Posts Tagged: Internet Marketing

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22
Mar 10

Social-media rockstars’ best practices: Part 4 — Building sales

Social networks have caused a huge shift in how companies frame and execute their business. The success of Best Buy’s Twelpforce blurred the lines between marketing and customer service, using videos that feature the 1,000+ Best Buy employees on Twitter offering efficient, direct service. Dell’s Outlet on Twitter earned $9 million in sales . Is there really ROI in the social-media space? Yes, there is. Yet without expertise, this social business culture can be challenging — perhaps even becoming a time sink rather than a profit center. We’ve contacted the speakers and panelists of SOBCon2010 — a yearly think tank of the top social-media strategists, thought leaders and practitioners — to ask their advice on social-media best practices. Our questions were aimed at how to get the best return on social-media resources in raising awareness and building customer relationships, as well as in direct returns. – Liz Strauss These interviews appear as part of our upcoming special report, “ Driving Your Bottom Line .” The first part of the report publishes Tuesday, March 23, and the second part will be sent out Thursday, March 25; if you’re not already a SmartBrief on Social Media subscriber, sign up today so you won’t miss them! Some companies, such as Dell, have managed to use social media to drive direct sales, yet many companies are still struggling to make their social efforts turn a profit. What separates a company that can use social media to generate revenue from one that can’t? Liz Strauss : Dell offers so many ways to meet with them on Twitter alone. Many Dell folks on Twitter are there to learn, to discuss and to help solve problems. None of them would think to interrupt people to sell to them. They talk like humans about what they do. The Dell outlet on Twitter is a separate channel. One key to Dell sales is the way they offer value, not just in low prices, but in fast easy ways to get to them. I think the combination is powerful. I’ve seen it stated that AT&T has 13 full-time people, but not one account on Twitter carries an individual person’s name. I’ve only met one person from AT&T at conference. Not that AT&T isn’t there … but somewhere in the difference is that I’ve met RichardatDell , ChrisBatDell and LionelatDell . I know they’re real people with real names. That has to help lend credibility to the real people who run the DellOutlet on Twitter. Chris Garrett : A big part of what separates the successes from the failures is knowing your audience well, and finding a match between what you can offer and what they want. Many of the failures focus on the media side of social media rather than the social — social media should not be seen as a broadcast medium but as a tool for engagement. If you listen first, then your community will tell you what they want and how. Scott Porad : I think it has to do with when companies are, or are not, willing to show their human face to their customers. Companies that are afraid to show their human face, who want to maintain a sterile “corporate image,” will have a harder time capitalizing on social media. In other words, social media is primarily a human medium, so only companies that are willing to act human, warts and all, are able to use it effectively. I believe this is evidenced by the success that companies are having using social media for customer service — for example, Comcast. Customer service is fundamentally a human interaction — two people talking on the phone. As a result, the customer service organizations in many companies already have the culture, attitudes, policies and procedures in place for human interaction with customers. Erno Hannink : Completely dive into social media. Let all your employees use social media to make direct connections to the fans. Listen to your customers and potential customers. Use this information to improve your company, processes, services and/or products. Be transparent — let your fans know what you are doing with their comments. Are you not doing something with it? Explain why. Are you doing something with their suggestions? Reward your fans. L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine : Companies need to shake off the “I heard Dell made $2 million from Twitter, we can do it too” dandruff; it’s causing anxiety. Instead, focus on the relationships, building the community. Drew McLellan : I suspect that most people look at this aspect of social media through a very narrow lens. Dell directly sells computers. They can quantify that down to the individual order. That works great when you sell “a thing.” But if you sell accounting advice and someone Googles “accounting adviser for small business” and your blog shows up on the first page — did that help drive a sale? What if that person then spends an hour soaking up your smarts on your blog? And buys your e-book or after a year of reading you, hires you to speak to their chamber or to consult on their business? And profit might not mean direct dollars. What would you pay to be on the first page of a Google search for a term that’s near and dear to your heart/wallet? Social media can do that. What would you pay to generate PR or get quoted in The New York Times? Social media can make that happen. How much effort might you put toward generating speaking opportunities where you are positioned as an expert in your field … to a room of 250 prospects? Social media can put you behind the podium. Here’s the challenge with this question, I think. Social media’s ROI isn’t immediate. It’s a long-term strategy. And it is often an indirect strategy. That’s why having an actual social-media strategy with measurable goals (like # of speaking gigs or book sales or reporter’s calls) is so critical to recognizing the value of time spent. Sadly, most companies just create a Facebook page and tweet out their specials — and wonder why it’s not working. Want more? Be sure to check out parts 1, 2 and 3 of the interview! Contributors : Chris Garrett is a professional blogger , Internet marketing consultant, new-media industry commentator, writer, coach, speaker, trainer and Web geek. Erno Hannink is a consultant, author and blogger. Drew McLellan created McLellan Marketing Group in 1995. L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine is the chief evangelist for leading news-aggregation site  Alltop and the founder of Hawaii-based media marketing company Pono Media . Scott Porad is the chief technology officer of the Cheezburger Network. Liz Strauss is the CEO and a founder of SOBCon and author of Successful-Blog.com . Hank Wasiak is the co-founder of The Concept Farm . Wasiak is also a best-selling author, keynote speaker, teacher, an Emmy-nominated producer and three-time Emmy award-winning television host. Image credit, YellowPixel , via Shutterstock

