Internet Marketing P. Market Analysis

Internet Marketing

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Market Analysis

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Web traffic plan

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Recommended sites

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Convenience survey

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P.18

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Recently a social networking site aimed at graduate and undergraduate students at CQUniversity Australia was begun as a Facebook page. The upstart site MarketNet is also being used as a tool to give students first-hand experience in the field of online marketing as they are required to make additions and changes to the site.

In this essay the reader will learn about the efforts of one student who performed a market audience analysis and then developed a web traffic plan that, if implemented, is designed to influence the number of visitors to the site. Three websites are suggested additions as links that visitors should find valuable and make MarketNet more relevant to its community.

Finally the author had the opportunity to create a short survey aimed at determining the level of satisfaction of the visitor with the overall components of the site. References and a sample survey are included.

Internet Marketing Project

1.0 Introduction

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA) as "the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large." Marketing as a whole is constantly changing for the dual reasons that customer tastes evolve and new avenues for advertising are constantly evolving. The latest advertising fad is internet marketing and its onset has opened up a panacea of marketing possibilities.

There are a number of terms for internet marketing including online, web or search engine marketing. The ability of the internet to reach and interact with a global audience is more powerful than any form of marketing that has come before it. Equal parts of technology and creativity drive all aspects of internet marketing including design, development, advertising and sales. Finally, the perennially instant feedback allows for constant and up-to-date alterations to a product and service which keeps it relevant and consumer-friendly.

Of late, internet marketing and social networking have been integrated with interesting results. For the purposes of this assignment we are to visit the Facebook site developed by our professor that is named MarketNet. Our charge is to identify opportunities for improvement and develop a web traffic plan that will draw more visitors to the site. This task offers two learning opportunities. First, we will garner authentic practice in contributing to a marketing plan and, too, we will collaboratively expand a site that will benefit graduate and undergraduate marketing students as well as ourselves. For lack of better wording -- what a great idea!

2.0 Target audience analysis

To develop this target audience analysis the Central Queensland University annual report was consulted. This offered a number of statistics that allowed a picture of our target audience to emerge. CQUniversity Australia is a public university with six locations. There were 20,000 students enrolled in approximately 100 programs in 2009. The student body is split nearly even between international and domestic students. There are several thousand adults in the Business Studies program across half a dozen campuses and 84% of graduates find immediate gainful employment in the field.

Statistical sources place Australia as eighth in global population use of Facebook. Fifty-five percent of users are female and the other forty-five are male. Thirty percent of those who use Facebook fall between the ages of 25-34 and nearly thirty percent are 18-24 years old. The final segment is the over 35 group and this has now become the fastest growing segment of all (SEO Sydney blog, retrieved 5/20/2010).

Dozens of studies and academic articles have been published on all aspects of the subject of social networking. One study found that "social networking sites are increasing attracting the attention of education and industry (Ellison, 2007) and scholars from all fields are actively working to integrate them into daily experiences."

Recently, the focus has been on the emerging area of work-related research in the field of knowledge management and collaborative online communities. The first research project we will consider on the topic "applied social networking features to support an effort to train and improve the skills of the employee in a company, and facilitate the creation and reuse of knowledge in online communities" (Neumann, Murcho, Breslin, Decker et al., 2005).

The most germane point made in the aforementioned research study was that "they provide automatic inference of common interest and experience of members through logical reasoning and hence offer services and resource identification to solve tasks arising in the community" (Neumann et al., 2005). When this concept is applied to the development of a site devoted solely to the needs and wants of marketing students several thoughts become immediately apparent.

First, this specialized adaptation of social networking sites that are devoted to a specific subset of the population hold great promise of success. Second, one cannot help but be impressed by the sense of community and collaboration that is an automatic component of social networking in general and specialized Facebook pages in particular. Finally, it just makes good old common sense that people want to communicate and associate with others of the same ilk. MarketNet has the potential to be a relevant and supportive milieu for marketing students at Central Queensland University Australia.

Let us consider a second journal article on the topic of social networking. In this the researchers attempted to demonstrate the "relationship between a student's college experiences and price and quality, the knowledge acquired, the economic utility of a business degree, image, as well as social and emotional value, are important drivers of value in business education" (LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1999).

