Hotmail was one of the first companies to truly explore the power of email marketing. When they first came onto the scene, email was still something that was either done through a Telnet server or an Enterprise network at your job and it wasn’t free. They changed the game, though, by allowing consumers to have free email accounts in exchange for the opportunity to receive mail from promotional partners. In its more modern form, this type of marketing is still very simple, but it is often even more direct, with messages coming directly from particular retailers, web design, or service providers, for example.

Over the years, obviously, the Internet has evolved which has led to more advanced forms of marketing. For example, search engine optimization involves writing concise, informative, engaging, and relevant articles and placing them strategically all over the web. These articles will contain keywords related to your company. A web design company, then, might write a blog entry or a how-to article about establishing a strong web presence through attractive page content and within that article single out particular words that a user might use in a search engine. These “keywords” direct search engines to the articles where users will find information that leads them to your site.

While search engines are far from ancient and search engine marketing is still one of the most powerful ways that companies utilize the web to advertise, social media marketing is the new kid on the proverbial block. Social media unites two things that have been very successful on the web: social networking and user-generated content. Networking, of course, allows you to connect and communicate with people all over the world, while content sites let you upload your own pictures and videos. By combining the two, people can share their lives with family and friends across the globe.

In social media marketing, the sales approach is quite indirect. In fact, you might not even realize that you are the targeted audience of the ad campaigns that are presented to you. Many social media sites are able to design particular campaigns designed to offer you only the things that you want, which in turn makes you more inclined to participate in potential offers. Networks like Facebook, actually, ask you what kinds of ads you want and continue to present you with ones that are similar so that you only get offers from businesses that you actually like!

Karen Barney wrote this article for inSegment. She is recommending inSegment’s digital marketing, web design, and email maketing services for those who are in interest.

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