1. NEW MARKETING
STRATEGIES FOR
ONLINE BUSINESSES
Four digital marketing concepts focusing solely upon online content to
market goods and services through the use of building and maintaining loyal
customer relationships. Each concept strategy is based on informing and
motivating your target audience by providing content that is valuable,
relevant, reliably consistent, and attractive to meet or exceed your
audiences’ needs and wants. Comparisons between traditional marketing
strategies and digital marketing trends, definitions of keywords, research
methods and specific results will be discussed
Digital Marketing
Trends

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Deborah Hutton
BUSM1300
Professor Chris (Kip) Jochum
November 18, 2014
New Marketing Strategies for Online Businesses
(Digital Marketing Trends)

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Table of Contents
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Content Marketing is a Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Contextual Advertising Using the Concept “Less is More” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Image-Centric Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mobile-Friendly Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Research Project Approval Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

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Abstract
“New Marketing Strategies for Online Businesses” is a research paper that presents four digital marketing
concepts that focus on online content to market goods and services by building and maintaining loyal
customer relationships. Each strategy is based on informing and motivating target audiences by
delivering content that is valuable, relevant, reliably consistent, and attractive to meet or exceed
customers’ needs and wants with goods and services in a digital marketing environment. An online
presence might include business websites, e-mail campaigns, videos, case studies, and company landing
pages, or links to and from social media networking sites. Comparisons between traditional marketing
strategies and digital marketing trends, definitions of keywords, research methods and specific results will
be discussed.
Keywords:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Integrated Marketing Concept (IMC)
Content Marketing
Market Segmentation
Target Audience
Contextual Advertising
Less is More
White Space
Flash Websites
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Image-Centric Content
Mobile-Friendly Content

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Introduction
How do successful business owners drive profit to their businesses? Traditional marketing
strategies may first come to mind because it is customary to rely on tangible items such as business
cards and print advertisements (brochures, posters, and newspapers) to reach a local market, or
magazines, television, and radio advertisements to reach a wider audience. However employable the
traditional strategy may still be, it is oftentimes considered too costly and too limited in its reach, “reaching
only a local audience” (Digital Marketing Strategy). With Internet and technological growth, marketers
began to adopt digital marketing strategies based on customer relationship management (CRM) and add
them to the arsenal of more traditional methods of marketing. Customer relation management focuses on
“learning as much as possible about customers to enhance satisfaction and stimulate long-term loyalty”
(Nickles, McHugh and McHugh 355). Today’s marketers launch digital campaigns to help “develop
merchandise and services that match customers’ needs and wants at approximately the same price as
mass-produced goods” (Nickels 365). Overtime, digital marketing provides consumers with information;
the more often information is viewed, the more a brand becomes familiar. The more familiar a brand; the
more likely a business is able to develop trust and build rapport that converts online visitors into loyal
customers. It is this potential for tremendous exposure together with an environment that is cost-effective,
measurable, and terrific for brand development that has become essential for today’s businesses to stay
current as well as competitive in a global market.
Content Marketing is a Priority
According to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), “Content marketing is the marketing
technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a
clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action. It delivers information
that makes the buyer more intelligent. This allows a company to steadily build rapport with its target
audience and to develop a loyal following” (Content Marketing Institute).
Research provided by Eric Gagnon provides insight as to why marketing budgets are switching
from traditional brand-building print campaigns to online-marketing campaigns due to “sustained
downturns in print advertising, in trade shows, and other activity [taking place] in conventional marketing
media over the past several years” (Gagnon 63) because of the 2008 recession. The recesion caused

