April 17th, 2012 | digital marketing |
A recent study rom SMB DigitalScape indicates just 19.5 percent of SMB websites have a link to a Facebook page, and even fewer have links to Twitter and LinkedIn.
“SMBs worldwide are falling behind consumers in the digital commerce arena,” said The Kelsey Group’s Neal Polachek. “There’s a tremendous opportunity for SMB aggregators and resellers to bridge this gap, but it will require strategic commitment and solid execution.”
Developed by vSplash, SMB DigitalScape has analyzed more than 1 million SMB websites around the world in 14 countries, including more than 700,000 in the U.S. BIA/Kelsey and vSplash recently announced a strategic partnership for the distribution of SMB DigitalScape data in the United States.
BIA/Kelsey and vSplash previously released the following findings from SMB DigitalScape:
- Six out of 10 SMB websites in the U.S. are missing either a local or toll-free telephone number on the home page to contact the business.
- 74.7 percent of SMB websites lack an email link on their home page for consumers to contact the business.
- 65.7 percent of SMB websites lack a form-fill option to enable consumers to request information.
- 93.3 percent of SMB websites are not mobile compatible and will not render successfully on mobile devices or smartphones.
What does this all mean for those in the ad industry? It means you had better ratchet up for social media/business offerings and target the SMB space.
From Steve Hall
December 28th, 2011 | digital marketing |
Credit: Mashable
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2018, more than 1.2 million new science, technology, engineering and math-related jobs will open up. This will have far reaching effects on the digital media industry. Professionals must keep up with the latest developments to stay relevant. So as you reevaluate your career path, here are five key predictions for how you should focus your career strategy in 2012.
1. Know Your Devices & Know the Trends
It’s all about the consumerization of tech. We’re moving “beyond the PC” as The Economist recently put it, and this will have a far-reaching impact. The enterprise (Blackberry, Windows) once drove tech usage and innovation. Now, how we use our mobile devices begins outside the office. This puts pressure on business to catch up by implementing social platforms for interpersonal communication, along with modified tablets and app stores for the workplace. So you’ve got to get digitally literate quickly. Ask yourself: What device does your family use? How are you communicating with your friends? This is especially crucial in 2012, as we’ll see digital connectivity penetrate into the deepest reaches of our personal lives, from our workout routines to our cars. As you see how these devices hit critical mass, you can think strategically and begin to predict which platforms and technologies will dominate. Picking the winner will allow you to jump ahead of your competition.
2. Go Deep Into Content
The digital age is a great democratizing opportunity: Anyone can broadcast his or her creations to the world. But this has also led to great chaos as professionals struggle to cut through the amateur din. So you will need to use the emotive link of storytelling to grab attention and build a trusted relationship. Learn to tell a powerful story — emphasizing narrative tension through a beginning, middle and end — and translate it into a digital asset through multimedia skills in video, photography, audio and animation. It’s a popular belief that every organization is a now a media organization, meaning that every employee — or potential new hire — needs to master the creation of these media, cheaply and often in-house. In 2012, it’ll be all about immersion — a way to capture the imagination of distracted individuals who need to be convinced that your ideas are worthwhile. The “Any Screen” era is upon us. Consider apps, games, 3D, and transmedia (a cohesive storyline that is segmented and distributed on a multiplicity of platforms) as you try to transport your audiences into a deeper media experience.
3. “Social Networks” Transcend Facebook and Twitter
Airlines, health organizations, museums and entertainment companies are hiring many people in the digital media space — Social Media Marketer, Digital Media Manager, Mobile Manager, Learning Technologies Specialist and Social Games Strategist are a few sample job titles. The names of these positions acknowledge that the people who hold them need expertise in creating, curating and mastering media as way to engage customers, patients and users.
