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What is Digital Marketing? A Comprehensive Guide For Beginner 2024

Digital marketing, also known as online marketing, involves promoting and selling products or services using digital channels.

Think of it as the modern version of marketing, where instead of billboards and television ads, you use websites, social networks, search engines, and other online tools to reach your target audience.

Marketers can use any marketing that uses electronic devices to convey promotional messages and measure their impact throughout the customer journey.

In practice, digital marketing typically refers to online marketing campaigns that appear on a computer, phone, tablet, or another device.

It can take many forms, including online videos, display ads, search engine marketing, paid social ads, and social media posts.

Digital marketing is often compared to “traditional marketing,” such as magazine ads, billboards, and direct mail. Interestingly, television is often grouped with traditional marketing.

Did you know that more than three-quarters of Americans connect to the Internet daily? Not only that, but 43% go online more than once a day and 26% are online “almost constantly.” These figures are even higher among mobile Internet users.

89% of Americans connect to the Internet at least daily and 31% do so almost constantly.

As a marketer, it is important to take advantage of the digital world with an online advertising presence, building a brand and providing a great customer experience that also attracts more leads and more, with a digital strategy.

A digital marketing strategy allows you to leverage different digital channels, such as social media, pay-per-click, search engine optimization, and email marketing, to connect with existing customers and individuals interested in your products or services.

As a result, you can build a brand, provide a great customer experience, attract potential customers, and more. Basically, if a marketing campaign involves digital communication, it is digital marketing.

Inbound Marketing VS Digital Marketing

Digital marketing and inbound marketing are easily confused, and for good reason.

Digital marketing uses many of the same tools as inbound marketing: email and online content, to name a few.

Both exist to capture the attention of potential customers throughout the buyer’s journey and convert them into customers.

However, the two approaches take different views on the relationship between tool and goal.

Digital marketing considers how individual tools or digital channels can convert leads.

A brand’s digital marketing strategy can use multiple platforms or focus all its efforts on a single platform.

For example, a company may primarily create content for social media platforms and email marketing campaigns, ignoring other avenues of digital marketing.

On the other hand, inbound marketing is a holistic concept.

First, consider the objective, then analyze the available tools to determine which ones will effectively reach your target customers, and then at what stage of the sales funnel it should occur.

As an example, let’s say you want to increase website traffic to generate more leads and leads. You can focus on search engine optimization when developing your content marketing strategy, which will result in more optimized content, including blogs, landing pages, and more.

The most important thing to remember about digital marketing and inbound marketing is that, as a marketer, you don’t have to choose between the two.

In fact, they work better together. Inbound marketing provides structure and purpose for effective digital marketing to digital marketing efforts, ensuring that each digital marketing channel works toward a goal.

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Why is Digital Marketing Important?

Any type of marketing can help your business thrive. However, digital marketing has become increasingly important because of how accessible digital channels are.

In fact, in March 2022 alone there were 5 billion internet users worldwide.

From social media to text messaging, there are many ways you can use digital marketing tactics to communicate with your target audience.

Additionally, digital marketing has minimal upfront costs, making it a cost-effective marketing technique for small businesses.

Digital marketing isn’t just a trend; it’s the lifeblood of modern businesses. Here’s why it holds such immense importance:

1. Reach a Global Audience: Compared to traditional marketing, digital marketing transcends geographical boundaries, allowing you to connect with potential customers worldwide. This opens up vast opportunities for growth and expansion.

2. Target Your Ideal Customers: Unlike scattershot traditional methods, digital marketing empowers you to laser-focus your efforts on specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. This ensures your message resonates with the right people, maximizing your return on investment (ROI).

3. Build Brand Awareness and Loyalty: Through engaging content, social media interaction, and targeted campaigns, digital marketing fosters brand awareness and loyalty. You can cultivate relationships with your audience, building trust and establishing yourself as an industry authority.

4. Measure and Analyze Performance: Unlike traditional marketing’s guesswork, digital marketing provides concrete data on campaign performance. Track website traffic, engagement metrics, conversion rates, and more to refine your strategies for continuous improvement.

5. Cost-Effectiveness: Compared to expensive traditional methods, digital marketing offers a broader range of budget-friendly options. You can tailor your strategy to fit your resources, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes.

6. Adaptability and Flexibility: The digital landscape is constantly evolving, but digital marketing allows you to adapt quickly. You can experiment with new trends, test different approaches, and pivot your strategies based on real-time data to stay ahead of the curve.

7. Personalization and Customer Engagement: Digital marketing enables personalized communication with your audience. Tailored messages, interactive content, and real-time interactions foster deeper engagement, leading to higher conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

8. Competitive Advantage: In today’s digital world, having a strong online presence is essential. By embracing digital marketing, you stay competitive, attract new customers, and retain existing ones, giving you an edge over offline-focused competitors.

Remember: Indeed, digital marketing isn’t a magic bullet or a once-and-done solution. It’s a dynamic journey requiring unwavering commitment and continuous refinement. However, the rewards are substantial. Through consistent improvement, analysis of results, and adaptation to evolving trends, you can unlock its full potential and transform your business goals into reality.

B2B VS B2C Digital Marketing

While both B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) digital marketing aim to attract and convert customers, the approaches differ significantly due to the distinct nature of their target audiences. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences:

Target Audience:

B2B: Focuses on businesses or organizations, targeting decision-makers within those entities. It’s a rational, logical audience driven by ROI and long-term benefits.

B2C: Targets individual consumers, appealing to their emotions, desires, and immediate needs.

Decision-Making Process:

B2B: Involves multiple stakeholders with research, approvals, and budget considerations. The process can be lengthy and complex.

B2C: Decisions are often individual-based and quicker, driven by personal preferences and immediate needs.

Marketing Channels:

B2B: Often utilizes professional networks like LinkedIn, industry publications, webinars, and email marketing. Content tends to be informative, data-driven, and focused on ROI.

B2C: Leverages a wider range of channels like social media (Facebook, Instagram), influencer marketing, emotional storytelling, and user-generated content.

Content Strategy:

B2B: Focuses on educational content, case studies, white papers, and thought leadership pieces that showcase expertise and address industry challenges.

B2C: Creates engaging, emotionally-driven content like videos, infographics, user testimonials, and social media posts that resonate with individual desires.

Metrics and Measurement:

B2B: Tracks metrics like lead generation, website traffic, and qualified leads, often with a longer sales cycle in mind.

B2C: Focuses on immediate conversions, sales figures, and customer lifetime value.

Remember:

Tailoring is key: Understand your specific B2B or B2C audience and their unique needs to develop an effective marketing strategy.

Combine channels: Integrate different channels for a holistic approach, reaching your target audience at various stages of their buying journey.

Data is your friend: Track key metrics and analyze results to continuously optimize your campaigns for maximum impact.

Digital marketing strategies work for both B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) companies, but best practices differ significantly between the two.

Below is a more detailed analysis of how digital marketing is used in B2B and B2C marketing strategies.

B2B clients tend to have longer decision-making processes and thus longer sales funnels. Relationship-building strategies work better for these clients, whereas B2C customers tend to respond better to short-term offers and messages.

B2B transactions are usually based on logic and evidence, which is what skilled B2B digital marketers present. B2C content is more likely to be emotionally based, focusing on making the customer feel good about a purchase.

B2B decisions tend to need more than 1 person’s input. The marketing materials that best drive these decisions tend to be shareable and downloadable. B2C customers, on the other hand, favor one-on-one connections with a brand.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. A B2C company offering an expensive product, such as a car or computer, might offer more informative and serious content.

Therefore, your digital marketing strategy should always be geared towards your own customer base, whether you are B2B or B2C.

Take a look at your current audience to create knowledgeable and targeted online marketing campaigns.

This ensures that your marketing efforts are effective and you can capture the attention of potential customers.

Types of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is the broad term for any marketing efforts that use digital channels to reach and connect with customers.

This can include various activities, from creating and sharing content online to running ads on social media and search engines.

There are as many specializations within digital marketing as there are ways of interacting using digital media.

Here are a few key examples of types of digital marketing tactics.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is technically a marketing tool rather than a form of marketing in itself.

The Balance defines it as “the art and science of making web pages attractive to search engines.”

The “art and science” part of SEO is the most important. SEO is a science because it requires you to research and weigh different contributing factors to achieve the highest possible ranking on a search engine results page (SERP).

Today, the most important things to consider when optimizing a web page for search engines include:

Quality of content

Level of user engagement

Mobile-friendliness

Number and quality of inbound links

In addition to the above, you need to optimize technical SEO, that is, all the back-end components of your site.

This includes URL structure, loading times, and broken links. Improving your technical SEO can help search engines better navigate and crawl your site.

Strategic use of these factors makes search engine optimization a science, but the unpredictability it involves makes it an art.

Ultimately, the goal is to rank on the first page of a search engine results page.

This ensures that those searching for a specific query related to your brand can easily find your products or services.

Although there are many search engines, digital marketers often focus on Google because it is a global leader in the search engine market.

In SEO, there is no quantifiable rubric or consistent rule for high search engine rankings.

Google and other search engines change their algorithms almost constantly, so it’s impossible to make exact predictions.

What you can do is monitor your page performance closely and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a marketing strategy used to attract, engage, and retain an audience by creating and sharing relevant articles, videos, podcasts, and other media.

This approach establishes expertise, promotes brand awareness, and keeps your business top of mind when it’s time to buy what you sell.

