Business utilization of the Internet has happened in stages and the progression has been rapid.
In the late 90′s static, brochure websites were the rage. Websites evolved into e Commerce sales engines. Search Engines sprang up to help us sort through the clutter that was the Internet. Thus search engine optimization and advertising became important at the turn of the century.
Several years ago static websites evolved into ‘Web 2.0″ sites with customer service features and dynamic user generated content. User generated content became the driver for social media membership websites where people can share opinions, information, and reviews.
We are now entering the era where mobile connectivity is practical. An array of mobile devices enables people to be connected all the time wherever they are. Most of the things you can do on a desktop or laptop you can now do with a mobile device.
As technology evolved one thing never changed. The early adopters jumped on board quickly while the mainstream lagged behind. All stages of Internet business utilization go through phases of ‘interesting’ to ‘mainstream’ to ‘mandatory’. There is always a lag between when technology becomes available and when it becomes mature – from just being interesting to becoming mandatory. Big companies usually show the way and then the methods are scaled to small and medium companies’ needs.
Websites, including online sales when appropriate, are now mandatory. Search optimization and advertising are mostly mainstream if not mandatory. The public has embraced social media, but many businesses are lagging behind the demand. And business utilization and user acceptance of mobile is in the early adopter stage.
What companies need today, if they know it or not, is a holistic Web Presence, not just a website. Web Presence includes:
- A High Class Web Destination (flagship website)
- Active Social Media Pages (and related reputation management)
- Mobile Delivery Capability
- Traffic Generation Tactics
- Content Marketing (more content, more places, more customers)
- Measurement (including ROI)
But to create and manage a Web Presence you’ve got to work at it and that is what is separating web success from failure for most companies; they don’t work at it. In the old days, businesses used Yellow Pages, newspapers, postal mail, print ads, and maybe radio/TV to push out their message and there wasn’t much work involved.Â
With the reality of the Internet those days are gone. You have got to work at Internet utilization to push and pull interactivity with customers.  But most companies, large, medium, and small, have not committed the time and budget resources needed to learn how and implement a Web Presence.
So what’s the answer to the know-how and resource problem?
- Technology tools are needed to consolidate files (articles, audio, video, announcements, events, etc) and simplify the process of publishing the files via a managed Web Presence which includes a website, social media pages, directory listings, blogs, article publications, local search pages, mobile content, reputation management, etc.
- A Web Presence Professional is needed to oversee the Web Presence Technology Platform, help create your Web Presence, and act as expert strategist and publisher.
Well… help is on the way in the form of WSI ReachCast. Contact me for information about how your organization can easily create a total Web Presence and bring order out of the possible chaos of managing your multiple web properties and web space.
Tags: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing
Does Social Media Marketing help small businesses?
Short answer = yes
A longer answer is covered in this eMarketer Article
In Explanation: Small businesses (fewer than 10 employees) typically serve a local market. Reports from multiple sources all concluded that 90+% of Internet users use social media and search engines to look for and assess local products and services. Search engines are used the most, but social media is not far behind and growing in usage.
There are 127 million USA Internet users of social media. The chances are customers of small businesses are among that number.
And it is important to realize that ads show up by different methods in social VS search. In search, an ad shows up when a person (AKA prospect) types a search term into an inquiry field. That is inbound marketing as that person is looking for a specific product. In social sites like Facebook an ad shows up based on the interest profile of the person (prospect). This is outbound marketing where the business is getting in front of a likely prospect.
For example: If a person was looking for hunting gear they might type hunting clothes into a search engine and find a local sporting goods store. In social media, that same person might have indicated hunting was one of their hobbies when setting up their profile. While that person is in a social media site an ad for a local sporting goods store would show up automatically, based on their profile, and thus alert that person to the local sporting goods store where he can buy hunting clothes.
So… yes social media marketing works for small businesses if its social media presence is optimized and setup properly. Want to learn more? Contact me
Tags: Digital Marketing, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Optimization
Mr. Business Person – it is not business as usual. You are not in control of the message anymore. Social Media has upset your apple cart.