LeBlanc went on to say that "when comparing value judgements on the basis of gender and year of study, the results show that male students are more inclined to focus on social value and females are more critical of the price/quality relationship as it relates to value."

The most disheartening point of all in the research was that as any student progressed through their degree program they were less convinced of their ability to command a good salary in the field of business overall. The relevance of this information is that it was gathered through social networking sites -- which serve as a concrete example that they are a destination for young people today -- and a great resource for researchers attempting to quantify a hypothesis.

In all nearly twenty sources were consulted to help develop a more crystallized picture of the relationship between social network sites and their uses in education. In this case, we're all in new territory as new adaptations are discovered and incorporated into the world of academia thereby enriching the academic experience for the student. The most exciting point of all of this is that too little is known to set limitations -- the sky's the limit on how to utilize social networking in education -- and exceptional results are expected.

3.0 Web traffic plan

The development of a web traffic plan is an essential component of any internet marketing campaign. In this case the goal is to encourage the university students to participate and utilize the MarketNet site. There are a great number of options available to the novice and expert marketing person to increase web traffic to a site -- even when there is a severely limited or nonexistent advertising budget. We will first define goals that can be met without the need for money.

Strategy one -- professional collaboration

Although it was suggested that word of mouth be a consideration in developing a web traffic plan that would seem to me to be a disorganized and ineffective approach to developing a successful web traffic plan. Instead, yy first objective would be to harness the full support of the business faculty on all six campuses. The professor who has spearheaded this project should make it an agenda item at staff meetings at each location.

Perhaps a single meeting could be held using distance learning technology that would allow for real-time collaboration and brainstorming. There are several tactics that should be agreed upon and immediately implemented. First, all marketing professors should include the website somewhere on any and all correspondence with students. This would include syllabi, letters and maybe even tests. It should be introduced during the first class of each semester and its use integrated into the material throughout the months of the class. Professors should assign homework that requires a student to utilize the site as a resource.

When professors promote the website then traffic should increase dramatically. In the end, the Facebook site is expected to be an invaluable tool for students as they job hunt, share information and simply socialize so there is no reason that marketing teachers shouldn't lead the way towards its use. Finally, people are always sharing the URLs of websites for one reason or another. This organized effort to build an online community designed exclusively for marketing students should bring immediate and positive results.

Strategy two -- find and use free advertising

My next strategy would be to brainstorm a list of all places that would advertise the site for free. University bulletin boards -- particularly those in the business building -- and offices would be my first target. Then I would meet with the on campus television professionals. Every school has closed circuit televisions that run looped information from slides. Who among us hasn't sat in front of one of these sets mindlessly watching the words and pictures go by? Someone would need to take responsibility for maintaining the free advertising on campus. Once a week or once a month a student should do a physical walk through to ensure that signs displaying the web address for the site look fresh and new and that the television advertising is up-to-date. This job would need to be passed on as students graduate out of the program and move into the real world of employment.

Strategy three -- participate in university events

Certainly the incorporation of these first two strategies -- using university faculty to support the site and taking advantage of free, passive advertising opportunities -- is guaranteed to increase web traffic exponentially. The next strategy would be to develop and implement a "Join the Club" marketing plan. Begin with a calendar and a core group of students who are willing to create a full campaign aimed at increasing traffic to the website. The goal is to create a slate of activities -- perhaps as much as one a week -- that get marketing students to take notice of the fact that there is a new social network just for them.

For example, each semester the university has a 'club' day. At that time all organizations on campus set up a booth at the Student Center. Pamphlets, key chains, magnets and other trinkets are spread out and several people who support MarketNet man the booth in two or three hour shifts. As students walk through they stop to get more information about the organizations they find of interest. This is a perfect way to advertise the existence of the social network page. A well organized and decorative booth will be eye-catching and should result in greater traffic to the site.

The drawback to this strategy is it will require a small budget to design and print the pamphlets as well as to have key chains and magnets made. However, when these items are purchased in bulk they cost mere pennies to produce. Their value goes beyond cost but realistically money must be found. There are several answers for this. First, the website can ask for donations, students may hold a fund raiser or a representative of the organization can lobby the school to provide nominal funding. Another great passive advertising tool is a t-shirt emblazoned with the URL on a cutting edge design. Sell these for ten or twenty dollars and the profits can be used for site related materials.