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consumers to change their buying methods of goods and services by using the Internet to do research
prior to making a bying decision. This has “effectively supplanted trade shows and publications, and
helped to accelerate the decline of traditional business to business (B2B) marketing approaches”
(Gagnon 65). Various forms of digital channels are being used, and include social media, articles on
business websites, e-newsletters, case studies, and videos to reach different target audiences. Digital
marketing affords business owners with flexibility, too, which is useful to help build a positive reputation
that is necessary in the development and maintenance to keep loyal customers satisfied.
However, not all research on digital marketing provides positive results. According to Michele
Linn, Director of Content Development at the Content Marketing Institute, reports:
A drop over the past year [2013] from ninety-three percent (93%) to eighty-six percent (86%)
regarding content marketing is due to a flooding of the market by would-be content marketers,
who merely create content, rather than practice content marketing. Consequently, they quickly
grow frustrated with unsuccessful efforts, and most likely remain closed to using content
marketing as a strategic practice. (Linn)
It seems likely this failure is a direct result of not being aware of good market segmentation
practices that “divide the total market into groups having the same characteristics” (Nickels 366-367). The
groups with same characteristics are studied so as to decide which target market can be served
profitably. In addition, once the target market has been determined, the delivery of relevant content needs
to be consistent to remain effective and to be deemed highly valuable. One way to achieve this is by
using email newsletters to provide up-to-date industry information to business clients in a business-to-
business (B2B) market on a regular monthly basis. Another way to deliver information consistently is by
including weekly news articles on a website to develop a consumer following, as well as attract new
customers to the site. Ultimately, a clearly defined target market helps marketers decide what content
needs to be supplied that will be based on the exact needs and wants of that target market.
Contextual Advertising Using the Concept “Less is More”
According to author Curt Ziegler, a web designer author for web design tutorials at tutsplus.com,
another popular marketing trend used today is the concept of “less is more.” Less is more focuses on the
use of white space (or negative spaced) on a page to achieve a balance with the positive space (printed

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or visual content) in any type of medium (print, digital, and multimedia). It is explained as a clean and
uncluttered composition where page layout techniques include conciseness of well written vital
information. White space gives a classic or rich appearance that is often seen in upscale brand
advertisements. It improves legibility, creates higher comprehension, increases attention, and offers a
clean, fresh openness that attracts and draws the viewer in. (Ziegler) Furthermore, it has become
increasingly more important since internet use comes with the continuous flood of messages that for
many can result in information overload. Current research concurs that a simple design with just the right
amount of necessary information captures attention and holds viewer interest, and this helps to create
and enhance consumer buying behaviors.
Contextual marketing is reported by Microsoft researchers in a 2013 report entitled, “Smart Ads,
Changing Contextual Ads to Mobile Apps”, as a “form of targeted advertising displayed on websites or
other media … [the ads are] selected and served by automated systems based on the content displayed
to the user” (Nath, Lin and Ravindranath 1-2). Therefore, instead of seeing flea and tick medication on a
website that promotes skin care for people, it would be viewed on a veterinary website where the
advertisement is relevant to the page content. The report concluded that “contextual advertising is very
successful on the web because ads are targeted, and users are likely to click on them, which can lead to
generating revenue for the owner of the website as well as to the network that hosts the website (a.k.a.,
pay-per-click)” (Nath 11).
A recent International Journal of Advertising article (2014) states further their “results that
demonstrate Internet contextual advertisement[s] enhance brand recognition and induce favorable
attitudes towards the ad. In addition consumers have higher recall rates and attitudes towards the brand
when they are exposed to a less complex advertisement” (Kwang Yeun, Hollenbeck and Song 355). This
is important as higher recall rates influence visitors into making buying decision and helps develop them
into becoming loyal customers. Finding trends that are proven to be effective at influencing visitors are as
easy as looking at the marketing campaigns of popular brands. For instance, current brands in today’s
market include Apple, Google, and Pinterest. Each uses clean and minimalistic designs in their online
marketing campaigns.

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In contrast to a minimalism approach are Flash websites that were very popular in digitally
designed websites as late as 2009. Flash websites deliver rich content, motion, and interactivity that
result in an impressive visual experience for website visitors. However impressive they are, they are not a
favored option for today’s businesses because “most Flash is still highly invisible in Google” (Whalen).
Consider an online business’s presence that is not listed on an Internet result pages when a consumer
searches for their product or service. Obviously, if the business cannot be found on a results page, there
is a greater chance of losing that customer to competition that is listed on a search engine results page.
The debate for and against Flash websites is ongoing, and those that are pro-Flash make their websites
search engine optimized (SEO). SEO can be employed into a Flash website by adding HTML coding and
by links to internal pages of a site so as to improve the chances of showing up in search engine results.
However, Flash is generally considered to be somewhat problematic due to “poor on-page optimization,
no link value found in Flash embedded links, and most-flash based websites make it difficult to track user
behavior on the site” (Demaria).
Image-Centric Content
According to PR Newswire, who analyzed more than 10,000 press releases in 2011 and 2012,
the more multimedia included in press materials will result in more views.
The data showed that by just adding an image to a text-only press release increases
visibility by 1.8 times, adding a video to a text-only release delivers 4.3 times the number of
views, and when you combine both, visibility is increased 7.4 times more than plain text releases.
(PR Newswire)
Image-centric content, therefore, has a great deal of impact on the viewer. Researcher Katherine Vong
concludes in her report that one of the main reasons there is an explosion of image-based social media
sites is owing to the “prevalence of smartphone photography,” which is coupled with how “most people
(65-85%) describe themselves as visual learners, to form meaning and organize thoughts based on what
is seen more than what is read” (Vong). Accordingly, “brands are beginning to focus more time, effort and
resources on image-based social media, hoping that the rising popularity of these sites will boost online
engagement and interaction” (Vong).