Since forever businesses controlled the message to the masses about their brand and products via outbound ads in radio, TV, and in various publications like newspapers, magazines, Yellow Pages, and billboards. Businesses could say whatever they liked to mass audiences. What were unhappy consumers with an opposing view supposed to do? A consumer could not afford to take out ad space in TV, radio, newspapers, etc, etc.
Mass communication had a huge cost barrier to entry and that meant businesses had a monopoly on mass communications. And then along came the Internet. For almost no cost anyone could access the world.
But at first the Internet didn’t make it easy to reach really big audiences. Email could reach a large, but limited audience for example. Websites could only attract so many visitors.
But then came forums and mass communication became easier, And then blogs and it became easier. And then Social Media and product review sites sprang up and the lid was taken off mass communications.
Businesses got onto the Social Media bandwagon also. But many businesses are doing it all wrong. Same with many politicians. Many companies and candidates are trying to use Social Media as an outbound ad delivery system in the same old business as usual manner.
Businesses try using Social Media for ads and to publish self-serving articles. Politicians often use it to spread their ‘propaganda’ and to solicit donations.
WRONG. Social Media is an inbound, bottom up , not top down media. Social Media works best when the masses talk and businesses and politicians listen. But businesses and politicians are not used to listening, they are used to talking.
Businesses and politicians must learn it is not business as usual – the public is in control of the message. Believe it. Accept it. Learn to work with it.
Tags: Digital Marketing, Digital Media, Social Media, Social Media Marketing
Here are the important top level Social Networking trends:
- Usage is up – including as a substitute for ‘email type’ communication
- Global utilization is up
- Ad spend is up
According to data compiled by eMarketer:
Global Social Network ad spend in 2010 is projected at $3.3 Billion, up about 30% over 2009 and 2011 is projected to go up another 30%.
The US accounts for just over half of that ad total. But in 2011 US spending will start to be become a lower percentage because international social network ad spending will increase more rapidly. There are several reasons why this is the case.
Social networks are very popular in the US with a reach of about 74% of Internet users. But SocNets are even more popular in many other markets. According to The Nielsen Company, the social network/blog category reached 86% of active Internet users in Brazil in April 2010 and 78% of active users in Italy for example.
Chinese social networks are strong performers. According to the Data Center of China Internet, the number of social network users in the country reached 245 million in 2009, up 34% over 2008. Social networks such as Tencents QQ, search giant Baidus Baidu Space and RenRen (formerly Xiaonei) dominate usage.
Although China has just over 500 million internet users, according to eMarketer estimates, QQ has even more accounts than that 587 million as of March 2010. Tencent, a public company, reported $141 million in online advertising revenue in 2009 and $30 million in Q1 2010.
Facebook is growing the most rapidly outside the US. In the US as well as in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and Singapore, Facebook was the No. 1 website based on market share of visits in June 2010, according to Experian Hitwise.
Social Networks are where people are turning to exchange information, ask for recommendations, communicate about virtually anything, and… socialize. Many savvy businesses have joined the conversation and purchased advertising space. Many have not or have and done it wrong.
Does your busdiness know hot to:
- Engage within the various social network websites in a targeted, effective manner?
- Advertise in a cost effective manner?
- Separate personal from business social network pages?
- Create business branded pages in the various SocNet websites?
- Create or apply special apps to fully leverage SocNet traffic?
- Monitor, measure, analyze SocNet user activities?
If you struggle to understand, utilize, or measure SocNet results, talk to an Internet Marketing Company to develope a Social Media Strategy and to get training… contact us.
Tags: Digital Marketing, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Optimization, Social Networking, social networks
One thing a business must have is the TRUST of its marketplace. Without TRUST the end is near and nothing can prevent that; not low prices, not useful products nor any other countermeasure.
How does a business lose its trust? You can do your own list, but I know the following types of things would be on it: bad quality; poor customer service; a bad buying experience; denying legit warranty claims; defective products with cover-up; frequent recalls; and shady management among many other things.
It was always hard to establish TRUST and in today’s world, even harder. The public has become cynical and suspicious of our institutions and businesses are no exception.
If you go back over the last 40 years we have a break down of TRUST from the effects of very negative events.