Those who hold these positions possess a literacy in social media platforms and strategies. Rather than getting caught up in the arms race of the latest attention-grabbing technique on Facebook, you need to instead develop a deeper understanding of how these social networks are formed, and how they work. Technology is just the enabler. Fundamentally, social media is all about human interaction. So in 2012, even as you keep experimenting with those online platforms, you’ll develop skills in network analysis (how do you determine the true influencers in a group?), and maybe even revisit Psychology 101 (what motivates human beings?). Ultimately, successful engagement is less about the “what” people are doing on social networks, and more about why they’re there, and how they’re interacting with each other.
4. Go Deep into Data and Learn How to Ask the Right Questions
If there’s one truth about the pervasiveness of digital media in our lives, it’s that our online behavior is producing increasingly massive amounts of data. But few of us know how to glean the right insights from it. The New York Times recently lamented this “digital talent gap” and concluded that “new hires are needed for a variety of tasks, including writing code, creating digital advertisements, website development and statistical analysis.”
In that case, you’ll have to get comfortable with numbers and critical analysis. The smart use of massive date is massively important. Sure, there are tons of plug-and-play analytics tools out there, but you’ve got to get comfortable with research yourself. Learn to ask the right questions and draw informed conclusions from the data at hand. In the comical science fiction book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the supercomputer Deep Thought spent 7.5 million years pondering “The Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything?” It responded with a nonsensical “42.” In short, you won’t get the right answer if you don’t know how to ask the right question.
5. Behave Like a Media Entrepreneur, Innovator, Connector and Creator
Digital and social media are turning the professional world upside down. Fortune 100 companies, such as Ford, have merged their advertising and public relations divisions into a single entity. Professionals need to wear multiple hats to remain relevant and employable. So as you survey the media landscape, appreciate how to manage risk like an entrepreneur as you continue to experiment with innovative technologies and platforms. Your primary objective will be to take advantage of these emerging channels smartly with influencers and users, through the creation and syndication of compelling stories. By doing so, you’ll give these individuals all the motivation they need to engage with you.
July 15th, 2011 | digital marketing |
78% of Internet users conduct product research online.
Your website stands a good chance of being a prospect’s “first impression.” That also means your new business card isn’t a business card—it’s Google.
In the past year, Web-based email usage dropped a staggering 59% among 12-17 year olds, who prefer to communicate via text, instant messaging, and social networks.
Web-based email usage has been on the decline among ALL Internet users under the age of 55.
78% of business people use their mobile device to check email.
So that means pretty much everybody that can check email on a mobile device, does. Is your email newsletter optimized for mobile devices?
40% of US smartphone owners compare prices on their mobile device while in-store, shopping for an item.
Is your business website optimized for mobile devices? If not, you may be missing out on hundreds of sales opportunities.
200 Million Americans have registered on the FTC’s “Do Not Call” list.
That’s 2/3 of the country’s citizens.
91% of email users have unsubscribed from a company email they previously opted-in to.
We’re getting savvier with technology and less patient with unwanted solicitations. And it’s just so easy to hit ‘delete’.
84% of 25-34 year-olds have left a favorite website because of intrusive or irrelevant advertising.
57% of businesses have acquired a customer through their company blog.
Finally, some good news! Blogging is good. Intrusive ads are bad.
41% of B2B companies and 67% of B2C companies have acquired a customer through Facebook.
Facebook is useful for B2B AND B2C companies.
The number of marketers who say Facebook is “critical” or “important” to their business has increased 83% in just 2 years.
Companies that blog get 55% more web traffic.
The more you blog, the more pages Google has to index, and the more inbound links you’re likely to have. The more pages and inbound links you have, the higher you rank on search engines like Google—thus the greater amount of traffic to your website. Blogging is good.
Inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional, outbound marketing.
The average outbound lead costs $373. The average inbound lead costs $143.
Orginally posted by Marta Kagan
August 18th, 2010 | digital marketing |
Whenever I discuss digital marketing with potential clients I always ask the question, “What sort of offline marketing are you doing?” I ask this because it gives me a gauge of what direction the conversation will take. A lot of people assume that if you just do digital marketing you’ll see significant changes and you can scrap offline marketing all together. This only happens as an exception, not the norm.