Strategy four -- hold a contest!

In conjunction with the club booth a special contest should be devised with a give-away that would get marketing students excited. For example, there could be a contest to name a mascot for the group or the person who could get the most friends to visit the site would be declared the winner and be rewarded. Part of the reward would be recognition on the website -- somehow naming and honoring that student for their efforts. But a real reward would be necessary to garner estimable participation and authentic enthusiasm. It should be something of special meaning to a marketing student -- perhaps all-expenses paid trip to a marketing convention somewhere outside of Queensland. Perhaps the winner would have their marketing textbooks paid for during the following term.

Again, this plan will require some capital and I return to the original suggestion for raising funds to support this component of the web traffic plan. Fundraisers, grants and donations are the most obvious and often utilized sources of getting money. Perhaps now is the time to mention that, frankly, no organization will survive if it has NO outside funds for advertising. They must be found somewhere because advertising and internet marketing costs money. While a Facebook social network may not be as expensive as a campaign for Nikes or Coke - it will require access to a minimum of funds.

Strategy five -- keep evolving

Before moving on to the next section of this essay in which I will be sharing three websites that are relevant and would enhance the value of MarketNet, it is my opinion that there are several components that could make the site more interesting for everyone, thereby increasing web traffic. First, in an effort to keep the site progressive and fresh I believe the addition of a blog would be a draw for many users. The reader must ask him or herself how often they peruse blogs on a myriad of topics related to their own interests. Internet marketing is evolving daily and a blog would be a valuable communal tool to keep all up-to-date.

Too, as more things are added to the site it would be helpful to be able to archive information. For myself, more than once I have visited the archives of a site to get a better overall feel for their mission and goals. A third suggestion for this site would be to have regular online forums. Invite individuals who are well-known in the field of marketing to sign on and 'speak' and answer questions posed by students. What a technologically savvy way to enhance the pool of visitors to the site. It is ideas like this that will ensure MarketNet becomes a destination for marketing students and adults alike.

4.0 Sites

Mashable.com

The internet has a wealth of information on every topic including marketing; therefore, narrowing down the list to three sites that could enhance MarketNet was difficult indeed. Let me draw the attention of the reader to my first recommendation called Mashable (http://mashable.com/2009/04/16/social-media-college/). It is a compilation of ten 'must-try' social media websites for college students that includes Cram.net, Internshipratings.com, Zimride, Box.net, Twitter, Remember the Milk, Gradefund, Evernote, zumio and campus books.

Mashable does not have any direct ties to the world of marketing so opting to place this site at the top of my list of three bears justification -- which I will be happy to do. Let us consider again the true role of social networking -- to find people of similar interests and forge a deep and lasting bond -- or not so deep but shallow and mildly interesting. Those of us who are avid fans of the world of marketing will take great comfort in the offerings of MarketNet. However, the site must think outside itself if it wants to remain relevant and well-visited. Just like a human being becomes stilted and uninteresting when they have narrow and limited interests, so too will a website.

The goal is to be interesting celebrate our differences as well as our commonalities. It is exciting to know that there is a social networking site for those who are interested in marketing. But we share common interests with all types of students as well. Mashable understands that and surely researched the market before settling on these top ten sites. Textbooks, twitter, grades and internships are the stuff college life is made of - and on a single webpage Mashable has made it a nearly indispensable site for college students. Why not add this to MarketNet? Students will spend less time surfing the net away from our site if we make relevant websites accessible through MarketNet.

Professional organizations

The second website I would add is a link to the various professional organizations that represent marketing in Australia -- and there are a number of them. This list (http://www.careers.usyd.edu.au/career_advice/progressing_career/professional_associations_websites.shtml) includes:

Advertising Federation of Australia - www.afa.org.au

Australasian Promotional Marketing Association - www.apma.com

Australasian Sponsorship Marketing Association - www.asma.com.au

Australian Direct Marketing Association - www.adma.com.au

Australian Market and Social Research Society - www.mrsa.com.au

Market Research Society of Australia - www.mrsa.com.au

Marketing Association of Australia and New Zealand -- www.marketing.org.au

Certainly the merit of this information is immediately obvious. Each college student is devoting their time and energies to completing a degree and then finding employment in the field. Many students are not even aware that professional organizations exist that cater to the field of marketing. When college grads are placed in jobs they will spend the next twenty or thirty years perfecting and renewing their skills. These professional organizations play an important role in professional development as well as allowing the individual to make connections with people in the marketing field all over Australia.

