Future Of Marketing

Late last year, 60 marketing experts shared their visions of the future of marketing through a “micro-conference” run by Sam Rosen of thoughtlead.  It found it fascinating on several levels.

First the “micro-conference” is a really neat format.  It’s a podcast-type audio event in which each person has only 60-seconds to speak.  Sam initiated the format with The Influencer Project, billed as “the shortest marketing conference ever” and featured thought-leaders on the subject of increasing your online influence.

In just one hour a “micro-conference” gives listeners a broad range of perspectives – it’s a little random, and by design, there isn’t a lot of depth, but nuggets of wisdom emerge throughout.  It’s kind of a buffet for the brain.
Also the types of thought-leaders who participated in the Future of Marketing were interesting.  There weren’t any real surprises in the speaker list – it included the expected experts (e.g., Guy Kawasaki, Charlene Li, Steve Rubel, and more), popular business figures (e.g., Scott Monty, Tony Hsieh, Alex Bogusky, etc.), and the authors everyone has read (e.g., David Meerman Scott, Brian Solis, Chris Brogan, etc.)  No real academics, no one from outside the field of marketing, and no celebrities (although Alex Bogusky might have as many fans — and critics — to qualify for that designation!)
I’d guess the speakers’ average age was around 40 (with Barry Schwartz representing the top end of the scale at 65 and Frank Gruber at the low end at 29).   Only 15 of the 60 speakers were women; only 6 were people of color.  All the speakers were U.S.-based.
I’m reporting these stats not to pass a judgment on who was/wasn’t included, but rather to paint a profile of the type of person who is leading the marketing profession these days.   And that profile — white, American middle-aged male marketing leader with an established platform — was another of the things that fascinated me about the event.

tag cloud of transcript from Future of Marketing

Finally the content itself was fascinating but even more so was the types of topics discussed.  I did a quick classification of the topics mentioned and my tally showed:

25% focused on social (social media, social commerce, social search)

Amber MacArthur talked about “the idea that more and more people are going to different social networks to get recommendations for products and services they buy versus is going to traditional search engines like Google.”

Ekaterina Walter, Social Media Strategist at Intel, declared, “Revolutionary marketing strategies are nonexistent without social media nowadays.”

20% talked about a broader aspect of business beyond marketing

Sonia Simone, Chief Marketing Officer of Copyblogger Media, suggested, “Everything we do is marketing, from our supply chain to what our CEO says over drinks to how our support teams treat our customers.”

Innovation was Virgin America Marketing VP Porter Gale’s point:  “We tried to use the central part of innovation at the core of our DNA.  We looked at the product.  We looked at the guest experience. We looked at all of our marketing channels and made sure that we pushed beyond the traditional landscape and changed the game.  For us it’s plugs at the seats; it’s wi-fi in all of our planes; it’s food on demand; it’s mood lighting; it’s things that guests actually didn’t even realize they needed.”

10% focused on content

Victoria Harres from PR Newswire explained, “The role of the marketer will be to facilitate rich and useful content to that well researched audience. And that is what I mean by the future of marketing isn’t selfish.”

“Focus your marketing on helping other people,” was the advice from Michael Stelzner of socialmediaexaminer.com.  “Everybody wants access to great insight and have great people who can help them, so produce engaging content that meets people’s insatiable demand for how-to information.”

the remaining 31% ranged across a bunch of marketing tactics and approaches — from mobile to shopper marketing to email marketing and more

Here’s the most fascinating part: only 3 made the customer their main point

“The real best companies in the world and best marketers imagine the unrecognized needs of their customers,” declared author Chip Conley.

Chris Brogan encouraged marketers, “…to incorporate [listening] into both your lead development, your awareness, your sales, and your customer service.  Basically do more to understand your customers in a 360-degree way.”

