Advertise Online? Make Sure Your Content Leaves No Scope for Trolls!

Internet Advertising has a new threat. No, this threat is not from the black hats, neither is it from a new updates of the search engines. This threat comes directly from the very users which Internet Advertising target (or at least the cheeky ones). These are the very funny, very witty (but from the brand’s point of view, very unwanted) Trolls. Trolling has the capability to hit your ad so hard that it becomes a major task to proofread it against any such possibility.

A troll is any internet user who comments or modifies any posting on the internet (including ad campaigns) with an intention to cause disruption or sabotage the post. A troll usually finds loopholes in the graphics or the ad copy and wrecks havoc with slight modifications or by pointing out the discrepancy with their comments and re-tweets. The way to prevent them from doing so is to ensure that the copies and design do not resemble anything which is offensive or defeats the purpose of the campaign. Campaigns which are highly localized should also take the local anecdotes and customs into consideration. For example, an Internet Advertising Campaign, using a series of images and targeting the Middle East, should be careful as Arabic, the prevalent language there, is read from the right to left.

The trolls have increased the importance and scope of proofreading. The leading Internet Advertising Agencies take special care on this front. A trolled ad campaign often tends to be a complete disaster as it usually gains more popularity than the original ad itself.

What Were the Most Successful Methods of Internet Advertising in 2014?

As the period of Internet Advertising 2014 comes to an end, let us look at the trends which have emerged the most successful. With this write-up, we continue our practice of providing periodical forays into the medium of Internet Advertising. Our aim, in discussing the most successful methods, is to present a map of performance which brands and Internet Advertising Agencies can use to evaluate the most relevant techniques for the purposes of their promotion.

2014 saw the rise of the Viral Videos. Internet Advertising took life from the static Web Banners to animations and then to full-fledged videos. In fact, the online platform was soon used as a faster and cheaper method of propagating these videos than the traditional medium of TV. The fact, that short videos could be sent to each other free of cost with the use of the internet, was amply used by the advertisers to ensure that the videos reached as far as possible. The amount of visibility gained by such viral videos has attained unprecedented levels in 2014.

PPCs formed the other area where much activity was seen this year. This platform received a major boost with Google pushing its Google AdWords SME Program where special focus was put on the convenience of the small and medium businesses. PPC's are an effective way of increasing the efficiency of your Internet Advertising budget as you pay only when the user makes a click. 

Apart from the above 2, which remained at the top of popularity, internet contests, email marketing, etc. also continued enjoying the patronage of the brands and special attention of the Internet Advertising Agencies.

Social Media Platforms are Important Playing Grounds for Internet Advertising

Internet Advertising has found a high impact playing field in the various social media platforms. Among the purposes of Advertising, an increase in visibility and awareness is a major one. In this regard, there is no other platform more suitable than the Social Media which can take your brand to new heights of visibility.

Internet Advertising is now using this platform to reach even the deep pockets of the target groups. With users following social media on their smartphones now, the propagation of the Internet Ads happens at rates which are far higher than the traditional mediums of advertising. Various applications can share the ad across the contact list in the matter of minutes. Also, this part of the promotion happens free of cost to the advertiser. The change in the propagation of the Internet Ads brought a change in the nature of Internet Advertising too. Internet Advertising Agencies have, moved in a major way, towards providing online video ads. The ads are of very short duration and focus is on catching the attention of the user with a catchy plot rather than blatantly showcasing the USP's of the product or service. The name of the brand is taken in a sublime manner as the better part of attention is paid to plot of the ad.

Sharing of an Internet Ad among friends is also much better than pushing it straight to the users. The opening and engagement rates are much higher in the former case. Since India has become an important hub for the smartphone industry, Internet Advertising Agencies in India have a huge opportunity of using social media to spread the ads.

Internet Advertising in India going Viral through Videos

Internet Advertising India, like the rest of the world has seen tremendous changes in trends, especially in the later stages of last year. A platform which was highly popular for running web banners was soon introduced to the concept of viral videos. Since then, Viral Videos have been a staple offering of Internet Advertising.

Viral Videos are run on the concept that a video can attract at a much higher rate than the other forms of displays. It is best suited from the point of view of innovation too as different story lines can be readily explored without the risk of turning them too complicated for the user’s comprehension. With free messenger apps and social medium platforms being highly popular among youngsters, getting your brand’s promotional video to go viral is the ideal thing to do. If the video is made in a way that youngsters can identify with at least some aspect of it, they will readily share it with their friends, at both the platforms of social media and messengers. The brand message is inserted subtly into the video and the purpose of promotion served. Viral Videos are especially popular service among Internet Advertising Agencies in India due to the presence of tech savvy youngsters.

Higher impact, at a lesser implementation cost and maintenance, makes Viral Video Campaigns a hot favorite among brands. The creative team of the Internet Advertising Agencies also gets a larger canvas to paint its ideas on. Such videos can also be uploaded to various video posting forums in order to gain additional visibility.   

If You Are a Small or Medium Business, Internet Advertising is for You.

Internet Advertising aims to solve one of the greatest threats posed by fast growing markets. The threat is that in the ensuing competition, small and medium size businesses get left out. Getting left out in the markets of today directly translates to a future closer. The Internet Advertising Medium is a platform which comes as a blessing for these businesses which cannot always compete with the branding budgets of larger brands.

The high visibility which is provided at low costs by the Internet Medium boosts the branding of the business and brings it at par with the bigger brands. The option of targeting specific groups of consumers also increases the Returns of Investment (RoI). Global Branding has never been as easy and convenient as has been made by Internet Advertising. Search engine giant Google also has special programs like AdWords Premier SME Partner to help the smaller businesses make full use of Internet Advertising. Internet Advertising Agencies, assigned as partners in the program, provide extensive support to the smaller businesses for PPC Campaigns (Pay-Per-Click) where you need to pay only when the ad is clicked.

The platform of internet advertising is one of the rare platforms which can be used even by smaller businesses for Global Branding. A global impact can increase the rates of growth by phenomenal margins for a business. For a small business looking for high growth, an association with an Internet Advertising Agency is an absolute priority. As mentioned above, a Google AdWords Premier SME Partner can provide that push to your business and land it among the big boys.

Internet Advertising Veering Towards Simplicity over Hype

Internet Advertising, when it started, was loud in approach and strove to drive its purpose on hype and urgency. The high on promises and low on intention banners soon fell to the deaf years of the internet users. The users became more and more interested and involved in the content rather than the hype attempted by the ads. Elements like internet fraud also played a part as they too focused on promises that seem straight out of a fiction novel. The netizens soon realized that if it is too good to be true, then it is most probably not true. Internet Advertising took the remedial measurements and changed the attitude of the ads. Internet Ads are becoming simpler in their presentation, looking to engage the user rather than capture him with hype.

The most appropriate examples of this change are the PPC Ads. Mostly restricted to a couple of lines, PPCs are quite straightforward in their announcement. The banners too toned down quite a bit in their announcements and look to engage the reader with the information in the content rather than create hype around the product or service. SEO experts believe that this trend will continue in 2014 and will be fueled by the discussion forums. Thus, one of the things that internet users can expect in 2014 is engaging and enriching content as Internet Advertising Agencies will compete in providing extensive social media coverage to their clients. Maintaining a good Online Reputation will become an important key deliverable of agencies providing Internet Advertising Services.