Too, being a member of a professional organization looks good on resumes and sounds good in interviews and staff meetings. It says the person networks and in today's global economy that is essential to the success of any organization. Finally, it is one more way to find jobs and learn about places that may be hiring. Students who are majoring in the field of marketing are invited to join any professional organization they choose -- and often at a discounted rate. This site -- which links you to the aforementioned professional organizations -- is a must have for the Facebook social networking page.

Australian Marketing Institute

The third and final website I offer as a valuable addition to MarketNet is the online marketer's journal of the Australian Marketing Institute (http://www.ami.org.au/amimu/0504April/0504_summary.htm). Again, this site was chosen for its professional appeal. As mentioned elsewhere the ultimate goal of a college student is to get a job in the field. In addition, publications such as this go a long way towards keeping those who are no longer in the classroom abreast of the latest discoveries and thinking by experts. Although it is no longer true that when an individual leaves college they are done learning -- professional development abounds in every field. But students need to be schooled in the location of information related to marketing in order to take personal responsibility for their continued learning. Staying up-to-date on information in the field is the responsibility of every professional -- and marketing students are no different!

5.0 Convenience survey

Choosing the proper survey development tool

No website would be complete without an online survey component and as such this is true for MarketNet. Before we offer a short ten question survey let us take a moment to examine the variety of online survey providers currently available beginning with one of the most commonly used -- Zoomerang.

Of all of the sites reviewed for this section is it my opinion that Zoomerang is the best. To begin with the site is easily organized and offers some of their services for free to the user. That is the favorite price of any consumer. However, the most interesting part of their site is the five tabs located across the top that offer some unique features including a blog and resource center. When the user clicks on the blog he or she is able to scroll through blurb after blurb of advice to create more effective and interesting surveys. This is a bonus for the survey writing novice.

A second tab for Resources takes the user to an equally valuable site that offers webinars, tutorials, knowledge-based articles, videos and more. It is one of the most well designed resources I have seen anywhere! In fact, if we had been required to submit a fourth suggestion for a site to be added to MarketNet I would have forwarded this one. As the reader will soon discover, all of the other survey research sites pale in comparison.

We were required to visit several online survey sites for this assignments so I googled the phrase and went right down the list. Surveymonkey was next. It is designed more for those who are already working in the field of marketing. It offers the visitor opportunities for event planning, product planning and market research among other things. In addition, there is a research section as well as one that allows the reader to create short and amusing surveys to amaze their friends and families. The most impressive thing about this cite were the powerful testimonials from such business heavy weights as Campbell's Soup and Health Partners. However, in the end the site seemed a little stuffy -- Zoomerang's design was more appealing for a college social networking site.

The third and final online survey site visited for this part of the essay was StellarSurvey. It offered the user the opportunity to create surveys for free and had several additional perks. It gave advice on creating the survey, reaching the audience and getting the most out of the data. The format was simplistic but this site lacked the breadth of offerings on Zoomerang and would be my last choice when opting for an online survey source.

Survey development and justification

The type of survey developed in conjunction with this assignment is a Student Satisfaction Survey. This would seem to be the only type of survey that would be valuable and relevant. After all, the online marketing campaign is aimed at getting more graduate and undergraduate marketing students to visit a Facebook page tailored to their specific interests and needs. If the site is designed for students then their input is required. Let us consider the questions posed.

We begin the survey by assuring the visitor that their input is valuable and will remain anonymous. They are then offered the opportunity to give basic school information such as rank and campus. This information can be compiled and used as the website evolves. For instance, if the statistics of the survey prove that only freshman and sophomores use the site then it would be important to assess the offerings to determine why web traffic falls off after that and then make alternations to the site to bring back juniors and seniors.