Companies today have a virtual smörgåsbord of options when it comes to marketing their products and services online. Lack of expertise, numerous tactical options, pressure for sales in a down economy and the tendency to chase shiny objects cause many online marketing efforts to be fragmented. I really doubt that a significant waste of effort and disconnect with customers is part of any company’s online marketing strategy. But it’s happening. A lot.
Archive for the ‘Trends’ Category
Fragmented Marketing Helps No One
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010Are Good Domains Still Important To Marketing?
Thursday, May 13th, 2010For as long as most marketers can remember, getting a good domain name was a prerequisite to anything you were going to do on the web. Without a good domain name, no one would be able to find your site, or recall your campaign to get them to visit your page. Domain names were worth paying thousands of dollars for, or even potentially changing the name of your business to something that you could actually get the domain name for. (more…)
Broadening Your Perspective Of Social Media Marketing
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010I recently called for businesses to broaden their perspective of Social Media from an experimental stage of acting and reacting, to one of learning and leading through intelligence, participation, and also publishing. Creating social profiles and broadcasting tweets and status updates is elementary, whereas creating a meaningful presence through the development and dissemination of remarkable content is judicious.
Increasing The Chances Of Creating A Viral Marketing Video
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010One of the best ways to spread a message is through a video which goes viral. While this is a very well known fact, it is one of those things that are easier said than done. What is it that makes a video go viral? Why it is that one video spreads like wildfire, while another gets less than 100 views? The answers to these questions are not easy to find. However, there are things that can be done to help increase the chances of creating a viral video.
1) Provide unique content: Many people see a video that goes viral and then turn around and produce something similar. While this may work on occasion, videos with unique content have a better chance of going viral.
2) Producing a well made product: Every once in a while a video that obviously took little effort or planning gets big. However, by taking the time to make sure a product is well made is the better way to go more often than not.
3) Make it relevant: Many very well made videos have been put out that never got noticed. The reason for this is that they lacked relevant SEO friendly content to a large number of people. When making an attempt to go viral, try to keep the product relevant to as many people as possible.
4) Funny is okay with everyone: While it is difficult to do right, humor will definitely help cause a video to go viral.
5) Entertain, don’t sell: While the reason for a video may be to spread the message about a particular product or service, try to keep the messages entertaining.
6) Keep it short: Internet users tend to prefer media that is short and simple. While a longer video works when people want in depth information, almost all viral videos are under five minutes in length.
7) Promote, promote, promote: By using social media sites such as FaceBook and Twitter a videos chances of going viral increases. Also, if possible, try and get a couple of widely read SEO clogs to post the video.
Make the message obvious: Most people attempt to create a viral video in order to spread a message. Make sure that message is easy to see. Whether trying to drive traffic to a website or raising awareness about a political issue, making sure people understand the message is vital.
While there is never any guarantee that a video will successfully go viral, by following the above tips, the chances are increased.
How To Use Viral Marketing Successfully
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010In September 2008 at Web 2.0 Expo in New York, I shared something that many, to this day, believe to the contrary, “There is no such thing as viral marketing.”
The declaration was empathetic in its direction to those marketers who have been on the receiving end of directives instructing them to create and unleash viral content. In parallel, the statement was aimed at those decision makers who assign such projects.
Marketing Your Brand By Becoming Your Media
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010One of the greatest challenges I encounter today is not the willingness of a brand to engage, but its ability to create. When blueprinting social architecture and the engineering that connects people to other people strategically, enthusiasm and support typically derail when examining the resources and the commitment required to rhythmically produce, distribute, and support content.
Indeed, we are programming the social web around our brand hub and as such, we’re required to capture attention and also hold it through the introduction of engaging dialogue, interaction, and the introduction of relevant information packaged and published as social objects.
Measuring The Impact Of Real-Time Search Results
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010I just read an interesting post over at Search Engine Land by Greg Sterling. He gives some information about a study recently done that measured the impact of real-time search results in Google. (For the uninitiated, “real-time search” is the ability of Google and other search engines to return content in the search results that might be mere minutes old, such as newly-minted blog entries, Facebook status updates, and tweets, rather than returning only the traditional Web pages and other content that might have been published far earlier than the search being performed.)
Challenging Your Marketing Team To Succeed
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010Recently, I wrote about the need to identify our Internet marketing personalities to help adapt to the fact that we’re always stuck trying something new in this business.
How Facebook And Twitter Are Shaping Enterprise Marketing
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010Social Media marketing is rapidly earning a role in the integrated marketing mix of small and enterprise businesses and as such, it’s transforming every division from the inside out. What starts with one champion in any given division, be it customer service, marketing, public relations, advertising, interactive, et al, eventually inspires an entire organization to socialize. What starts with one, a domino effect usually ensues toppling each department, gaining momentum, and triggering a sense of urgency through its path. And, it also marks the beginning of our journey through the ten stages of social media integration.
Deciding Which Enterprise Marketing Platform To Adopt
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009Here are several excerpts from an article by Kris Tufto, President and CEO of Marketing Bridge, Tips for Selecting the Right Enterprise Marketing Platform. Be sure to check out the complete source article for much more on this topic.
The urgency to meet the timely needs of a company’s sales reps, resellers, franchises, and others revenue producers is even more pronounced now in a down economy: