Four Creative Link Building Tactics - Whiteboard Friday
Written on September 2, 2010 by admin
Filed Under: Object, book, marketing, seo
Posted by Aaron Wheeler
Posts Tagged people
Facebook Fans and Brands: Not a Two-Way Street
Written on August 31, 2010 by admin
”70% of consumers who “FANNED” a brand on Facebook didn’t feel they’d given this company permission to market to them.”
This comes from a 2009 ExactTarget study that was revisited in their latest installment of Subscribers, Fans & Followers. The study says that most users saw “Liking” (as it’s now called) a brand on Facebook as a way to express their personal endorsement. An almost equal number of respondents (40%) said they “like” a brand in order to get discounts and promotions. 36% said they were looking for freebies.
Put the two thoughts together and you get a selfish bunch of Facebookers who want the goodies without having to listen to the pitch in return. This in itself isn’t surprising, as most people wouldn’t willingly sign up to receive daily advertisements if there weren’t a reward in it. But Facebook isn’t like an ad you see on TV or in a magazine. Facebook is about people and connections and developing a relationship – in other words, becoming friends. Friends accept chain emails from friends, they buy candy bars to support their friend’s little league team and they tolerate the invites to the home business sales party. The harsh reality is, that even though 2,000 people have expressed their love for your product by “liking” your fan page on Facebook, they’re not your friends. That means they don’t want you to come over uninvited.
So how do you get invited?
You have to get your brand to sound more like a person. The report states that the major reason people log on to Facebook is to connect with other people. So give them a reason to connect. Some brands do this by setting up charity efforts and competitions. Something as simple as asking fans to come up with a new flavor of ice cream will get people talking.
People also come to Facebook to have fun. Statistics show that 69% of users check in on the weekends and this is prime time for sharing links. 65% say they log on before or after work or school. If your social media person is working only from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, chances are you’re not making the most of your Facebook page. Engage Facebook users with late night games and quirky videos on a Saturday afternoon.
Who’s doing it right? ExactTarget says Oreo is one of the top players and a quick trip to their Facebook page will show you why. The first thing you’ll see is their Fan of the Week widget which directly includes their fans as part of their marketing. They also have games you play, a Pandora link for music, and even their updates are fun and quirky. This recent one liner: ‘Not all Oreo cookies are great swimmers. Who’s had an Oreo sink to the bottom of their milk?” has more than 3,000 comments. It’s deceptively simple.
If you want to learn how to turn Facebook fans into friends, check out the full report from ExactTarget then start thinking about new ways to engage and entertain the visitors to your Facebook page.
Read the original post:
Facebook Fans and Brands: Not a Two-Way Street
Tags: a-link-for ,a-new-flavor ,advice ,before-or-after ,book ,cloud-hosting ,facebook ,home ,marketing ,people ,personal ,research ,social ,words
E-Commerce SEO: Making Product Pages into Great Content - Whiteboard Friday
Written on August 26, 2010 by admin
Filed Under: Object, book, marketing, seo
Posted by Danny Dover
Behavioral Targeting: Publishers Love It, Targets Not So Much
Written on August 23, 2010 by admin
Filed Under: Advertising, book, marketing
Let’s take a look at what is being said here just from the headline. The advertising community with its publishers and advertisers loves the idea of being able to target ads more directly to users with the right ‘profiles’ for products. That makes sense. A survey reported on by emarketer from DM2PRO and AudienceScience conducted recently shows just how much publishers love it.
Here’s the rub. The people being targeted really don’t like the idea of giving up what is needed to be targeted. In other words, people don’t like having a lot of data collected about them. Take a look at the numbers below that say that nearly ¾ of those surveyed have concerns about too much data being collected on theme.
So if publishers are excited about something but the people that they must have in order to make this happen don’t really like what is required to take part, you would suspect that something’s gotta give right?
I don’t have a crystal ball about how this will all shake out but I have some suspicions. Based on the past arrogance and general “We’ll do what we want” attitude of the advertising industry, I think that advertisers will do a Facebook. In other words, they will push every limit to see just where (or even if) people will really push back to the point of hurting their efforts. They’ll take slaps on the wrist from the press and even the government because those are worth the upside potential of the revenue.
