Unlike field marketing which refers to the use of physical tools and spaces for marketing, online marketing is used to describe a defined set of methods or tools available and provided in the online/virtual environment that businesses use as a means to promote their business, their brand, and their products/services.

RELATED: Which is More Effective, Field Marketing Vs. Online Marketing?

What are the forms of online marketing?

It is safe to say that online marketing has evolved over the years and now includes many aspects. These aspects include:

1. Email Marketing: this is the use of personalized emails and weekly newsletters to inform your existing, potential, and prospective customers of available discounts and other promotions to boost traffic to the business website and other landing pages. In another article, we have discussed the benefits of Using Weekly Newsletters for Marketing.
2. Affiliate Marketing: this is the use of an affiliate, that is, a marketer, to advertise the business’s products and services in return for a commission that would be determined before their agreement.
3. Social Media Marketing: this is the use of various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to create awareness of your business. In other articles, we have extensively discussed the best ways to use these platforms to grow your business.

• How Best to Use Facebook in Growing Your Business 
• How Best to Use Twitter in Growing Your Business
• How Best to Use LinkedIn in Growing Your Business 
•  How Best to Use Instagram in Growing Your Business

How do the different online marketing platforms compare?

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are all social media platforms where different people and individuals from different parts and regions of the world can interact with each other. However, each of these platforms has been structured and given perceptions that are slightly different from one another therefore this would determine the type of business that would be more favoured on a platform than on another platform.

1. LinkedIn is a professional platform where employers and job seekers can interact and secure various employment opportunities. This description alone has set the tone for the type of businesses that can be effectively and favourably marketed on the platform.
2. Instagram is a very picture-centric platform. The level of engagement of your posts on the platform highly depends on the number of followers you have. Thus businesses that tend to thrive here have high-quality images and clips that capture the true essence of their products and services.
3. Twitter compared to Instagram is less picture-centric. The majority of tweets on the platform tend to be written posts rather than images and photos. Oftentimes, Twitter users tend to be sarcastic in their tweets, and hence any business page on the platform would have to key into such sarcasm regularly to relate better to their audience.
4. Facebook seems to be a general platform on which any sort of business should have a business page. 

Recommendations for the best online marketing platform

The best online marketing platform to adopt would greatly depend on the type of business you want to promote. In line with the comparison we have given earlier, we can conclude on the best platform to use is as follows:

1. Instagram is more appropriate for businesses that deal with accessories and lifestyle products/services. These businesses will have to create captivating content and also put up high-quality images and videos that showcase their products in the best way. For example, businesses that deal in watches, perfumes, hair, and wigs, and catering services, are best marketed on Instagram.
2. LinkedIn is more appropriate for professionally inclined or professionally oriented businesses. These businesses can opt to create virtual events on the platform where they can showcase their expertise in various areas. Generally, business consultants, that is, consulting firms, and other service providers such as logistics businesses, are best marketed on LinkedIn.
3. Going by our earlier discussion, Twitter is less picture-centric than Instagram. This would indicate that uploading high-quality images and videos here may not necessarily have the same effect as it would on Instagram. Businesses which already have gathered a large following on other social media platforms would be more successful here. Thus for a new business, Twitter may not be the best place to grow your business for the time being. 
4. Facebook is a primary and foundational platform to grow your business no matter the type of business it is. New businesses are advised to first establish themselves on Facebook before looking to Instagram or Twitter to further boost their business brands.

Conclusion

All these online marketing platforms that we have discussed all have the same feature; they can all boost your business brand, products, and services. The recommendations on which is best have only been given to fit the various categories and forms of business that are available today and that will best thrive on the platform. 

SmartSMSSolutions has established a platform much like these various online marketing platforms, which would help boost your business communication and your brand awareness. This platform is a Bulk SMS messaging platform which would enable you to interact with your customers in real-time, instantly on their mobile phones. You can deploy this feature as a complementary strategy to increase your customer base and create intimacy with your customers. Your business can begin enjoying these features by simply signing up or by logging in to your account if you already have one with us.