Don't be fooled, or do.

Online is often less truthful but what communication medium can be guaranteed to be completely truthful? We cannot generalize and say that everything we find online is less truthful than information from other sources. People have the freedom to express themselves with barely any censorship online which gives us the freedom to put our own spin on information. There are credible sources online and it is up to us as consumers to do our research and decide what to believe.

Not online do people publish and spread fake information online, but also in gossip magazines and phony news reports on TV. We often know what websites and sources publish doubtful information but choose to read them for our own entertainment. People who do not want to be fooled can work to ensure the information they consume is as truthful as possible. The more we develop different ways to use the internet and connect with people instantly, the more ways we will figure out how to control and twist the information we share for our own convenience.

Politics are a sensitive subject and the validity of its information is certainly at risk everyday more because of the internet as Professor Anthony Miyazaki states on his blog post: http://www.sensibleemarketing.com/2012/02/e-marketing-and-politics-how-true-is.html. I have my own beliefs which I have based on factual research rather than word of mouth from social media and other popular online sources. I believe educated people can figure out what is less truthful from the information they find online, the ones who do not know how to differentiate lies from truth were bound to be fooled regardless of the communication medium they use for information.

Online Tracking is Here To Stay

Most internet users can say that they have, at some point, provided personal information to a service or company through their website. Most of us would like to be sure that the information we enter online is not shared with any third parties or used as a marketing tool, but the truth is that it is used in these ways. For as long as we are internet users we will have to accept this. Everything nowadays revolves around commerce and generating money and people will use whatever tools are available to them in order to benefit their interest. I am one of the guilty majority who barely ever reads terms and agreements which means that I am subject to whatever terms the websites have set. We cannot be mad if they use the information we provide or if by clicking “I accept the terms and agreements” we are blindly handing over our information for marketers or anyone to have access to.

                Many websites and web browsers give users the option to adjust their privacy settings which gives us some peace of mind but how sure can we be that others will not have access to our information? We will never know. Not only is the information we put online used for marketing, it is also used for behavioral reason. Because of these uses, I do not think we will see any major changes to online privacy. Also, not everyone is bothered by behavioral targeting and our web searches and activities being tracked online, some people just use the internet for whatever they need and do not give privacy much thought.

There should certainly be a way we can feel protected from others having access to sensitive information like phone numbers, credit card and banking information, social security number, and other identity related information but we will have to get used to the idea that our online activity will always be tracked somehow. Professor Anthony Miyazaki poses the question: “Is Online Privacy the Ultimate Oxymoron?” in his blog http://www.sensibleemarketing.com/. I believe online privacy is an oxymoron. According to Miyazaki a “substantial number of consumers have voiced concerns over privacy issues which has motivated Congress to consider various protections to allow consumers to opt out of online tracking,” I think most people will not bother to do that or might not even know the option exists. Online tracking benefits many different causes which leads me to believe it will always exist somehow and we must get used to it and accept it.

E-Marketing and the buying desicion process

I remember the first time I noticed an ad about something I either thought about or had written about online, I thought it was the creepiest thing ever. Anytime I search for something online, I have ads for similar products popping up in every website I visit. I find it easy to ignore these ads but many people do not and that is when E-marketing has achieved its goal. Nowadays, e-marketing has a big influence on the buying decision process. Online advertisements are everywhere and influence people to buy things they do not need or had previously considered purchasing. 

     When I coordinate events, I usually search online for the materials I need. Even if I do not plan on buying them online, I search for different prices and locations and by doing this I usually end up stumbling across products I did not originally need and I often end up buying them. When you are in the process of purchasing something on Amazon or other websites, there is usually a section where they show products that relate to what you are looking to purchase in hopes that customers will also purchase them. E-marketing influences the need/want recognition, need/desire development and need/desire fulfillment; it fits in every step of the buying decision process. As Mr. Miyazaki explains on his post “Where is E-marketing in the Buying Decision Process in his blog http://www.sensibleemarketing.com/, “e-marketing plays a key role these days in how people formulate what it is they want.”  I do not believe online shopping will completely take the place of in-store shopping because this is an activity many people enjoy, but it will more often than not, be a part of the buying process.

Taxation on Internet sales were bound to happen.

As of this weekend, new taxation laws on e-commerce will be implemented. The lack of sales taxation has been a great advantage to online retailers and will now pose the challenge of figuring out how to keep their costumers by balancing out fair prices, shipping costs, and sales tax. Big online retailers such as Amazon could be greatly impacted by now having to charge sales tax on all orders because many of their costumers’ reason for shopping online is that they can avoid sales tax on items such as electronics. There is a possibility that they would lose many customers who would rather purchase products at a physical store and avoid paying for shipping and waiting for their products to arrive. In an age where people rely on the internet for most of their daily activities and obligations such as paying bills, searching for information, and, and shopping; I believe retailers will be able to make up for the sales tax by having more warehouses all over the country/world in order to lower or eliminate shipping costs.

I recently coordinated a fashion show and ordered most of my decoration and other supplies online because of the convenience of being able to search the items and find them quickly online and because it saved me time by not having to travel to a store to buy anything. For most of the events I have coordinated and also events others around me have planned, we have resorted to online research and shopping for the necessary products. The convenience of being able to purchase things from the comfort of your home or office will continue to be an incentive for people to buy online despite having to pay a little more for shipping.

I believe it is very likely for Amazon to resort to establishing physical stores in order to continue their business by offering their low prices and avoiding shipping costs but I think their main market will continue to be e-commerce. On Anthony Miyazaki’s post titled “Will Amazon be the next Walmart? New tax laws may be the catalyst.” on http://www.sensibleemarketing.com/ , Miyazaki writes : “ Even in an internet world, face-to-face has often seemed sensible. I agree with this quote but in this internet world, e-commerce will continue to thrive and overcome any changes or obstacle.

Marketing events and interacting with clients.

Online marketing feed off of interactivity. Facebook, Twitter and other popular social media and applications are great ways to gain new costumers and help maintain your relationship with current costumers.  Interactivity is very useful when it comes to event planning. Through social media, event planners can reach out to their audience in a quick and efficient way. I am the coordinator for a fashion show and Facebook has made it very easy for me to interact with my sponsors, models and guests. Many of the sponsors I was able to get for the show were convinced because of the amount of marketing we are doing in order to sell tickets. The fact that their logo would be exposed through our social media was a big selling point in order to get them to work with us. In the past when social media was not as big as it is now, maybe it would not have been as easy to convince sponsors to work with us or promote my event. Through Facebook I was able to market to many different organizations in a way that I knew they would notice rather than through personal emails which are harder to get and are often ignored. It is easier and more convenient for costumers and marketers to spread the word through social media which could be a very bad thing if the word is negative rather than positive. Even if costumers express negative feelings through social media for the world to see, they might be pointing out something that marketers did not notice and can then work on. This would only be a positive thing if the people in charge of the media are always alert and responding to costumer complains in a timely matter.

A blog post in Sensible Marketing by Anthony Miyazaki, makes great points on his view of  how much interactivity does online marketing need. I plan and coordinate events and online interactivity is a great tool for what I do. The con's of online interactivity outweigh the negatives when it comes to planning and marketing events. Facebook helps he have an idea of how many people will be attending my events and also helps promote a positive image and reputation for my parties. In my case, the more interactivity, the better.