OBSESSED WITH RESULTS

Great marketing minds think alike. So I would like to believe we keep in good company with renowned marketer, Seth Godin. He recently made an accurate distinction between mass marketers vs direct marketers which got me thinking under which category we, as a company, belong to.

Mass marketers such as Best Buy and Microsoft capitalize on their ubiquity. They have successfully infiltrated our homes and our spending habits and in doing so, now enjoy massive revenue.

On the other hand, direct marketers focus on a capturing a specific niche, getting terrific response rates and only then will they venture into expanding reach. They don’t need to be in every home, but they need to count in each home they actually get introduced to.

Godin says, “The key distinction is when you know it’s going to work. The mass marketer doesn’t know until the end. The direct marketer knows in the beginning.”

These things considered, Ionic Media prides itself in being prolific direct marketers – with a huge emphasis on testing creative thoughts on a well-researched niche, followed through with the ability to analyze results. Only then do we expand into a bigger reach with data at hand and calculated, educated risks. This is not to say we are unable to go big and handle ubiquity. With big brands such as B+L and Disney under our belt, we need to think like mass marketers as well. But we do so intelligently and profitably. It doesn’t always work. But it usually does. And when it doesn’t, we figure out why and do better on the next go.

Bottom line is, we care enough to do the work upfront to reap the benefits of being right (or wrong) in the end. We understand that the best mass marketers, it seems, start off as excellent direct marketers.

Ameetess Dira
Account Director

There are so many different types of “new media”.  The question is “Where’s this all going?”  Well, there are lots of probabilities, but all of them add up to another revision of the Internet called “Web 3.0″.

The nerds call it the “Semantic Web”.  Business analysts call it the “Personalized Web”.  This article from “How Stuff Works” suggests that “Many of these experts believe that the Web 3.0 browser will act like a personal assistant.”  An article in PC Mag from 2007, recalls “To many, Web 3.0 is something called the Semantic Web, a term coined by Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the (first) World Wide Web. In essence, the Semantic Web is a place where machines can read Web pages much as we humans read them, a place where search engines and software agents can better troll the Net and find what we’re looking for. “It’s a set of standards that turns the Web into one big database,” says Nova Spivack, CEO of Radar Networks, one of the leading voices of this new-age Internet.”

So you know what?  Its already happened.  Web 3.0 is building 10X faster than Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.  The telltale signs are the number of APIs out there from a site that just got acquired called Programmableweb.com.  The crux of Web 3.0?  A simple conversation between companies that goes a little something like “We love your application.  I’m just wondering….Do you have an API?”.

What will rule with Web 3.0 for you and your company if you are an advertiser?  The rule will be how helpful you can be to your customers with providing them with convenient data.  I guess old fashioned customer service and care will become new again.  Maybe Web 3.0 should be nicknamed “Back to the Future”!

Marie Smith
Social Media Manager
Ionic Media Group

So, you have an advertising budget for your product and have done all the research to figure out where to run your advertisements, how to disburse between Search, Display, etc.  Now how do you make these ads convert?

The Advertisement:

1. Text and Tone:  Create a strong CALL TO ACTION (this is the #1 most important detail).
   1. Use strong call to action phrases and words.  Examples include:
      1. i.      Free “ex. Get your free copy by clicking here…”
      2. ii.      __% off  “ex. Get 25% off your online purchase…”
      3. iii.      Make the offer time sensitive…”for a limited time only…”
      4. iv.      List cost – example – only $19.99 in bolded text and eye catching color.
      5. v.      New, Premium, etc.
      6. Graphics:
         1. Use graphics that catch the users eye.  Keep in mind that your advertisement is competing for the user’s eye.  If it is text heavy and not appealing to the eye it will be overlooked.
         2. Make sure ads load quickly.
         3. Keep the ad simple to read (i.e. average sized text), no shaky banners (most sites will not accept these and you may not want to be responsible for an epileptic seizure…seriously they become annoying more than anything else and don’t convert into a true sale.)
         4. Adding the touch of human faces to an advertisement also helps the user ‘connect’ with the offer on a personal level.  Remember – many people out there on the web are visual and the competition is fierce to capture their attention and lead them into action.