But this is different from traditional advertising. Instead of attracting prospects with potential value from a product or service, it offers value for free in the form of written materials, such as:

Blog posts

E-books

Newsletters

Video or audio transcripts

Whitepapers

Infographics

Content marketing is important, and there are plenty of statistics to prove it:

85% of consumers expect companies to produce entertaining and helpful content experiences

63% of companies that have at least 5,000 employees produce content daily

93% of marketers believe that their company values content as an important asset

As effective as content marketing is, it can be tricky. Content marketing writers need to be able to rank high in search engine results while engaging the people who will read the material, share it, and further interact with the brand.

When content is relevant, it can build strong relationships throughout the pipeline.

To create effective, highly relevant, and engaging content, it is important to identify your audience.

Who are you ultimately trying to reach with your content marketing efforts? Once you have a better understanding of your audience, you can determine the type of content you create.

You can use many content formats in your content marketing, including videos, blog posts, printable worksheets, and more.

No matter what content you create, it’s a good idea to follow content marketing best practices.

This means creating content that is grammatically correct, error-free, easy to understand, relevant, and interesting. Your content should also direct readers to the next stage of the pipeline, whether that’s a free consultation with a sales representative or a sign-up page.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is all about driving traffic and increasing brand awareness by engaging people in online discussions.

You can use social media marketing to showcase your brand, products, services, culture, and much more.

As billions of people spend their time interacting on social media platforms, it may be worth focusing on social media marketing.

The most popular digital platforms for social media marketing are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, followed closely by LinkedIn and YouTube.

Ultimately, the social media platforms you use for your business depend on your goals and your audience.

For example, if you want to find new prospects for your FinTech startup, targeting your audience on LinkedIn is a good idea since professionals in the sector are active on the platform.

On the other hand, running social media ads on Instagram can be better for your brand if you run a B2C focused on younger consumers.

Because social media marketing involves active audience participation, it has become a popular way to attract attention.

It’s the most popular content medium among B2C digital marketers (96%), and it’s also gaining ground in the B2B sphere.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, 61% of B2B content marketers increased their use of social media this year.

Social media marketing offers built-in engagement metrics, which are extremely useful in helping you understand how well you are reaching your audience.

You decide what types of interactions matter most to you, whether it’s the number of shares, comments, or total clicks to your website.

Direct purchasing may not even be a goal of your social media marketing strategy.

Many brands use social media marketing to start a dialogue with audiences rather than encouraging them to spend money immediately.

This is especially common among brands that target older audiences or offer products and services that aren’t suitable for impulse purchases.

It all depends on your business’s social media marketing goals.

To create an effective social media marketing strategy, it is essential to follow best practices. Here are some of the most important social media marketing best practices:

Craft high-quality and engaging content

Reply to comments and questions in a professional manner

Create a social media posting schedule

Post at the right time

Hire social media managers to support your marketing efforts

Know your audience and which social media channels they’re most active on

Pay-Per-Click Marketing

Pay-per-click, or PPC, is a form of digital marketing in which you pay a fee every time someone clicks on your digital ads.

So instead of paying a fixed amount to constantly serve targeted ads across online marketing channels, you only pay for the ads that individuals interact with.

How and when people see your ad is a little more complicated.

One of the most common types of PPC is search engine advertising, and since Google is the most popular search engine, many businesses use Google Ads for this purpose.

When a slot is available on a search engine results page, also known as the SERP, the engine fills that slot with what is essentially an instant auction.

An algorithm prioritizes each available ad based on a number of factors, including:

Ad Quality

Keyword relevance

Landing page quality

Bid Amount

PPC ads are then placed at the top of search engine results pages based on the above factors whenever someone searches for a specific query.

Every PPC campaign has one or more target actions that viewers are expected to take after clicking on an ad.

These actions are called conversions and can be transactional or non-transactional.

Making a purchase is a conversion, just like signing up for a newsletter or making a call to your home office.

Whatever you choose as your target conversions, you can track them through your chosen digital marketing channels to see how your campaign is performing.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a digital marketing tactic that allows someone to make money by promoting another person’s business.

You can be either the developer or the company working with the developer, but the process is the same in both cases.

It operates on a revenue-sharing model. If you are an affiliate, you receive a commission every time someone buys the item you are promoting.

If you are the merchant, you pay the affiliate for each sale they help you make.

Some affiliate marketers choose to review a single company’s products, perhaps on a blog or other third-party site. Others have relationships with multiple merchants.

Whether you want to become an affiliate or find one, the first step is to make a connection with the other party.

You can use digital channels designed to connect affiliates with retailers, or you can start or join a program for a single retailer.

If you are a retailer and choose to work directly with affiliates, there are many things you can do to make your program attractive to potential promoters.

You will need to provide these affiliates with the tools they need to succeed. This includes incentives for great results as well as marketing tools and pre-made materials.

Influencer Marketing

Like affiliate marketing, influencer marketing relies on working with an influencer (a person with a large following, such as a celebrity, industry expert, or content creator) in exchange for exposure.

In many cases, these influencers will endorse your products or services to their followers across multiple social networks.

Influencer marketing works well for B2B and B2C businesses that want to reach new audiences.

However, it is important to partner with reputable influencers since they essentially represent your brand. A bad influencer can damage consumer trust in your business.

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation uses software to power digital marketing campaigns, improving advertising effectiveness and relevance.

As a result, you can focus on creating the strategy behind your digital marketing efforts instead of tedious and time-consuming processes.

While marketing automation may seem like a luxury tool your business can live without, it can significantly improve engagement between you and your audience.

According to the statistics:

91% of US consumers find personalization either “very” or “somewhat” appealing

82% of consumers would like the brands they engage with to understand them better

78% of companies believe in the value of real-time personalization, yet 60% struggle with it

Marketing automation allows businesses to meet personalization expectations. It allows brands to:

Collect and analyze consumer information

Design targeted marketing campaigns

Send and post digital marketing messages at the right times to the right audiences

Many marketing automation tools use prospects’ engagement (or lack of engagement) with a particular message to determine when and how to contact them next.

This level of real-time personalization means you can effectively create an individualized marketing strategy for each customer without additional time investment.

Email Marketing

The concept of email marketing is simple: you send a promotional message and hope your prospect clicks on it.

However, the execution is much more complex. First, you need to make sure your emails are searchable.

This means having a membership list that does the following:

Individualizes the content, both in the body and in the subject line

States clearly what kind of emails the subscriber will get

An email signature that offers a clear unsubscribe option

Integrates both transactional and promotional emails

You want your prospects to see your campaign as a valued service, not just a promotional tool.

Email marketing is a proven and effective technique on its own: 89% of professionals surveyed named it their most effective lead generator.

It can be even better if you integrate other digital marketing techniques such as marketing automation, which allows you to segment and schedule your emails so that they meet your customers’ needs more effectively.

If you are considering email marketing, here are some tips that can help you create great email marketing campaigns:

Segment your audience to send relevant campaigns to the right people

Ensure emails look good on mobile devices

Create a campaign schedule

Run A/B tests

Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is a digital marketing strategy that allows you to interact with your target audience on their mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

This can be done through SMS and MMS messages, social media notifications, mobile app alerts, etc.

It is crucial to ensure that all content is optimized for mobile devices. According to the Pew Research Center, 85% of Americans own a smartphone.

So your marketing efforts can go a long way when creating content for desktop and mobile screens.

Snapchat Marketing

All You Know about Snapchat marketing is the process of using Snapchat to promote your brand or business.

Snapchat is a social media platform that is popular with young people, so it can be a great way to reach this demographic. Snapchat marketing can be used to achieve a variety of goals, such as:

Increasing brand awareness

Driving website traffic

Generating leads

Boosting sales

Why use Snapchat marketing?

There are several reasons why you might want to consider using Snapchat marketing:

Reach a young audience: Snapchat is especially popular with Gen Z and Millennials. If your target audience falls into one of these demographics, Snapchat could be a great way to reach them.

Create engaging content: Snapchat’s features, like filters, lenses, and stickers, can be used to create fun and engaging content that will resonate with young people.

Drive results: Snapchat marketing can be used to achieve a variety of marketing goals, such as increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, and generating leads.

How to get started with Snapchat marketing

If you’re interested in getting started with Snapchat marketing, here are a few steps you can take:

Create a Snapchat account: If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to create a Snapchat account for your business.

Optimize your profile: Make sure your profile is complete and includes all of the relevant information about your business, such as your website URL and contact information.

Create engaging content: Use Snapchat’s features to create fun and engaging content that will resonate with your target audience.

Run ads: You can also run ads on Snapchat to reach a wider audience.

Track your results: It’s important to track your results so you can see what’s working and what’s not.

Here are some additional tips for Snapchat marketing:

Use geofilters: Geofilters are location-based filters that can be used to promote your business to people in a specific location.

Run contests and giveaways: Contests and giveaways are a great way to generate excitement and engagement around your brand.

Collaborate with influencers: Partnering with influencers can help you reach a wider audience and build trust with potential customers.

Use Snapchat insights: Snapchat insights can provide you with valuable data about your audience and how they are interacting with your content.

Spotify Marketing

All You Know about Spotify’s marketing strategy is widely admired for its effectiveness and innovation. Here are some key aspects:

Target audience: While appealing to a broad spectrum, Spotify focuses heavily on younger demographics like Gen Z and Millennials.

Key strategies:

Freemium model: Offering a free ad-supported tier alongside premium subscriptions attracts users and converts some to paying customers.

Personalization: Spotify excels at using user data to create personalized recommendations, playlists, and experiences, fostering deeper engagement.

Data-driven approach: They leverage user data to inform platform features, marketing campaigns, and content partnerships.

Social media presence: They actively engage on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, creating shareable content and interacting with users.

Collaborations and partnerships: Spotify partners with artists, brands, and influencers for exclusive content, events, and experiences.