- A President resigned because of a cover-up attempt of an impeachable offense
- Another President was incompetent leading us to 20% interest rates and unemployment
- Another President who told us it depends on what ‘is’ means
- Our government has over-spent us into $14 Trillion of debt and the number is climbing
- Leaders of government and industry have been convicted of fraud and corruption
- There have been questionable wars
- There was the Internet Bubble
- There was the end of the world Y2K that was a non-event
- There was the housing bubble and resulting financial collapse
- Main stream media is widely viewed to be highly biased one way or the other
- We are in the midst one proclaimed crisis after another that often fizzles into a fraction of the predictions blown up to manipulate us: the swine flu, the oil spill, man-made global warming, etc, etc, etc.
So what does this have to do with Internet Marketing?
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social Media is one of the most trustworthy sources of information left in a world of questionable information sources.
Click here to view an article that qualifies the above statement.
Information delivery channels and relationships affect how social media users perceive information and advice. One thing that makes social media marketing powerful is consumers trust in people like them, their friends, family and other online peers.
Businesses need to tap into that trust via the power of what is called “earned media” or by engaging in a conversation with their marketplace. And where social conversations take place has an effect on their perceived trustworthiness as well as who is taking part in them.
A study of frequent social media users by market research firm Invoke Solutions found that the most trusted information was posted between people who knew each other. And blog posts were more likely to be trusted completely than posts from other distribution channels like Facebook and trust drops off from there, but is still relatively high compared to traditional information sources.
So if you want to guard your company’s TRUST factor, you need to pay attention to Social Media. We can help. Contact Us.
Tags: Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, social networks
I came across a humorous article written by a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) specialist. She vented her frustrations with web development firms and clients who ‘don’t know what the don’t know’ about SEO.
I learned long ago that what separates the pretenders from the contenders in Internet Marketing is the knowledge and time required to professionally and effectively execute the various elements of Internet Marketing.
Trust me… No ONE PERSON and very few single organizations knows all that is needed and has the time and resources to execute a holistic Internet Marketing program which by necessity contains some or all of these elements:
- An outstanding website
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Pay-Per-Click ad campaigns (PPC)
- Social Media Optimization (SMO)
- Email Campaigns
- Content Marketing
- Video Publications
- Banner Ad network campaigns
I am fortunate to be part of an Internet Marketing Company with a scalable staff of specialists for all of the above disciplines. My task as project manager is to manage the end customer’s project by engaging and orchestrating the dedicated work of my selected team members.
I can’t image how a customer’s Internet Marketing interests could be served properly by just a “web development firm” as many of them claim to be able to do – often with a one-man-band approach.
A “baseball player” can’t play all positions well or hit for average AND power. A “musician” is proficient at only one or a few instruments at most. A “lawyer” is not skilled at all branches of law. A “doctor” who practices orthopedic medicine you would not want operating on your heart.
You get the idea… a “web developer” is not the ticket for SEO, PPC, SMO, Email, etc, etc, etc.
WSI has the multi-disciplinary experts needed for your web success. Contact Us
Tags: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Marketing
On June 8, 2010 Google announced that Caffeine, its new Web indexing system, is completely implemented. So what you say? What does this have to do with me you ask?
Google claims Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) will have 50% fresher results (i.e. faster indexing consequences from updated content) because of Caffeine. Plus, indexing will be based on the largest, most diverse collection of Web content Google has ever sorted through.
Caffeine allows Google to sort out Web content on a more granular, continuous basis and on an enormous scale. This allows the SERPs’ index to be continually updated instead of every few days or weeks. Google said Caffeine processes hundreds of thousands of Web pages in parallel and if those digital pages were a pile of paper the pile would grow three miles taller every second.
This is good news for users because they will obtain the latest, most relevant information ever available from web searches. But this changes the search optimization game rules for high organic search ranking. Caffeine gives a lot weight to on-website and off-website frequent content updates and related relevant backlinks. This makes it imperative for website owners to regularly refresh website content and to do frequent social media postings and marketing.
Google introduced this hyper-active index system in its quest to improve search results for users. The Web has evolved into a far more complex environment than a couple of years ago. Web users now expect to not just find relevant web pages from their search results, but also things like videos, images, audio files, real-time updates, and user reviews.