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Likewise, Jason Meyers, in his article, “The Power of Images in Social Media Marketing,” states
that “data can quickly become overwhelming to the internet consumer, and images provide a natural way
to grab the attention of people scanning through content to extract what they are looking for” (Meyers).
Similarly, graphic designers learn early on that a well-placed image creates breaks or a resting place for
the eye, which is also true of using white space in web design. It is important to provide a site visitor with
a place to stop and reflect upon important points in the content of a web page. An example of this is how
step-by-step instructions that include diagrams or photos are more helpful because the visuals provide a
better understanding of how to follow the procedure.
There are several ways to use visual aids harmoniously with written content. Consider
infographics that deliver a complete story in a quick glance. Also, interactive graphics such as a “buy
now” buttons draw attention to special offers, and can help convert visitors into paying customers. Many
marketing techniques are meant to provide an emotional bond with the consumer. This can easily be
accomplished by using photographs of people that look like the target market as this helps them feel
comfortable with a product. Major brands have revived brand mascots and made them into social media
personalities (Charlie the Tuna and Mr. Peanut) to provide an emotional bond, and to showcase and build
a brand. Brand icons, such as the Twitter bird, the Facebook “f”, or the Google “g” are examples of visual
aids that help make a website familiar to the online visitor as well as making the site appear more
professional.
Mobile-Friendly Content
Adam Lella and Andrew Lipsman reports that “the day of desktop dominance is over” because
“mobile has swiftly risen to become the leading digital platform, with total activity on smartphones and
tablets accounting for an astounding 60 percent of digital media time spent in the United States” (Lella
and Lipsman). Therefore, marketers are increasing the amount of spending on all different types of
mobile devices. For instance, it has become popular to use social media to “connect with the consumer
during the [decision-making] process” (Kultgen). Marketers are placing themselves at the point where
the consumer is searching for products in the store, checking prices, or while using lists to do shopping
tasks. It is looked upon as being a better way to understand how consumers feel, and to enhance the
overall shopping experience. Target has “recognized this trend and incentivized the use of mobile phones

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[by providing] discounts and coupons targeted at mobile users” within the store (Warden). This works with
the concept of helping buyers buy because the mobile shopper has the deal come to them rather than
their looking for the deal on their own.
Of course, website content will need to be redesigned to display correctly on mobile devices
(mobile-friendly content). Editor of Tech Forum, Michael Castelluccio explains “[t]here’s always work
before a website is emigrated out to pockets or tablets,” because a “website that migrates to mobile
devices without serious adjustments will continue to frustrate users trying to read the large-page content
on the three-inch screen of their smart phone” (Castelluccio 68).
In today’s society of instant gratification, people have short attention spans. They want the news
in 140-character snippets, they want to shop with the click of a button – and they want infinite
information accessible at their fingertips via smartphone and tablets. It’s easy for businesses to
lose potential customers with a complicated, slow or inefficient mobile website. (Walden)
Therefore, enhancing content to make it mobile friendly is essential to an online business
presence. One way to improve mobile content is to provide program coding that recognizes the type of
device accessing it, which content then conforms to that device. It is also important to provide concisely
written content that fits into a small space. A good example is a restaurant that could display essential
information (menu, hours of business, and location) so customers receive precise information without
distraction.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a digital marketing campaign is relatively easy to achieve and inexpensive
compared to the more traditional marketing campaign strategies. The drawbacks of a traditional
marketing campaign are expense (printing costs, storage costs, mailing costs, and distribution costs).
Subsequently, digital marketing campaigns are being integrated with traditional marketing strategies to
meet and exceed customer needs and wants. The four online marketing strategies presented are content
marketing, contextual advertising, image centric content, and mobile friendly content, which all focus on
building relationships and customer loyalty by providing a preferred type of content that is relevant,
attractive, compelling, concise, and minimalistic in design.

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