Todd Defren at SHIFT Communications challenged listeners saying, “So many companies and marketers think about taking a content-specific approach where they put ‘creative’ at the forefront of everything.  Really what they should be thinking about in the social media era is putting relationships at the center of everything.”

and only 3 people focused on the brand as the future of marketing

Michael Margolis, President of GetStoried.com, said, “People don’t buy your product or your solution or even your idea.  What they’re buying is the story that’s attached to it, or more importantly, the story they tell themselves about what your brand means to them, which is why you need to give people something to believe in, a bigger story. When your brand stands for something larger than just a widget, a sale, or a transaction, you invite people to find the deeper meaning.”

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh spoke on his resounding theme, saying, “A company’s culture and a company’s brand are really just two sides of the same coin.”

Jeanne Bliss of CustomerBliss.com explained that brand experience is driven by five things:

1. clarity of purpose: redefine your purpose from your customer’s point of view.
2. recognize that employees are the brand in so many interactions.
3. be human and real in your communications.
4. become a talk-able brand by delivering a reliable experience your customers can tell others about.
5. be there on customers’ terms and nurture your humility and your humility muscle in how you say sorry and respond to customer disappointments.

On the one hand, this breakdown is concerning – only a handful of marketing experts put customers or the brand in the center of their vision of the future of marketing, while over half are betting on social or some marketing tactic.  It would seem they’re forgetting the fundamentals of marketing.

But as I try to be open-minded and give these people (many of whom I respect a lot) the benefit of the doubt, I think I may understand their perspective.  Customers and the brand are indeed marketing fundamentals — the core of the discipline — and their importance is timeless.

But perhaps it’s the tools and tactics that are what’s changing. And they are ushering in the new marketing era.

Source : Secondary Research

Google Plus Poll Suggests Many Ready to Jump Ship to Google+

Three online polls conducted by The Christian Post to measure just how well Google Plus has appealed to the internet nation has collected more than 10,700 votes since it opened on July 4.

The first poll inquired voters of their opinion over who would come out victorious in the Social Networking Battle between Facebook and Google+. More than 6,000 people placed their votes and 42.7 percent agreed that Google is on its way to unseat Facebook as king, while 42.6 percent believe that both Facebook and Google+ will co-exist side by side with none eliminating the other.

Only 14.7 percent were convinced of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook remaining unbeaten by Plus.

Other surprising results were reflected in the remaining polls that both tallied about 4,200 votes.

According to the third poll, 38.2 percent have made their final decision to move to Google+ while only 2.3 percent voted pro-Facebook, claiming to remain because “too much was invested in it.” More than a third (36.7 percent) of the voters said they have not been invited to Google+ yet and only 2.8 have have no interest in Google+.

According to this unofficial poll, most users apparently seem to be loyal Google fans and it may suggest that most are ready to migrate and allow Google to serve their networking needs.

Among apparent Google+ users, most chose "+Circles" as the feature they most liked about the debuting networking platform, while for Facebook "the ease it provides to keep up with friends and family" was chosen as the best feature.

As for possible duplication of votes, this unscientific poll blocked identical IP addresses from voting twice.

Most voters came from the U.S., then India, Europe, and finally Australia.

Source : Secondary Research.

Google+ Marketing - Google+ Vs Facebook

The Google+ marketing has been so successful that even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has opened a Google+ account. "Why are people so surprised that I’d have a Google account?" Zuckerberg recently texted to tech blogger Robert Scoble.

Many people are wondering: Will Google+ dethrone Facebook just like Facebook dethroned MySpace?

Here are some reasons why Google+ may have what it takes to overthrow Facebook:

1) +Circles: More Privacy Control :

Instead of Friends' list on Facebook, Google+ groups a user's friends through +Circles. Google+ users have more control about which groups of friends see a photo or status update, which could give Google+ an edge in privacy control.

"This is really important to us. On Google+, you should be in control of who sees your posts," says Kelly Ellis, a Google engineer, on her Google+ page.

Google+ users can drag their friends into social "circles" they create. They are designed to ensure that the information shared within the group remains private. For example, users can designate circles by "Acquaintances," "Co-workers," and "Family."

2) +Hangouts: Group Video Chat For Up to 10 People :

The fact that Facebook currently has no video chat feature has already cause techies to point out where Google+ is ahead of the social networking game. In Google+, up to 10 people can video chat through +Hangouts.

