Internet Marketing Blog

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Traffic Monitoring- Subaru Australia

Subaru is a one of Australia's largest importer and distributer of vehicles manufactured by Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru All 4 The Driver 2014). Consumers visit the Subaru Australia website in order to gather information about a vehicle they wish to purchase. Subaru's rank in Australia is 4,919 with daily time spent on site of 3:01 minutes.

The top keywords from various search engines that lead to www.subaru.com.au are:

Subaru                                                                                                 21.79%

Subaru xv                                                                                            19.95%

Subaru brz                                                                                            5.49%

Subaru forester                                                                                     4.67%

Subaru Australia                                                                                   4.02%

                                                                                                                (Alexa 2014)

When compared to the key words searched on the Subaru Australia website (through page source) the key words are similar to the results found in Alexa including; car and WRX. The demographic of the website is male with a browsing location from both home and work (Alexa 2014).

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Australian TV Shows

The Bachelor

The Bachelor is a popular TV shown taking place in Australia (Sydney) on Channel 10 weekly.

Online marketing activities & content:

The Bachelor incorporates online marketing through allowing viewers to search their website and have all the information and the click of a button. The website allows viewers to watch current and past episodes of the season, view photo galleries of all the bachelorettes and vote for which bachelorette you wish to win The Bachelor's heart (Ten Play 2014).

Domain:

The Bachelor can be viewed on http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-bachelor and also various social media sites such as:

ü  Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/TheBachelorAU

ü  Twitter- https://twitter.com/TheBachelorAU

ü  Instagram- http://instagram.com/thebachelorau

Connections:

The Bachelor is connected through a variety of social media sites which allows viewers to comment and keep up with the conversation while the show is both online and offline. These social media sites have an increase in followers and opinionated viewers (Ten Play 2014).  

Community & Communication:

A community of The Bachelor viewers has formed through the social media sites mentioned above. On the website there is a specific tab where viewers can voice their opinion and contribute to the online community (Ten Play 2014).

Cross Promotion:

The website incorporates cross promotion by advertising links to external websites that are supported by the channel. Channel 10 cross promotes to Ford and TV shows such as: The Project, The Simpsons, and The Loop (Ten Play 2014).

Family Feud

Family Feud is a popular Australian TV show broadcasted on Channel 10 and 11.

Online marketing activities & Content:

Channel Ten constructs their websites for TV shows in ways for different demographics to access. The Family Feud website allows users to: play along, watch past and current episodes, view extras, join in, chat, and also view footage that has not been played on TV (Ten Play 2014).

Domain:

Family Feud can be viewed on: http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/family-feud and various social media sites such as:

ü  Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/FamilyFeudAU

ü  Twitter- https://twitter.com/FamilyFeud

ü  YouTube- http://www.youtube.com/ family+feud+australia

(Ten Play 2014).

Connections:

Family Feud is connected through a variety of social media sites allowing viewers to contribute to the show whilst its being broadcasted and also while it's offline. The host of the show distributes questions specifically for the viewers at home in order to engage them (Ten Play 2014).

Community & Communication:

Family Feud has formed an online community through social media sites and also through effective use of the webpage. The online community contributes through  communication methods via the "live chats" and also through episode comments (Ten Play 2014).

Cross Promotion:

External links are advertised on the Family Feud website in order to cross promote other businesses/ TV shows broadcasted by Channel 10 (Ten Play 2014).

Home & Away

Home & Away is an Australian TV show broadcasted daily on Channel 7.

Online marketing activities & content:

Channel 7 has developed an easy to use website for all viewers to access Home & Away information. The website allows viewers to access the episodes, storylines, characters, cast, clips, news & gossip behind the scenes and forums. The content on the website provides information of when the TV show is playing and also how to connect with the show through social media sites (Yahoo 7 TV 2014).

Domain:

Home & Away can be viewed on https://au.tv.yahoo.com/home-and-away/#page1 and can also be found on the following social media sites:

ü  Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/homeandaway

ü  Home & Away Newsletter- https://au.tv.yahoo.com/newsletter/

Home & Away is also present on sites such as Twitter and Instagram but mostly Facebook and newsletters (Yahoo 7 TV 2014).  

Connections:

Home & Away is connected through a variety of social media networks which allows viewers to keep up to date with all episodes and gather information of what the next episodes will produce (Yahoo 7 TV 2014).