Content marketing: They create engaging editorial content like podcasts, interviews, and playlists to attract and retain users.

Emotional storytelling: They use emotional storytelling in their ads and marketing materials to connect with users on a deeper level.

Focus on user experience: Spotify prioritizes a seamless and enjoyable user experience, which fosters loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing.

Examples of successful campaigns:

Wrapped: The personalized year-end listening summary has become a cultural phenomenon, generating immense user engagement and social sharing.

Blend: This feature allows users to create a shared playlist with friends, fostering social connection and platform usage.

EQUAL: This initiative promotes gender equality in the music industry, aligning with its target audience’s values and attracting positive attention.

Recent trends:

Focus on podcasts: Spotify is investing heavily in podcasts, acquiring studios and exclusive content deals, to diversify its offerings and attract new users.

Livestreaming: They are exploring live audio experiences, partnering with artists for concerts and events, further engaging their audience.

Social commerce: Integrating e-commerce features within the platform, allowing users to purchase merchandise directly from artists.

TikTok Marketing

All You Know about TikTok marketing is the process of using TikTok to promote your brand or business. TikTok is a social media platform that is popular with young people, so it can be a great way to reach this demographic.

The TikTok marketing can be used to achieve a variety of goals, such as:

Increasing brand awareness

Driving website traffic

Generating leads

Boosting sales

Why use TikTok marketing?

There are several reasons why you might want to consider using TikTok marketing:

Reach a young audience: TikTok is especially popular with Gen Z and Millennials. If your target audience falls into one of these demographics, TikTok could be a great way to reach them.

Create engaging content: TikTok’s features, like filters, lenses, and stickers, can be used to create fun and engaging content that will resonate with young people.

Drive results: TikTok marketing can be used to achieve a variety of marketing goals, such as increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, and generating leads.

How to get started with TikTok marketing

If you’re interested in getting started with TikTok marketing, here are a few steps you can take:

Create a TikTok account: If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to create a TikTok account for your business.

Optimize your profile: Make sure your profile is complete and includes all of the relevant information about your business, such as your website URL and contact information.

Create engaging content: Use TikTok’s features to create fun and engaging content that will resonate with your target audience.

Run ads: You can also run ads on TikTok to reach a wider audience.

Track your results: It’s important to track your results so you can see what’s working and what’s not.

Here are some additional tips for TikTok marketing:

Use geofilters: Geofilters are location-based filters that can be used to promote your business to people in a specific location.

Run contests and giveaways: Contests and giveaways are a great way to generate excitement and engagement around your brand.

Collaborate with influencers: Partnering with influencers can help you reach a wider audience and build trust with potential customers.

Use TikTok insights: TikTok insights can provide you with valuable data about your audience and how they are interacting with your content.

By following these tips, you can create a successful TikTok marketing campaign that will help you reach your target audience and achieve your marketing goals.

Here are some examples of brands that are using TikTok marketing successfully:

Taco Bell: Taco Bell has used TikTok to create fun and engaging content that resonates with its target audience. For example, the brand has created TikTok filters, lenses, and stories that feature its popular menu items.

Red Bull: Red Bull has used TikTok to sponsor events and create content that is relevant to its target audience of young adults. For example, the brand has sponsored extreme sports events and created TikTok stories that feature athletes performing stunts.

Kylie Cosmetics: Kylie Jenner’s makeup line, Kylie Cosmetics, has used TikTok to promote its products and connect with its customers. For example, the brand has used TikTok filters and lenses to allow customers to try on its products virtually.

The best type of digital marketing for your business will depend on a number of factors, such as your target audience, your budget, and your overall marketing goals.

It is often a good idea to use a combination of different digital marketing tactics to reach your target audience and achieve your goals.

The Benefits of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing has largely become important because it reaches such a wide audience.

However, it also offers a number of other benefits that can boost your marketing efforts. These are just some of the benefits of digital marketing.

Wide Geographical Coverage

When you post an ad online, people can see it from anywhere (provided you haven’t geo-restricted your ad).

This makes it easier to expand your business’s market reach and connect with a wider audience across different digital channels.

Cost Efficiency

Digital marketing not only reaches a wider audience than traditional marketing but is also less expensive.

Overhead costs for newspaper ads, TV spots, and other traditional marketing opportunities can be high.

They also give you less control over whether your target audiences will see these posts in the first place.

With digital marketing, you can create a single piece of content that attracts visitors to your blog as long as it is active.

You can create an email marketing campaign that sends messages to targeted customer lists on a schedule, and it’s easy to change that schedule or the content as needed.

When you add it all up, digital marketing gives you a lot more flexibility and customer contact for your ad spend.

Quantifiable Results

To know if your marketing strategy is working, you need to know how many customers it attracts and how much revenue it ultimately generates. But how can you achieve this with a non-digital marketing strategy?

There is still the traditional option of asking each customer: “How did you find us?” »

Unfortunately, this doesn’t work in all sectors. Many businesses don’t have the ability to have one-on-one conversations with their customers, and surveys don’t always yield comprehensive results.

With digital marketing, tracking results is simple. Digital marketing software and platforms automatically track the number of desired conversions you’re getting, whether that’s email open rates, visits to your homepage, or direct purchases.

Easier Personalization

Digital marketing allows you to collect customer data in a way that offline marketing cannot. Data collected digitally tends to be much more precise and specific.

Imagine that you offer financial services and you want to send special offers to Internet users who have viewed your products.

You know that you will get better results if you target the offer to the person’s interests, so you decide to prepare 2 campaigns.

One is for young families who have considered your life insurance products and the other is for millennial entrepreneurs who have considered your retirement plans.

With digital marketing, all this information is already at your fingertips.

More Connection With Customers

Digital marketing allows you to communicate with your customers in real-time. More importantly, it allows them to communicate with you.

Think about your social media strategy. It’s great when your target audience sees your latest post, but it’s even better when they comment or share it.

This means more buzz around your product or service, as well as increased visibility every time someone joins the conversation.

Interactivity also benefits your customers. Their level of engagement increases as they become active participants in your brand story.

This sense of belonging can create a strong sense of brand loyalty.

Easy and Convenient Conversions

Undeniably, digital marketing unlocks a universe of customer data compared to traditional methods. What’s more, this data is often highly precise and granular, allowing for laser-focused campaigns that tap into individual interests.

Consider your example of offering financial services. Imagine the immense power of knowing what products website visitors have viewed. Therefore, you can craft hyper-targeted campaigns precisely like you mentioned:

One campaign, geared towards young families who have explored life insurance, could seamlessly highlight the benefits of securing their loved ones’ futures.

Another campaign, aimed at millennial entrepreneurs considering retirement plans, could effectively emphasize the importance of early planning for a comfortable future.

With digital marketing, this level of granularity is readily available, empowering you to deliver highly relevant messages that convert at a significantly higher rate.

However, always remember to be mindful and respectful of data privacy regulations. Obtain explicit consent before using customer data for marketing purposes.

How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy?

For many small businesses and beginner digital marketers, getting started with digital marketing can be difficult.

However, you can create an effective digital marketing strategy to increase brand awareness, engagement, and sales using the following steps as a starting point.

Creating a successful digital marketing strategy requires careful planning and execution. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started:

1. Define your goals and target audience:

Goals: What do you want to achieve with your digital marketing efforts? Increase brand awareness, generate leads, boost sales, or improve customer engagement? Set clear, SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) to track your progress.

Target Audience: Who are you trying to reach? Develop detailed buyer personas that represent your ideal customers, including their demographics, interests, needs, and pain points. This helps tailor your message and communication channels effectively.

2. Analyze your current landscape:

Evaluate existing digital presence: Audit your website, social media channels, email marketing, and any other existing digital assets. Identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

Research competitors: Analyze your competitors’ digital marketing strategies to understand their tactics, strengths, and weaknesses. Learn from their successes and identify opportunities to differentiate yourself.

3. Choose your digital channels:

Owned media: These are channels you control, like your website, social media profiles, and email list. Focus on creating high-quality content that resonates with your target audience.

Paid media: Invest in advertising platforms like Google Ads, social media ads, or display advertising to reach a wider audience or target specific demographics.

Earned media: Generate organic reach through public relations, influencer marketing, and content marketing that encourages others to share your message.

4. Develop a content strategy:

Content types: Create a mix of informative, engaging, and valuable content formats like blog posts, videos, infographics, social media updates, and email newsletters.

Content calendar: Plan your content, ensuring consistent publishing and addressing your audience’s needs throughout the buyer’s journey.

5. Track and analyze results:

Monitor key metrics: Use analytics tools to track website traffic, engagement metrics, lead generation, and conversions.

Identify what’s working and what’s not: Regularly analyze your data to understand what content resonates with your audience and make adjustments to your strategy as needed.

Additional Tips:

Stay up-to-date: The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving. Stay informed about new trends and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Be transparent and authentic: Build trust with your audience by being transparent about your brand and values.

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In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for any business, regardless of size or industry. This is where digital marketing comes in. It refers to any Importance of Digital Marketing activity that uses electronic devices or the internet to promote products, services, or brands.

The importance of Digital Marketing holds immense importance in today’s world, and its value keeps growing with the increasing dependence on the internet. Here’s why it’s crucial for businesses:

Reach and Visibility:

Global Audience: Reach a vast audience across the world, surpassing geographical limitations.

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Increased Brand Awareness: Build brand recognition and establish your presence in the digital space.