"Whether it's inside a pub or on a front porch, human beings have always enjoyed hanging out. By combining the casual meetup with live multi-person video, Hangouts lets you stop by when you're free, and spend time with your Circles," Google said.

PCWorld has said the built-in group video chat is a feature that Google+ will give Facebook "serious competition" over. It is rumored by TechCrunch that Facebook will beat back the "Hangout" feature by launching a Skype-powered video chat on Wednesday.

3) +Sparks: Decide Who to Share Topics/News With :

+Sparks "looks for videos and articles it thinks you’ll like, so when you’re free, there’s always something to watch, read, and share." A Google+ user may see a topic or news that they might only want to share with certain Circles in their social network. Through Sparks, interesting topics can be shared with one person, one Circle or every connection on Google+.

Sparks is basically a re-packaging of the news powerhouse Google News into a Facebook-like and Twitter-like layout.

Source: Secondary Research

Marketers should plan Google+ strategy earlier rather than later

Marketers want to know how they can use Google+, the technology giant's latest stab at a social network. Of course, many aren't sure, simply because Google has only made the platform available to a small number of people.

But give Ford Motor Co. credit for preparing its Google+ strategy before the network is even available to the general public. The automaker launched two accounts on Google+ last week, running an image caption contest for followers and promising more interactive features, such as group chats.

Of course, there is a chance that Google+ could quickly go belly up, as did Google Wave. However, Google's leaders are determined to make social media a larger part of the company's business. CEO Larry Page reportedly told employees earlier this year that he will tie the size of employee bonuses to the company's social media success.

Knowing that Google will throw its considerable financial resources at social media should be enough for brands to bet that they should at least experiment with Google+ before its general launch.


Source : Secondary Research

Apple iPhone Changing the ToDaYs World of Marketing

In the world of marketing, there are always a number of changes each and every year that are established to make this job easier. Apple is one prominent company that has truly found what people want. A product that brings everything you need right to the palm of your hand. How impressive is it that a company can find what everyone wants and then delivers it? In a fast pace world that is currently right in the middle of an era of technology, people want that feature. Having a phone that you can not only call people on but you can listen to your favorite music. You can text someone or you can send them an email or write on their Facebook wall. Almost everything you can do from your computer, you can now do with your phone.

What has this done for the world of business and marketing? With applications like Foursquareand sites like Twitter and Facebook, you can access this market so much easier now. The stronger you present yourself in these fields, the more publicity and more of a broader target you can acquire.  Marketing professionals can now find ways to publicize their product and reach out to potential clients by way of their cell phone. You can literally download an application that allows you to see a YouTube clip from an event that you were involved in earlier that day or week.

Innovations in marketing are an interesting research opportunity. It takes a lot of time and work to maintain an idea of what people want and how to get it to them. It also takes time to establish a plan on how to attract the needs of everyone in order to maximize sales and gain profit. Apple has always been coming out with innovations that are not only user-friendly and full of entertainment for that average person, but are professional and tremendous marketing and business tools.

The establishment of the Apple I-phone changed the world for business. You can give your customer the information they’re looking for by practically putting it in their hand. Everyone can access it from a MacBook or an iPhone. The way of reaching your target market has gotten easier and is getting easier every day. Who knows, some day you won’t need a computer, you can just have one on your phone.

Source : Secondary Research

Social Media Revolution ToDaY

Social Media Marketing with You tube

Facebook Marketing ToDaY

Finding a good place to showcase your products, services and websites for free in the online world is a dream for everyone – Facebook has made this a reality. With half a billion Facebook users and thousands of online communities to choose from, Facebook has brought potential customers much closer to you.

It’s no big secret that Facebook can help you in online marketing. However, I know there are many of you who believe that just registering on Facebook is enough… it’s not. Your Facebook success story ends before it even begins!

There is much more to marketing on Facebook than just creating a profile.  Keeping your fans engaged is the key. Don’t be a brand, but be a community they love being a part of. In this article, I’m going to tell you how you can use the medium of Facebook to increase your customer base as well as retain the ones you have!

