When two hundred journalists got together recently for an un-conference on the future of journalism, it was hardly surprising that …
Groupon Train is Worth a Small Business Ride This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Groupon is a fascinating study in the fusion of online and offline marketing tactics to drive local business. Couponing sites have come and gone over the years, but Groupon’s connection to social media is turning it into a bit of a movement. A typical Groupon offer. Click to enlarge the image. Here’s the basic idea: People sign-up to receive a once daily offer from local merchants. It’s one offer only, in one of the 29 or so cities (more soon) that have Groupon groups. But, the offer does not kick in until a set number of people jump on board. The offer also involves a buy in. In other words, a typical offer might look like the one in the image here – “Spend $12 to get $25″ from a local pizza place. People who want the deal have to spend $12 to get it. Watching people react to the daily offer is where you can witness the brilliance of this play. Because someone really wants that 1/2 off massage and can’t get it until the set number of people buy, they get very active online pushing the offer out for the participating merchant. ( Learn how Groupon works here ) Groupon allows businesses to find new customers online, but then drives them to that local place of business offline. Once they show us, they are already a customer and the business have yet to spend a dime to get them there. Hum, pretty cool. Groupon groupies are nuts about this tool and you should just sign up for the Groupons, but small businesses of all kinds should take a look at this lead and customer generation tool. If you’re in a business like pizza or dry cleaning, one that offers coupons anyway, this is a great way to get even more exposure. If you’re in a business that just needs new customers, Groupon might be a big hit. It’s not unusual for Groupon offers to have hundreds of people buy in. Groupon collects the money and sends the business a check. The business then just goes about honoring the Groupons as they show up. ( Learn how to get your business on Groupon here ) I’ve used Groupons on several occasions and in all cases it led to me a business I had never done business with before. Get creative and take a good, hard look at Groupon. Related Posts: Weekend Favs January Nine A Local Phone Number in Another Country Start Offline, Move Online Increase List Sign-ups 327% with Testing Direct Response Directory Ads Like this post? Share it with others
Time after time, when I discuss the search and social media based opportunities for companies to reach new customers and achieve other online communications goals, it comes down to content. Most companies understand the need to have a web presence and publish some kind of web site. For many, the creation of a web site is a one time event with minimal updates. Marketing budgets are tight and companies are frugal. For the most part, updates and new content on many web sites are limited to news, an occasional press release or product announcement. Site owners are happy with the design and employees are happy they don’t need to come up with new content. IT staff do whatever they can to minimize site maintenance (which often means shortcuts or templatization that makes page level editing difficult). Essentially, this kind of web site with static content is a tombstone when it comes to being a search marketing asset. When suggesting the need for new content, many web site owners either cringe at the idea, imagining resource issues, or they pay lip service and make a commitment that turns out to be a fraction of what the web marketing agency has in mind. The importance of shifting from a dead end web site to becoming a content publisher (and promoter) is critical for any company that has customers and competitors active online. When a company marketer says this, “We don’t have anything new to publish.” it’s pretty much a death sentence for the web site. Businesses that are actually involved with meeting the needs of their customers, that take the time to learn pain points and solutions, that innovate, that participate in their industry or community, have plenty of reasons and content to publish. It’s an important mind shift, which is why I used the stark title, Content or Die. If the people responsible for the success of a company web site don’t have the resources or skills to make the shift from tombstone web site to active content marketing, the options are: hire people (internal or outside consultant) that can champion, implement and manage the change or get existing staff educated on to do so. Or things could remain as they are. Traffic dwindling, inquiries drying up and desperation. When presented with a reasonable argument, most business web site owners will agree that content creation and promotion makes sense. The more useful web pages that are published, the more there is for others to link to them and to show up in relevant search results. This can easily be demonstrated by showing how the competition is dominating the search results. Additionally, more search traffic means more data to analyze in terms of conversion optimization and the creation of new content to meet customer needs as they move through the site and into the sales pipeline. These benefits are not realized over night. It takes a commitment, a plan, education and a bit of faith. The question is, “How bad does it have to get for a company to change?”. I challenge companies that are seeing declines in their organic search based traffic to re-evaluate their web marketing strategy. Where does content creation AND promotion fit? Are you SURE the content you’re creating is achieving the maximum possible effect? How much content is enough? How will you manage content? How will you promote it? How will you plan the editorial of content to be as efficient and productive as possible? Are you measuring customer interactions with your content ON and OFF the site? What feedback mechanisms are in place for your content creators to know what’s working and what’s not? How can multiple departments responsible for creating content work together? How can you make the corporate approval process more productive and less like a stranglehold on your content publishing plans? How are you measuring up to competitor content strategies? What content strategy is reasonable given current resources but IMPACTFUL enough to give you a competitive edge? I also challenge companies that are starting new web sites to take a fresh look at the content component of their web marketing strategy. Don’t make your fancy, flashy web site a tombstone for search marketing. Assess the landscape in your topical category and identify what kind of content structures, topics and audiences make the most sense for your own editorial plans. What will distinguish you from the competition? What are the most cost effective, yet high impact investments you can make to reach content marketing goals? What technologies will help your content creation, management and promotion yield the best possible results? How has your company and web site have addressed these challenges? Is your company a tombstone web site? What objections are keeping you from making these changes?