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22
Mar 10

Social-media rockstars’ best practices: Part 3 — Creating connections

Social networks have caused a huge shift in how companies frame and execute their business. The success of Best Buy’s Twelpforce blurred the lines between marketing and customer service, using videos that feature the 1,000+ Best Buy employees on Twitter offering efficient, direct service. Dell’s Outlet on Twitter earned $9 million in sales . Is there really ROI in the social-media space? Yes, there is. Yet without expertise, this social business culture can be challenging, perhaps even becoming a time sink rather than a profit center. We’ve contacted the speakers and panelists of SOBCon2010 — a yearly think tank of the top social-media strategists, thought leaders, and practitioners — to ask their advice on social-media best practices. Our questions were aimed at how to get the best return on social-media resources in raising awareness and building customer relationships, as well as in direct returns. – Liz Strauss These interviews appear as part of our upcoming special report, “ Driving Your Bottom Line .” The first part of the report publishes on Tuesday, March 23, and the second part will be sent out on Thursday, March 25; if you’re not already a SmartBrief on Social Media subscriber, sign up today so you won’t miss them! Once a company develops a strong community and deep engagement, how can it then use those assets to drive revenue without alienating fans? Liz Strauss : Strong community and deep engagement are words that represent people we attracted and people who have invested in us and each other. We don’t need to use them. We can rely on them if we value and respect what they have already contributed. If we allow them to talk to each other in ways they want to and give them somewhere it’s easy and fun to do that, you can bet that they’ll talk about you in ways that reflect your best attributes. If you let them help you build it, they will not only protect it, they will bring their friends to see what you do and why it’s so worth investing it. Hank Wasiak : If a company is providing meaningful engagement with people that opt in to a relationship around their product or service, and it genuinely delivers on its positioning and brand promise, then “asking for an order” at the right time, in the right tone and manner should not alienate anyone. In fact, it most likely will be welcomed and appreciated. Relax. That’s the beauty of social media used smartly. Lisa Haneberg : Fans want to buy from you, or they would not be fans. Make the social-media environment as flexible and malleable as possible so that community members don’t feel they are being led down a predetermined path. Creating love and connection will improve customer loyalty, interest, and the inclination to buy and tell their friends to buy. Drop the obvious marketing-ese and create a real community designed to fascinate and delight customers. A social-media site that is thinly veiled as a selling tool will fail fast. Chris Garrett : The key way to drive revenue with social media is to integrate it into your existing, proven marketing and communications. Go out into social networks to engage and attract the person back to your own Web site, where you can offer a deeper, ongoing service or valuable content in order to get permission to contact them through e-mail or offline. You can potentially also use exclusive to social-media voucher codes and coupons, as Dell has done so successfully. Jonathan Fields : Not too long ago, I raised some eyebrows when I wrote a post called “ Busting The Social Media Marketing Myth ” that came out [and] said the people and companies I know making real, measurable ROI with social media are the ones treating it with a direct-response sensibility, meaning: They tap a variety of strategies to get people to their Twitter pages, blogs and Facebook fan pages and become followers. Sometimes, they leverage content to attract folks, tap relationships or search for people with relevant interests and follow them. Local businesses are getting creative; some restaurants are adding calls to action on menus compelling diners to follow them — the direct-response equivalent of finding a list of affinity buyers and e-mailing/mailing a lead-gen offer. More and more, local businesses and content creators are incentivizing the follow[-up]. On blogs and Facebook fan pages, incentivizing subscriptions and fans is very common now. Then they mix in a healthy dose of noncommercial tweets, high-value, resource and engagement-driven posts or updates — the functional equivalent of direct-response list warming. Then, after building a bit of a relationship, showing a little personality, establishing value and spending a bit of time priming the reciprocity impulse, they begin to ask their communities what problems they need help solving, they mine them to find the gaps in current competitive offerings … they listen intensely to the conversations around relevant topics, problems and keywords. Finally, they create differentiated solutions based on what the market tells them is needed, then mix in the occasional purely commercial, response-driven offer that either (a) leads to a sale, or (b) leads people out of the social-media setting and into the external customer acquisition and sales funnel for that solution. And, at times, it is even easier. If you’ve got a killer cappuccino cart with a product people love, your content can be as simple as a few customer exchanges followed by … Fact is, if you’re consistently engaging and providing value, your community will be pretty tolerant of the occasional commercial insertion. Same if you build the account from the beginning with the transparent intent to share a larger amount of information that followers value, while also having commercial intent. An example of the latter would be a pizza franchise interacting with followers, but also sending out daily or time-sensitive offers on a regular basis. Steve Woodruff : If what the company is selling actually has value for the community, then making people more aware of the offerings is not offensive, it is helpful. People expect us to promote what we do, but to do so in a human, natural manner without beating them over the head or seeking some instant sales result. Drew McLellan : The short answer is — remain a servant and keep the “making money” as the “as well.” That’s not to say you need to give everything away for free. It just means that you need to keep the faith, if you will. You need to continue to believe you are doing good by sharing your knowledge. Then, you can create opportunities for those who are interested to get more of that knowledge. It might be more in-depth knowledge, it might be applying your knowledge to their specific problem or opportunity or it might mean getting you alone (as opposed to in public on your blog). When you’ve truly built a community around your area of expertise — those people do not begrudge you making money. In fact, they want you to make money. They’re happy to help you make money. So now you can call upon them to help you. And they will. Not because you pay them an affiliate fee (although that may be a good tactic) but because they believe in you and what you have to offer. Want more? Check out parts 1, 2 and 4 of the interview! Contributors : Chris Garrett is a professional blogger , Internet marketing consultant, new-media industry commentator, writer, coach, speaker, trainer and Web geek. Lisa Haneberg is the vice president and OD consulting practice lead for Management Performance International , where she manages the planning and growth of MPI’s organizational-development business unit. Erno Hannink is a consultant, author and blogger. Drew McLellan created McLellan Marketing Group in 1995. Liz Strauss is the CEO and a founder of SOBCon and author of Successful-Blog.com . Hank Wasiak is the co-founder of The Concept Farm . Wasiak is also a best-selling author, keynote speaker, teacher, an Emmy-nominated producer, and three-time Emmy award-winning television host. Steve Woodruff is the founder and president of Impactiviti . Image credit, YellowPixel , via Shutterstock

