Marketing is the ultimate influencer, and it affects most aspects of our lives, sometimes without us even realising.
When we make decisions about important aspects of our lives, most of us will research which option is best for us. In the age of the internet, most of this is done online. This being the case, the marketing that brands and services put out onto the web are extremely influential. There are many different aspects to Marketing and all of them will affect us at some point in our daily lives.
Advertising
Advertising is probably the oldest form of marketing out there, but it comes in different guises these days.
TV Ads
Most of us grew up watching TV ads while waiting for our favourite programme to come back on. When the programme you are watching has high viewing figures then the advertisement probably cost an enormous amount as the advertisers are getting into more peoples living rooms (and minds). Sub-consciously, we may all tune out when the ads are on, but a catchy tune or funny clip pushes through…even if we hate the product and the advert…we remember it.
Social Media Ads
These are more structured these days and they are geared towards you as an individual, rather than a wider audience. This is because the advertisements are based on things like your demographics, location, profile information and previous activity. By capturing this information, social media outlets can then target you as being interested in a certain topic, item or service. Advertisers don’t have to do very much to reach a streamlined audience and so they favour this kind of advertising.
Billboard Ads
Although these are not as big a market as they used to be, in big cities and well used roadside locations, a billboard can be remarkably effective. Again, seeing a billboard puts the product in your mind and whether you realise it or not – you noticed it, which is the aim of the game.
Newspaper/Magazine Ads
Whenever you read a newspaper or magazine, paper or online, they are littered with advertisements. If you want to advertise it makes perfect sense that you would target the demographic who would consider your product and so magazines are ideal when they are about a specific subject matter. For example, if you make fishing rods – you are going to advertise in a respected Fishing magazine. This alone is going to sway the reader…they buy the magazine because they enjoy the contents so, surely, what is being advertised is the best?!
Radio Ads
Obviously, you cannot see a product when you are just listening. Most people listen to the radio whilst doing something else (for example, whilst driving). Radio advertisers know that a catchy tune is worth a thousand pictures. Therefore, when you catch yourself whistling that tune, you have subconsciously bought into that advertisement.
Directories
Oftentimes, when someone is looking for a service they have never used before, they will refer to a directory listing all companies/people offering that service.
There are so many to choose from. Companies try to get to the front of the queue by naming their entity something beginning with ‘A’ so that it will be at the top of the list. However, most of us are wise to this now, so how do we choose. We want someone reputable who know what they are doing and are established. To get this, we often go for the biggest ad we can see…if they can afford to advertise, they must be doing well. Whether this is true or not, nobody knows, but again this is marketing used in an influential way.
Direct Mail (email or letters)
However you receive it, if something is addressed to you and has your name on it, you look. Sometimes you can see immediately that it has been sent as part of a marketing campaign that you are not interested in – but other times, you keep reading as you realise that this could be a beneficial service or product for you…so that’s marketing affecting your everyday life again.
Networking Marketing
As well as advertising there are other avenues open and ready for marketing. Events are the prime example where you get to actually speak about your product or service to a captive audience. If you are lucky you get asked to be a speaker (or you ask if you can be a speaker). If not, you can network individuals from organisations that you wouldn’t normally get a face to face with.
This affects all of the attendees as; they may not be interested in what you have to offer but will have to sit through it anyway which could give them a different perspective.
Word of Mouth Marketing
This is the most trusted of all marketing strategies. If someone you trust tells you that a product or service is the best, you are going to believe them. It’s hard to get it going, but this can be beneficial to the company or trusted individual being championed to give the word-of-mouth recommendation.
For example, you can work together to ensure that the end result is exactly what your customer requires, resulting in them being super happy with you…thus producing an excellent working relationship, giving both sides the benefit of being used as a case study. However, are you then tied in to their products going forwards/
Summary
It would take far too long to list all of the different forms of marketing that affect us in daily life. However, as you can see by the ones included in this piece, some are good and some are bad…they all work though, otherwise the marketers would stop using them. So, be careful what you click on and agree to!