Google’s Caffeine index provides users with SERPs that serve up the latest of all of the above. Thus Caffeine rewards page #1 Google listings to fresh Web content from diverse publication sources including websites, Social Media channels, blogs, and WIKIs. Publish (often and everywhere) or perish from page #1 in Google seems to be the message of Caffeine.
The Web remains a fast evolving environment. The business rewards for keeping up with the changes are enormous, but daunting for business owners and managers. The Web is no longer a playing field for amateurs. Find a trusted source for Internet Marketing professionals to manage your Web presence so that you can focus on strategies and your core business activities.
Tags: Digital Marketing, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Social Media
This straight talk, blunt “reader’s digest” blog post is about Internet Marketing for people who prefer short, over-simplified sound bites as their main information source.
- Most websites don’t work because their text, pictures, presentation, and conversion strategy is pathetic. A lot of website content is created on a DIY basis by people who slept through English composition and literature in school and have no marketing/sales training.
- Most websites don’t get significant targeted traffic because there is no effective SEO in place. Many website owners think all you have to do is use a highly competitive keyword as a meta-tag and mention it a couple of times in a web page and you end up on page #1 in Google – not!
- Are you still in the print Yellow Pages? If yes…why? Do you enjoy throwing your money away? Get with the new program and use Google Places (Google Maps) and equivalent and invest your wasted YP budget into SEO or PPC.
- Many businesses miss major opportunities because they refuse to invest in search PPC ads. Or they invest on a DIY basis and waste a lot of money with an ineffective approach. Google wants you to succeed with PPC (Google AdWords), but will take your money either way.
- As a business tool, Social Media works best for B2C companies, but it also works for B2B businesses. But in either case SocNets only works well if you use them correctly – most companies do not. Social is not where you use ad copy as your post content. It is where you go to participate, listen, network, contribute, and link from. And by-the-way, learn how to separate your personal SocNet page from your business page; prospects don’t care about your vacation or that your kid scored a goal at the soccer game.
- Geo and demographically targeted online display ads (AKA banner ads) are a direct (and better) measureable replacement for print ads. But many businesses still devout a lot of money to placing ads in print media where they have no clue if it is doing any good or not – chances are it is not.
- Email campaigns are still the lowest cost, most effective way to reach a targeted audience. The key is your email address list. Most businesses aren’t disciplined about creating an email address list; are bewildered about how to get a list; or undervalue their list if they have one. And don’t get me started about ineffective email message content – same problem as with item #1 above.
Internet Marketing has high business value if done right and you understand the new normal in advertising. But if you cling to spending your ad budget in traditional media channels while viewing the Internet as a game for amateurs where DIY is good enough, then do yourself a favor and get a professional Internet Marketing consultant – he will pay for himself. Otherwise just donate your ad budget to a worthy cause where it will do some good.
Tags: Digital Marketing, Internet Marketing
Wikipedia describes Social Media as:
Social Media is a term used to describe the type of media that is based on conversation and interaction between people online. Where media means digital words, sounds, and pictures which are typically shared via the Internet and the value can be cultural, societal, conversational, financial, or business oriented.
Social Media are media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social Media uses web-based technologies to transform and broadcast monologues into social media dialogues. They support the democratization of knowledge and information and transform people from content consumers to content producers.
The term Social Media has evolved from the terms “Web 2.0″ and “User Generated Content (UGC)”. Social Media became the populist term because it involves people socailizing online. But the key to it all is public generated content. For that reason, it seems to me that the correct name for it is Public Media.
Until Social (AKA Public) Media came along, information publication was controlled by a relatively few, but very large media companies. Companies used traditional media publication sources to broadcast their messages (AKA commercials). Whoever could afford air time or print publications spoke and the public listened. There was no practical way for the public to mass respond to broadcast news and ads.
With the evolution of Public Media (AKA Social) the public now has a mass publication method and the flow of information has become open to all. Companies now have to listen, not just talk.
I read that Amazon has been credited to be one of the first websites to tap into Social Media for business use. Amazon in the late 90′s added customer reviews of purchased products to their eCommerce function in the form of forum postings on the Amazon website.
