Jillgaspard’s Weblog

To the recipient, SPAM is nothing but annoying and intrusive. To the sender, SPAM is the easiest and cheapest way to advertise their product/service, and get their brand name out there. The advertiser can send out a mass email to a large number of recipients, and all it costs them is time. It does not cost them anything to send the email and they do not waste paper. This is why SPAM is now so popular. Advertisers have realized that it is much more cost effective than direct mail or newspaper or magazine ads, as they involve printing and mailing costs.

One of the major problems with SPAM marketing is that consumers are now trained to recognize and automatically delete it. Another problem is that a majority of email servers have systems in place that recognize SPAM email, and do not let it get through to their clients’ email in-boxes. Since half of all email is SPAM, it can be determined that marketers are now abusing this services, and consumers are not responding positively to it.

The reason that SPAM email continues to this day is that there is still mail that gets through to recipients, and a small percentage of these recipients respond to these emails. In order for SPAM mail to be profitable, it needs a response rate of 0.025%. Since SPAM continues, companies must be obtaining this response rate, otherwise it would not be worth their time. Another reason that SPAM mail continues is that the legal aspect is very hard to monitor. It is hard to determine what is SPAM mail, and what is legitimate emails that are going out to clients.

I find that SPAM mail has gotten a lot better than when I first got an email address about ten years ago. I remember be bombarded with random emails from companies that I hadn’t even heard of. Now, if I receive any sort of SPAM mail, it is sent to my Junk Bx in my email. This function allows me re filter through my regular email without the hassle of dealing with SPAM mail too.

In the past years, communication over the Internet has increased phenomenally. What a user is able to do on the Internet today is far beyond what anyone could have imagined ten years ago. The use of RSS (Real Simple Syndication) has become quite popular with a lot of websites. The RSS feeds allow for content to be continually updated on a website, using the XML format. RSS allows companies and organizations to distribute their digital content to users, rather than having to have them go and look for it.

A new and very popular form of RSS is a product owned by Google, named Google Earth. This application allows for users to view satellite images of the whole world. These images can be as detailed as determining where your house is, or checking out road map directions. This RSS feed allows users to have updated information on an area in which they are interested in, or are planning to travel.

Google Earth has become a major asset to the tourism industry. It allows users to view potential travel destinations, and see what the surrounding area also has to offer. When users use the Google Earth application, they can get more that just a map location, they also have access to information about accommodation, food and travel. For example, when looking at the Tofino, BC area, you can view the different accommodations that they have to offer. Some accommodations go one step further, providing links to the hotel’s website, or providing detailed pictures.

The Google Earth application allows users to access information more easily than they did before. By providing a function which allows them to view the inquired about area. It saves them a lot of time and effort searching the Internet for the same information that they may be able to find as a link of Google Earth. Also, by having links directly from Google Earth to the applicable websites, allows users to get the information they want when they want it, instead of discouraging them from having to go through the hassle of searching the Internet.

When you ask a college student whether or not they are apart of some kind of social network, a majority of them will say yes. Social networks are the one of the most popular activities that users take part in on the internet. These networks are now used for more than just chatting about common interests, they have developed the capabilities to upload pictures, view videos, play games, and much more. Sites like mySpace and facebook have become the new way to communicate and keep in touch with friends and family.

Marketers have now realized how big the social network market really is, and they are doing everything in their power to take advantage of this marketing opportunity. Many advertisements are now geared specifically for these networks, and appear on a user’s page depending on their interests, activities, age and gender. By creating these tailored ads, marketers are increading the probability that the user will notice the ad and possibly click thru to the ad’s desired landing page. Along with it’s social advertising, facebook also has a page in which marketers can choose how they want to market to users, and who they want to market to.

 Facebook has recently come out with a new type of advertising, called social advertising, in which users can learn about businesses, brands, and products through their friends. It is almost a “word-of-mouth” type of advertisement. It also allows businesses to start up their own facebook page, and advertise their product by providing information, pictures, videos and music.

 In my opinion, it is very benefical for marketers to target users that use social networks, as they are spending a lot of time on these networks. Since some marketers tailor their ads to fit the users’ profile, they will have better luck in achieving their desired result, and a click thru to the ad’s home page. However, with facebook introducing their new social advertising, users may feel as though their social network has gone from simple and fun, to corporate and over-advertised.

How do we find consumers that are willing to interact with online advertising, and how do we differ them from those consumers that do not? When it comes to online advertising, there is a fine line between intruding on the user’s personal space and getting their attention. Even though the web allows for the online marketing to be highly targeted, consumers complain about this form of marketing much more than any other type of marketing.

Online marketing first appeared in 1994 and was very successful until 2000-2001, due to a decrease in the spending of advertising. Recently, online marketing has started to make a comeback, as there is a strong dissatisfaction with traditional media. This comeback can be accredited to less intrusive ads and rich media. Rich media allows for the consumer to interact with the ad, and allows them to see things that they wouldn’t normally in a magazine or television ad. Rich media is also said to be twice as effective as normal banner ads, as they provide an experience for the consumer, rather than just a nuisance.

Online marketing has opened up a new way for consumers to interact and learn about potential purchases. There are three purposes of interactive advertising, and all play major roles in its success. The first is the actual advertisement of the brand, providing benefits of the product and getting the product name out there. The second purpose is the direct response from consumers. It allows consumers to gain more content information and enables consumers to make a transaction directly after viewing the ad. The third purpose is to retain consumers by using tactics such as promotions, contests and draws.

I enjoy the aspect of online marketing to some degree, but I have a real problem with advertising that is intrusive, and distracts me from what I am currently doing on the Internet. If only 1% of people that are exposed to online advertising, and only 5% of this 1% actually follow through with a transaction, you would think that online advertising isn’t that effective. However, if you look at how many people are actually exposed to these ads, you will see that it is a much larger number than you would think, and quite a profitable industry.