Consumer planning

As with traditional advertising, advertising online is extremely reliant on consumer planning. Without consumer insight, engaging with your audience online will prove a real challenge.

The traditional advertising principle of establishing consumer insight remains just the same for internet marketing. However, identifying online habits and consumption will be a very different process to the likes of TV consumer planning because of the interactive nature of the internet and the plethora of things that a consumer uses the web for in their day to day lives.

Understanding online behaviour

The combined impact of cheaper broadband, increasingly inexpensive technology and ever-more compelling online content is driving consumers of all different ages to the internet. Although the market is still skewed towards younger, upmarket individuals it is increasingly becoming more representative of the population as a whole. The over-55s is the fastest growing demographic online, with two in every three of those approaching retirement now using the internet. As the profile of internet users expands, the power of online to reach the mass market strengthens, whilst also maintaining an ability to target niche audiences.

The reason the internet has grown in popularity in recent years is largely due to the fact that it makes our lives easier. Online services such as email, chat, banking and shopping have revolutionised the way we interact and do everyday tasks. The medium is also an excellent information and entertainment provider - as shown with the increasing popularity of online newspapers, community gaming and digital music.

There is a consistent thread of importance placed on the internet by the majority of those who use it - 75% of people go online everyday according to the IAB/ RAB media consumption study, but why they go online and what they do varies from person to person and is dependent on age, gender, occupation, and interests. Advertisers increasing their online budget need to have a greater understanding of their online audience's behaviour, to ensure the right people are viewing and interacting with their campaigns.

Monitoring consumer behaviour

It is important to keep monitoring consumer behaviour to add to your knowledge of your target audience. As a first step you can do this by monitoring your website traffic, monitoring what consumers are doing on your competitors sites and keeping up-to-date with relevant press. With your own websites you can also assess the usability and information architecture of your website by analysing it regularly, monitoring user pathways and carrying out user testing to make sure it is user-friendly and that your audience can find the information they are looking for with ease. It is also important to have tools in place to evaluate the KPIs of your online advertising campaigns.

• Visit our internet marketing guides to learn more about the tools you can use to measure and monitor your internet marketing strategy