Wellness Obsession

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?

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)

For some time I've pointed out the need for the Cisco groups responsible for enterprise collaboration (including unified communications, mobile, WebEx, etc.) to be better aligned with the more consumer-centric, social media-focused EOS group(s). Case in point - below - study released from one side of the house that seems to be disconnected from the broader collaboration message. Eos was not mentioned at the Cisco Collaboration Summit and suddenly it is at the center of a social media social networking storyline that has consumer and enterprise implications. Should be easy to fix ... repeat: "should be" ... I've pointed this out for some time now. That said, this theme aligns perfectly with a recent report (see below) Alice Wang and I authored on social media and social networking that addressed similar issues (e.g., need for governance, decision framework, closer involvement from IT organizations due to issues such as identity and security). Global Study Reveals Proliferation of Consumer-Based Social Networking Throughout the Enterprise and a Growing Need for Governance and IT Involvement Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today released the results of a third-party global study designed to assess how organizations use consumer social networking tools to collaborate externally, revealing the need for stronger governance and IT involvement. The research is the first of a two-part series that Cisco has commissioned to explore the impact of social networking and collaboration applications in the enterprise. The new study is based on extensive interviews with 105 participants representing 97 organizations in 20 countries around the globe. Conducted between April and September 2009, the research was carried out by leading business schools in the United States and Europe: IESE Business School in Spain, E. Philip Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the U.S., and Henley Business School in the United Kingdom. The use of consumer-based social networking tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, as collaboration platforms is connecting organizations with the external world in myriad ways. These tools bring technology and business together through innovative experiences, connect people and information, establish potential new routes to market, and enhance customer intimacy and brand awareness. The study findings indicate that the business world is at the early stages of adopting these tools and in the process of identifying key challenges, such as the need for increased governance and IT involvement, which may impact the integration and adoption of these new platforms and technologies. Global Study Reveals Proliferation of Consumer-Based Social Networking Throughout the Enterprise and a Growing Need for Governance and IT Involvement Cisco Eos - Social Networking Branded Online Social Entertainment Experiences Cisco Eos allows media companies to combine social audience features with their high-value, branded content to deliver a higher-value, interactive entertainment experience today's consumers expect. Eos delivers a social entertainment experience where consumers can interact with others around their favorite entertainment content in an environment defined, branded, and monetized by the media owner. Eos enables: Greater online brand visibility and website traffic Deeper audience engagement New revenue opportunities Eos Social Networking Features Over 40 pre-built modules are available to include in each website experience, allowing deeper, more personal consumer connections. Modules include: User profiles Forums and message boards Blogs Content sharing (including YouTube uploads) Commenting and rating Activity feeds and alerts Branded video players Cisco Eos - Social Networking Burton Group Clients Only: Many believe that the main purpose of social media is to improve brand awareness and corporate communications. The result is that marketing groups typically own social media initiatives. Although this approach may suffice initially, as strategies become more comprehensive, the complexity of dealing with different solution providers, and a diverse collection of application scenarios, introduces technology-related issues that marketing teams may inadvertently overlook. IT organizations should have a more prominent role in social media programs to help business management address tactical and long-term implications of governance, social computing, identity, security, and risk management. Social Media’s Cautionary Tale: A Management Overview

