Effective means of gaining market and/or audience insight using online tools

Advertising is the most common and familiar marketing communications tool, its main purpose is to develop and strengthen a firms brand by informing consumers about the differentiating features of the firm's products and services.

As we all know the internet is where the audience is moving and this is why companies have turned their eyes to to the virtual world. An important advantage for online advertising is its ability to personalise every ad message to precisely fit the needs, interests and values of each consumer.  There are different tools that make this online advertising possible 

Rich media ads

Are ads that employ animation,sound, and interactivity, using flash, dynamic HTML (DHTML), Java, and JavaScript . rich media ads tend to be more about branding than driving sales. 

Video ads 

are TV-like advertisements that appear as in-page video commercials or before,during, or after a variety of content. Video ads are the fastest growing for of online advertisement.

Search engines:

the most significant change in online marketing. More than any other form of online advertising, search engine marketing has altered the entire marketing communications industry. the search engine audience is huge and is basically where the eyeballs are for the moment , this is where advertising can be very effective by responding with ads that match the interests and intentions of the user. Most search engines offer paid inclusion programs which, for a fee, guarantee a web sites's inclusion in its list of search results.

Keyword advertising:

merchants purchase keywords through a bidding process at search sites, and when consumers search for that word, their advertisement shows up.

Link to a page where you can add keywords in order to improve you campaign performance:

www.adwords.google.com

Social Networks:

it is the largest and fastest growing form of social marketing . it is easy to use and very efficient . Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are some of the most commonly known social networks in existence.

There are some other online tools however the ones mentioned before are the most useful in terms of attracting customers and gaining market.

what is digital marketing?

Over the past years the world has become more virtually based. Ever since internet appear people and organisations in general have turned their eyes to the virtual world.

Digital marketing is an important tool and also a revolution that marks how new digital technologies can make marketing more effective. Digital marketing has opened new channels for promoting, making and selling products or services. however the main interests are understanding customer needs and build trust with them.

This new media channel which can be a great source of revenue for those how use it wisely is basically based on communicating actions trough the internet in order to commercialise products and attract new customers.