CREATE YOUR PRESENCE ON FACEBOOK

1.   Facebook Profile: By creating a profile for yourself or your business, you are establishing your identity. This will take you a long way in developing relationships with fellow users and in positioning your business. You profile lets you interact with people on a personal note, more so if it’s a local business. Here are some aspects of a profile page:

o    Profile Picture: Always put your best foot forward, which means use the most flattering picture as your profile picture. No matter what they say, a book is judged by its cover. I came across M.A.C makeup’s profile and thought it was really catchy with the colors used on the face. Hundreds of indifferent people with little time to spare are going to decide whether to add you based on your picture. So, make sure you get this one right!

o    Add Friends: After creating a profile, don’t wait for things to happen. Add new friends every day and the word will spread that you’re on Facebook. Before you know it, you’ll be starting your day by accepting friend requests! However, make sure you don’t add more than 25 – 30 people a day as excessive adding can get your profile removed from Facebook.

o    Wall: This is your main platform to interact with Facebook users. Post messages on your wall and also comment on members’ activities, though, only when relevant. A cafe once commented on my status when it was something about food. And there! A personal connection was built in a second! I knew that I was going to visit this place more often. However, make sure you don’t spam people every other day or they may remove you from their friend list.

o    Photo Albums and Videos: Photos and videos are a great way to showcase the latest collection of your product. I know many people who love to see what goes on behind the scene during a photo shoot or while a baker does his magic in the kitchen. Moreover, the first thing most Facebook users check are photo updates. So take that camera and start shooting!

2.   Fan Pages: Facebook Pages, known as Fan Pages, are designed for businesses, brands, companies, products and celebrities. It enables public figures, organizations and other entities to create an authentic and public presence on Facebook. You can encourage users to become fans of your page and share information with them by uploading pictures, videos, status updates, hosting discussions and displaying wall posts. Unlike Facebook Profiles, Pages are visible to everyone on the internet and are generally better for long-term relationships with your fans, readers or customers.

3.   Groups: Facebook Groups allow people to come together around a common cause or activity to express their views. One of the best features of groups is the ability to send messages directly to members’ Facebook inboxes.  It’s a great way to form a community and help your brand image.
Nowadays, it’s almost a necessity for movies to establish their presence on Facebook during its post-release period as Facebook users look for movies here. The good thing here is that you can send bulk invites to your friends, while it is manually done on Pages.  Groups are generally better for hosting quick active discussions and attracting attention.

4.   Events: Simply put, Facebook Events can help you connect with your target audience and invite them for your events, even if they aren’t on your friend list or one of your fans. Events can be created individually or even from Profiles, Pages. What I like is that Facebook gives you a choice between making the event Public and Private.
Let me explain the difference. I got an invite from Alanis Morissette Unplugged Acoustic Performance for a show next month, though I’m not a ‘friend’ or a ‘fan’. This is an open invitation for a public event where anyone can access the page and RSVP to it. However, if you want to maintain an exclusive guest list, choose the ‘Private’ option and the event page won’t be visible to anyone except those you choose. If you’re planning a launch or celebrating a landmark event, the ‘Private’ option lets you selectively invite people and give details on a page that can’t be accessed by anyone else.

The Next Step: HOW TO USE FACEBOOK FOR ONLINE MARKETING

Social Media Marketing is still in its infancy. I consider this as an advantage because there are not many set rules, you can try & experiment with different methods & techniques. However, if you don’t want to experiment, here are some tried and tested methods that will ensure success:

5.   Be Unique and Keep Updating: There’s nothing more boring than bland Facebook pages. Add lots of personality andfun to your profile. If possible, try to create applications just for your page. Offer something different so that they keep coming back, instead of letting them wait for updates from you. If you checkDell’s Facebook page, you’ll see that it keeps updating its status and gives new information on their products and about technology.