While traditional marketing has served businesses well for decades, the digital landscape has now become the dominant force, demanding a shift in strategy. In this environment, digital marketing emerges as not just an option, but a necessity for businesses of all sizes. Let’s delve into the reasons why:

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Beyond Awareness: Building Deep Connections

Two-Way Street to Engagement: Digital marketing isn’t a one-way monologue. It’s a two-way conversation where you can directly interact with your audience, building trust and fostering loyalty. Respond to comments, answer questions, and participate in discussions to create a genuine connection with your customers.

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Numbers Tell the Story: Measuring Success

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More Than Meets the Eye: Additional Advantages

Personalization Power: Deliver tailored messages and experiences to individual customers, creating a sense of connection and relevance that resonates deeply.

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In conclusion, digital marketing is more than just a marketing strategy; it’s a bridge to success. By leveraging its multifaceted power, you can connect with your target audience, build meaningful relationships, and ultimately achieve your business goals. Are you ready to embark on your digital marketing journey?

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lectful · 1 year ago

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How to Build the Perfect MOOC Website

Lectful will help you in every step of creating your learning site so that you can share your MOOCs (online courses). The course contents usually include videos, audios, articles, exams, exercises, a certified online exam, and more. Your online learning endeavors will be greatly enhanced with customizable themes, interactive features, and an intuitive user interface. Lectful makes it easy to create a MOOC website by offering creative and excellent guidance at every step. If you want to learn how to build a MOOC website with us, visit our website.

#How to build a MOOC website #Online mooc platforms #Selling an online course #Websites to sell online courses #Software to create online courses

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sophsweet · 1 year ago

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Designing a Process to Share to Start From Scratch

After much thought and soundboarding my ideas with a friend, I have devised a route to share a step-by-step process for a particular audience – of which I am part – to Earn While We Learn. This is step 3 of my experience journal written in November 2023. Please subscribe or keep following my blog for where I go next, which will be shared on 26th January 2024. This means starting from scratch,…

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blogtey45 · 1 year ago

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youtube

5 Reasons to Create the Book Before the Course | SummitPressPublishers

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cutehoons02 · 27 days ago

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Forced roomates or forced to be lovers?

University series: Jungwon Jake

*pairing: popular pervy gamer Heeseung x popular cheerleader

*trope: forced roomates/opposites attract

*synopsis: Heeseung, a slightly introverted nerd but popular in the world of video games and in his computer course, with a passion for video games, and Y/n, the most popular cheerleader on campus, they find themselves sharing the apartment due to a mistake in the allocation of rooms. They could not be more different: he loves to spend sleepless nights in front of the monitor with always in hand a bowl of ramen, immersed in role-playing games, while she lives between exhausting training cheerleaders, evenings at the various parties of the football team and stories on Instagram. Initially the two barely bear each other, but a series of funny and intimate events will lead them to discover that, perhaps, they complement each other.

*tags: A lot of humor, tension, fluff, spicy, pervy Heeseung, a little pervy reader, Unprotected sex (don’t horny ppl) pet names (Barbie, Baby, Good girl), pet names (Nerd, Loser), jealousy, teasing, possession, references to video games, cowgirl, +14, sweet moments at the end.

8.4k words

It’s the first time i write explicit scenes so i hope you like (🎮)

Heeseung’s room at that precise moment was full of mathematical forms and calculation sheets and various drawings of characters he invented, you could hear only the noise of the joystick and the various clilc he made in the mouse, with his excellent score in all subjects in the computer course and being one of the best video game players in the state, Hee had the chance to register for an online tournament for only nerds and professional gamers lasting a few months and the first 3 who had unlocked the level "Queen" they would have received a reward from one of the largest video game production companies and only 3 people would have had the chance with funding from the university and this video game production company to create their own virtual game, but he would not have imagined that his life at that exact moment could change with the entry into play of a noisy Cheerleader, who spent hours in their shared bathroom to make masks or to prepare to go out and tease him from morning to night.

He heard loud punches at the door of his apartment and when he took off his headphones he thought that those punches meant only one thing, His friends Jake and Jay had finished football practice and had come to disturb him or eat a cup of ramen together but when he opened the door he choked on his own because he found himself in front of a girl in a mini denim skirt and tight t-shirt with I ♡ HOT BOYS, Blonde as a ray of sunshine with a bright smile and a scent that left a sweet trail every time she shook her long tail of hair and with a bag of lacquered leather that had to cost more than her computer and a pink suitcase. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who he was. Y/n, one of the strongest cheerleaders on campus and perhaps all other universities, a marketing student and undisputed queen of the campus. She organized the best parties and seemed to always have the answer ready for any situation.

"Hey, i know you’re a nerd and you don’t deal with girls but are you listening to me instead of looking at me like i’m an alien?" Heeseung fixed Y/n’s shirt and felt the cheeks slightly redden when he read the entire I ♡ HOT BOYS writing and looked at how well it wrapped the shirt slightly tight in the breast of the girl in front of him.

"You’re kidding me, right? What if you are one of those perverts who come to the instant only at the sight of a girl in a slightly tapered T-shirt and a skirt? Did you hear what I just said a few seconds ago?"

Finally Y/n heard the voice of Heeseung «I don’t even know what you’re talking about Barbie, i think you’ve got the wrong apartment» replied Hee with an indifferent tone, returning to his room to continue his game of League of Legends. His online teammates were already complaining about his afk.

“Barbie? Are you serious?" Y/n entered his apartment and like a puppy followed the nerd and went into his room and stared at him with a mixture of contempt and disbelief.

"The lease says this is also my apartment and you will be my roommate for next year, Lee Heeseung."

Heeseung froze when he heard that sentence. He paused the game, ignoring the barrage of insults he was receiving in the game’s chat, and turned to her. «Wait. What would your apartment be like? This is my room for...now a year and in the option, i always put that i did not want roommates and then the other room sometimes I need!»

"Well, now that room will be mine. My parents bought the whole student building and the only apartment where there was only one person was yours. Congratulations, nerd. You’ve got the roommate of your nightmares or maybe your most perverse dreams" You whispered these last words near his ear and then you went to get your pink suitcase and to disturb your roommate I played one of the songs that you were supposed to dance on the football field for the beginning of the new season and sang until your room was slightly "Decent" and clean to your standards.

It was two weeks since the beginning of the partnership and you couldn’t stand Heeseung, he was a serious pain in your neck, You didn’t understand how he had so many followers in his profile and so many girls who commented on his life or who added edit about him while playing. Some girls stopped you to ask if he was engaged or if you had taken part in watching him in one of the many tournaments he did. You really hated that nerd especially when you found empty bowls of ramen around the apartment, colored electric cables scattered around the sofa, and Joysticks of shapes and sizes of verse scattered as well in the laundry but the thing you hated most was that he played until late at night and started laughing with his virtual friends at those stupid games or tournaments you always heard about.

The hatred was mutual also on the part of Heeseung, the cheerleader with whom he shared the apartment had monopolized the bathroom they had in common hair dryers, plates with strange shapes, tricks that cost more than the food she ate, glitter, and also bought a kind of mini refrigerator to put his masks or creams for skin care. Heeseung didn’t understand how everyone was following him or how he had so many friends or guys to go out with but the thing that he couldn’t stand about you was being perfect with everyone from the professors, To your friends, family and how you thought you were always the center of attention.

That late afternoon you and Heeseung were both in the apartment, trying to study business but as always when there was Heeseung at home there was never silence. You snorted and went into Heeseung’s room and watched him sitting in the gamer’s station with his hair slightly ruffled around the professional headphones, he had a slight grin but the thing that struck you most were his hands.

God since when did that boy have such attractive hands? They were large, slightly veiny, and wore a silver and black ring that sometimes tortured them for anxiety or maybe to wait for the next level, you recovered from that state and went near the desk.

Heeseung had noticed you but he didn’t want to give you the satisfaction of being in the center of attention and kept on wielding his joystick even though he was about to start a game. “Can you turn that down? I’m studying." Heeseung watched you speak, a slight puff came out of his lips as he took off his headphones and wore them around his neck. «What do you want, Barbie?»

"I said if you can please turn down that volume, I’m trying to study."

«And you can stop occupying the bathroom for three hours or sprinkling blue and gold glitter in the bathroom? The other day while I was training, i found a flurry of glitter in my gym shirt, and some thought i joined your flying spinner team!» He answered, not taking his eyes off the monitor while dodging a zombie.

Heeseung looked at you with those little deer eyes put his headphones back on and kept talking to his friends as if you’d never even entered his room until he saw you go under his table for a second and sit between his muscular legs, when you sat down you sunned yourself to look at him and observed the small ones that filled his face. Hee stood still for a moment, caught unawares, but he recovered immediately.

«What are you doing? Do you want to sabotage me? You can’t go to one of the many little friends» he asked with a somewhat grumpy tone. You wanted to take him by surprise and see how long it lasted not to give your attention

"I’m just checking your level of concentration. Don’t tell me I’m the first girl to sit over your legs or do this. You know, as an experienced cheerleader, I enjoy distracting nerds like you." Y/n moved slightly above Heeseung’s legs and watched him straighten his hair perhaps out of frustration or embarrassment.

Heeseung laughed slowly, trying not to show her that she was slightly in awe of the blonde sitting almost above her length.

«You know, I knew that I was a temptress and that I had no fear of anything Y/n but spoiler does not scare me either because I’m used to going into video games of wars, zombies, demons, etc» Y/n started laughing and looked at Heeseung

"How do you know those animated things are scary? Let me see I’m curious, nerd."

Heeseung pressed a button and an unsettling scene appeared on the screen: a dark corridor, distant moans, and a shadow creeping slowly into the bloodshot view with eyes out of its sockets. Y/n barely jerked, unintentionally clinging to Hee’s shirt.

