Online Advertising of SIP

While most of my blogs have been on IP communications (VoIP/SIP), I have been working on determining the best ways to spend our precious marketing dollars for this year. The challenge given to me has been to spend the bulk of those dollars on web advertising campaigns. At first it seemed simple, a banner ad here and there, a few tiles and perhaps even one of those dreaded interrupting splash pages. However, as I have studied the statistics, it is clear none of these activities may result in the behavior I want... Buy something from Broadvox.

The percentage of web viewers that read a banner ad continues to drop and 50% of advertisers no longer believe that they are cost effective. While it was interesting to learn that 80% of web visitors clicked at least once on an ad over the last 12 months, I was actually spending more time wondering how many ads had they seen and ignored. It was clear though that if someone clicked on an ad it was a clear selling opportunity with 23% of those buying a product.

So how do I promote SIP Trunking and our wholesale SIP origination and termination business?

It all goes back to what behavior do I want from those who see our ads. For wholesale, I want to be noticed. Broadvox is a well-known ITSP and is growing nicely, but larger companies can get mindshare much easier just by out spending us. So, our online presence must target visibility first and selling second. This is achievable due to the size of the market. It is still in the hundreds of participants and they can be addressed by a direct sales force. My job then is to make it easier for the conversation to flow.

"I am calling from Broadvox."

"Right, I've heard of you."

Now the selling begins.  So what online methods will get us there? Above the fold banners are pretty effective but the most attention getting form of Internet advertising is that inside of the article. So a tile that is in the middle of the page surrounded by interesting news or text catches the readers more than any other advertising on the webpage. So, for wholesale, that is where I need to place my resources...along with SEO.

Check in Friday for a discussion of marketing SIP Trunking.