6.  Use a Big Profile Picture: Who says size doesn’t matter? Using a big profile picture is one of the best ways to brand your Facebook page. Facebook allows images of up to 200pix wide x 600pix high to be used as profile images Pages. This way, you stand out in a crowd.  Check out Bob Marley or Johnny Depp’s page on Facebook and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

7.   Tag Fans in Photos: You can tag your fans in pictures of new collections, or even ask them to tag themselves as a part of a game or contest. Musician Lenny Kravitz uploaded pictures of his concert in Italy in 2009 and asked everyone to tag themselves. This gave him good publicity as the update on being tagged appeared on the fans’ walls.

8.   Exclusive Landing Page for Users: Use different pages to target different sets of people. Take new users to a page that encourages them to ‘Like’ you or to a page they would find interesting enough to keep coming back. Members/fans can be directed to the wall or a game page that might interest them. Red Bull’s profile page is designed in a way that users are given a hint to ‘Like’ the page, while fans are taken directly to the Wall. You can get innovative in designing landing pages and targeting different people.

9.   Reward Loyal Supporters: Encourage loyal supporters to join yourPage and reward them. Tabs or badges like ‘member of the month’ that can be placed on their profiles for visibility can be awarded to them. A happy customer on Facebook can get you lots of attention.  Remind users to Like and Share information about you. When their friends see the updates on the News Feed, it’s highly likely for them to do the same.

10.   Use Contests and Polls: Holding contests encourage fans to interact directly with you. Domino’s ‘Show Us Your Pizza’ is a contest where people can send pictures of Domino’s pizzas they’ve orders. The best picture will be chosen by Domino’s and the photographer gets a prize of $500 and a chance to get his picture featured in an ad. This has received a lot of attention from Facebook users.

11.   Actively Participate Outside Your Page: Find other Facebook pages related to your industry or topic using Facebook Search & start actively commenting on their posts & updates. This is a great way to build relationships in your industry and even adds credibility to your business. If you’re willing to offer free advice on communities and discussions, it will encourage people to check your website out.

12.   Integrate Facebook Social Plugins to Your Site: When I go to CNN’s website, I can see what stories my friends have ‘Liked’, or what movies my friends ‘Recommend’ on IMDB. The Like button on your site enables users to share pages from your site back to their Facebook profile and the Recommendation button gives users of your site personalized suggestions for pages that they like. There are many more buttons like LikeBox, Comments, Live Stream etc that you can add to your website. With this, you can see for yourself what your target likes and design your product/service accordingly.

You can also integrate Facebook Connect Plugin in your blog which will enable Facebook users to leave comments on your blog without registering. The comment they make will be put up on their wall instantly which will be visible to all their friends. So, you effectively get a lot of exposure without doing much!

13.   Marketplace: With Facebook Marketplace, you can buy and sell anything using the listing service. The Marketplace application page displays all the most recent listings in your networks. The difference between normal listings and the Marketplace is that you don’t see another boring list of business, but they show up as the site’s own updates. For example, a sales listing would show up in news feeds as “John is selling Abstract Art.” In this case, John can be a ‘friend’ of your or even a friend’s friend. You can find out what people want, what they are offering and also how you are connected to these people on Facebook. This is what the page looks like:

14.   Don’t Just Write for an Audience of Teenagers: It’s time we free ourselves of this misconception. Facebook isn’t filled with youngsters. Though Facebook has many youngsters who belong to the age group 16 to 25, we see an increase in the number of people from other age groups who use Facebook regularly. According to Pingdom, 61% of Facebook users are over 35 years old. In fact, the 26 – 34 age group rivals the 18 – 25 age group in both the US and the UK. So, make sure communicate to your target the right way.

Source: Secondary Research

Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2011

Here are the predictions for the top three social media marketing trends for 2011:

Positive- Visionary brands will realize that social is not only about the new medium, but also about new and more meaningful messages. So, instead of trying to spread inside-out brand-first positioning messages, they will search for an outside-in community-first “social heartbeat” that connects the brand values with the passions shared by the community members. Expect to see a few more strategic integrated influencer marketing programs like Pepsi Refresh Project, but not (yet) in Asia.

