Commentary

The Nine Most Overlooked Elements Of Digital Marketing

by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, September 9, 2009

Today is sponsored by the number "nine," just like back when I was a kid and glued to "Sesame Street" in the morning! It's Sept.9, 2009; 9.9.09. If you're feeling lucky or your favorite number is nine, then this is definitely your day! If you're a digital marketer, this could also be your lucky day because in celebration of the number nine, I wanted to bring up the nine most overlooked elements of digital marketing.

It can be difficult to stay on top of everything if you're a digital marketer; there's arguably no medium with as many moving parts as this. So you can tend to overlook some of the most important elements. Here they are for your viewing pleasure!

The nine most overlooked elements of digital marketing are (in no particular order):

1. Mobile search. Mobile search is fast becoming one of the most important components of mobile marketing. Search is becoming integrated into every mobile device, whether it be through applications built into the phone itself or through voice, and more and more users are tapping into it daily. Local search is even more important, as people want to know what's around them and find information on the go. Not many marketers are actively looking at mobile search, but in many cases companies like Google are packaging it together with other ad buys so you may be using it already and not even know it. I'd check it out if I were you.

2. Affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is still one of the most scalable and efficient means of building your business online. Whether you're looking to drive traffic, acquire customer information or generate sales, a strong affiliate strategy can do wonders -- but it gets overlooked a lot because it's not sexy. Affiliate marketing used to be sexy; back in the days of Amazon and CDNow ruling the Web. The Netscape Now button started it all off with a bang, and someone is going to revolutionize the business very soon. In the meantime, however, I wouldn't continue to overlook this behemoth of performance.

3. Banners (really!). I know, I know. "Banners are dead" and all that. I never said it, some other folks did. Banners are not dead and they still make up the lion's share of the online marketing budgets. They drive awareness, they drive interaction and they drive loads of business every day. Banners will have a place in your marketing efforts as long as your keyboard does!

4. Commerce and etail sites. Many people forget about the benefits of advertising on etail sites like Amazon and Walmart.com. These sites offer huge reach, targeted placements to actual shoppers and access to lots and lots of behavioral information. They may not do heavy integration or might cost you a lot to consider -- but standard ads on these sites can move product!

5. Relationships. I tried to remind everyone of this a few weeks back and many of you read it and got the message, but it is worth repeating. Our business is driven by relationships, so never overlook the people you talk to on a daily basis, as they can be your best source of ideas and information!

6. Digital outdoor. Digital outdoor is overlooked because too many people are confused as to who is responsible for implementing it. In some cases the digital agency handles it and in some cases the outdoor shop is in control, but in either case it can offer a highly targeted, regionalized opportunity that is scalable and highly impactful.

7. Research. Research is the basis for everything we do. There are lots of great companies and great tools that offer valuable insights into the behaviors of the digital audience. They are all in the same boat, looking to bring business into the category. They work with you and they are willing to go deep to prove a point, so use them!

8. Email. When was the last time you spent a session discussing your email and eCRM strategy? Those of us who spend all day online are quite cynical about the inbox as a marketing tool, but every day brands sell products and make money by email. Your competition is probably doing it very well, so maybe you should be too!

9. Pricing. The rule of the day is this: not everything is cheap. I am one of the biggest culprits when it comes to pushing on pricing, but I also recognize when something is of more value. I know when a special opportunity may command a premium that is just fair. So be sure you are evaluating all options from the same point.

So that's the lesson for today. Don't forget them -- and don't forget to play some roulette this evening and put it all on nine!

marketing

7 comments about "The Nine Most Overlooked Elements Of Digital Marketing".

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Evan W from Experience Advertising, Inc., September 9, 2009 at 10:40 a.m.
Nice piece, I agree completely most companies don't grasp or understand the scalability of affiliate marketing or how to motivate affiliates, so they don't put resources into it...
Reply

Thomas Kurz from EFP, September 9, 2009 at 10:47 a.m.

Oh how I agree with some of these points...well said!

Richard Monihan, September 9, 2009 at 10:49 a.m.

Great piece!
Banners are NOT dead.
Relationships are STILL important.
Pricing is one of the MOST IMPORTANT things inventory managers should be working on with online.
Research should NOT be overlooked or diminished.

From where I stand, these are the most important parts of the article (not to diminish the value of the other parts, but they don't have as much value to me - at least not in my current incarnation).

All told, however, I believe pricing is the key. There are still massive amounts of improperly priced inventory out there, a case proven by the fact that 3rd party remnant remains a major player in the online banner space.

There's a place for remnant. But publishers need to get better control over their pricing to maximize sellouts and revenue. This will benefit not only their bottom line, but the performance of their primary advertising partners.

Victoria Oldham from Trade Winds Advertising Inc, September 9, 2009 at 12:20 p.m.

I loved reading your piece. I also like banners and email, especially when used in some new ways, like coupled with a simple, trackable click to talk feature. For example, we're developing a "create on the fly" click to call banner app at Magic Call Button.

Annette Tonti from MoFuse, Inc, September 9, 2009 at 2:29 p.m.

Cory,

Thanks for the great article. And regarding mobile search - many people don't realize that Google has a patent specifically for Mobile Search “Blending Mobile Search Results” - which means Mobile search algorithms really work differently. A marketer should have a good mobile site solution that is available to mobile search engines more specifically.

Kevin Dwinnell from Brand Thunder, September 9, 2009 at 9:05 p.m.

Cory:

Excellent points. I misread #2 repeatedly because while we use Affiliate Marketing, we've bet heavy on Affinity Marketing. For an early-stage company with a compelling product, you still have the challenge of breaking through the clutter and gaining distribution. Leveraging the power of another's brand to reach their aggregated audience is one viable strategy.

With affinity marketing, you have an identified audience and a channel to reach them. The biggest cost is to your own brand exposure - which may not be that costly. But in the digital space, gaining that rapid audience adoption can be very beneficial.

Jan Van den bergh from Holaba, September 9, 2009 at 10:37 p.m.

Why not making 10 points and add User Generated Content as an overlooked tool in digital marketing. Consumers all over the world have more confidence in the real stories of real consumers about their real experiences with brands.