From there social spread to other eCommerce websites and eventually to the mega sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc, etc, etc.
The invention of the large social sites has transformed mass communication. the public now has a broadcast method for their voice. Socail Media has moved past being just a place to socialize. Social Media is now a full fledged source of public information exchange.
I vote for renaming Social Media to Public Media. What do you think?
Tags: Social Media, Social Media Marketing
Change happens. Here is a video about the last ad agency in the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERGrSQoY5fs&feature=player_embedded
You really, really, really need to get on board with Social Media Marketing.
Need information?
Follow the WSI webinar series about Social Media. The next webinar is on May 27 – register via the below link:
Surf or Turf through Search and Social (a WSI Webinar), Thursday, May 27, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CDT – Join a WSI Search Marketing Strategist for a special webinar presentation entitled “Surf and Turf through Search and Social”. This dynamic presentation will broaden your understanding of how search marketing and social media impacts a person’s decision to either “surf” through your site or “turf” it from the get-go. Make plans to attend this webinar, where a WSI expert speaker will reveal key tactics that you can implement into your online marketing strategy to skyrocket your results.
Click here to register!
Archived Webinars: Video Marketing, Facebook and LinkedIn (Note: Video starts about 1 minute into audio.)
Tags: Social Media, Social Media Marketing, social networks
What is the #1 barrier to a successful Social Media Marketing Business Strategy?
According to a survey conducted by MarketingSherpa, lack of knowledge is the number one barrier to social media adoption. This means many organizations that try to play in the social media realm are at the risk of creating an atmosphere that can backfire on their marketing strategy if they are not knowledgeable.
You might or might not understand that starting a conversation online is important – but listening to what users are saying is not something that should be overlooked. The first thing to know is that Social media is not one of those ‘set it and forget it’ strategies. You need to monitor, listen to, and participate in what users are saying about your brand, product or service. There is a self defense aspect to Social Media if you start things or not.
The challenge for most organizations is finding the time to respond to threads, comments, and tweets. The more social networks you are on, the more resources are required for tracking the activity in those channels. A lot of organizations fear opening a channel of conversation also calls for opening a can of worms for users to post their frustrations, complaints, and bad experiences. Sometimes, but that is going on if you are participating or not.
What most organizations fail to realize is if they do not start the conversation on a positive note in the first place, where they do have control over what is being said, that is not going to stop anyone from creating that Facebook Group, or YouTube Channel, or blog that focuses on the negative experience with your brand.
For example, there are many Social Media pages, like in Facebook, that are dedicated to users who hate Microsoft. There are over 50,000 websites, 5500 blogs, 200 Facebook groups, 500 videos online, and dozens of tweets on Twitter hourly that have some reference to ‘Microsoft Sucks’. In the case of Microsoft, they have a large enough installed base of more or less satisfied clients who are tolerant to the nuances of Microsoft products so Microsoft can survive such banter. Even so, Microsoft watches this dialogue carefully and conducts counter measures.
Most small to medium sized businesses do not have to worry at such a large scale about brand protection, but remember even 1 website, 1 video, 1 Facebook page or 1 tweet can be enough to do some serious brand damage for a small business. By proactively participating in and monitoring Social Media channels even small businesses can protect their reputation and build brand loyalty.
The key is finding the right Social Media mix – tro get started, find out where your customers hang out online. Social Media might be the question that is being discussed at meetings in your organization, but it is not always the answer. You need to look at what the objective of the campaign is, what you consider a success, and then determine if Social Media is a mechanism that is going to help fulfill that plan.
Social Media should not be a replacement for a marketing strategy you are implementing, but should be part of the mix of activities you are executing.
- Your Internet Marketing System including a website
- Pay Per Click
- Email Marketing
- Banner Ads
- Social Media
- Search Engine Optimization
Forward thinking, contemporary companies have already started and feel that Social Media is an important aspect to their business strategy. So whether it is a large portion or small percentage of your overall campaign, success comes with testing, measuring and analyzing results.
