Posts filed under 'Internet communications'
August 21st, 2008
Viral Marketing. Seeding. Buzz (pun intended). Haagen Daz, that purveyor of bliss, started a campaign to raise awareness of honey bee colony collapse, and, for an estimated $75,000 paid to a company specializing in viral campaigns, the “Bee Boy Dance Crew” received 2 million hits on this video in two weeks:
Haagen Daz used the services of a company called Feed Company, which specializes in creating viral campaigns (or, as they call it, “seeding”). They use viral video, word of mouth and search engine optimization to get their results. The Bee Boy Crew was promoted through traditional media - including TV and print ads that say “Plant this Page, Save a Bee” - and through the video-sharing sites like YouTube. The site links to a microsite at HelptheHoneyBees.com where users find out more information and how they can help.
Here are details about the campaign as posted by MediaPost’s Marketing Daily.
Here’s another one about “Projectile Dysfunction” Feed Company seeded for videogame maker Activision (note: video rated “Teen”)
It’s not too terribly difficult to think that a local company, with a few well-chosen clicks and a clever campaign that will appeal to the Internet culture, could do the same thing. The Internet is very democratic that way. But you have to make sure it’s consistent with your brand, your other marketing efforts and your business goals.
Maybe the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau could make some waves with that goofy video of Ald. Doug Mark on Geo’s blog.
August 18th, 2008
Adults are abandoning newspapers and getting their news online - we’ve known that for a while now. But they’re also pretty faithful to TV news too, according to the biennial media usage study by Pew Research Center.
Of respondents, the survey found 46 percent still rely heavily on TV for their news. Predictably, younger audiences prefer Internet news sites, and a group that Pew calls the “integrators” is turning to cable news outlets like CNN and Fox News for their fix.
“Integrators” are older, more affluent and at the heart of many advertisers’ wish lists for target audiences.
Pew found that only 34 percent of respondents read a newspaper “the day before,” compared to 40 percent when the survey was conducted two years ago.
What does this mean for traditional newspapers? Sharp declines in ad revenue and slower growth.
For online sites, it means they are reaping what the papers used to sow in terms of ad revenue.
But it also shows that the shift in media habits is happening perhaps more slowly than we sometimes think.
Depending on your audience, you would do far worse than to run an ad on CNN or Fox News if you’re targeting middle-aged adults with disposable incomes.
It also demonstrates that, like most cultural shifts that happen because of a new technology, the rise of the Internet is going to take some time to really shake out…and that it may be a bumpy ride for those who aren’t ready for it and cling to their old ways.
August 6th, 2008
Hard to believe that Back to School is here. For “Tweens” (kids 10 to 14), that means online search. If you’re advertising your back-to-school products, your ads must be online and your site must be optimized.
Tweens are most vocal in purchases of apparel, electronics, telecommunication services and products and other consumer packaged goods according to Performics, a market research firm (see their survey results here). More than half reported using the Internet to compare products and prices before suggesting back-to-school purchases to their parents.
In addition to online advertising, you would be well-served (regardless of your industry) to get your website optimized via process called “search engine optimization” or SEO. This process uses key words and other programming tactics to ensure a better ranking on the search engines.
Pet Loader, a client and local company that manufactures and sells portable dog stairs, told me last week they saw TRIPLE the traffic they did prior to doing SEO on their site.
I let our web gurus worry about how to actually do this; all I know is that it’s effective, essential in today’s marketplace and our clients swear by it. Here are two sites to get you started:
A prior ADWire post about how search engines work.
Google Ranking’s “Basics of SEO”
July 23rd, 2008
So you have decided to go shopping this weekend, and if there is one thing in particular you are looking for you will probably look up something about said item online first. Doesn’t it seem better if you get a few opinions from web sites, no matter if they come from “trusted experts” or just community blogs? It’s no news that people trust other people like them, so it makes sense that marketers should embrace the online social communities. Whoever “they” are, it is important what “they” say, more so online than other mediums. A study recently completed by PR firm Fleishman-Hillard in France, Germany and the UK shows evidence that the internet is twice as influential as television and eight times as influential as print media. “The best thing a company can do is to create an environment where people can post reviews and opinions,” says Matt Rhodes of FreshNetworks, who is an author of social media good-practice articles and regular speaker at Web 2.0 conferences. Granted, factors on influence are different in Rockford, IL than in Germany but the overall trend toward changing your marketing mix to skew to internet and social media sites is a basic principle of branding today.
