Web Development / Internet Marketing Blog

If you’re a brand or company that pays attention to analytics and takes digital seriously then the chances are you know the percentage of your audience which access your website via a mobile device. If it’s significant, say more than 20-30%, then you probably already have or are in the process of developing a mobile website.

E-commerce is by no means a new concept, although in South Africa it only truly began to take hold in 2005, when people started adopting ADSL. Internationally, particularly in the US and Europe, widespread use of commerce goes back further than that. From our side, limited and often unaffordable internet access, coupled with lax implementation of security systems for making online payments and submitting sensitive information, were primary reasons for our delay in embracing e-commerce.

Content Management Systems (CMS) are by no means a new phenomenon; in fact they’ve been around in simplified form for at least a decade or two. It’s in recent years though that they’ve become increasingly popular with people and companies who require more control over their website.

It’s now (thankfully) common knowledge that a meticulously strategized social media campaign can do wonders for your brand awareness and exposure, especially when incorporated as part of your overall internet marketing campaign. Of course, social media is by no means the answer for each and every company, and even then you have to be careful to select which platform is best geared towards your brand, customers and target audience.

There’s no denying that mobile devices and internet connections have improved ten-fold over the past few years. There’s also no doubt that the future of IT is swiftly going mobile, along with everything connected to it, such as e-commerce

  Whilst no stranger to most of the major international markets, internet marketing (a.k.a. online marketing, digital marketing, e-marketing or web marketing), is at long last making a name for itself in South Africa, and it brings with it massive potential.

There is no disputing the fact that social media, with its numerous platforms, has enabled companies and brands the ideal opportunity with which to engage and interact more with clients and potential customers. To then be able to gather information that is garnered from these sites and use it to effectively target them with content, products and specials that they actually want, is a massive bonus and one that needs to be carefully considered.

  Remarketing (also known as behavioural targeting) is a Google Adwords feature that allows you to get your message across and connect with your users based on their past interaction and visits to your site. Some people think that remarketing is akin to stalking or spying on your customers, but rest assured, if it’s done in the right way, it’s simply a very clever marketing tactic.

Welcome back! In part 1 of our blog post on Embracing Social Commerce we looked at: • What social commerce actually is • What consumers are saying and doing about it • What some of the benefits of social commerce are and • How it works Following on from that, we’re going to delve a little deeper into Social Commerce and look at a couple more aspects of what is set to be online marketing’s next big thing.

Firstly, what is it? “Social Commerce” stems from the integration of e-commerce and social media in the form of: forums, social shopping tools and apps, and online ratings and product reviews written by and for one’s peers. Essentially, consumers have shifted the interaction of the in-store shopping experience to that of the online experience.