As we announced in the previous post, today we will talk about online marketing and its importance. As promised!

Let's start with a key to understand it: the time we spend online. According to a study by Go Gulf about the 30% of the world population has access to Internet and monthly each user spends an average of 16 hours online, that is, a total of 35 million hours for all users, equivalent to 3.995.444 years, with the social networks as the most time-consuming activity.

This study shows that much of this time, 22% is invested in Social Media, being Facebook and Twitter the leaders. After them we find the searches of information and contents, with the 21%, and with the 20% for reading or viewing such contents.

We invest a lot of time on the internet, right? Hence the importance of developing our techniques, strategies and marketing campaigns and advertising in this media.

The first thing we note is that online communication with the customer is individual. We turn to many people but we must do so in a way we connect single and personally with each of them.

Another factor to consider is that the inability to show emotions through our screen and the small human component present on such advertisings, hence the importance of creating pretty emotional, visual and original contents, full if possible of a touch of optimism and humor.

Products must be brought not as mere things, but rather as characters with a story to tell, something that really catches our attention not only because of their qualities, but also because of their personality.

As we have indicated at the beginning of this post, Social Networks take the cake in terms of online communication. So, we must be present in them, sharing content, showing our products, chatting with customers and, above all, listening them.

This is called 'active listening' or 'feedback': the action of paying attention to what the customer has to say about our brand, business and products. This way we can provide suitable solutions and products, as well as alternatives to what the client needs.

Our business strategy regarding online marketing should revolve around four key points:

• Customer Acquisition: By generating traffic to our social networks and Web.
• Conversion: Consistent in achieving targets as sales, registrations of new users, recommendations, favorites, etc..
• Loyalty:  We must pursue our retention and customer preference for our brand. This is mainly achieved with a good product and good customer service (PreSale-Sale-Aftermarket).
• Evangelism: There is no more persuasive force in advertising than a happy client who sells the benefits of your brand, company or product. Word of mouth has always worked. This is because a key concept, the trust.

How to relate online and offline?

We must do both advertising and communication campaigns interact so that individuals who visit our stores also visit us online and vice versa.

From the basics of interaction, including your website and social networks in every physical material (cards, banners, marquees, flyers...), to more sophisticated ways, such as using qr codes, are essential for interconnection between your offline marketing and your online marketing.

As we said, the QR Codes, also known as a bidi because of the mobile app to use them, are a great resource for your offline advertising to reflect in your online conversion.

This kind of codes support as well traditional url, which if it correctly tagged will allow to track the performance of your physical media; as more sophisticated applications, such as pointing users to a video, a survey, a downloadable mobile application or just an image.

In this field we have been pioneers made ​​in Spain including such codes on business cards, flyers and all kinds of signage. The customers only have to tell us their idea and we'll develop the code and insert it into their physical media.

In any case, it is essential originality, both the content and the support at attracting customers in both the offline and online world.
For example, complete your online viral video campaign with an increase thereof in lenticular cinemagraph (which could lead through QR to the online videos) can be a revolution and a unique attraction that takes prospects to stand before your advertising and to hold it in your target's brain.

Similarly, to work on the feedback through physical media is possible and really helpful. The users may feel drawn to comment on their experiences with your product at the time in which they are enjoying it, if you provide the means to do so. Again the QR is the place to do invention. Include it in your restaurant menu, or at the tables; or at packaging of your products. The return on interaction with customers will surprise you.

You can visit our products catalog where you will surely find an ideal way to present your brand or new product, combining your strategies on and offline to perfection.

We leave you with this video of the last on-offline Coke Advertising, #ComparteCocaColaCon. A success!

See you next week!