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22
Mar 10

Internet Marketing – Climb to the Top

Owning or managing your own business can be very stressful, and many people have so many things to think about on a daily basis that they don’t even realize they are ignoring one of the most important business processes: internet marketing. Research has shown that millions of people turn to the internet first when they want to find a product or service, and you’ve got to figure out a way to take advantage of this ready-made audience.

Traditional marketing usually consists of creating promotional materials that can be distributed and disseminated in a number of different ways, usually through print, radio, or television advertising. While these methods have been proven successful to a certain extent, they won’t be enough to keep you fresh in the minds of web surfers.

Internet marketing is an amazing tool for entrepreneurs, because it never closes, it can’t be torn down or covered with another advertisement, and it isn’t so permanent that you can’t make changes if your product or service suddenly becomes different.

Something that you have to understand about internet marketing is that it is always most successful when it happens in a wide variety of ways, all at once. This means that you have to find a way to combine search engine optimization techniques, with email advertising, website linking and other tactics in order to build quality brand awareness.

When you talk to most new internet business owners about internet marketing, you are likely to see their face become a little frustrated and very confused. Because there are so many different ways to go about it, choosing the right methods can be difficult.

If you want to take advantage of all the different ways that internet marketing can help to propel your business to the top of its industry, but you don’t want to waste time making silly novice mistakes, you might want to consider using an established online marketing firm to design and execute your campaigns.

The best internet marketing companies are the ones that have been around for a long time, and that have proven over and over again that they can increase visibility and sales for their client companies. Don’t be sucked in by fly by night companies that tell you they can double your traffic overnight, because these claims are often much too good to be true.

Don’t waste your time on marketing techniques that won’t get you noticed in the audiences you’re targeting. Click here to learn more about internet marketing.