This cat and mouse game will keep going until publishers and advertisers do something so over the top and stupid that everyone will want to crash down on them in a huge way.
What might be the best way for this to play out, if there were even a shred of long term thinking left in business, would be to give visitors more say in what they allow publishers to collect. In essence publishers would then get the ‘long tail’ of advertising targets. Sure there would be smaller numbers but there would be better conversions which would allow everyone to charge a premium because the shotgun advertising approach gets more accurate and thus more valuable.
Guess what though? That won’t happen. People are too myopic (read: focused on short term needs) to pay attention to detail. Since they have been trained to look at larger numbers in advertising as the most important metric, they will be hesitant to jump into something that may cost as much but reach fewer (albeit much more qualified or willing) targets.
Either way this chasm between the publishers’ desires and the reality of the consumer will end in a worse way than it should. Why? Because in order for it to end well, reason would need to prevail and that is in short supply these days. I’m just sayin’…….
See more here:
Behavioral Targeting: Publishers Love It, Targets Not So Much
Answering Hard SEO Questions - Whiteboard Friday
Written on August 19, 2010 by admin
Filed Under: Object, book, marketing, seo
Posted by Danny Dover
They Got Dibs! Make Your Audience Your A-Girl
Written on August 16, 2010 by admin
Filed Under: marketing, searchengineguide, seo
by Stoney deGeyter
I remember the first day back at my sophomore year of college. It was the weekend before classes began, and the new students were moving into the dorms. There were cars and trucks all parked out along the street with students unloading furniture, bedding, clothes, and everything else a growing college kid needs to survive in the almost-real world.
I remember this day vividly because a bunch of us guys were scouting out the hot chicks, generously helping the new batch of coeds unload and unpack. Later that afternoon, when it was only us guys within ear shot, a buddy of mine claimed, “I got dibs on the red head.” I remember thinking, “Whatever, dude!” Nonetheless, everyone knew Jon had claimed Shannon and she was hands off until he said otherwise.
It wasn’t long before Jon and Shannon started dating, and a few years later they married and are still happily married today.
You Aren’t Special If You’re Last In Line
Dibs are a great thing. It makes us feel special. Like calling “shotgun” to get the front passenger seat, dibs allows us to lay claim to something we otherwise may not have been entitled to: the last piece of pizza, the larger bed, the first shower before all the hot water is gone, and the hot red head that needs a nice, strong college man to help her move into her dorm.
Unfortunately, too many business owners let “dibs” on their website go to everyone else, except those that matter most: the target audience. All too often site design and content is developed for the boss, or the marketing team, or even the search engines. But the audience–the people who the site is supposedly intended for–get left out. They don’t get dibs, they get whatever is left over.
Does that seem right to you?
Your audience is your “A” Girl
I knew someone once who had a philosophy on his women. You could have an A-Girl, B-Girl, and C-Girl. A-Girl could in no way know about B- or C-Girl. B-Girl could know about A-Girl, but couldn’t know about C-Girl. C-Girl could know about both A- and B-Girl.
Don’t laugh, this is true.
This was obviously his way of attempting to build a playground in a minefield. I’m not sure how that worked out for him, but it will work as a good analogy here.
Your audience absolutely must be your A-Girl. Your content must be for her. Your visual presentation must be for her. Your site architecture and usability must be for her. And she doesn’t need to know about your B- and C-Girls… the search engines, or that guy that pays all the bills and has really strong opinions.
What you write, how you write, and the overall presentation you put together on your website shouldn’t be based on the boss’ opinions or what we think the search engines want. Those don’t have to be totally disregarded, but your audience, your A-Girl, comes first. She’s the one that matters. And if she catches a whiff that the site isn’t for her, she’ll be out the door and onto the next site in a matter of minutes.
Keywords are important, and as I noted a few weeks back, your content isn’t good content unless it’s optimized. This is very true, because optimizing for your audience is the same as optimizing for the search engines. The problem is when C-Girl becomes too prominent, A-Girl is sure to notice.
Building a perfect relationship
Your keywords should be present, but not obvious. They should be a part of your relationship with A-Girl, but not overbearing. If you suddenly start giving your girlfriend gifts, she may suspect you’re covering for something else. Same is true here. If you add too many keywords to your pages, they become overpowering. A-Girl isn’t dumb.