July 17th, 2008
They say in fashion that everything comes back in style sooner or later, if you just hang on to it long enough, but does it work with ads as well? McDonalds seems to think so, well, actually retro with a new twist. They are stepping back to 1974 to revive the lyrics of the well-known Big Mac jingle, “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese…” you probably know the rest. What you won’t know is the new beat, since no one knows it yet, because the company will choose from competitors on MySpace through its page called the ‘Big Mac Chant’ (http://www.myspace.com/bigmacchant).
User-generated appeal campaigns are popping up everywhere thanks to YouTube, and for this one McDonald’s is not even offering money as a prize. Apparently, merely the “fame” appeal of having your jingle become the track for a TV commercial is payment enough. Yet another way to take advantage of the viral nature of the web and free press- sounds like a pretty good idea for any company.
“For companies, reviving a campaign through user-generated submissions can appeal to older consumers’ nostalgia while introducing a classic campaign to a younger set,” says Stephanie Clifford of the New York Times. If it works, it could be argued that McDonald’s successfully bridged the gap between generations. But isn’t part of the fun of revival lyrics to be able to sing along because you know them? Unless you are a rapper, you may be out of luck on this one. McDonald’s has to wade through the bad and the good in submissions, but finding a gold nugget could prove worth it. The outcome for the campaign is yet to be seen, but the public in general is more aware of, and willing to participate in user-generated appeals, and any size company can take advantage of the favorable environment for this type of campaign.
June 16th, 2008
From the exuberant proliferation of blogs lately across the business spectrum locally, regionally and nationally, it makes sense for you to consider whether or not a blog would help your small business grow sales. Generally, the answer to that question is: yes, but.
The “but” - and it’s a relatively big one in the time-pressed world of small-business ownership - means you won’t see overnight success despite the amount of time you’re going to spend building and maintaining an effective blog.
Like most marketing tools that are content-driven, good blogs take time and effort to develop and start impacting a bottom line. But blogs can get you other results as well; for example, they can:
- Rank your website higher on search engines;
- Provide a forum for your customers to interact with your brand/company;
- Get you some media exposure as an “expert” in your field.
Whether or not a blog make sense for your company is an individual decision, but here are some tips for starting and maintaining an effective blog…happy reading & good blogging!
Starting Out & How-to Tips:
Is a blog right for me?
How to write killer blog copy
How to write your “About Us” page
How to get traffic to your blog
Get more comments
6 worst things to do with a blog
June 12th, 2008
Imagine a site that you frequently visit, let’s say amazon.com. Given the exhaustive amount of information you initially find that it is difficult to navigate. But over time, you realize you’re finding the Web site is easy to navigate, more comfortable, and it gives you the information you need. Almost second nature. Is this a result of you simply learning how to navigate the site? Maybe not…
Here’s an article from MIT Tech review about websites that recognize the cognitive style of visitors by the way they click around and adapt their interfaces accordingly:
“The researchers’ initial studies show that morphing a website to suit different types of visitors could increase the site’s sales by about 20 percent. While quite a few sites, such as Amazon.com, offer personalized features, many of those sites adapt by drawing information from user profiles, stored cookies, or long questionnaires. The Sloan system, however, adapts to unknown users within the first few clicks on the website by analyzing each user’s pattern of clicks.
In addition to guessing at each user’s cognitive style by analyzing that person’s pattern of clicks, the system tracks data over time to see which versions of the website work most effectively for which cognitive styles.”
June 3rd, 2008
So you’ve created a great email newsletter. You’ve built your email lists. You’re ready to send it out. But take a step back and consider whether you’ve offered an “opt-out” option. Not only does including an opt-out make good marketing sense but, under the CAN-SPAM Act, it’s also federal law.