The Sales Process:

1. You have a click…now what?
   1. The same practice should be applied to your landing page and purchase process as it is to your advertisement.  The key points to focus on are:
      1. i.      Reiterating your offer.  The landing page content/offer should match the advertisement.  If it doesn’t, your messaging will not be clear and the user may think he/she  has landed on the wrong site or that the offer was bogus.
      2. ii.      Strong CALL TO ACTION! Keep that call to action in every step.  What does the user need to do?  Keep it simple, snappy and easy to do.
      3. iii.      Keep the collection of data fields above the fold of each page.  This reduces drop-off rates.  The easier you can make a process for a user the more likely they are to complete the process and not drop off.
      4. iv.      Short transaction process (shorten the amount of pages a user needs to go through in order to hit that oh so important ‘submit‘ button.
      5. v.      Provide a safe transaction zone for the consumer. (i.e. secured shopping).  If you intend to use any  user information for future promotions you need to be up front and let them opt in to this.  Transparency gains trust and hopefully this consumer will not be a one-time shopper but become a loyal customer, fan on Facebook, etc.

Andrea Cravitz
Client Account Manager
Ionic Media

The Barcelona Principles Checklist

Well, the Second European Summit on Measurement held last week in Barcelona has come and gone, but its impact may be felt for some time to come.  The Summit was organized by the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) and the Institute for Public Relations.  The most notable outcome of the Summit was the creation of the ‘Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles’.  The Principles were debated and voted upon by about 200 delegates representing 33 countries and five global PR and measurement organizations (AMEC, IPR, PRSA, ICCO, The Global Alliance).  David Rockland, Ph.D. chaired the debate.

Here are the ‘Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles’:

1. Goal setting and measurement are fundamental aspects of any PR programs.
2. Media measurement requires quantity and quality – cuttings in themselves are not enough.
3. Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) do not measure the value of PR and do not inform future activity.
4. Social media can and should be measured.
5. Measuring outcomes is preferred to measuring media results.
6. Business results can and should be measured where possible.
7. Transparency and Replicability are paramount to sound measurement.

See more at: http://metricsman.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/the-barcelona-principles-leaders-speak/

Jun 23, 2010

Mashable’s June 30th #smday Social Media Meetups: lessons from the trenches

I have not had the opportunity to update my blog for a few days. Feels kind of weird because it’s the first time since I started and there is so much to write about and share. I blame it on Mashable. Well, that’s not entirely true. I blame it on myself. Since I learned about Mashable’s Social Media Meetups I have been racing like hell to get aMeetup up and running.

But it was my choice. Personally, I’m not sure if we need a day to celebrate social media. After all, social media are just media, right?

Maybe Facebook or Twitter should have a day where they celebrate their users (especially since they know so much about them…). That would be more appropriate. Or even Mashable, to celebrate its fans and visitors.

See more at: http://www.socialemailmarketing.eu/2010/06/mashables-june-30th-smday-social-media-meetups-lessons-from-the-trenches.html

There are many ways to market your website online through various forms of search engine optimisation. Now days with the innovation to social media networks, blogs, forums and social bookmarking, sites it is very easy to do a successful campaign and get down loads of prize backlinks to your website, thus increasing your page rank.

So what were going to do is set up an Internet presence for your new site / company. Here is a list of SN (social networking) sites that we could use to advance our site / business enterprise, consider social networking is not the same as social bookmarking, which we will cover a little later in the article – but each point raised here are simply different forms of search engine optimisation.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Digg
• StumbleUpon
• Squidoo
• Creamaid
• Yedda
• Tweako
• Xanga

So now to make this process a little easier for you to follow, this is a basic run through of what I would do with the above list.

• Submit my site / business to Facebook. Create page, ask for friends, start posting.
• Create a twitter account (if you don’t already have one) and start a little tweeting – 4 or 5 tweets should do it.
• Create a page on Squidoo – general write up on your new site.
• Digg and StumbleUpon your Squidoo write up and twitter tweets.
• Submit to more SN’s

See more at: http://googlekeywordsoftware.com/using-seo-to-generate-traffic-through-social-media-networks-and-blogs

Posted by reggiedon | Posted in Link Baiting | Posted on 23-06-2010

If you have a business website, then search engine marketing (SEM) should always be part of your business strategy. By implementing the correct search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, your website could enjoy increased online exposure.

Online marketing primarily uses the platforms of major search companies like Google and Bing. Business owners will try to get their websites as high up as possible on the search results of Google and Yahoo/Bing. So if your website lands on the top pages of search results, it could mean more traffic or web visitors. In the online industry, getting more traffic generally means more business opportunities.