  Community & Communication:

Home & Away has created a community through the social media sites that viewers are engaging in and also by live chats channel 7 has constructed in order to allow viewers to have their say about the show and also what they like and dislike. This type of engagement allows the producers to see what is effective on the show and what needs improvements (Yahoo 7 TV 2014).

Cross Promotion:

The Channel 7 website incorporates cross promotion through advertising Hyundai and also The Good Guys. These external links can be viewed on the banner of the website where they have a secure spot in cross promotion (Yahoo 7 TV 2014).

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Social Networking & Intergrated Marketing Strategy

Social media networks are constantly evolving in order to best accommodate individuals in keeping up with daily trends. The following social networks: Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr are widely used for similar interests such as sharing images in various ways around the world. The main difference between each social network site is the established year, the additional methods of contributing to the social network, and how others perceive that social network.

Instagram is used as a method to rapidly share images at any point throughout the day which also allows users to share other Instagramer's photos.

Pinterest has similar uses such as photo sharing but the main difference is the social network is customized to the users’ preference and the user is able to "pin" interests that describes them for example "teacher". 

Tumblr on the other hand has become a highly used social network that allows users to post blogs, quotes, videos and images. Tumblr is different to Instagram and Pinterest due to allowing users to custom design anything they post on their Tumblr.

Similarities between all three social networks includes the popularity of all three has remained and not being phased out like other social networks (Bebo and MySpace). The benefits of the popularity of these social media sites is that businesses are getting aboard the social media phase and promoting their businesses online in ways that various segments of the population can communicate.

Integrated marketing communication strategy is defined as the communication channels used in applying consistent brand messaging through various traditional and non-traditional marketing channels. Integrated marketing involves marketing methods such as; mass marketing, one-to-one marketing and direct marketing. Social network sites such as Instagram can be used as directing marketing and one-to-one marketing due to businesses promoting products and services via users that have "followed" them on the network. Businesses that use Tumblr as a integrated marketing strategy are also using direct marketing in order to generate product development, pricing, distribution and customer service. Customer service can be achieved through Tumblr due to the site allowing users to blog and express their thoughts via comment. Pinterest uses a similar communication channel as Instagram by using direct marketing and one-to-one marketing due to the social networks customizing the users experiences.

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Online Travel Industry

The online travel industry is demanding with increasing competition, daily. When customers choose hotels they do not analyse the traffic on websites nor do they assess relevant financial data regarding the businesses assets. When customers access an online travel website their mind set is on locating the most suited accommodation whether domestic or international to suit their budget. The customers journey is only the beginning and e-marketers must analyse the customer engagement framework in order to best accommodate consumers with their online searches (Experian Marketing Services 2012: 12). This is done through: listen, analyse, plan and speak.

Trivago:

Trivago is known as one of the world's most used website in order to search and compare hotel prices from all around the world. Trivago allows visitors to enter their specific travel dates into the search bar and they are then able to search their destination for the most suitable hotel to accommodate their budget (Trivago 2014). Trivago's global rank is 5,200 and is ranked as 1,709 in the United States. Visitors that enter the website have a vast engagement and a bounce rate of 29.20% and the time spent on the website comparing hotels on average is 5:06 minutes (Alexa 2014).

Trivago visitors are located from all over the world but the most engaged countries consist of: US, UK, Germany, Canada and Spain. According to the analysis conducted by Alexa, the demographic that searches Trivago is aimed at students that are studying (college/graduate school) and are mostly searching from within the workplace or from school.

                   Booking.com:

Booking is an online website which allows visitors to search hotels, apartments, villas and many more. The way that this site operates is it is customised to each individual that enters the site also varying from what location the visitor is viewing from such as country (Booking.com 2014).  Booking's global rank is 96 and visitors spend roughly 8:36 minutes on average to gather all the information they need on their preferred booking. Engagement levels per viewer include a 24.5% bounce rate which means engagement levels are high.

The current demographic that searches booking.com is females with graduate school education and searches mostly happen from work and from school. Booking.com visitors are located from all around the world but the most engaged visitors are located in: Italy, US, Germany, Spain and France (Alexa 2014).

