you will have to optimize your online shop for those keywords.

The next time customers search for the exact words, Google will display your business website to those customers. Hence, they will definitely end up on your website scrolling through your products. Isn’t that awesome? Well, that is SEO! And that is how the internet has changed how we’re marketing today.

3. Social Media Marketing.

Marketing is all about reaching the right audience. And keeping that audience engaged till the buying phase, which social media marketing is doing. Social media marketing as a whole has changed the marketing department in several ways, for instance, it has created two-way communication between brands and their customers. Hence, improving transparency, brand visibility, and awareness. This is something traditional marketing couldn’t do for businesses.

In addition, channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have invented new tools to offer cutting edge in the market. These include analytics tools and the famous ad tools businesses rely on today. With the internet, achieving these advancements in how people market was easier than with traditional marketing.

If you don’t already use social media marketing, you are missing a lot. Over 4.74 billion people across the world use social media. These could be your target clients somewhere in the world you may reach without even spending more than 5$. In case you need help on how to get started, we have several social media marketing guides you can learn with.

4. Reduced marketing cost.

Without a doubt, internet marketing is a cheaper option any small business can afford. With the increase in internet and mobile gadgets usage (5.3 billion), companies that use online marketing have a broad target audience. You are not looking at reduced costs alone, but you should consider value for your money. And this is how the internet has impacted the marketing process of different brands. It helps maximize your investments by targeting the right audience. Hence, people who badly need to buy your products.

Companies achieve this through market research. For example, their in-house market department or agency can create a target audience profile document. As a result, they will base on this document to determine the right direction to drive their marketing effort. And when it comes to AI ads and marketing tools such as ChatGPT, the internet is even getting more sophisticated and productive. For example, you don’t have to hustle anymore while creating marketing pieces that sell. There is always an AI tool to assist.

5. E-Commerce Websites.

In addition to the above changes in marketing, the internet defined flexible ways people can buy and sell products. E-commerce is a top-notch experience the internet has given birth to. And we can hardly do without it because people are no longer confined to one store on the street. Instead, they can now shop from thousands of online stores right from their bedroom. Nothing can beat the comfort of shopping right from where you are, and delivery comes immediately.

The E-commerce industry is here to stay, and it grows every year. For instance, global e-commerce rose from 15% of total retail sales in 2019 to 21% in 2021. This aspect is attributed to the convenience the E-commerce industry contributes to the market. It benefits not only consumers but also the suppliers who run and maintain those online stores.

For example, suppliers find maintaining an online store easier than running a brick-and-mortar store. This is because with online stores reach wider audiences at the lowest operational costs possible. Take a look at the visibility of the most famous online stores like Amazon, Jumia, Shopify, Walmart, Nike, and eBay. You will be shocked!

6. Email Marketing.

Today’s market is so aggressive. Thus, businesses have implemented every possible method to get clients. But that is not all. Many businesses, especially E-commerce companies, have discovered how important retaining a customer is. Therefore, they have always looked for better ways to keep their current customers.

Here is where Email marketing comes in from. It’s a fundamental marketing tool that will retain and attract new customers. You’ve probably seen spam emails from several Stores hooking you into their big deals of the week or discounts for the month. Black November is a common phrase. Yes, that’s how aggressive the market is.

Emails have the power to penetrate the market via vast global reach. In other words, you can reach and engage a broad audience worldwide. This way, businesses can share information with their clients at affordable costs. 

More to that, email marketing is measurable. That is, you can know how many people opened your newsletter, who clicked and who did not. Isn’t that helpful, especially if you are looking to improve your email marketing content quality? Here are some of the email types the big names in the industry use now and then:

• Promotional emails
• Acquisition emails
• Newsletters 
• Retention emails

7. Online Customer Reviews.

When it comes to customer feedback, internet sources are incredible. Users can now post their opinions about different products, which motivates other users to buy the same. That’s obviously another benefit we’ve achieved ever since the internet changed the marketing processes of many brands.

Customer reviews are reactions/feedback from people who have already bought and used the product. It’s easier for a customer to buy a product with a positive review than without. It’s because a review acts as one vote of confidence confirming the quality of the product. We have created a guide on how customer reviews help SEO, you may also want to check it out to learn more.

Recent research shows that customers are 63% more likely to trust brands with online reviews than those without. So, you now know how your business benefits from internet marketing.

While reviews help old customers express their opinions and have a voice, they assist new ones in making the right purchasing decisions. As a result, it improves customer loyalty and ranking since they are your customer marketing for you. This is something that is still impossible with traditional marketing.

8. Analytics of your business.

Lastly, we cannot go without mentioning how the internet has changed business analytics and marketing as a whole. With its modernized tools and strategies, Internet marketing has made decision-making easier. Today, companies use business data to drive top-level decisions. For instance, there should be facts backing up your reason for promoting on Facebook rather than Instagram. 

It means you’ve conducted thorough research about your audience, characteristics, favourite social media platform, and when they usually come online. Then, with all this information, you should focus on the social channels your target audience uses most.

Business data analysis involves studying past and current business data to obtain insights into a business. For example, what were the sales in the past five months? Has there been any improvement in the way people react to your ads? If not, what should be done to achieve more engagement? You get these answers through business data analysis.

We recently shared an article about the most popular and free analytics tools any business would need. You may check it out and bring change to your business.

Conclusion.

With all the above written, you can also clearly see the internet has changed a lot about how companies are marketing today. However, these are not the only things the internet has changed. We always want to focus our content on what we think will benefit our readers and clients. Therefore, we write about anything, from the best internet marketing strategies to the most advanced marketing tools every business needs.

Catch more blogs from us to learn how to market your business more conveniently. If you need help, we also offer digital marketing help for companies that need an outsourced marketing team.

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