Negative- Companies will realize that they can’t be social outside and anti-social inside (quote from Gautam Ghosh) and experiment with enterprise collaboration platforms, even in the emerging Asian markets like India and China. However, companies will struggle to organize and energize their employees to act as evangelists, because the right tools are not enough, without the right culture.

Social media marketing will become more commercial, as brands chase the illusion of scale with paid social advertising, paid co-branded contests on niche communities, and paid influencer endorsements. Social media marketing in China is almost 100% commercial. Social media marketing in North America, Europe and India is bound to become more commercial, as brands try to scale engagement, and influencers try to monetize influence. Just like China led the virtual goods business model on social networks, it will lead the paid influencer endorsement business model on blogs and micro-blogs.

Share your coments below..!!

Source: Secondary Research

Youtube trends for 2011 – New Year Capabilities

As the final update from YouTube, they have introduced a number of innovative plans and aspects to assist you share and find out big video content on YouTube. They have as well obtained recommendation and guidelines on how to do well as a marketer, advertiser, content publisher plus video maker on YouTube. Every one knows that Youtube submitters are increasing day by day, there are extra than two-thousand You Tubers who uploaded videos about sports to “Play of the Year” competing to create it onto Sports Center of ESPN. Later than intimately analyzing thousands of entrances, they would like to pat on the back of the victor of newest YouTube, ESPN your update offered by AT&T and Jay Fleming of Nashville. Currently, in every minute with thirty-five hours of video is uploading to YouTube, maintaining it up may be confronted. You can enjoy a lot of newest local videos in your place through the excellent feature of “YouTube Trends”, and observe how to keep on best of the hottest well-liked videos and content largely on YouTube. Indeed, this is the great feature of YouTube with the starting of New Year. So, I think you would not like to wait more to get enjoy with this great “YouTube Trends”. In fact, YouTube has been functioning to build it more simple and effortless to modify your YouTube practice, in this way you can mutually find out and divide huge content. Here are some new year YouTube capabilities mentioned below which can prove beneficial for you tubers and its submitters.

1. Now you can change your YouTube homepage as you desire. Choose in to use improvement for example, recommended and suggested videos supported on your screening history, what your contacts are able to, a lone rest to see the entire videos you have pledged to and additional.

2. You can also deliver a private video greeting. Youtube has built it more easy plus graceful for buddies and family units to keep connected throughout video greetings. So, use the “Unlisted” characteristic to divide videos with an exact URL hence merely those populace you would like to sight a video will watch it.

3. You may modify your private video greeting employing backdrop themes and extra chimes and screeches. You can rapidly build unique videos by various video templates as of 3rd party tools from Xtranormal, Stupeflix and Animoto.

There is a challenge created by Ted and YouTube named “Ads worth Spreading” and you are requested to post an entry. Ted’s task is to increase commendable thoughts around the globe. According to the YouTube, publicity must build you imagine, react and would like to share that is it a great thought or not, a creation that create the globe improved or a plan that might modify the globe. Therefore, generate an ad that builds dissimilarity.

Source: Secondary Research

Twitter as Marketing Tool

Twitter is a tool for "micro-blogging" or posting very short updates, comments or thoughts.  In fact, since Twitter was designed to be very compatible with mobile phones through text messages, each update is limited to 140 characters.  Truly, a micro-blog.  Another way to think of Twitter is like a cross between instant messaging (IM) and a chat room, because it is an open forum, but you restrict it to the people with which you connect.
I have to admit I have not always been sold on Twitter.  At first I did not get it at all.  Then I thought I understood it, but thought it was stupid and useless.  Then I used it a bit more and got some more followers and followed a few more people.  Now I think it has some value, especially as a marketing and PR tool.