We’ve been doing enewsletters for years - both for clients and for our own company - and we sometimes sign up our clients and prospects because we think they’ll find the content relevant to what we’re working on for them or where they’re at in their business. But occasionally, someone will opt-out.
And that’s OK.
From a marketing point of view, it’s better to have subscribers opt-out than be annoyed with having received it and not know how to stop them from coming.
Perhaps more importantly is that not including an opt-out option is now a federal crime subject to up to $11,000 in fines every time it happens. In 2003, the federal government passed the CAN-SPAM act, which requires all commercial emails - those email messages “whose primary purpose is advertising or promoting a commercial product or service, including content on a Web site” - to include an opt-out procedure. Read more about the CAN-SPAM act here.
Updates to CAN-SPAM - On Tuesday, May 13, of this year, the FTC updated the CAN-SPAM laws to talk about the nature of the “sender” of promotional emails. Read more here.
Moral of the story - giving clients and subscribers an opt-out option is easy and the law.
May 22nd, 2008
In an annual survey of 2,000 marketing executives, more than 82% said that their use of email marketing campaigns will increase this year over last year, with 55% saying they expect email to have a higher return on investment (ROI) than other channels. Email is a great solution for small businesses - it literally costs mere pennies per mailing, it is efficient and provides another way for you to converse with your customers, clients and fans. So for those who have not taken the leap yet, here are 5 helpful tips:
1. Pick a Date - Set a calendar and stick to it - don’t wait for “when you have something to say” to send out an email.
2. Less is More - Keep is short and to-the-point….and include information that’s useful to your reader. Don’t just spew boring corporate news
3. Swag, Freebies & Deals - people like free stuff. Be sure to include special offers, freebies, etc., that are available only to your email recipients.
4. Divide & Conquer - once you get the hang of email, start segmenting your lists and offering different things to each segment. Test offers before you send them to everyone.
5. Take it or Leave It - Include “forward to a friend” and “unsubscribe” options in every email you send.
There are simple programs that can manage your mailing lists, your HTML templates and more, so there’s really no excuse for not including email in your marketing mix these days. Want to see some examples? Sign up for the KMK Media email newsletter, NewsBriefs, click here and enter your email address and name in the fields located in the lower right side of the page.
More results from the Datran Media survey:
Compared to 2007, in 2008, your company is likely to?
In 2008, do you expect your company’s email marketing ROI to be?
Has or does your company plan to employ email to do any of the following? (select all that apply)
May 8th, 2008
The Webby Awards honor excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, online film and video, mobile Web sites and interactive advertising from around the world. Stephen Colbert and will.i.am earned top honors at this year’s Webby Awards, announced Tuesday.
Colbert, the irreverent host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, was named person of the year thanks to the “innovative way he has used the Internet to interact with fans,” a Webby rep said in a statement. One highlight? During his aborted presidential campaign, the host’s “One Million Strong for Stephen T. Colbert” Facebook group attracted more than 78 members per minute in its first week.
“The Web is essentially improvisational. … The Internet is the shortest, hardest wall against which your voice will echo back,” Colbert said. “It’s a big place, but, boy, you get an echo back really fast.”
- Steven Colbert
Well said, Mr. Colbert. Especially when it comes to marketing and your message, evidenced by Colbert’s attracting 78 members per minute. Just when you thought no one was paying attention, think again. Be prepared when you put content out there because the ‘echo back’ will happen immediately. But for a good picture of who has got it right and to ignite your creativity, take a look at the winners (chosen from 8,000 entries), http://www.webbyawards.com/.
Some of the WEBBY winners:
Blog-Political: Huffington Post
Blog-Cultural: PostSecret
Magazine: National Geographic
Best mobile news site: CNN.com (voted by People’s Voice)
Newspaper: NYTimes.com
Politics: FactCheck.org
Community: Flickr
Weird: Passive-Aggressive Notes (Academy), I Can Has Cheezburger? (Popular Vote)
Social Networking: Flock The Social Web Browser (Academy), Facebook (Popular Vote)
Comedy - Long Form or Series: “Wainy Days”
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