As technology continues to advance, most people are now more interested in spending their time in front of their computers rather than do an outdoor activity and enjoy a sunny day. Likewise, some people find it much more convenient to just shop online rather than drive to a mall and shop. Thus, online marketing has never been more needed than today.

I check fashion blogs daily and once in a while, I would see these bloggers write about products they received or host product giveaways from new brands, such as Brand X. At first, I didn’t really understand why these companies would give their products for free, especially for giveaways. I couldn’t see what it would benefit to the company; until I realized that giveaways get so much attention that Brand X actually get “free” publicity. While it’s not exactly free, it’s a LOT cheaper than paying for a 30-second-airtime ad on TV. This made me realize that this is their way of marketing, precisely online marketing.

An article from The Marketing Blog discusses more in depth about other online marketing strategies. It says that there should be a balance between online and offline leads to optimized profit, which I certainly agree with. It’s not only new brands who give free products online through bloggers, well-known brands, such as Neutrogena and Nikon, also participate in this and they do actually generate more sales from it. Some blog readers, who didn’t get the freebies, would comment that they went to buy it from the store because they really liked the product after seeing it online. I find this very interesting, as consumers don’t seem to be aware that they are already under the marketing spell of these companies.