Targeted Internet Advertising

Successful marketing depends largely on targeted Internet advertising to reach specific consumers. The worldwide web has changed the way advertising agencies and marketing professionals approach prospective customers. Instead of a local, regional, or national market, the Internet brings the world to your doorstep. But just because the world comes to your doorstep doesn't mean that they will buy. Advertisers must target, or narrow down, the sector of a global population for whom goods and services are best suited. In multimedia advertising, a strong message or visual communication is designed to appeal to a specific audience. Advertising targets potential buyers according to age, gender, income, ethnic group, or activity. That's why a well known skin care conglomerate recently modified its message to sell soap to a more diverse group of women. Instead of featuring wraith-like females with long, thin torsos; the company's creative group introduced a campaign using women of different shapes, sizes, ages and complexions. The message was clear: their soap was suitable for every woman.

However targeted Internet advertising is much sleeker, faster, and much more direct than slow-absorption media, such as magazines, or a flash-in-the-pan 30-second television spot. The time it takes for Internet shoppers to point, click and take a second look at products and services is really subjective. Digital media lends itself to the Technicolor temptations of big movie screens, only in a smaller, more intimate framework; therefore targeted Internet advertising tends to present an intimate, interactive message to one browser at a time. Flash animation graphics grab the eye, diverting it away from other frames on the web page to compel browsers to follow specific links to point of purchase pull down menus that make it easy to ultimately part with credit card digits and clinch online sales.

One rule of successful promotion: If you want to sell to a specific audience, feature a compelling picture of that audience in the ad. Happy, smiling faces attract happy, smiling consumers. As in other print or electronic media advertising, targeted Internet advertising features visual images which mirror those consumers advertisers are trying to reach. Colleges and institutions of higher learning portray young students prominently on home pages. Electronic technology sites not only feature the latest gadget, but techies using their products to lure other techies to buy them. Establishing a rapport with the audience is essential to getting the right response; and it's just as essential in winning souls. In I Corinthians 9:19-22, the Apostle Paul shared how he "became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews." "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without the law, as without the law, (being not without the law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."

Not all websites are targeted solely toward consumers of products and services. Christian oriented sites target individuals from a global audience with a similar belief system. The goal of Christian business advertising is to not only sell a product or service, but to promote Biblically-based ethics. Many faith-based websites use the Internet to witness to the un-churched as well as edify the Body of believers in Jesus Christ. And because faith-based websites realize that they have the potential to target a global audience for Jesus, much of the content will be geared toward evangelism, or winning souls to the Lord.

Believers can benefit by interactive sites that include links to all things Christian. From online shopping malls that feature clergy and choir robes, home schooling resources, and fundraising ideas; to job searches, blogs, and health and nutrition articles, Christian business advertising focuses on meeting every conceivable need believers have. Faith-based self-help books, articles, and resources lead browsing believers to a more comprehensive spiritual walk. Churches and Christian organizations can shop for furnishings, buildings, and vehicles. Ministries can find the best buys on audios, CDs, and electronics; while entrepreneurs can get the latest advice on financing, budgeting and investing. Christian business advertising literally targets an entire community of consumers who have a common interest: to grow and develop into more mature followers of Jesus Christ. The advantage to targeting a faith-based audience is that Christianity is not just a denomination, but it is a lifestyle; and that lifestyle encompasses an infinite number of interests: from concerns about health and nutrition, money and insurance, missions and ministry, modern ethics, and current events from a Biblical perspective. Christians are consumers, too; but a common belief broadens opportunities for faith-based businesses to prosper by selling to an audience that needs little persuasion. Most Christians love all things Christ-like and tend to be loyal and supportive of faith-based businesses.

Entrepreneurs promoting Christian business advertising may consider targeting a faith-based audience via the Internet. Nearly 80% of the population in the United States professes to practice Christianity, making Christians one of the most affluent target audiences in the world. Internet advertising on websites with a clean, wholesome appearance will appeal to most believers. Family oriented sites which refrain from derogatory or defamatory content and promote family values also appeal to Christians. The most successful targeted Internet advertising will consist of promotions that are not just thinly veiled attempts to draw one of the most influential markets in the world, but one that sincerely models the principles and ethics of the Christian lifestyle. Faith-based consumers will gladly support those advertisers who advocate wholesome ethics, family values, and a high standard of moral excellence.