BTEC Level 3 Business Unit 17: Digital Marketing
B.4 Benefits and Concerns of Online Advertising
Learning Outcomes
2
Benefits of Online Advertising
The benefits we are going to cover include;
Cost
Digital marketing is often far cheaper than more traditional marketing methods, such as Television and printed media. The average price for a premium time slot advertisement is between £10,000 - £30,000 everytime it is shown
Many businesses run their businesses through platforms such as Facebook for free. Businesses can set tight budgets for digital marketing, ensuring there is no overspend.
Measurability
Traditional marketing can be as effective as digital marketing, however, it is difficult to measure the success of more traditional marketing methods.
Most forms of digital marketing are able to be tracked through analytics. Key analytics may include;
Formatting
Digital marketing offers businesses a variety of formats that can be changed to suit the audience and context. Formatts may include;
Why may businesses use different formats for their ads? Why is that is major advantage when compared to traditional marketing?
Targeting
Digital marketers have a great amount of control on where their advertisements appear and who the intended audience is. This is referred to as targeting. Here is an example;
Mary runs a vegan friendly food business in Manchester. She wants to advertise on Facebook to the following profile;
Facebook will target ads at individuals who meet this profile. What are the benefits and drawbacks of targeting?
Coverage
Digital marketing allows businesses to show their campaigns on an international scale for a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing. Digital marketing strategies often cover;
Task: Select your favourite supermarket and research how effective their coverage is in terms of digital marketing.
Speed
A major benefit of digital marketing is the speed in which it can be implemented. Community managers for large businesses can react to comments from customers in real time.
In previous years, promotional materials such as music videos would be shown on television and take several weeks of planning and promotion. Digitally, artists can launch music videos and entire albums online so their customers can stream/purchase their content immediately.
Marketers can make changes to campaigns quickly by editing/deleting content
Task: Research marketing campaigns that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, where marketers had to react quickly to changing marketing conditions. What made these campaigns successful?
Concerns
Areas of concern when conducting online advertising include;
Banner Blindness
People of all ages use the internet on a regular basis. Over time, our brains become accustomed to the content we are viewing. Our brains eventually overlook ad content as we focus on the content we wish to read/view. This phenomenon is referred to as ‘Banner Blindness’
This means a business may be paying for advertisements, such as banners, that have become ineffective. How may a business overcome Banner Blindness? What are the consequences of Banner Blindness for businesses?
Task - Go to buzzfeed.com. On this busy webpage, what draws your attention, can you distinguish between content and ads?
Illegal Activity
Businesses must adhere to strict guidelines to ensure they do not break the law. The Advertising Standards Authority publish these industry guidelines. Illegal activities may include;
Businesses often pay large fines and see their reputation damaged.
Task - Go to the Advertising Standards Agency website. Select three different rulings and create a summary of the case. Evaluate how the business has broken guidelines and how they could have avoided sanctions.
Display Variations
Online advertisements should be adaptable to any user. An individual using a top of the range iPhone should be able to see the advertisement (such as videos) in the same way as someone using a much older model of iPhone.
Websites should also be optimised to be mobile friendly to ensure users enjoy the same experience as they would using a computer.
What are the potential issues with display variations for businesses advertising online?
Ad Blocking
Browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox, offer ad blocking technology when users are surfing the internet. An ad blocker prevents adverts from being loaded on web pages and prevents pop up and other invasive ads from being displayed. Many users also use ad blockers on their smartphones to achieve the same affect. However, videos played in the YouTube app will still play ads even with an ad blocker installed.
Why is this an issue for businesses conducting online advertising? How could businesses overcome this issue?
Mini task - Debate the following statement; “Ad blockers are killing the marketing industry and is threatening smaller businesses”
Privacy/Data Security
Businesses are under increased scrutiny over data security. The UK introduced GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in 2018 which had a profound impact on how businesses operate online.
Data concerns include;
Businesses that do not follow data regulations will have to pay large fines and their reputation will suffer.
Task - Research the Cambridge Analytica scandal and explain the main details of the case and the consequences of the case. How could this have been prevented?
Consumer Location Tracking
Mobile apps often ask for permission to track your location. This can be helpful when looking on Google or Facebook for businesses or attractions in your geographical area. However, many users do not wish to share their location, why is this? Mobile games, such as Pokemon Go track your location.
What are the benefits to the business of location tracking?
Task - Write a short policy for a business running a popular mobile game that requires location tracking to reassure customers that this is a safe option
Spam
Spam is a term used to describe unwanted junk emails that arrive in our inbox. Many Spam emails are scams so it is very important that you do not open them or click any links contained within the email.
Services such as Gmail have spam filters inbuilt to ensure that your inbox does not become flooded with spam emails. What are the potential consequences for a business if they actively send spam emails to customers?
Task
Research two of the benefits we have discussed and two of the concerns and find examples of cases where these have been used by real life businesses. Compile your research into a presentation, ensuring you cover;