"What the hell was that monster?" she exclaimed, opening her eyes wide as a zombie made a chilling sound and hurled itself toward the screen. Hee burst out laughing, holding the controller with ease. Oh, I thought cheerleaders were not afraid of anything. What happened to your courage?» Heeseung looked at you carefully and thought you were not as bad as his mind had painted you but he would never tell you

Y/n turned around, pretending to be upset. "I’m not afraid! It’s just... I didn’t expect it."

«Yes, Barbie. You were shaking like a cat in the rain.»

"I don’t tremble! and I’m not a coward, if I was afraid I would not be thrown by human beings for air as work," said Y/n, straining his shoulders in a theatrical move. " If you want, I’ll take the controller and I’ll kill that thing."

«Oh, yes? please, come in. Let’s see the cheerleader against the zombie. And it has nothing to do with people blowing you up Barbie, if you’re not used to a little horror you’ll always be afraid» You felt Heeseung whispering these things to you and where was the nerd from before who was in awe with you sitting between his legs?

Y/n took the controller with determined action and started playing. Hee looked at her with a restrained smile as she moved nervously through the virtual corridor. «Why are you moving like that? No need, your character does not follow you! If you’re doing it to get my attention all on yourself Barbie did it, so stop moving between my legs and rub against my length because you will never win the level» You hated how that nerd made you feel. The tension increased with each step and suddenly a zombie broke down a side door with a scream. Y/n shouted and almost threw the controller.

"YOU NERDS ARE CRAZY. THIS IS A GAME FOR PSYCHOPATHS!"

Heeseung laughed so hard he couldn’t breathe. «You’re incredible! You screamed louder than the zombie! Oh my god, it would have been iconic if it had been live streaming» Y/n stood up how angry but at the same time scared, and ran into his room until he heard Heeseung yell «I have all the cards in hand too win this game between me and you, not play with fire that sooner or later you will burn. Sweet dreams, Barbie» hit your face with your hairy pillow and Lee Heeseung in all the languages of the world.

It was almost a week after that little clash with Heeseung and for two whole nights, you had not slept properly for your standard because you always had in mind those horrible images of zombies with eyes out of the orbites.

«You are a little tired and less energetic Y/n, is everything all right?» Chan asked one of your group’s dancers and one of the few athletes you trusted to get you thrown in the air

"Yes, it’s all right I’m just a little tired of the exams and the selections we would have in the middle of the year. I would like to try to run as captain for the new year and that’s why I’m creating a choreography to run" Chan arranged the sheet you had on your head and smiled at you

«Please do not ask too much of yourself Y/n, The genta thinks this sport is nonsense but I would not want to see you again bandaged and in the hospital while crying because you could not move your leg or because your mind had made you think that you were not perfect for this sport and skipped meals or hours of sleep»

"It won’t happen again Chan, now I go home and make a good hot ramen and a nice hot shower to get all this sweat away and sleep until tomorrow morning at 10" Chan smiled at you and brought the bag until you were under your apartment

«Take care of yourself Y/n, and if you do not ask your roommate to prepare a nice basin of hot water for your feet and make ramen, Every time I get videos of Heeseung on Twitch or Tik Tok always has a bowl of ramen" the smiles and when you came in you raised your eyes, God because everyone saw Heeseung as the perfect boy and not as a loser who spent hours and hours playing those stupid games.

When you entered the apartment scientists immediately it was cold enough for your taste and on the sofa there was Heeseung who was watching a TV series to your great surprise he wasn’t playing any of those games and this thing made you alarmed because he always spent the evening At least 3 hours to laugh with his friends. Perhaps he had understood that you needed a good evening without hearing him giggle or hear from his headphones moans of zombies just killed or guns.

"Why aren’t you playing? Don’t tell me that all your friends have you pulled little and you have no one here to shoot or play" Heeseung raised his eyes and continued to eat and pay attention to the TV series he had put on the TV.

"Hey nerd, you listening? why is it so cold in here I’m going to ask you again why you’re not in your room?" Heeseung suddenly stood up and stood in front of you, you hadn’t looked at how he was dressed and had two sweatshirts and some sweatpants that he never wore inside the apartment because it usually made more than 20 degrees but now it must have been just over 10 degrees.

«The heating system of the whole building is out of use for a couple of hours and before the day after tomorrow will not be adjusted Barbie, for that you see me dressed so stuffed. You’ll have to take a cold shower today or you could call some of your friends and get them to host you» You jumped onto the sofa and made yourself slightly tiny in Heeseung’s eyes

"today is a day to forget in the sense of the word, I did not pass an exam and at Cheerliding I made mistakes I do not know how many steps I would just like to take a nice hot shower, eat some good ramen and put myself to bed warm" Heeseung looked at you and I made him a little pity where the girl had gone always exuberant, cheerful and that played music to the ball and that danced for everything?

«Relax for the ramen I can think of it, I am a master in doing so and if you want I can heat water and put it in baccinelle. I know it won’t be as relaxing as taking a shower with a full hot water shower but at least you can wash yourself and get rid of the sweat from your training»

Heeseung a little amazed and speechless, I did so with my head and you watched Heeseung prepare the ramen for you and even put an egg to you to be seasoned more.

«Here is the ramen, I hope you like it you would have made it with more ingredients but it’s been 2 days that I did not go to the grocery. Now.. Yes, I’ll make you some hot water and bring it to the bathroom. Come and see me when you’re done and leave the dish that I washed» You were seriously surprised by this version of Heeseung, is it not that maybe he suffered from some kind of bipolar disorder? Or was this the real Heeseung that everyone loved?

When you finished eating you went to the bathroom and prepared 4 basins of boiling water in the sink you had also put on a plush over-stuffed sweatshirt and a small smile formed, what is happening to Heeseung because he was so good today with you?

The shower with the basins had not you relaxed at all but at least you were washed and no longer had that smell of sweat, when you left Heeseung was no longer on the sofa, you wanted to thank him for both food and hot water and then knocked on his door.

"Heeseung" From the inside, you heard the familiar sound of the keyboard and a few nervous clicks of the mouse. And you heard his answer distractedly because he was concentrating on some computer calculations

«Yes? What is it?»

You entered without waiting for an invitation and crossed your arms for the cold. God, why is it so cold in this house? You wanted to ask Heeseung to share the bed so you could at least stay close and get a little warm but we are always talking about Heeseung the guy who loved to tease you and make you go crazy. Heeseung looked up, noticing his oversized t-shirt and his sweatshirt on the girl in front of him, he would never admit it but you with his clothes made him feel things that he should not think about you, He always wanted to see you with his things and a side of possessiveness intruded into his body. The sight of you made him swallow noisily, but he strove to keep a neutral expression.

"I wanted to thank you for the food and the hot water... I thought maybe we could share the bed. Just to keep warm. Just for this evening, I called my parents and they told me that tomorrow morning the technician will come. In my room it freezes so I thought to ask you" You had a fake smile shy, you wanted to absolutely embarrass him as he did while playing together with those stupid horror games

Heeseung opened his eyes wide and his mouse slipped out of his hand. God wanted to put him in awe

«what?! I don’t trust you at all Y/n, I know that after making you scared with that game you want to crash me» You raised your eyes to the sky, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, man this guy had understood you immediately but you kept insisting

"Oh, relax. It’s not an indecent proposal. Except that I would never do anything with you, you’re not my type Heeseung. It’s pure survival. We’ll freeze both or keep company and sleep together and warm up a little"

Hee rubbed her neck, embarrassed. He has no idea how to respond. Share the bed with Y/n, the most popular girl she knows. He’s never even been this close to a cheerleader... and now he has to share a bed but the thing that pissed him off was that phrase that said he wasn’t his type at all. Who wanted Y/n in his life? a stupid boy who made him feel nothing or he who always teased her and had seen how she reacted when she sat between her legs that was a little embarrassed also.

Heeseung moved nervously to make room on the bed, trying not to think too much about it as she tucked herself under the duvet with disarmingly natural ease. Y/n sat down next to him and made his feet touch his legs against his

"You’re made of wood, you know? Don’t tell me it’s the first time you've slept or that you’re in bed with a girl, nerd" you joked with Hee to embarrass him a little

«Sorry, I don’t share my bed every day with some girl»

"Really? You wouldn’t know it, you can even admit that you’ve never slept with someone you know" he slowly grinds, moving closer.

Heeseung was definitely tired from the constant grip of the cheerleader so he took off his sweatshirt because he was definitely dying from the heat in that situation and he lay down in bed and spread his legs a little because he did not want to feel Y/n’s legs intertwined with his. Y/n had leaned with an arm and was absorbing it and without thinking embraced the piece of wood next to her and a scent of citrus and spices invaded his nose, Heeseung seriously had a slender body but at the same time toned and felt from the shirt that he had strong abs, not bad for a nerd!

«Y/n, what did you take me for? for your giant teddy bear that you have in your room?» You laughed because even if you could not stand it sometimes it was nice to be in his company.

"Mmm, no my teddy is definitely sweeter and nicer than you, nerd. I’m hugging you because I’m cold and your temperature is too hot to not have the heat on" Heeseung ran his hands through his hair and turned off the lights, for a couple of minutes he no longer heard Y/n speak, and thought she had fallen asleep but before talking about the devil they sprang horns, felt the cold fingers of Y/n go under the shirt and roll them up their bare abs, He felt little shivers all over his body and cursed the heating not working.

«Y/n, stop it I know what game you are playing with me, I will not fall into your trap» you started to laugh even if he had turned off the light could imagine that he had slightly red cheeks and definitely had that super cute grumpy. You also put your other hand on its narrow waist and tried to go a little lower but a strong hand stopped you and now you had your arm over your head and Heeseung slightly above you holding himself with one arm.

