Internet technologies as a means of brand promotion in the conditions of e-commerce

In modern society, the Internet is a platform for trade and advertising. Currently, e- business is actively developing. The development of e-commerce as a sphere of the economy, which includes financial and trade transactions that are carried out using the capabilities of the Internet, is due to the general increase in the role of impersonal sales using information technologies. New types of market interaction for the sale of goods and services via the Internet allow companies to reduce the costs of their promotion, accelerate the introduction of innovations and improve the quality of services while meeting the needs of customers more fully.


With the help of Internet technologies, which are a platform for communication, the world community has managed to overcome a certain number of technological, information, and language barriers that arise at certain stages of information interaction.


In the context of global competition, the Internet and digital technologies are driving the emergence of new types of business and new methods of promoting a company's brand. Internet marketing technologies are widely used in many economic processes of companies, acting at the same time as a way of interacting with partners, and as an effective channel of marketing communications with the consumer. The advantages of Internet marketing include the possibility of clear targeting (highlighting the target audience) and interactive interaction with the target audience.


Depending on the specifics and scope of the company, the Internet marketing toolkit may include: participation in the work of electronic trading platforms (electronic stock and commodity exchanges), the creation of wholesale and retail online stores, registration in thematic catalogs, work on industry portals and in industry electronic publications, company website management, online advertising development.


The rapid development of Internet technologies allows us to bring new features to the development of business. If earlier the Internet, Web-resources were used mainly for searching and collecting information, now the Internet has begun to be used for communication, the exchange of messages on the network turned out to be much more effective than calls and cellular communications. The development of wireless technologies, the availability of smartphones makes it possible to access the Internet from almost anywhere, which greatly facilitates its use and leads to an important stage in the development of the “Internet user” relationship: personification. From a means of communication and information retrieval, the Internet has turned into a platform for realizing one's own capabilities, as well as a space that adapts to each specific user. Today, a simple browser search is carried out not only taking into account geographic location, but also taking into account interests, frequency of requests and information previously entered by the user.


Of particular interest is the concept of a product / object brand. A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other characteristic that identifies a merchant's product or service as being different from the products or services of other sellers. The concept of a brand is used in any area of business: trade, e-commerce, tourism. A brand can be present not only in a product, but also in a service, territory (region) to increase its attractiveness for the tourism sector.
 

Brands operating on the Internet are divided into the following categories:

  1. Content projects. This includes news projects, thematic, industry; search engines and classifiers.
  2. Online services. For example, mail, job sites, site-hosting systems.
  3. Internet services. This can include companies and services in the online service industry, such as web developers, Internet agencies, Internet providers, etc.
  4. E-commerce. Electronic shops, trading systems, cash payment systems.
  5. Brands carried over from real business.

The main and most popular tool for brand promotion is a website, and the main thing in using it is to define a strategy and understand what message should be conveyed to the target audience. For example, searching for information when planning a trip to purchase a product takes more time and involves using multiple sources of information than searching for information about other consumer goods and services. That being said, building a website turns out to be one of the most popular and must-have branding tools.


In a constantly changing environment, a company should create its own website to promote a brand via the Internet, which should display:

  • the name of the product / service with a full description and functional purpose;
  • the scope of the product / service and the necessary skills for their use;
  • the position of the company in the market;
  • history of the creation of the company;
  • positive characteristics and reviews of the offered goods and services;
  • awards and positive reviews indicating sources of information, indicating that the product is the best, in the opinion of an independent expert.

When the company's website is created, it is necessary to ensure that there are regular updates by publishing press releases for each significant event (product launch, product / service improvement or new partnership agreements).


In the case when a Website is a platform for trading goods on behalf of the owner, it acquires the status of an Internet store. Online shopping was the first form of e-commerce on the Internet. They have evolved from primitive price lists with product images to complex trading systems with automated payment acceptance and order processing. Their distinctive feature is the full cycle of trade services provided to customers: from receiving orders to shipment of products.


Currently, online trading platforms are gaining popularity — electronic resources that provide professional sellers and (or) buyers with software tools and a virtual space for trading. The main advantage of online platforms over other forms of e-commerce is greater traffic and a high level of service, both for sellers and buyers.


The success of an electronic trading platform depends on many factors, one of which is the ease of making a transaction. In order to provide easy and quick access to the offered products and/or services, marketplaces use aggregated catalogs. Buyers get access to the aggregated catalog, thereby receiving up-to-date information on the price, technical characteristics of the product, and have the opportunity to compare these indicators between different sellers. The main idea of an electronic trading platform is to consolidate into one catalog many products from different sellers with all possible transactional mechanisms, thereby allowing buyers to be more efficient when choosing products and / or services.
Brand promotion in modern conditions involves an integrated approach, an important part of which is new technologies and techniques used in Internet communication. Undoubtedly, the Internet is currently one of the main sources of information. Not surprisingly, the Internet has become an important channel for promoting brands and services as well. Undoubtedly, brand promotion on the Internet has a number of advantages: the cost of Internet branding is much lower than for standard branding, and you can advertise your brand on the Internet much faster. In addition, advertisements can be seen anywhere in the country; it is easier to identify your target audience on the Internet; it is possible to track statistics in various ways.


Thus, Internet resources, in particular, Websites and online platforms, are tools that allow you to form public opinion about a particular product. The use of Internet technologies allows you to optimize and increase the efficiency of the brand promotion process.

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