Ideas for How to Use Twitter for Marketing & PR

1.                Engage your CEO in social media.  Social media is a great way to have a conversation with your market and make and mange connections with prospects, customers, bloggers and other influencers.  But for a CEO, the typical routes to social media can be hard.  Especially if you are a larger or global company.  A CEO typically has little time to write a blog or answer lots of messages and friend requests on Facebook.  I cannot tell you how many CEO blogs I have seen with only 1 or 2 posts because the CEO never had time to update the blog after the first couple entries.  But, Twitter is limited to 140 characters per update, so it is all about short thoughts and comments.  If your CEO can send a text message, they can use Twitter from anywhere in the world as a marketing and PR tool.  Twitter is actually perfect for CEO or founder who is always on the road meeting with people and who has some interesting opinions on your market.

2.                Keep in touch with bloggers / media.  It is really easy to follow someone on Twitter (see below). And you'll be surprised how often they decide to follow you as well.  In fact, I have lots of people I consider "famous" in the marketing and PR worlds following me.  In my opinion, this is a way easier way to connect with influential people in the media than calling and emailing them.

3.                Monitor your company / brand on Twitter.  A while back we noticed that Guy Kawasaki mentioned Website Grader on Twitter.  Well, of course we had to let him know a bit more about Website Grader and maybe ask if he would also blog about it?  The result was this blog article on Website Grader which drove a good amount of traffic and leads.  (See below for a cool tip on how to easily monitor people talking about your company on Twitter.)

4.                Announce specials, deals or sales.  If you are a retailer or anyone who often has special offers, you can use Twitter to announce these deals instantly to a large audience.  You know those commercials from Southwest Airlines about that "Ding" application you could download and would then alert you about specials on flights?  Well, Twitter can be used as a kind of free version of that.  Dell and Woot have done just this type of marketing, with a lot of success.

5.                Live updates on events or conferences.  If you participate in a large trade show or run your own corporate event, you can use Twitter to announce last minute changes, cool events that are happening ("Just announced, David Meerman Scott book signing in the exhibit hall until 11am") and more.  It is a great last minute marketing tool.

6.                Promote blog articles, webinars, interesting news and more.  Its really easy to post a link to something in Twitter, and I often post links to blog articles on this blog, or other news articles relevant to HubSpot.  A good idea is to post articles on other websites that are relevant to your business, like a customer success story or other PR coverage.  If you have other content that is appealing to your audience like a free webinar, post links to those too.

Source: Secondary Research

SEO Marketing ToDay

In the Internet, SEO marketing is the way to go if you want your business to be seen and noticed. There is such a thing as a SEO marketing specialist who aids clients and website owners in their quest to have bigger sales and more traffic to the site. 

The Aim of SEO Marketing: 
SEO marketing has mainly one aim and that is to bring traffic to a certain  site. Traffic is seen as prospective buyers and clients of the site owner. Therefore, traffic is a much needed "commodity". Many Internet users visit sites that they have been redirected to or sites that have been presented by search engine results, and they get hooked on these sites. In other words, some users do not specifically seek out that particular site but they might have been led to it by it being in the top ten high ranking sites presented after a search engine query. 

Now you see how important getting high ranking is during searches. Sites that rank in the top ten are most likely visited by more users than those that are ranked lower. Many users do not bother to look for more sites if they find what they are looking for in the first few sites presented in a search. This is why many sites employ search engine optimization methods to encourage higher ranking and to achieve successful SEO marketing. 

The Value of SEO Marketing: 
The value of SEO marketing is that people who work to market your site know what they are doing and may be objective about what your site requires. By hiring and working with a SEO marketing expert is also a way of fully understanding how the search engines work and what is needed to meet the requirements of being in the top ten pages of a search engine. 

SEO Marketing Tools and Strategies: 
There are many ways of getting your site in front of many Internet users. These strategies are all included in search engine optimization and website optimization. Most sites are optimized to suit the requirements of search engines. Many search engines index and catalog sites in accordance to the data and information that the site owners have submitted and the data and information that the search engine crawlers have gathered from the web site. The way that the data and information is presented in the site is important and so is the submissions that are given to the search engines. It is the role of the SEO marketing expert to be able to fully recognize the right data and information to supply for the site and submit to the search engines. SEO marketing companies are hiring, at an unprecedented pace, SEO marketing consultants to accommodate the increasing demand for quality SEO marketing experts that can handle search engine optimization and SEO marketing for various sites

Among the many SEO marketing tools that can propel a site to the first page of a search engine result is content. Content that is relevant to the site is what sites need to make it stand out from others that have irrelevant content and improper web design. This is the importance of keyword or key phrases that are integrated ion to the article used for the site. These articles carry the information that robotic crawlers need in order to properly index a site according to what it contains and what it can offer to users. The relevance factor holds true when link building. One way inbound links from relevant sites are extremely relevant.