«I repeat it again Y/n, I have all the cards in hand to pottery beat, if you are in need of attention go to your friend's football players, or swimmers with whom you do evening but not with me because otherwise, I could ruin you in an instant» You snorted and shoved Heeseung into the other side of the bed and you sunned yourself with your shoulders turned to him. "Sooner or later you will lose Heeseung, and I know for certain that it will be me who will make you lose your head" A small smile formed on your lips before you fell asleep.

Heeseung woke up a little later that morning, you were out of bed, you had gone to study somewhere or to work out. When he went into the bathroom and looked back he started to ride but I swore in all the languages of the world because you had left him a red lipstick stain with your lips engraved on his cheek and the more he tried to send away that joke, the harder it was to remove.

That Saturday went all wrong, the university football team had lost badly and even the show you had prepared to make the majors identify you as suitable to take the place of captain was a mess. Some freshmen had it all wrong and you were seriously pissed off and wanted to just smash yourself in ice cream and finally spend hours under the jet of boiling water they had repaired.

When you came in, you slammed the door of the apartment, with a face tense from anger. You dropped your bag on the floor with a thud. It had been a nightmare day. During the show before the match, a couple of girls continued to make you miss all the shots, and the coach took it with you in front of everyone because if you wanted to become the captain you had to be perfect and able to support also freshman line.

You were about to head for your room when you heard laughter coming from the living room. Heeseung’s familiar voice is clearly distinguished, and also that of Sunghoon one of his closest friends who was skating, and there was also another athlete Jungwon but along with them, there was also a girl. Y/n stood on the threshold, crossing his arms.

On the two chairs, there were Hoon and Jungwon, instead Heeseung was sitting with legs apart, bent forward to look at the screen and see how he smiled or squinted at Heeseung. She was way too close. She had Sunghoon in the same room who was one of the most beautiful guys I’d ever seen, but no she was attached to Hee.

"Well, look at that, our gamer has found someone who gives him a go," you commented in a deliberately sharp tone.

All turned to her. Heeseung seemed surprised, but he recovered immediately and saw that it was past 10 in the evening so the game had ended a long time ago. «Hey, Barbie. Difficult day? don’t tell me that the football team lost» he asked, with a smirk, and raised your eyes to the sky.

"Oh, don’t worry about me. It seems like you’re having enough fun already."

The girl next to Hee laughed, and for some reason, that sound irritated you more than it should have. <<If you want I can leave my place Y/n>> says Jungwon with a genuine smile, man how much gold would have paid to have as a roommate a person like Jungwon always nice and sociable with everyone that loser from Heeseung?

"No, no, quiet Jungwon I’m going to take a nice hot shower and some healthy skincare for my skin. I already greeted you all because I don’t know when I’ll get out of that bathroom" You went to the bathroom and felt the look of Heeseung in your body covered only by a shabby skirt and a light sweatshirt but you scrolled away all the slacks with a nice warm bath.

After almost two hours you left the bathroom in your pajamas and at the door, Heeseung’s friends were getting ready to go home, you were preparing a calming herbal tea but you watched the first girl named Luna greet Heeseung with a hug and then with a shy kiss on the cheek. That scene made you even more angry against the world, from what point did you get annoyed by girls around that nerd?

"Really, Heeseung? Bring people here without telling me? And then that girl... who the hell was she? We agreed that when I had a show when I came home I wanted to be at peace"

Heeseung stood in the middle of the living room, an eyebrow raised but with a funny look

«Does it bother you that I had friends here? What should I say when you take your best friends to make your beautiful pajamas that scream or speak of everyone or is it only Luna who has bothered you because you have always made enough friends with all my friends?» You looked at the nerd in front of you and crossed your arms.

"Don’t be smart. I hate that you don’t even have the decency to tell me when you bring people. Aren’t we roommates?"

Hee barely smiled, a smile that seemed to know long.

«You and I are roommates, so why do you seem so... jealous and upset by the presence of Luna?» You looked at him furiously, approaching a few steps.

"Me? Jealous? Of you? Don’t make me laugh, you know you’re not my type."

«Then why are you so agitated?» he replied, standing up to approach you. Heeseung not only looked beautiful but also his height was perfect, you always liked tall guys and he with his 1.83 compared to your 1.65 was overtaking you. You felt the tension grow between you two. you approached again and pushed it slightly with a hand on your chest.

"Maybe because I can’t stand when you’re bragging about your "friends," I saw how comfortable you were and how you flirted with her. You pretend to be the "good guy" of the situation but we all know that underneath you love seeing girls lost for you"

Heeseung looked at you for a few seconds, then shook his head with an incredulous grin.

«You know what? You’re unbearable when you do that, what is it you want to always be the center of attention barbie? the world does not only revolve around you»

"Oh, stop it, you’re so annoying from the first day that I set foot in here with your little smirk cheeky" you answered with your face now a few inches from his.

Heeseung was definitely tired of your spoiled behavior and even as a child he did the last thing he expected to do but he wanted so much to silence you and put you in your place. You felt yourself by the wrists and Heeseung gently slammed you against the island of the small kitchen.

«Stop» he said in a rock and still voice. You looked at him wide-eyed, ready to reply, but the words stuck in your throat when he leaned over and kissed you. The kiss is initially decided, almost to silence you, but then it becomes sweeter as if he was also surprised by his own boldness. You were slightly still for a moment then you relaxed and carried your arms around his neck and brought him closer to you. You felt his big hands under your ass and in a few moments he made you lean on the kitchen island and began to kiss you again or not devour you «Fuck, the only way to make you shut up is this Barbie? , if I knew it before I would have made you quiet in other ways, Y/n» You absolutely wanted to reply but when it detached from your lips he plunged to give light kisses around the clavicle until reaching your neck, a little moan came out of your lips when it began to torture you a small section of your neck under the ear, you felt that it was licking and then biting. Your coach would kill you if she saw some suckers but at that moment you were too much at the mercy of Heeseung and what he made you try; "Hee, stop torturing me I can’t be seen with a" You did not stop talking that you sucked strongly another area of your neck and pulled as much as possible his hair.

What you were doing was absolutely nothing normal but you felt too excited to stand between him, you felt Hee come even closer to you and you perceived its hard length in the pants of the suit she wore, You tried to approach him and touch him but he took your arm and brought it back to the shed.

«I don’t give a fuck if your coach tomorrow sees you with some pacifiers and don’t try to touch me, I don’t let the bad girls put their hands on me, and this evening you were a bad girl rather you behaved like a child and spoiled» You felt the big hand of Heeseung to slightly bloom your pants and felt your panties slightly wet and Heeseung had an expression that you had never seen perhaps victory? His hands made little circles over your pajamas but never took them off because in his eyes you were definitely a bad girl that night without thinking touched your pussy and stimulated you until you felt that from there you would come like a loser with both pants and panties around, You leaned on him and when you felt that you were coming to the climax but he detached and looked at you with all red cheeks.

"It can’t be, you’re really an asshole Heeseung" Heeseung looked at you with a grin and whispered to you «We are already 2-0 for me Barbie, when will you start to understand that with me you’ll burn yourself?» You watched him drink a glass of water and then go to his room as if he had not almost made you come in your underwear and as if you did not exist.

It was a week after those kisses, either Y/n tried in any way to avoid Heeseung and the thing was mutual with him as well. His best friends Jay and Jake had invited him to the last half-season game and with him were Hoon, and Jungwon, But he did not realize that before the game there was the show of the Cheerleaders and in front of his eyes there was Y/ n who was warming with other dancers both male and female. He watched her carefully trying to do a handless somersault and after a few seconds Chan one of the best and most famous dancers on the entire campus took her by the hips and made her lightly jump off the ground and put it over his shoulder, He knew that Y/n was good because she spent hours and hours training but did not think that she had so much charisma and ease to make such a lot of acrobatic. Heeseung looked away from the beautiful cheerleader for a moment and saw Sunoo take it back and give him a hint with his thumb.

"Why are you filming Y/n?" Sunoo looked at the oldest boy in the group with a smile and continued recording

<<I’m making some content for her team’s tik tok and Instagram profile, she asked me the day before yesterday when I saw her in the library>> Heeseung looked at Y/n smiled at Chan, and hugged him slightly, Why did you ask Sunoo to be your little filmmaker and not him who lived on technology? And then why did he embrace Chan so often, relationships between athletes were forbidden but a sense of jealousy took hold in Heeseung, and watched from the edge Y/n field that he was fixing his makeup.

Y/n for her knew that Heeseung was watching her since she had left the locker room but she would not give him his attention for anything in the world because he was seriously an asshole.

<<Your favorite nerd can not take his eyes off you for 20 minutes and is throwing me some hateful looks as if he tried to kill me with an axe or a virtual gun>> You wake up to the joke of Chan and you squatted to pretend to lace your shoes and sunflowers Heeseung’s head and eyes were watching you and you saw him turn all red when you caught him looking at your ass even though it was barely covered by a short skirt the smiles and I made the mark of 2 with my hands because he was still ahead between you two but in added a 1 because even if he did not want to admit it would also sacrifice a game of those stupid tournaments to have you and to make you his, He winked and was petrified to watch you enter the locker room to give the charge to everyone and to start the show before the half-year game.

The game ended in a beautiful victory and you came home to take a quick shower, put on makeup, and dress up for the winter party. When you entered the house there was nobody and it seemed so boring and at the same calm, there were no screams of Heeseung, the laughter of his friends, There were no sounds of gunshots or moans of evil characters and this thing made you a little bit sorry you didn’t want to admit it but by now you were used to all that mess and see the apartment empty and without the blue lights of the computer or smart tv, you put a little sadness. When you left the bathroom you felt a delicious smell coming from the kitchen and at that moment you did not think that Heeseung could return so soon, You went to the kitchen, and Heeseung when he saw you dressed as you were, looked at you with a furious look but at the same time, he saw that it was hard to take your eyes off of how he wrapped your short skirt, a light crop top sweater and on your feet you had black loafers with ankle warmers.