Keep your content persuasive. Just because someone knows you love them doesn’t mean you don’t ever have to tell them. Your content should tell your audience what you want them to do. Do you want them to purchase? Download? Learn more? Add to cart? Failure to have calls to action throughout your content will lead to a stagnant relationship. The audience won’t know what you want them to do next and, sooner or later, they will wander off.
Overall, you need to maintain value in your content. If you’re just adding text for the sake of B-Girl or C-Girl, A-Girl will realize that there is nothing there for her. You have to keep your audience engaged. You do this by writing content that helps them learn, grow, improve, understand, etc. A relationship that does not help each side to grow is a dying relationship. If your audience isn’t getting anything new, just the same content they found on every other site, they’ll soon grow bored with you.
Your A-Girl needs dibs. She needs to be the first priority on your website. Sure, you can build a site that pleases the higher-ups, and can write content that is optimized for search engine placement, but your audience must come first. She’s too important for anything less.
This post was inspired from The Princess Bride themed presentation I gave in early 2010 at SEMpdx’s Searchfest titled Inconceivable Content: The Dread Pirate Robert’s Guide to Creating Swashbuckling Content, Pillaging the Search Engines, and Commandeering a Treasure Trove of Conversions. If you enjoyed this post you also might enjoy other posts inspired from the same. Search for “inconceivable content” on this blog to find them all.
Be sure and visit our small business news site.
Read more from the original source:
They Got Dibs! Make Your Audience Your A-Girl
WOMM: Let Your Employees Do the Talking
Written on August 13, 2010 by admin
When it comes to word of mouth marketing, GasPedal says there are three talkers you may have overlooked. One of them you see everyday when you head in to work. It’s your receptionist, your mail-room guy, even your secretary and it doesn’t matter if they work for the marketing department, they are the perfect brand advocates.
Employees are often the last people we think of when it comes to marketing but who else has a bigger stake in wanting to see a company do well? Take your receptionist. She probably has 500 Facebook friends and her own fan-following on her blog. Why not offer her some free samples to spread around? Make her an affiliate so she can earn a kick-back on sales or give her her own discount code to share with friends and family.
Another excellent resource is what GasPedal calls “the dreamers.” These are the people who only wish they had what you’re selling. They’re fans and they’ll happily talk about it without any reward, so just imagine how far they’d go for a company perk.
TV networks and movie studios have slowly come around to understanding this marketing channel. Where they used to hit fans with cease and desist orders, they now offer all-expense paid trips to the set of their favorite shows. A fan who has just come home from a set visit can be counted on to give an enthusiastic report to a tightly targeted audience, all of whom wish they were her.
The courting of mommy bloggers also falls into this category as corporations give away expensive products and free trips in return for some good press. A recent article in Variety stated, “Fox execs see mommy bloggers as the most fertile marketing demo to come along since comicbook geeks.”
Ready to start building your own WOM army? After you’re done recruiting in your office, check Twitter search and online forums for fans who are already excited about your brand, then make them an offer they can’t refuse.
See original here:
WOMM: Let Your Employees Do the Talking
Tags: a-set-visit ,already-excited ,book ,cloud-computing ,facebook ,marketing ,office ,people ,secretary ,social
We Trust the Blog But Not the Twitter
Written on August 12, 2010 by admin
When it comes to trust online, it’s no surprise that people prefer the blogs of their friends, but according to a recent report on eMarketer, they’re a little suspicious of their friends’ Facebook streams, and when it comes to Twitter, fugetaboutit!
The study, which was conducted by Invoke, says that only 12% of the people surveyed completely trusted a friend’s Twitter stream, while more than double that number said they completely trusted a friend’s blog post. The numbers get even more dismal when it comes to brand blogs and brands on Facebook.
15% of the respondents in the survey even went so far as to say they distrust brand blogs somewhat. The really surprising result is that only 8% of the people said they completely trusted comments by fellow members of the same community.
What it adds up to is that we’re a mighty suspicious lifeform and that’s kind of sad. When it came to blog and Facebook posts by friends, the most chosen choice was “Trust Somewhat.” Somewhat? I know the old adage of ‘don’t believe everything you read,’ but do that many people really believe that their friends are up to no good? I suppose it comes down to the definition of trust. Maybe it’s not so much that we’re being lied to as we don’t trust Suzy’s taste in movies, so her recommendations are not to be believed. Then there’s your friend who always says he saw a famous person at the bar last night. TwitPics or it didn’t happen, buddy.