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18
Mar 10

10 Reasons SES New York is a Must-Attend Marketing Conference

Let’s get it out of the way that Online Marketing Blog is a media sponsor for Search Engine Strategies conferences and also that I serve on the advisory board . In fact, the blog you’re reading right now was the very first blog to be recognized as a media sponsor by a major marketing industry conference. Specifically, Search Engine Strategies thanks to Matt McGowan . As a long time speaker at SES New York in combination with our other involvement, you could say I have a pretty strong opinion of this event. Here are 10 reasons why I think SES New York is a “must attend” marketing conference: 1. Keynotes! Starting the day with big picture content is a great way to get the synapse firing in your brain. Well, that and a few cups of coffee from the Starbucks inside the Hilton.  With David Meerman Scott – Author of the New Rules of Marketing & PR, Avinash Kaushik – Analytics Guru & Author from Google and Yusuf Mehdi SVP from Bing, you are sure to get riveting insight about the future of internet marketing and where companies should be focusing their efforts in the long term. David Meerman Scott is an excellent speaker and the release of the second edition of his groundbreaking book is very timely as the intersection of Search, Social Media and PR converge.  The best internet marketing campaigns start and scale based on good insight from analytics and what better person to share the wisdom that Avinash Kaushik .  Bing has experienced the best growth it’s ever had in the past few months and the search marketing industry is starting to take it more seriously. Yusuf Mehdi is the man to tell the story of how Microsoft plans to continue that growth. 2.  Connect with the Industry I’ve heard that over 5,000 online marketing professionals will be attending SES New York this year. That’s 5,000 people you have the potential to network with including industry peers, rock stars, potential candidates to hire, potential employers to be hired by, possible partners, investors, news media and of course, the coopetition. Take a look at the conference agenda and you’ll see an excellent mix of smart marketers from agencies and from major brands like New York Times, Autodesk, IBM and Facebook. Plus you might get to meet people like Mike Grehan , VP and Global Content Director for for Search Engine Watch, ClickZ and Search Engine Strategies. 3.  All the Knowledge You Can Absorb There are over 70+ sessions over 3 days covering the gamut of internet marketing topics from the expected SEO and Social Media to Analytics, Conversion Optimization, Geeky technical sessions, Advertising, Real Time search and one of my favorites, the Business Track. The conference is also sandwiched with a day of hands on training before and after the conference for those that want more than just 12 minute snippets from each speaker. Whether you’re new to the field of internet marketing or whether you’re looking for more advanced tactics, there’s a session for just about everyone. And that’s not easy to do. Just ask Stewart Quealy , Marilyn Crafts or Jackie Ortez . 4. It’s New York! As the CEO of an agency that pays for employees to attend conferences, you might think it a bit frivolous to suggest attending an event because it’s in New York, but the attraction of one of the world’s greatest cities brings a variety of people and a unique conference experience.  Why not get smarter in a city that can offer you an experience unmatched anywhere?  Whether you’re a fan of the Falafel stand outside the Hilton (be sure to go to the one with a long line) seeing shows on Broadway ( Wicked was Excellent. Equus was ah, different) or the lights of Times Square , that’s a never ending supply of new things to see and do in the big apple. That attraction brings together a group of international conference attendees that is unlike events in other cities and well worth taking advantage of. 5. Conference Box Lunches Maybe not! Whether you decide to go with the lunch offered by the conference or you decide to arrange meetings during lunch at one of the many, many restaurants in the area around the Hilton New York, networking over food is something I’ve found to be incredibly productive. Find a table near full of people, sit down and introduce yourself. Ask lots of questions, be a great listener and people will remember you more than if you try and “sell” everyone you meet. Sure, you may network at bars and clubs during after-conference parties, but the music is often so loud you can’t hear what people are saying and let’s face it: When SEO’s get near a bar, distractions are plentiful. The focus isn’t going to be on business. Connect with people during the day and suggest coffee, lunch or dinner before going out. Then have fun (in moderation of course) with them in the evening.  It will likely be the best networking decision you make during the conference. 6. Create Content Attending conferences can be one of the most productive content opportunities because there are so many ways to do it.  If a session is interesting, take notes – aka live blogging . If you meet someone smart and interesting, take notes. If you see something sensational at a networking party, no need to take notes on that. Logging what you learn as you hear it can help retention but it also becomes a source of content that you can use for blog posts, sharing with the team back in the office or with your clients. Content doesn’t need to be limited to text either. If you meet a smart industry expert, ask if they mind doing a short video interview. You’re in New York after all, take advantage of the city backdrop (sans the car horn and siren noise) to shoot a series of videos with people you respect in the industry.  Those videos can be de-constructed into a variety of content types for digital asset optimization and other SEO tactics. Photos are also useful not only for company blog posts but for use as stock photos long after SESNY has ended. In fact, the photo of Grand Central Station above was taken while I was in New York for a SES conference last year. 7. Live Consulting On day 3 of SES NY there is a track called “Clinics”, which could also be called, “Free Consulting for My Business”.  There are clinics covering Paid Search, Ecommerce, Conversions and Big Sites/Big Brand Sites. These sessions are a great opportunity for companies to have their web sites or advertising reviewed by industry experts and get recommendations. Keep in mind, that advice is often direct and to the point – yet polite.  Panelists have been solving web site and online advertising problems for years and they’ll be able to see issues immediately and share possible solutions just as quickly. The advice a company might get in one of the clinics can be worth several times the cost of attending the conference. 8. Find New Resources to Grow Your Business At SES New York, the exhibit hall will have over 100 companies presenting their products and services.  Cruising the booths and talking to reps (early in the conference, not late) is a great way to learn about companies that might have just the service you need to make your marketing more effective. Heck, if you’re really good, you might be able to reverse roles and pick up a few exhibitors as clients, depending on what it is that your company does. Finding consultants and services isn’t limited to the exhibit hall. You can find great resources by attending sessions where representatives from some of the top companies in the industry will be sharing their insights and expertise. Hearing an employee speak gives you some insight into their processes and how they approach working with clients.   You can also find potential employees by networking with speakers, either directly or through referral. 9. Digital Asset Optimization DAO is the name of the panel I’m presenting on, day 1 of the conference at 10:45 am right after the keynote from David Meerman Scott. Optimizing for the new Google takes a unique and creative approach to content strategy and SEO.  Optimizing and promoting Digital Assets present a tremendous opportunity to grow business through organic search. My presentation will focus on successful DAO implementations for a small business, a publisher/ecommerce site and a very large company.  Plus I’ll be offering a new TopRank Guide for download.  You won’t want to miss this session! 10.  I’ve saved the best for last What are YOUR favorite reasons for attending SES New York? Whatever it is that you’re considering getting out of SES New York, be sure to get more information on the session agenda here.

