The world as it is known is now a global village and almost everything is computerized and millions of Nigerians go online every day to search for information, read news, download or watch movies or songs and so many other things. A lot brands and product companies use these medium to advertise their product and reach their target audience. Online advertising is actually one of the most common forms of advertising in Nigeria these days and Lagosians are amongst the highest users of the internet in Nigeria.
So, let’s try to understand
what online advertising is. According to Wikipedia, Online advertising, also called online marketing or Internet advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising which uses
the Internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to
consumers. It includes email marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, many types of display
advertising (including web banner advertising), and mobile
advertising.
Since the early 1990s there has been a
magnificent increase in the growth of online advertising, which has evolved
into a standard for small and large organizations. No doubt online advertising
campaigns are great strategies that can improve the brand or product awareness.
It is an efficient way that can help you adapt with the change of the times and
to evolve an effective marketing.
Some of the unique advantages of online advertising in Lagos Nigeria
are:
·
Wide coverage: The
Internet's vast reach can allow advertisers to reach significantly more of
their target market than traditional advertising media. Internet advertising is
efficient for businesses with a national or international target market and
large-scale distribution capabilities also it has quick promotion of product
information without geographical boundary limits. An internet advert can be
seen by people in the deepest reaches of Lagos via their PCs, mobile phones and
other internet enabled devices.
·
Branding
circle: Online
advertising does not typically replace traditional methods of advertising; it does
however complete the branding circle. With its billions of users around the
world (millions of them in Lagos, Nigeria), online display has huge potentials
to create new opportunities for businesses to grow and expand. Tri-media
advertising (print, TV, and radio) alone cannot reach every market anymore
particularly when activating brands. You need to complement tri-media with
online advertising to tap the Web’s large market; Advertising
on the Internet is almost a necessity for modern businesses, especially those
that do business outside of their local community. Consumers use the Internet
for more than simply entertainment, huge number of Nigerians use the Internet to assist them in nearly
every aspect of life,(most people cannot even go a day without the use of Google,
Facebook, twitter or even Linda Ikeji blog) creating countless opportunities for
brands or companies to place relevant, targeted adverts messages
·
Cost: Advertising
is costly yes, but it is more costly when a company or brand is forced to sign
up contract for long term advertising when you only need short exposures eg.
political campaigns, promotion of an event, or a coming sale. Online display
advertising can be as short as it is necessary. It costs less and can also give
you the opportunity to control and make changes in your campaign based on the
performance of the adverts and this is why having control in your advertising
is good. You can also test a strategy and change it when the feedback is not as
good as you expect. While it may work like giant billboard in many ways,
stripping it down to tweak it is not as hard and costly.
·
Reputation:
Companies
wants their target market to trust their brand. This happens when they see you
have enough going for you (information, history, testimonies etc) Being a big
player credibility and reliability goes a long way. easily achieved in online marketing.
·
Featured
on relevant sites. Your
knowledge of the interests of your typical customer can take you further to
include the knowledge of the websites that they usually visit or content that
they read. And this is where marketing research comes in. Adverts featured
on a relevant site increase the chances of getting noticed. It’s a waste if
after spending so much money effort and time on an ad campaign and it goes
unnoticed. Placing ads on the sites not visited by your target market is a
futile and expensive exercise.
·
Consumers
Review: Having the
ability to track or getting feedback from your ads is critical. Other
advertising forms can be hard to track; using internet
ads can let you in on a weekly even daily updates. This kind of
information tells you whether your advertising/marketing effort is succeeding
or you need to changes it. Feedback reports can guide you to better strategies
and more successful marketing (i.e. knowing their interests). If
you know your target demographics, you would understand their interests and
what can captivate them. Use the knowledge to design your display ads to entice
and grab their attention. For instance, younger targets would normally be
interested in the social media and celebrity icons while young professionals
would be interested in niches like health, family, and business
·
Future
Reference: The internet is likely to continue to play a large role in individuals’
lives in the foreseeable future. Whether personal computers remain the dominant
method of accessing the Internet, some form of global communication network
will likely be a reality for many generations, creating effective avenues of
sending advertising messages to consumers in the community and around the
world.
Likewise other advertising media, online advertising involves both a
publisher, who integrates advertisements into its online content, and an
advertiser, who provides the advertisements to be displayed on the publisher's
content. Other potential participants include advertising agencies that help
generate and place the ad copy, an ad
server that
technologically delivers the ad and tracks statistics, and advertising
affiliates who do independent promotional work for the advertiser.
If you are thinking of
advertising in Nigeria, please contact PoiseMedia Communications at www.poisemedianigeria.com or check our contact at the bottom of this blog. We can help you
identify your market and reach them. We apply both BTL and ATL strategies to
project our clients’ brands to the right audience. We can do same for you at
very affordable price.
Lilian Izuorah
BusinessDevelopmentOfficer
PoiseMedia Communications Ltd
