Competition is intensifying in many industries. Online businesses in particular are creating new companies every day that compete for the attention and money of their customers. The markets in online gaming and online travel bookings are currently facing particular fierce competition. Good online marketing is essential in these markets. Because who is not seen, is not bought. The niches just mentioned have in common that there, in addition to the top dogs, also many unknown providers frolic. These are not to be underestimated, because size, especially in the online area, is not a criterion for success or visibility. Often, the decision-making process is even shorter and the ideas more creative in small companies than in the big players.
No matter if it’s a big company or a start-up, it needs very good online marketing to gain market share. There are many ways to compete in a competitive market. One way is to observe the leader and study his strategies. In the area of travel this is u.a. the hotel booking portal trivago , for online poker the provider PokerStars and for online games, the video game company Sony Interactive Entertainment .
A tactic that works in all sectors and markets is specialization. There is an unmanageable number of pages on the Internet for solving almost every problem. To attract attention in this mass, it requires a special positioning. In the travel sector, trivago has positioned itself as a hotel price comparison site. They offer no flights, no transfers and no group offers, only hotels. So they are very sharp. If you are looking for a complete trip including flight and transfer, you will not find it at trivago. But the site has made a name for itself with the largest selection of hotels. With this specialization is a much more accurate Addressing the target customer possible. This speech starts with the search on the Internet. First, ask yourself what the customer is looking for. In terms of trivago, these are terms such as “hotel”, “hotel rooms”, “cheap accommodation in Prague”, “classy accommodation in London” and many more relevant. Accordingly, trivago has aligned its marketing strategies and web presence. To identify the appropriate search terms for a customer, the target customer should be defined in advance. How old is he? Which gender does he have? What are his preferences? Depending on the properties, the customer will enter different search terms. This website and marketing campaigns must be optimized.
Tactics: Brand Awareness
Brand Awareness is the next important point on the list. This refers to the brand’s perception of other brands as well as its recognition value. PokerStars is primarily active in this area through brand ambassadors. There is a dedicated PokerStars team that acts as the brand representative at official tournaments. This is not a classic online marketing measure, but is supported by good online marketing. Furthermore, celebrities are used as brand ambassadors in advertising. Currently, the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, promotes the brand and pays special recognition to its customers. In this context, the corporate identity, the self-representation of the company, is of particular importance. Brand Awareness is significantly influenced by the fact that the consumer has the same experience with the brand on all channels. This refers to logo, design, language choice, etc.
Tactics: Search Engine (Content Marketing)
An increasingly topical subject in online marketing is the Content Marketing. This is understood as the recording of the in-house channels with contents that inform the reader and viewers, without disturbing them as advertising. Sony Interactive Entertainment has 16 million potential customers in the German market alone. One way to tie these people to Sony is content marketing.
Sony publishes 200 content articles on different channels each week.
The trick is to make all content Sony-typical. The user must remember at the end of each article, video and picture that this comes from Sony. With such a high publication rate, detailed planning is critical to the success of content marketing. Sony uses the software of Divvy HQ, which makes it easier to coordinate and assign topics in large teams. As a result, potential customers are always provided with new, interesting content from Sony that keeps them in touch with the brand in a positive context.
Content Marketing is not just important for big companies like Sony. Especially small companies have the opportunity through this form of marketing to attract attention in highly competitive markets. A virally distributed message can quickly bring a tremendous popularity boost. Those who do not yet have a large own range, should use multipliers. So-called influencers then spread their message and can reach many more people through their followers than the company alone could. Important in this form of communication is the actual added value for the customer. Which form works for which company ultimately depends on the expectations of the target group.
Best Practice in Content Marketing
Two years ago we initiated a small example on Youtube. With a video of over 100,000 views in a few hours – 100% organic and with a long retention time: Content Marketing Best Practice GNTM 2016 (German).
