To a great extent, the Internet will be the most powerful marketing strategy that any company can have for the largest sports event in the world. The markets targeted are wide and most continents will need to find information about businesses in SA. The roll-on effect of the event is even greater than most of us can comprehend and the opportunities even bigger.
South Africa can expect more than 55 000 football fans from countries sucha s Germany, Holland, France, Italy, Brazil, UK and many more. These fans will need to get their information now! Not in 2010, but now! The ticket sales are expected to open next year (2008), and fans that want to ensure that they have transport and accommodation will have to start booking now, else they risk losing the best spots. One can only imagine the frustration you will have because they couldn't find your business on their most reliable source of information, the Internet.
Here is a bit of statistics about estimated Internet users in those countries.
Country | Internet users | % of population |
---|---|---|
Asia | 459 476 825 | 12.4% |
Europe | 337 878 613 | 41.7% |
North America | 232 655 287 | 69.5% |
South America | 77 978 800 | 21.1% |
South Africa | 5 100 000 | 10.3% |
World including Africa | 1 244 449 601 | 18.9% |
Source: internetworldstats.com
When looking at the percentages of Internet users, it is clear that other countries makes use of the Internet on a much larger scale than we are used to in SA. By not being visible we are losing money.
When looking at the different opportunities the event holds for SA it is amazing to realise the real impact it will have on South Africa and the different business segments. For example, sports pubs have a great opportunity to make this event work for them. Many fans will not be able to obtain tickets for their team matches. They will need to watch it somewhere social – do they know about your sports pub?
With an estimated four matches in Nelspruit and Polokwane, the tourism industries there can expect a shocker of tourism influx – will they know about your guest house or lodge? Will Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg and Nelspruit be able to handle the accommodation needs of these visitors?
Definitely, but will they know about the places we as South Africans do? They will have to be able to find your business online. How many fans will want to buy property here?
The facts are that there are many industries that will be impacted by tourist needs; is your business one of them? Building a chain of events, you will be shocked to realise that your beauty salon urgently needs a website!
The clear fact that the majority of websites within the country are not designed to be found on search engines are probably our biggest concern, but here are other concerns that business owners should have with regards to their websites:
A quick summary of marketing strategies
There are 12 main categories of Internet marketing. Here are a few marketing strategies that are simple to use and should make a great impact on your online presence.
There are several other methods that a website owner can utilise to ensure their cut in the web cake, and it is certainly worthwhile obtaining more information about online marketing. Is your website ready?