Conclusion -
So where do businesses start? Should they create a page on LinkedIn or MySpace? Should they start a blog or start a Twitter campaign? To answer these questions, it is important to understand that different social networks attract different types of people – so you need to match the users of your product and service to the network your target audience is most likely to engage in.
For example, if you are selling consumer goods, Facebook might be the better area to start promoting opposed to LinkedIn, which is a more B2B environment. We can consult and help put the pieces of the Social Media puzzle together and recommend a plan that is right for your business. Social Media can be fun, drive a lot of targeted traffic, increase visibility, and generate more business, but without the knowledge and experience of executing the campaign, your social strategy is going to turn, well… very unsocial.
Get the advice and consult with experts.
Tags: Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, social networks
Don’t Believe These 5 Social Media Myths
There is a lot of information floating online that rants about everything from how great social media is to how much of a waste of time it is. Below is a list of common misconceptions around this topic that I often encounter when educating businesses about social media.
1. Sites like Twitter and Facebook are for Kids -
Fear: Businesses have a difficult time grasping the concept that the same network their children use to gossip to their friends about the party they went to over the weekend is the same channel that is going to connect businesses with their customers.
Fact: Yes, it is true that there are a lot of teenagers and college students that are on social networking sites. However the fastest growing demographics on Facebook are those 35 years and older (Facebook). On Twitter, 45 to 54 year olds make up the highest indexing age group (eMetrics) and Internet users between the ages of 35-54 now account for 40.6% of MySpace visitors (comScore). So, social media is not just for kids, but a way for organizations to reach out and connect with the right people to grow their business.
2. Building Online Relationships is a Waste of Time -
Fear: There is no point of networking with people you are never going to meet. It is simply a waste of time as it will not drive me any more business.
Fact: This is far from true – social media has opened the doors where it is possible to network with your customers, clients, prospects at ease. Not all of them are going to turn into customers, but that does not mean you cannot collect valuable feedback on your product or service. In addition, building your online fan base is another way for you to promote your products and services and help keep people informed about what is happening in your organization. There is no such thing as time being wasted when it comes to networking with your target audience.
3. You Can Not Measure Social Media -
Fear: It is not possible to measure an ROI on social media.
Fact: The very fact that social media is Internet based means it can be measured. When it comes to measuring social, there are typically different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) businesses look at when determining ROI. For example, the goal of your website may be to measure the number of completed downloads, the number of items added to the shopping cart, or the number of newsletter sign-ups you receive. However, on your social media campaign, you might look at the number of fans that increased over time, the number of comments posted on your channel, the number of discussion threads on your forum, or the number of ratings your video received. All these Key Performance Indicators can be measured and analyzed to determine if the campaign was indeed successful.
There are several tools available that allow you to measure the traffic you receive from social sites and analytic software such as Google Analytics can be used to determine which social sites brought the most conversions for your product / service. So yes, considering all this, social media can be measured.
4. Social Media is Free –
Fear: I can create my own YouTube channel, or LinkedIn page, or Twitter account. There is no cost for me to set up my network on those portals, so why am I being told it is going to cost me money to implement a social media campaign?
Fact: A lot of the technology is free, but simply creating an account on Facebook or registering your product name on Twitter is not a social media campaign. You need to ask yourself:
• How do I increase the number of fans I have on my Facebook page?
• How do I get users to subscribe to my YouTube channel?
• How do I get people to retweet my message to their followers on Twitter?
• How do I get users to subscribe to my blog?
You still need the campaign, the creative, and the drive to get your social media plan working for you.
5. This is Something I Can Probably Do In-House –
Fear: We have employees that use social networking sites on a regular basis, and they are familiar with the technology, so why not use them to grow our business online?
Fact: In most cases, employees are using social media for personal reasons, and use it to connect with their friends, share photos, and find out what’s happening and where. But when it comes to leveraging and monetizing social media for business purposes, it is a completely different ball game. This is where creativity, campaign ideas, and of course experience is key. Organizations need to turn to the experts in this field to help them put that plan in place. There is no pre-defined process for social media. Depending on your target audience and your product or service, the networks you participate in, the message you decide to deliver and the way you deliver it are crucial to the success of the overall campaign.
Contact experts with years of social media business strategy experience.
Tags: Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, social networks
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