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11
Mar 10

BIGLIST Social SEO Blogs Update 031110

Welcome to the post-Winter/pre-Spring version of the BIGLIST review of  SEO blogs .  Snow is starting to melt and you can actually walk around outside (in Minnesota) without your eyelashes freezing together. We have a nice group for you to review so fire up your RSS reader and subscribe. LyndiT blog gets our attention for great design and user experience in this BIGLIST update. Lyndi Thompson is a Social Media and Online Marketing Specialist and like me, is addicted to peanut M&Ms.  Besides writing about a mix of social media, SEO, web design and online marketing topics, you might be interested to know Lyndi lives on a mini farm, owns several animals including a donkey and supports some great causes in the Northwest. Frank Thinking About Internet Marketing – Frank Reed blogs on several sites including Marketing Pilgrim and Biznology. Here, he shares is talented writing skills to tell stories about SMB internet marketing topics. This isn’t a how to blog, it’s a broader topic and things to think about blog as the name implies about Search, Mobile, Social and Local. State of Search – What’s going on in the search and social media marketing space?  This new blog from Dutch internet marketer, Bas van den Beld of Search Cowboys fame, and friends promises to be a source for what’s happening in the world of search and social.  It also compliments a weekly radio show on WebmasterRadio.fm of the same name. ezlocal blog – If you’re in search of great advice on local search marketing, this might be your lucky day. You can expect detailed how to posts including those about Google Maps and Local Business Center and local marketing topics. ezlocal itself is a local business search resource and directory. Digital Marketing Zen – David Wells is a digital marketing strategist for an agency in Charlotte, SC and publishes a blog that documents his observations via posts, podcasts and a curated collection of videos on topics that include everything from Augmented Reality to SEO and Social Media to Web Analytics. Single Grain Blog – This agency blog is written by Sujan Patel and Ross Hudgens on SEO, PPC, Design, Link Building and some social media. Website Workshop – Buzzhound Learning Lab is a St. Louis, MO based agency with a newer blog that has started writing posts again about SEO and topics that support the SEO training courses offered.  Hopefully they continue. Aussie Internet Marketing Blog – Sean Rasmussen writes “down under” about practical tips on a variety of online marketing topics including SEO, blogging, social media and general web 2.0. Did your SEO or SEM blog make the cut? Share the good news with your readers using the badge and link below or choose one from the  badges page .

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