There are several options available for you when conducting SEM/SEO. You may hire a professional SEO expert to make your website more competitive on the search engines. This requires investment but you will get the guarantee of faster improvement of search position.

Another approach is to do self-help SEO. There are simple techniques that you can follow just to start your search marketing drive. So here are the top tips on internet marketing that could increase your website’s search engine position within a few weeks.

Know Your Current Position

Knowing where you stand on the search results will enable you to set realistic goals. You can download Google’s Toolbar to get useful SEO tools to monitor your search standing and page rank. Alexa is also a good site that can give you an overview of the performance of your website on the search engines.

Based on the data that you can get from these resources, you can make a plan on how to improve your search engine position. Creating a concrete plan of action and goal setting are two very crucial tasks in any form of marketing.

See more at: http://makingmoneywithablog.makingmoney-101.com/site-promotion/link-baiting/online-marketing-top-tips-on-search-engine-marketing-3-easy-ways-to-increase/

June 17th, 2010 by admin

PPC Search marketing is a huge, and still growing, area, which grew by almost a third between 2006 and 2008, according to IAB estimates. Almost 60% of all online ad spend is spent in PPC search – with the vast majority paying for smoothies and massage chairs at Google HQ.

While PPC search remains one of the most cost-effective ways to gain conversions, the landscape is changing as the discipline begins to mature. Historically, any PPC search campaign – even one which was poorly organised – would still be likely to work well.

These days, due to increased competition, costs per click (CPC) prices are getting higher and higher, and PPC campaigns need to be a lot more competitive to succeed, particularly with non-branded keywords.

The integrated approach

Advertisers need to think more broadly to ensure that their online campaigns are up to scratch. As well as considering many more online advertising arenas, they must also leverage their interconnectedness.

While PPC marketing will aid a company’s ability to acquire new business and may generate a reasonable ROI on its own, its potential can be increased by using the best performing keywords as anchor text links when carrying out link building exercises. If search terms perform well in a paid search campaign, you would be well advised to improve your natural search listings for the same terms where possible.

Similarly, competitor and customer analysis can inform all areas of your thinking by giving an idea of where you stand in the wider market, and potentially gaining first person feedback from the very people you are targeting with your online marketing strategies.

A more connected online marketplace…

Here is a brief explanation of some of the areas businesses need to invest in to compete in today’s more connected online marketplace, and the reasons why they mustn’t be neglected. It’s important to remember that whilst each of the below is certainly a specialism unto itself – the real value is from a cohesive blend of them all seamlessly working together with common cause.

Social

In August 2008, Facebook reached the auspicious landmark of 100,000,000 users. Social spaces are booming, and anyone marketing their site needs to get on board. Social bookmarking sites such as Digg and Reddit, social networking such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn, social tagging such as StumbleUpon or Flickr, blogs & online discussion forums that target your audience, all of these are important portals which, used correctly, can improve your presence online.

See more at: http://clickbankways.com/?p=6617

Google’s AdWords network has become one of the biggest online PPC ad networks. Millions of users everyday around the world are exposed to ads from Google.  How many of those are your ads, and how many out of those millions are seeing them?

If you use Adwords then you’re probably already running a search campaign, but are you on the content network? If you aren’t, well, why not? You’re missing out on the opportunity to exponentially expand your reach to customers around the world that you aren’t getting to by using search.  Using Google Analytics to help you refine your Google site placement within the content network can maximize your results from a content campaign.

There are thousands and thousands of sites to choose from on the content network, but you can choose the sites where you want your ads to appear.  It can be overwhelming when you’re first trying to figure out what your campaign will be. There are several ways you can run your content campaign in order to optimize the result you get.

But how do you choose which sites to advertise on? Google Analytics has a great tool to help you figure out just that.  It’s the Google Placement Tool, and it’s a great way to get an ultra-targeted campaign.

Using the referring sites report in Google Analytics, you can see all of the sites that sent visitors to your site. These are usually people who are writing about your site, such as press, articles, blogs, forums, or other online publications. A lot of these referring sites are part of the Google content network, and you’re able to run advertisements on them.

See more at: http://www.marketerscollege.com/training/2359/how-to-use-google-analytics-to-help-with-google-site-placement/