«Where do you think you are going dressed like that? you studied all this morning and this afternoon you trained and not even two hours ago you blew up I don’t know how many times, It’s not better to ask for a break from your body and stay at home» watch Heeseung from the mirror you had at the entrance of the apartment with a grin and sprayed a little perfume and set up your cheerleader bow in your straight hair

"Wow, someone’s in a bad mood didn’t you like the show or the game? I’m going to a party. You know, those social things that normal people do for fun, to drink, to chat, or maybe to be in the company of a nice guy or girl!" You squinted at Heeseung and he had his arms crossed to his chest and wouldn’t stop staring at you «I know what Barbie parties are, just don’t understand why you have to dress like..» you approached him and looked at him with a smile, maybe for the first time in your life you had the knife’s handle on your side the nerd in front of you was seriously jealous.

"How what? A girl who knows she’s irresistible and wants to go out and have fun with her friends? How should I dress to go to a party, certainly not with a pair of sweatpants or a sweatshirt" Heeseung looked at you attentively and saw him blush as you pressed your breasts to her strong chest and flushed from that little touch with your body.

"Relax, nerd. I can handle the compliments myself. You don’t need to worry." You took your Chanel bag and went to the door and looked at Heeseung leaning against the wall with that adorable little grumpy and his deer eyes that didn’t leave a moment. " Don’t expect me awake. I might be late or not even come home."

Heeseung when he saw you leaving the house and leaving a sweet scent whispered «Oh, I will wait for you Barbie.»

When you came back to the apartment it was around one and a half at night, I took off my boots and sighing for fatigue went to your room but before entering I saw Heeseung sitting on the bed wiping his hair wet with a cloth, He had just come out of the shower because there was that citrus scent coming out of the bathroom and you raised a eyebrow curious to see him still awake, if you had made it clear to him that he could go to sleep.

"Why are you still awake? Didn’t I tell you not to wait for me? Don’t tell me you were worried about me and that you wanted to see me safely back home without anyone."

«I admit it I was just worried and wanted to see how you yourself said that you would come home with your legs»

"How sweet. I didn’t know you were so protective." You put your bag on the desk and sat down on the edge of the bed watching Heeseung while he rubbed his hair and stared at you with sneaky eyes Your legs were almost completely uncovered and how he showed you the curves especially your breasts that sweater shrunk

«It’s not protectiveness. It’s frustration. I can’t understand why you enjoy teasing everyone... including me. What do you want Y/n?» a small smile came out of your lips and to Heeseung’s surprise you put on horseshoes in his toned legs and carefully dried the hair half gone for how many times he had passed the cloth to dry them while waiting for you

"Am I the one who provokes? One week ago you almost made me come in my pants and then you left like a loser without completing the work." Heeseung tried to put his hands on your hips but you took his big hands and placed them over his chest, "Don’t dare touch me until I tell you, the last time I was acting jealous or maybe like a child but this night you were the loser of the situation that in order not to admit that you wanted me you left me to go to a mega boring party"

You helped Heeseung to take off her shirt and a little whistle came out of your lips "How can you have such a physique and not show it off?" You began to slowly rock over its width felt it under you become harder and harder and you started kissing its neck until you reached below the navel. Heeseung had dreamed of this moment from the first time he saw you enter his apartment, he would never admit it but masturbated even thinking of you and was seriously afraid to come if you would continue to swing with that miniskirt that now let you all the thighs uncovered and saw your black panties in lace.

«I need to hear you somehow or show you that I’m not a loser as you think Y/n, please let me make you feel good and let me finish what I had started; I hate to pause the gaming games the same thing goes for you Barbie» Heeseung with reddish cheeks and eyes half-shiny desire and gently laid you down in his place and bent down to make you feel good, you made the sign to take off your skirt but he did no head and a grin formed in his face «I want to make you come with this skirt of a bad girl and then you will take my dick» you were seriously shocked by Heeseung’s words that you wanted to tease him again but your voice stopped when you felt the fingers slipping into your still-dressed slot and Heeseung’s slightly wet hair buried under your skirt, You jumped at him as you felt his middle finger and ring slide down your pussy while with the other hand, he suddenly took off your panties in a provocative way. He looked at your panties for a moment and then dived back under your skirt and you felt her finger on your palm clit with her thumb. You crave the feeling, of holding tight to his arms, the longer he pleased your clitoris, the sooner you would lose control of yourself and that was what Heeseung wanted, to see you lost to him. And in the end, you were just giving in to what your body wanted: rubbing against that annoying nerd’s hand, you felt his fingers get inside of you for good, and little moans came out of your mouth.

«Fuck love to hear your moans, and groans for me Y/n, make everyone feel who is fucking you and who is ruining only with two fingers inside of you, I can not wait to see you ride my dick and be able to have you finally mine»

You pulled Hee’s hair and small moans came out of your mouth as fast as her fingers went inside you at that moment.

"Hee, I need" fuck was nice to be filled by his long fingers. You felt his fingers curl inside, and you closed your mouth with your hand, afraid to wake up anyone who was sleeping. Annoyed, Heeseung pulled his hand away from you and admired you as you had your mouth open, hair in his bed, and were standing up for him and not one of those stupid athletes who came after you.

«Come for me baby, don’t be shy» felt that you taunted your clitoris again and came moaning again the name of Heeseung, The nerd under your skirt slowly tasted the mess that had caused you and tasted your shiny white cum that polished your pussy. When he got up he looked at you and leaned to give you a little kiss on the forehead «Good girl», after a while you got your arms around Heeseung’s neck and kissed him with a hunger for him and pushed him back into bed and rode over him to his cock.

"I need you Heeseung" The guy in front of you interrupted the kisses you were giving and looked at you with a shy and sincere smile, «Fuck tell me that I’m not dreaming Y/n, it’s months that I want you close around me, for me this is not a game Y/n» You smiled at Heeseung and took off the light sweater you had and the boy in front of you cheeks turned red and took off your breast-holder with nonchalance and immediately took a bud from your breast and with the other hand held you and tickled the other breast.

"Not for me either Hee this is a game, I want it" A little moan came out of you when he sucked slightly your nipple and a little spit went down your left breast repeated this thing also with the other. You really needed him so you lowered his pants and at the same time boxer shorts and saw his cock semi-erect, caressed him slowly but after a while you started to pump him slightly, It was beautiful to see him swearing under the sensation of your warm hand, slowly pumping it and observing the way his tip leaked copiously liquid.

«I thought of you I don’t know how many times in these months in this exact position...» mumbles, slightly shivering, «please Y/n, I need you» A little laugh came out from your lips, you had never seen Heeseung in this state and it was only thanks to you.

"You know we’re tied right now Heeseung, you seem so desperate for me right now. If you want fuck me”. he sent you a charming smile before pulling down your hips with that slutty skirt still on you; he wheezes sweetly at the feeling of your pussy flying around her tip, already able to feel your exhaling excitement before you finally slowly sink over him.

"Fuck, oh shit Hee" You were seriously ecstatic by the length of Heeseung inside you, and slowly you moved to let it in and out so that your bodies lined up and went at a rhythm.

«God you are so tight» You felt his big hands under your ass and brought you even closer to him and you put your hands over his back to ride it harder. «Who is fucking you so well, Barbie?» You felt again his thumb rub your wet pussy as you took his cock up on the ground and hit exactly your G-spot to make you moan his name. " You, Hee, only you Heeseung"

Heeseung began to leave open-mouthed kisses along the column of your throat, climbing up, climbing up until finally reaching your ear, leaving a kiss behind it before whispering: «You are mine and from this moment I will not share you with anyone»

By the time he pushed back in you could already feel the tears ticking your eyes: you’re loud and cheeky in your sounds as he starts hammering you again because he knows it’s coming soon and he wanted to feel your body again, you felt your back curl from the way Hee’s hand started to rub your clitoris again, you could only groan softly for feeling, Allowing him to play with you as if you were his own game or even worse his favorite toy.

"Hee, I’m close."

«Come for me Barbie, I want to feel and see you with my sperm in all your beautiful pussy that right now is taking my cock»

Finally allows herself to come inside you, you can hear Hee sibilate softly for the sensation, triggering her orgasm while you whimper for all the sensations you had experienced thanks to that loser of your roommate. You’re hot and full to the point that it’s already started to leak out, and Heeseung swears he’s never seen a better show, and you’re burying your head in the hollow of your neck.

You felt Hee give you a little kiss on the head and then on the forehead and put you lying in her bed and after a few seconds of silence she went to get you some warm clothes and cleaned you from her cum and put you her clean boxers and her crumpled nerd t-shirt and brought you to my bride in your bed, Your cheeks were seriously all red and maybe you were also agitated because now things would go with him?

When he put you under the covers you saw him lay an arm around your waist and look at you smiling softly move a rebellious tuft from your face around your ear give you a light kiss on the cheek and lay down with his head leaning close to your neck and crossed your legs. You were seriously surprised by his attitude but maybe underneath he also felt emotions like a classic twenty-year-old boy and you embraced him a little timidly because you had never seen this act of Heeseung.

«We are 3-2» You started again with your joke but in your head, you were 2-2.