  Wotif.com

Wotif.com is a global website that caters for all individuals by providing hotel information from all around the world (Wotif.com 2014). The benefits of searching your accommodation through wotif.com is that the country you select for your destination, wotif provides hotels from within that country and presents all relevant data (e.g. price, star, service). Wotif allows visitors to enter their accommodation dates and duration including the number of people accompanying them whilst providing the most suitable lodging. Wotif's global ranking is 10,340 and Australia's rank is 171. According to statistics provided by Alexa, the engagement level of visitors is very effective with a bounce rate of 27.2% and visitors spend on average 5:48 minutes which has increased by 3% over the last three months (Alexa 2014).

Wotif's demographic is aimed at the general population which consists of males and females, education levels of no college, some college, graduate school and college however the most popular searches come from individuals without college. The countries with the highest percent of visitors are: Australia, New Zealand, US, Thailand and India (Alexa 2014).

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is one of the world's largest travel site that assists individuals in booking convenient accommodation varying from hotels, B&B and holidays homes (Tripadvisor 2014). Tripadvisor is a convenient website for individuals wishing to plan a trip for anywhere around the world by providing multiple services such as: flights, reviews, accommodation and restaurants. Tripadvisor's global rank  is 199 and ranked as 73 in the United States. Visitors currently spend 4:23 minutes on the website and are highly engaged with a bounce rate of 38.8%. 

Tripadvisor's target market are people of all ages wishing to seek reviews on destinations they wish to travel to. Current internet traffic occurs from all areas including; home, school and work including various education levels such as college and graduate school. Tripadvisor's percentage of visitors come from the United States, Thailand, Mexico, China and France (Alexa 2014).

 Online travel industry

The differences between the four selected online travel booking sites is the way analysis is conducted through customer engagement. Trivago allows consumers to search accommodation from all around the world which further allows consumers to compare prices that best suit their budget whereas booking.com also allows the consumer to search accommodation from around the world but the option of selecting the county/town and the site automatically comparing it for you, is not available.

Wotif.com has all the benefits that both Trivago and Booking.com have but also allows consumers to view the hotel ranking, price and quality. Tripadvisor has taken a different approach by allowing consumers to leave a review and comments about what places they enjoyed the most throughout their trip and also how they feel about the accommodation they stayed in. Tripadvisor is based as a review website which is what consumers ultimately want when booking  accommodation domestically or internationally. However after further analysis into consumer behaviour Tripadvisor has also made their website available to booking flights online whilst your reading reviews and booking accommodation.

Through various analysis on the travel websites financial data through MINT, it is evident that all the four companies are classified as a "very large" company and their consolidated date report shows a positive trend as years progress.

The difference between the four companies is the staff employed and the amount of senior executive team employed in order to make the core business decisions to aid in profitability.

Through seasons such as summer and winter consumers are more likely to view various sites in order to compare pricing and accommodation due to the price difference between seasons.

References

Alexa 2014, "Browse top sites", viewed 6th September 2014, http://www.alexa.com/

Booking.com 2014, "Browse by destination theme", viewed 6th September 2014, http://www.booking.com/

Experian Marketing Services 2012, "The 2012 Digital Marketer- Benchmark and Trent Report", Empowering meaningful connections with your customers.

Tripadvisor 2014, "What travellers are saying about Canberra", viewed 6th September 2014, http://www.alexa.com/

Trivago 2014, "Compare hotel prices on 209 booking sites at once", viewed 6th September 2014, http://www.trivago.com.au/

Wotif.com 2014, "Accommodation", viewed 6th September 2014, http://www.wotif.com

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Presenting: Sesi & Akita- Alaskan Malamute/ Siberian Huskies

Thanks to: Tanja & Ben

Sound track: Katy Perry- Dark Horse

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Business Models

Business models are defined as an overview of how businesses can generate revenue, identifying product offering, value-added services, revenue sources and target customers (Chaffey & Smith 2013: 586). However with the constant changing environment including technological advancements, basic business models are being revised in order to develop e-models to better accommodate the evolving era.

Customer Information Processing Models:

Customer information processing models are used for display ads and website ads. This common model is utilized in measuring the effectiveness of the way consumers perceive the advertisements and also how they process the information. When developing ads, customer information processing can be measured through the exposure, attention, comprehension and perception, yielding and acceptance and retention of the advertisement  (Chaffey & Smith 2013: 125). An example of customer information processing models includes the emotional response and acceptance of the advertisement customers undergo, this includes online shopping websites. Websites that provide simplicity and consumers can recall their experience are considered as being affective due to marketers being able to communicate information effectively.