So if people can’t even trust their friends, what chance does a marketer have when hawking the benefits of his latest product?
37% of those surveyed said they’d be more trusting if the arena was open to both positive and negative comments. They also said that the quality of the content and the responsiveness of the author went a long way to solidifying the validity of any claims.
The number of fans, followers or participants was the least important factor which proves that those auto-Twitter Follow programs aren’t doing you any favors.
Looks like the only way to get around folks these days is with quality content and customer service. Oh, and telling the truth on a regular basis doesn’t hurt either.
Read the rest here:
We Trust the Blog But Not the Twitter
Twitter Users Like to Spread it Around
Written on August 9, 2010 by admin
Filed Under: marketing
What happens on Twitter doesn’t stay on Twitter. That’s the word from a new report by Exact Target (Thanks to eMarketer for the tip.)
According to the research, Twitter users are:
They also are more likely to write articles for third-party sites, post videos, contribute to wiki’s and a whopping 70% are commenting on other people’s blogs.
Because of this need to spread it around, people who don’t use Twitter are still getting your 165 character message. Joan sees a freebie deal on Twitter, she writes about it on her blog and a coupon site picks it up from there and shares it with their members. Within minutes, 1000′s of people who aren’t following your Twitter are now reading your message. California wildfires don’t spread this fast.
So how does this translate into marketing success? Freebies and deals are always hot items, but recipes, how-to articles, tip sheets, even jokes and trivia that relate to your product or service can get you noticed. To quote Bonnie Raitt, just “give them something to talk about.”
Read the rest here:
Twitter Users Like to Spread it Around
Cup of Joe: I Hate Good Ideas
Written on August 7, 2010 by admin
Filed Under: marketing
I hate good ideas!
Seriously they are so overrated! Everyone has the better mouse trap. Everyone thinks they can solve the world’s problems if they only had the chance. Good ideas are everywhere and the vast majority of them are completely pointless.
Take string theory for example. Here’s a very interesting idea in physics that attempts to bridge the gap between Albert Einsteins work, and the work of today’s modern physicist. The problem though is that you can’t test string theory. So, it may hold all the answers to our universe but we have absolutely no idea how to confirm it.
As entrepreneurs we are approached on a daily basis with new ideas. Some of them come from our own imagination and others from talks with others. It never ceases to amaze me how many times a seemingly good idea ends up going nowhere.
So what makes a good idea pointless? The follow through. Or better yet, the lack of follow through. Now don’t get me wrong I am not talking about an individual’s lack of motivation or drive. I am talking about the complete lack of logistical wherewithal.
A few days ago an old friend of mine emailed me with a good idea of his own. One that in his words could make us very rich. To a great extent, he was right, it was a great idea. But the conversation quickly ended when I asked him, “So how are we going to build this thing?”
If you can’t deliver on the follow through then your good idea is pointless. As a web application developer, I spend a majority of my time taking other people’s good ideas and making them a reality. I go from concept to execution and all the steps in between.
For me, the follow through is the only thing that matters. Without it, my client’s good ideas remain a figment of their imagination.
Many entrepreneurs learn this lesson the hard way. They end up wasting precious time and resources on a good idea that they just cant seem to make a reality.
My best advice to folks that want to start a new business, is to forget the good ideas and begin with the follow through. For example, if you spent the last 5 years working in a pizzeria, then use the knowledge that you have learned to make the best damn pizza anyone has ever tasted. After you have done that, start experimenting with different toppings and sauces. Make your creation uniquely your own.
Before long the good idea that is going to make you rich is staring you in the face. Its all because you started with the follow through. Which means now your success is just a matter of continuing what you have been doing all along.
Don’t start with a good idea. Good ideas are pointless and a waste of time. Start with the follow through and discover your good idea along the way!
Read the original:
Cup of Joe: I Hate Good Ideas
Tags: a-along-the ,a-daily-basis ,a-great-extent ,a-new-business ,follow ,general ,good ,marketing ,people ,time
