Consumer insights improve online marketing

Businesses that have incorporated an online component into their makeup in 2011 will want to utilize their investment for all of its worth in 2012. Consumers are growing increasingly apt in navigating through web pages, actively searching out links until they reach a dead end. Businesses can capitalize on the curiosity of internet explorers by establishing an in-house analytics department. Employees in web analytics would invest time into better understanding how consumers act on their company's websites, compiling statistics that would guide marketing professionals during future ventures.

There are a lot of factors to consider when attempting to analyze consumer behavior online, especially when conducting the research in-house. Employers often do not know how to tackle such a task, and seek to fill analytics jobs with people who have experience in the field. Successful campaigns are those that resonate in the minds of consumers, affecting their perceptions of products and working toward building brand loyalty.

For businesses that are just starting to track consumer behavior, there are two key outlets that when better understood can result in improved marketing performance. Everyone is focusing on social media and all that the communities have to offer. In a recent study commissioned by Facebook, NeuroFocus examined how consumers' brains respond to the site, as well as Yahoo and The New York Times. Out of the three tested web pages, Facebook scored the highest on attention, emotional engagement and memory retention.

The data concludes that focusing emotion-inspiring content through social media outlets, like Facebook, has significantly impacted the moods of consumers. Perhaps advertising specific promotions through Facebook that evoke emotional responses will be more effective than a print ad or a television spot.

Secondly, Businesses are also focusing on how consumers react to and navigate through content posted on their professional websites. These portals act as ambassadors, introducing products and services to people who regularly surf the internet. There are various programs companies can use to track online consumer traffic and see which advertisements drew them in to their websites and which links interested them most once they arrived. This type of insight allows organizations to better position promotions of their websites, and further discover the interests of their clientele.

Organizing consumer data can help businesses formulate effective advertising plans. With in-depth knowledge, marketing professionals are able to target the key interests of their clients and find ways to hit the notes that resonate in their minds and entice them to revisit the web page, and perhaps make a purchase every once in a while, too.