Customer Buying Models:

Customer buying models is defined as the process consumers undergo before they purchase a product. Marketers often use websites, kiosks and e-tools to see whether their marketing strategy assists consumers with all stages of the buying process (Chaffey & Smith 2013: 130). The decision making process consumers experience varies on the type of product they are willing to purchase, the two categories consumer purchases fall under are: high-involvement purchase and low-involvement purchase. High-involvement purchases are products that involve an extended decision making process before purchase. A car is classified as a high-involvement purchase due to the process undertaken prior and post purchase.

Businesses that participate in e-business have the upper hand in advertising their products and services online which allows consumers to search their website to obtain the product information necessary in order to conduct an evaluation.

    Low-involvement purchases include purchases such as clothing, groceries, etc. Low-involvement purchases do not require the same rigorous process like high-involvement purchases due to less research conducted prior to the purchase.

When consumers purchase products online the information process consists of reviews on the product in order to reassure themselves that the product is worthy of their purchase. Positive and negative reviews highly impact a consumers decision to purchase a product that they have initially set out to buy (Chaffey & Smith 2013: 129).

References:

Chaffey, D Smith, P 2013, "E-Marketing Excellence Planning and Optimizing Your Digital Marketing”, 4th Edition, USA and Canada, Routledge

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The 5 I's and eBay

Identification: eBay is one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies and caters for each consumer entering the website. Consumers experience the identification process with eBay by providing their personal details in order to subscribe with the online retailer. EBay accommodates for all individuals and creates a relationship throughout the duration of the consumers connection with the online retailer. The details provided aid in enhancing the consumers shopping experience by providing location details for delivery and rough estimations of when their purchases will arrive.

              Individualisation: EBay retains customer information in order to best accommodate consumers with their shopping experience. By individualising each consumers profile, it allows the consumer to see items that they need and also ways in which they can obtain the products. Once consumers are logged in they have the ability to search products from around the world. The search process remembers the products consumers search and provides them a list of similar products and also substitute products-of the consumers interest.

  Interaction: EBay provides the option for online consumers to leave feedback regarding their purchase or ask questions regarding a product they wish to purchase. Dialogue between customer and enterprise is offered by contacting Customer Support at the bottom of the page. This option allows consumers to get in contact with customer care and receive answers to potential questions/queries they hold.

Integration: EBay uses various forms of advertising through various social media sites, newsletters, and Google advertisements. When customers search the internet for products they wish to purchase eBay is often the first link that appears on the Google search results. When customers sign in on Facebook their personal information is also collected and they receive eBay advertising that is custom to their needs.

Integrity: Permission marketing is incorporated through eBay’s “About us” section on their website. This availability of the companies profile allows consumers to gain trust from the reassurance of the legitimacy of the company. EBay also provides “Privacy” statements to reassure customers that their private information will not be abused or shared. This information is made available at any time.

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The 5 I’s and YouTube

Identification: YouTube is one of the largest video sharing websites, globally. YouTube allows individuals to search the video sharing website for any video they wish to view. In order for individuals to share their videos online through this website, they are required to subscribe. The details provided in the identification process allows YouTube to identify how old the viewers are in order to prohibit certain videos from persons underage.

Individualisation: YouTube, along with many subscription websites retains personal information from individuals in order to best enhance personal viewing. By individualising personal profiles, YouTube remembers past searches and provides additional searches that the user may want to view.

Interaction: YouTube allows users to leave feedback on videos and also on their experience. At the bottom of the webpage YouTube creates a dialogue between users and the website in order to assist users with any questions they need answering. YouTube also provides a “help” option to aid in any easy to answer issues regarding the website.

Integration: YouTube uses a variety of advertising site including social media sites, and Google advertising. Social media sites such as Facebook already provide the option of sharing videos via YouTube. When individuals Google search a video they would like to view, the first few pages provide YouTube links directing the individual to the video sharing website.

Integrity: YouTube provides users with information surrounding the video sharing website along with a brief history of the founders. Along with information about the website, YouTube provides users with “Privacy”, “Copyright”, and “Policy & Safety” statements in order to gain trust from internal and external users of the website. These statements are available at any time and can be accessed without having a subscription.