SEO marketing strategies also include designing the web site in such a way as to make it easier to use and for the texts and images to load quickly. It is important for the web site to be quick loading in order to hold the attention of the users. Sites that take too long to load or have large images that hinder quick access to the texts will most likely be abandoned by the users in favor for a much faster site. Part of SEO marketing is to meet the demands and needs of the people by providing a web site that has relevance and the information that the users need. 

The problem with SEO marketing is that there is a fine line of distinction between black hat and white hat methodologies. Some SEO experts employ underhand methods to gain high ranking for their clients’ sites. Many overzealous SEO experts might integrate a few well placed codes and hidden texts that could raise the ranking of a certain web site. Human users will not be able to see these codes and text but the spiders and crawlers used by the search engines to help index a site will be able to read these and gather these as relevant information regarding the site. The results of these actions will lead to the site being banned from the search engine and the SEO company might be included with this. It is best to practice white hat methods of SEO marketing to have long lasting results.


Source: Secondary Research

Internet Marketing ToDaY

The start of the new year is the perfect time to fully review your online marketing strategy, especially considering the fact that trends in search engine optimization change throughout the year. From the rise of social marketing to advances in technology and new applications, everything about internet marketing is changing. Get ahead of the game by considering some of the trends experts say will explode in 2011. 

1.               Digital Footprints – over the past few years, you business has likely developed a significant digital footprint, with no help from you. From your website and blogs to customer reviews, your company already has a digital face. 2011 is the year to develop a strategy that allows you to control that image. Find ways to control the information that is presented by including reviews on your site, utilizing social media and reconsidering your position on forums.

2.                Mobile Marketing – While it is true that 2010 saw an increase in the use of mobile technology, 2010 is expected to top that. Savvy marketers will take advantage of this trend by increasing their use of mobile applications like Twitter.

3.                Social Media – The past 18 months has seen astonishing growth in the development and use of the Social Media.  2011 will see an increase in the use of social media for marketing purposes. If you are not currently using sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as part of your marketing campaign, this year is the time to start.

4.                Geomarketing – More and more, marketers are turning to geo-targeting as a basis for at least part of their Internet marketing campaign. 2010 campaigns should include targeted efforts to include local searches. Get linked into Yowza!!, Google latitude and Loopt to take advantage of this trend.  There is abundantly clear evidence that Google is working hard at improving and developing local search technology; this merits your attention!

5.                Video Blogs – Video blogs (Vlogs) are a natural progression from text based media. Tools like YouTube have quickly made video blogging accessible to everyone. The iPhone has made it possible to view video blogs anywhere. Forward thinking marketers will remember that some experts believe that over 78% of internet users view videos and will include a video blog in their marketing plan.

6.                Customers Count – 2010 saw an increase in the importance customers placed on peer reviews of products and services. It is expected that that will increase in 2011. In fact, several applications like Google’s Sidewiki are dedicated to this trend. Effective campaigns will recognize this fact and find innovative ways to get positive reviews from customers and integrate them into marketing campaigns.

7.                Bing – Bing was released in June of 2010 by Microsoft and quickly began to expand its market share. It is vital that marketers consider what is unique about Bing and find ways to tap into their market share

2011 is sure to see a rise in popularity of some of the marketing entrants we have seen introduced over the last few years. Successful Internet Marketing Campaigns will integrate many of these new factors into their master online strategy.  We at Optimum7 continue to say that what we are doing today is significantly different than what we were doing online just 12 months ago.  We expect to continue to say this year after year.

Source: Secondary Research