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Kodak, Jeffrey Hayzlett, is ubiquitous and seemingly knows everyone. Well, on Twitter. He’s always tweeting about where he is and what he’s doing, and he’s become a fixture at something called the …
Discounts on services. Did you know you can also contact your service providers to discuss billing issues, or getting a discounted rate? Comcast is a great example of customer service via social media (in this case Twitter) done right. …
In July 2009, experts predicted that advertising on Facebook would surpass MySpace by 2011. What represents a tectonic shift in social media spend is now anticipated in twenty-ten (2010). A new report published by eMarketer, “ Social Network Ad Spending: 2010 Outlook ” documents the major shifts in social network advertising spending that emerged in 2009 and will ultimately unfold in 2010. eMarketer observes that Facebook is becoming the premier destination for marketers in the U.S. as well as many worldwide markets. At 350 million users, its momentum appears unstoppable. In 2009, marketers funneled an estimated $2.2 billion to advertise on social networks worldwide, with $1.2 billion spent in the U.S. In 2010, Facebook will account for nearly 25% of all social network ad spending worldwide, up 20% over 2009. 2010 also represents the year that Facebook officially surpasses MySpace in ad revenues. eMarketer predicts that Facebook will earn $605 million versus $385 on MySpace. The shift represents a significant loss to MySpace, dropping 23% in U.S. ad revenue in just one year while Facebook jumps 34% in the U.S. and 65% worldwide. “As more marketers incorporate social networks in their business, they will no longer look at them as siloed destinations. Instead, they will look to increase the impact of their social network presence by linking it to other marketing initiatives, both online and offline,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report. eMarketer predicts that U.S. online social network ad spending will increase 3.9% over 2009 and will grow 7.1% in 2010 and 7.7% in 2011. As social media becomes ubiquitous in marketing over the next year, I anticipate 2011 numbers to increase significantly. These increases come at a time when total U.S. online ad spending is falling and thus represent a greater share of online spend. Advertising, however, represents only one facet of an overall integrated marketing program. Engagement is something funded by “sweat equity,” dedication, and a genuine desire to help someone do something they couldn’t do before they met or heard from you. According to Williamson, “When companies budget for social media marketing in 2010 and beyond, a substantial portion of their expenses will go toward creating and maintaining a fan page, managing promotions or public relations outreach within a social network, and measuring the impact of a social network presence on brand health and sales.” As eMarketer documents, 2010 will be the year that social network advertising intersects with other forms of social marketing, including earned media. Earned media is just that, it’s earned. It is the result of strategic community cultivation and the investment of time, resources, and expertise in a network of passionate brand beacons and empowered advocates. While earned media is usually advertising-free, otherwise it’s then referred to as sponsored conversations (paid, not earned), budgets still must cover time, energy, and the people who lead community-focused programs across multiple social networks. Sponsored conversations are also expected to rise in 2010. Josh Bernoff at Forrester Research wrote a thoughtful post in March 2009 that offered guidance on how businesses can introduce paid media into the overall social mix. Together, earned and paid media are far more effective when the programs are humanized. The difference between social network advertising and marketing and traditional online campaigns are the ecosystems where engagement is fostered. Social networks are “social” and therefore respect and empathy are the minimum antes necessary to potentially earn attention, a precious commodity in Social Media. Without a genuine intent to offer value, trust is elusive. It’s the difference between shouting “at” people and speaking “with” someone. Before you’re a marketer or advertiser, you’re a consumer. Bring that perspective to the marketing table… Connect with Brian Solis : Twitter , LinkedIn , Tumblr , Plaxo , or Facebook — Get the new iPhone app! — Click the image below to buy the book/poster : — Image Source: Shutterstock (edited)
With normal communications channels upset, social media has played a key part in news from Haiti – particularly at CNN. By Mercedes Bunz.