There’s no doubt about it, we live in a digital world. Game consoles are wireless, mobile phones are becoming mini computers, laptops are becoming smaller & lighter (hello iPad), and EVERYBODY is on some sort of email list. Having said that, we need to understand that we still watch TV, we still read books & magazines. We still drive or ride in cars, listen to the radio, look at outdoor advertising, and actually walk into buildings. The ratio of online/offline interaction may vary but we co-exist in both worlds.
Digital marketing at this point is the hot topic button of business meetings. Everybody wants to be on You Tube, Twitter, and Facebook. It’s great that people want to finally incorporate these digital tools into the marketing plan but they have to understand that radio, TV, and print still have a role in how successful their efforts will be.
One of my projects, The Mixtape Comedy Show (Full disclosure: I’m a partner), recently saw the success of how a strategic online and offline marketing plan can impact a brand. Ever since we created the Facebook page, we’ve increased fans at the rate of 15% per month. We only marketed ourselves online through Twitter, You Tube, and email marketing. In March of 2010, we incorporated two syndicated radio interviews into our mix and saw our fan page grow by 46%! That’s three times the rate of previous growth. All we did was have Anthony, one of our co-hosts, mention the show and the Facebook page several times during the interviews. The dramatic increase was a direct correlation to these two radio interviews.
To really be successful utilizing digital tools you have to make sure the offline efforts coincide with what you’re doing online. What good does creating a Facebook page, that offers discounts or information, do for the brand when people don’t even know you have a page? Sure you can advertise online and suggest the page to friends but think about how much more these tactics would help if you actually promoted the page within your store? Took out a print, radio, or TV ad? The ad should always mention the page, its address and why people should visit your page. You will see significant results immediately.
If you’re a brand, you spend a lot of time talking to potential fans/clients. You can mention your website or fan page in any conversation when discussing your business. You have a captive audience whether they are reading an article, listening to an interview, or watching a performance. They are listening to what you have to say. Online you can still reach that audience but odds are they have other banners, emails, IMs, & other push notifications to distract them. Your competition for their attention becomes that much greater.
Give your audience a reason to visit you online. Give them a sense of purpose, even if it’s as small as clicking the “like” button. Once they come to your website or page it’s up to you on how you want to continue captivating them.
July 1st, 2010 | digital marketing |
The practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution channels to reach consumers in a timely, relevant, personal and cost-effective manner. (per Wikipedia)
Such a loaded question. One could sit down and write a book about the complexity and vast number of layers that cover the amazing range of answers. In fact many people have, ranging from inbound marketing, integrated marketing, mobile marketing, search engine optimization (SEO)/search engine marketing (SEM), and the most popular one, social media.
Digital marketing has been around for years. Basically ever since cable networks were born. Ever since cell phones came into existence and grew exponentially with the creation of the internet. Only recently has it become the first thing out of executives’ mouths in their weekly marketing meetings. I remember a few years ago working for an entertainment company when the head of our digital marketing department was brushed aside in our meetings by the president. The meetings were never about what our goals will be five years from now, let alone 5 months from now! They were always about what is going on right now. They never saw what hit them, the explosion of web tools that allowed people to skirt the system and share content was like a body blow to the industry. The kind of blow that leaves your opponent dazed and out of breath. To some companies/industries, these blows keep coming as they refuse to change their stance. These companies will continue to flail, downsize to keep their inflated salaries, and eventually be surpassed by the companies who adapt. Don’t be the company that refuses to change with the times. Educate yourself and your employees. Change up the meetings, make them more creative and progressive. Pay attention to what your consumers want. The more you fight with them, the more they’ll look for a better alternative. Embrace digital marketing, this is the future. It won’t replace traditional marketing but it will continue to grow and be the best indicator or listening tool for businesses. Do you really think that brands know what their consumers want from airing a commercial on TV or the radio? Or do they get more info from a SMS campaign, a tweet, or even a post on facebook? Think about it…