"What did I do this time to get you back in the game? It seems we are still 2-2" You felt his nose close to your neck and started laughing, he did not want to admit but for him that three were you. He would be able to skip a session of video game tournaments to make you happy and maybe he was falling in love with you but he would never admit it if you didn’t do it first, because the weak point of the situation was him not you.

Comments are appreciated:)🎮

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mardally · 1 year ago

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How to Create and Host Courses on Udemy

Udemy is an online learning platform targeted at professional adults and students. It provides a space for experts of any kind to create courses which can be offered to the public, either at no charge or for a tuition fee. Udemy boasts a vast selection of courses in a wide variety of subjects, from business and tech to arts and personal development, The courses are available on-demand, allowing…

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#how to create courses on udemy #how to host courses on udemy #learning platform #Make money online #online courses #udemy

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 months ago

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The one weird monopoly trick that gave us Walmart and Amazon and killed Main Street

I'm coming to BURNING MAN! On TUESDAY (Aug 27) at 1PM, I'm giving a talk called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE!" at PALENQUE NORTE (7&E). On WEDNESDAY (Aug 28) at NOON, I'm doing a "Talking Caterpillar" Q&A at LIMINAL LABS (830&C).

Walmart didn't just happen. The rise of Walmart – and Amazon, its online successor – was the result of a specific policy choice, the decision by the Reagan administration not to enforce a key antitrust law. Walmart may have been founded by Sam Walton, but its success (and the demise of the American Main Street) are down to Reaganomics.

The law that Reagan neutered? The Robinson-Patman Act, a very boring-sounding law that makes it illegal for powerful companies (like Walmart) to demand preferential pricing from their suppliers (farmers, packaged goods makers, meat producers, etc). The idea here is straightforward. A company like Walmart is a powerful buyer (a "monopsonist" – compare with "monopolist," a powerful seller). That means that they can demand deep discounts from suppliers. Smaller stores – the mom and pop store on your Main Street – don't have the clout to demand those discounts. Worse, because those buyers are weak, the sellers – packaged goods companies, agribusiness cartels, Big Meat – can actually charge them more to make up for the losses they're taking in selling below cost to Walmart.

Reagan ordered his antitrust cops to stop enforcing Robinson-Patman, which was a huge giveaway to big business. Of course, that's not how Reagan framed it: He called Robinson-Patman a declaration of "war on low prices," because it prevented big companies from using their buying power to squeeze huge discounts. Reagan's court sorcerers/economists asserted that if Walmart could get goods at lower prices, they would sell goods at lower prices.

Which was true…up to a point. Because preferential discounting (offering better discounts to bigger customers) creates a structural advantage over smaller businesses, it meant that big box stores would eventually eliminate virtually all of their smaller competitors. That's exactly what happened: downtowns withered, suburban big boxes grew. Spending that would have formerly stayed in the community was whisked away to corporate headquarters. These corporate HQs were inevitably located in "onshore-offshore" tax haven states, meaning they were barely taxed at the state level. That left plenty of money in these big companies' coffers to spend on funny accountants who'd help them avoid federal taxes, too. That's another structural advantage the big box stores had over the mom-and-pops: not only did they get their inventory at below-cost discounts, they didn't have to pay tax on the profits, either.

MBA programs actually teach this as a strategy to pursue: they usually refer to Amazon's "flywheel" where lower prices bring in more customers which allows them to demand even lower prices:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaSwWYemLek

You might have heard about rural and inner-city "food deserts," where all the independent grocery stores have shuttered, leaving behind nothing but dollar stores? These are the direct product of the decision not to enforce Robinson-Patman. Dollar stores target working class neighborhoods with functional, beloved local grocers. They open multiple dollar stores nearby (nearly all the dollar stores you see are owned by one of two conglomerates, no matter what the sign over the door says). They price goods below cost and pay for high levels of staffing, draining business off the community grocery store until it collapses. Then, all the dollar stores except one close and the remaining store fires most of its staff (working at a dollar store is incredibly dangerous, thanks to low staffing levels that make them easy targets for armed robbers). Then, they jack up prices, selling goods in "cheater" sizes that are smaller than the normal retail packaging, and which are only made available to large dollar store conglomerates:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/27/walmarts-jackals/#cheater-sizes

Writing in The American Prospect, Max M Miller and Bryce Tuttle1 – a current and a former staffer for FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya – write about the long shadow cast by Reagan's decision to put Robinson-Patman in mothballs:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-08-13-stopping-excessive-market-power-monopoly/

They tell the story of Robinson-Patman's origins in 1936, when A&P was using preferential discounts to destroy the independent grocery sector and endanger the American food system. A&P didn't just demand preferential discounts from its suppliers; it also charged them a fortune to be displayed on its shelves, an early version of Amazon's $38b/year payola system:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola

They point out that Robinson-Patman didn't really need to be enacted; America already had an antitrust law that banned this conduct: section 2 of the the Clayton Act, which was passed in 1914. But for decades, the US courts refused to interpret the Clayton Act according to its plain meaning, with judges tying themselves in knots to insist that the law couldn't possibly mean what it said. Robinson-Patman was one of a series of antitrust laws that Congress passed in a bid to explain in words so small even federal judges could understand them that the purpose of American antitrust law was to keep corporations weak:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

Both the Clayton Act and Robinson-Patman reject the argument that it's OK to let monopolies form and come to dominate critical sectors of the American economy based on the theoretical possibility that this will lead to lower prices. They reject this idea first as a legal matter. We don't let giant corporations victimize small businesses and their suppliers just because that might help someone else.

Beyond this, there's the realpolitik of monopoly. Yes, companies could pass lower costs on to customers, but will they? Look at Amazon: the company takes $0.45-$0.51 out of every dollar that its sellers earn, and requires them to offer their lowest price on Amazon. No one has a 45-51% margin, so every seller jacks up their prices on Amazon, but you don't notice it, because Amazon forces them to jack up prices everywhere else:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/01/managerial-discretion/#junk-fees

The Robinson-Patman Act did important work, and its absence led to many of the horribles we're living through today. This week on his Peoples & Things podcast, Lee Vinsel talked with Benjamin Waterhouse about his new book, One Day I’ll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion That Conquered America:

https://athenaeum.vt.domains/peoplesandthings/2024/08/12/78-benjamin-c-waterhouse-on-one-day-ill-work-for-myself-the-dream-and-delusion-that-conquered-america/

Towards the end of the discussion, Vinsel and Waterhouse turn to Robinson-Patman, its author, Wright Patman, and the politics of small business in America. They point out – correctly – that Wright Patman was something of a creep, a "Dixiecrat" (southern Democrat) who was either an ideological segregationist or someone who didn't mind supporting segregation irrespective of his beliefs.

That's a valid critique of Wright Patman, but it's got little bearing on the substance and history of the law that bears his name, the Robinson-Patman Act. Vinsel and Waterhouse get into that as well, and while they made some good points that I wholeheartedly agreed with, I fiercely disagree with the conclusion they drew from these points.

Vinsel and Waterhouse point out (again, correctly) that small businesses have a long history of supporting reactionary causes and attacking workers' rights – associations of small businesses, small women-owned business, and small minority-owned businesses were all in on opposition to minimum wages and other key labor causes.

But while this is all true, that doesn't make Robinson-Patman a reactionary law, or bad for workers. The point of protecting small businesses from the predatory practices of large firms is to maintain an American economy where business can't trump workers or government. Large companies are literally ungovernable: they have gigantic war-chests they can spend lobbying governments and corrupting the political process, and concentrated sectors find it comparatively easy to come together to decide on a single lobbying position and then make it reality.

As Vinsel and Waterhouse discuss, US big business has traditionally hated small business. They recount a notorious and telling anaecdote about the editor of the Chamber of Commerce magazine asking his boss if he could include coverage of small businesses, given the many small business owners who belonged to the Chamber, only to be told, "Over my dead body." Why did – why does – big business hate small business so much? Because small businesses wreck the game. If they are included in hearings, notices of inquiry, or just given a vote on what the Chamber of Commerce will lobby for with their membership dollars, they will ask for things that break with the big business lobbying consensus.

That's why we should like small business. Not because small business owners are incapable of being petty tyrants, but because whatever else, they will be petty. They won't be able to hire million-dollar-a-month union-busting law-firms, they won't be able to bribe Congress to pass favorable laws, they can't capture their regulators with juicy offers of sweet jobs after their government service ends.

Vinsel and Waterhouse point out that many large firms emerged during the era in which Robinson-Patman was in force, but that misunderstands the purpose of Robinson-Patman: it wasn't designed to prevent any large businesses from emerging. There are some capital-intensive sectors (say, chip fabrication) where the minimum size for doing anything is pretty damned big.

As Miller and Tuttle write:

The goal of RPA was not to create a permanent Jeffersonian agrarian republic of exclusively small businesses. It was to preserve a diverse economy of big and small businesses. Congress recognized that the needs of communities and people—whether in their role as consumers, business owners, or workers—are varied and diverse. A handful of large chains would never be able to meet all those needs in every community, especially if they are granted pricing power.

The fight against monopoly is only secondarily a fight between small businesses and giant ones. It's foundationally a fight about whether corporations should have so much power that they are too big to fail, too big to jail, and too big to care.

Community voting for SXSW is live! If you wanna hear RIDA QADRI and me talk about how GIG WORKERS can DISENSHITTIFY their jobs with INTEROPERABILITY, VOTE FOR THIS ONE!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/14/the-price-is-wright/#enforcement-priorities

#pluralistic #Robinson-Patman Act #ftc #alvaro bedoya #monopoly #monopsony #main street #too big to jail #too big to care #impunity #regulatory capture #prices #the american prospect #Max M Miller #Bryce Tuttle #a and p #wright patman

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