Social Media impacts every business, every brand, and in doing so, connects a network of distributed communities of influence, making the world a much smaller place in the process.  Small businesses are in fact at an advantage in Social Media Marketing as they can focus on hyper-local activity that can offer immediate rewards or at the very least, the real-time feedback or lack thereof says everything about next steps. A recent survey conducted by Citibank offers a contrary point of view, citing small business executives who believe social networks offer no benefit or promise to expanding their business. This isn’t all that uncommon however. The truth is that without knowledge or direct experience, it’s virtually impossible to envision the potential of something where they’re most likely absent as a consumer themselves. But, if a conversation takes place online and you’re not there to hear it, did it actually happen? Of course it did…and it continues – with or without you. The “I” in ROI does not stand for ignorance. It does however stand for investment and in cases where new media is “new,” it also stands for intelligence. We’re learning together and that’s both an opportunity and an impediment. We need guidance to better understand the promise and also how to reap its reward. Ad-ology published its “Small Business Marketing Forecast 2010″ report that revealed that among the other benefits of social media, lead generation is the biggest benefit of online networking. Other benefits ranked as follows… Keeping up with the industry Very Beneficial: 16% Somewhat: 29% Not Beneficial: 55% Monitoring what is being said about your business Very Beneficial: 16% Somewhat: 28% Not Beneficial: 55% Generating leads Very Beneficial: 16% Somewhat: 34% Not Beneficial: 50% Competitive intelligence Very Beneficial: 14% Somewhat: 29% Not Beneficial: 57% Improving customer experience Very Beneficial: 12% Somewhat: 29% Not Beneficial: 59% Resolving problems Very Beneficial: 11% Somewhat: 22% Not Beneficial: 67% Finding vendors/suppliers/partners Very Beneficial: 10% Somewhat: 28% Not Beneficial: 62% Recruiting for new employees Very Beneficial: 8% Somewhat: 19% Not Beneficial: 73% Background checks – employees, suppliers, etc. Very Beneficial: 7% Somewhat: 20% Not Beneficial: 72% Among those surveyed, Facebook appeared as the most beneficial social network. Perhaps tied the reverberation of activity across social graphs. LinkedIn, while cited less often, ranked just below Facebook, but ahead of Twitter – for now at least. Facebook Very Beneficial: 10% Somewhat: 23% Not Beneficial: 14% Do not use: 53% LinkedIn Very Beneficial: 6% Somewhat: 15% Not Beneficial: 13% Do not use: 67% MySpace Very Beneficial: 6% Somewhat: 11% Not Beneficial: 15% Do not use: 68% Twitter Very Beneficial: 6% Somewhat: 13% Not Beneficial: 12% Do not use: 69% YouTube Very Beneficial: 5% Somewhat: 10% Not Beneficial: 12% Do not use: 73% The study shows that education and awareness are needed among small businesses to better understand the promises, advantages and the commensurate commitments necessary to generate visibility and ultimately the activity necessary to sustain or at the very least, contribute to a lucrative and growing business. 31 percent of small businesses claimed that their primary hurdle was the perception that “our customers do not use social networks.” Equally, business owners complained that they do not have the time or resources necessary to run an effective social media marketing campaign. Sound familiar? While yes, it’s true, small business owners must focus on the core products, services, and values of their business. However, without visibility, customers do not possess the information necessary to connect the dots between their want or need and you. The Top 10 Ways to Monetize Real-Time Conversations in Social Media No story is complete without providing ideas to move forward and compete for the future. By competing for the future, we also cultivate a flourishing state of “now.” One of the primary advantages of social media for small businesses is the relatively low cost associated with uncovering relevant conversations within your geographic or service area. It’s how we can identify and personally connect with customers. It’s how we learn what they’re seeking. It reveals interests and cravings. For example, take a moment to run a real-time search activity search using Collecta to get a feel for the volume and velocity for relevant conversations online. Then, run a local search on Twitter (choose by geography) using a keyword related to your business, but not necessarily that of your business or product name. For example, Pizza, Coffee, and local yogurt shops are searching those words specifically to offer specials and free items to those within proximity to stop in and give it a try. Business owners report that while offers and freebies reflect a notable investment, they always increase clientele and business overall. To help entrepreneurs and small business owners capitalize on the “now” or real-time conversations populating social media, Web 2.0 investor extraordinaire Ron Conway offered his vision for the top 10 ways to monetize real-time conversations. 10. Lead generation 9. Coupons 8. Analytics, analyzing the data 7. Enterprise CRM 6. Payments 5. Commerce 4. User-authentication, verifying accounts 3. Syndication of new ads 2. Advertising – Context and display ads 1. Acquiring followers New mobile social networks such as FourSquare , Loopt , Gowalla are also emerging that connect people within local areas based on where they are and what they’re doing. These services require you to “check in” to a location or an establishment and as such, local businesses are encouraging patrons to do so by offering incentives, “check in here on FourSquare and get a free slice of pizza or a free beer.” Why? Each time someone checks in, their social graph follows the establishments they frequent and as such, brands the venue within a very trusted circle. There are also opportunities for paid sponsorships. Each time I check in to venues in Redwood City, a local wine shop and tasting room, Savvy Cellar , pops up with a “nearby special.” If I pop in and show my iPhone with the special, I receive 50% off any tasting. Brilliant. To learn more about specific examples for increasing awareness and revenue using Social Media, please read Forbes’ piece on 21 Top Twitter Tips ( Story | Through Pictures ) 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

Marketing Podcast with Grammar Girl This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with Mignon Fogerty (Click to listen, right click and Save As to download – subscribe now via iTunes For this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast I thought I would grab one of my favorite podcasters Mignon Fogarty . Fogarty is known to legions as Grammar Girl and she’s built an impressive empire dishing out Grammar and a growing list of other topics in Quick and Dirty style. On top of finding a way to build an audience for tips about grammar, she has turned her approach and idea into the the Quick and Dirty Tips Network. The Quick and Dirty Network is a platform created for other experts including Dog Training, Nutrition, Sales, Get it Done Guy and Public Speaking. The brand and approach has led to traffic, advertising and book deals for several of the experts. Fogerty’s the author of New York Times bestseller Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing and the 365 day long Grammar Devotional . Mignon makes grammar fun and lord knows we could all use a bit of that. Make sure you check out some of the t-shirts she’s created. In this podcast: About the Quick and Dirty Network Secret behind the success of the Grammar Girl podcast Five worst grammar mistakes Grammar Girl vs. The Elements of Style Making grammar and usage discussion interesting Resources from Grammar Girl GoToWebinar is the presenting sponsor of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast. Related Posts: Six Pixels with Mitch Joel 3 Sources of Grammar Inspiration Made to Stick Podcast Tim Ferriss on the New 4-Hour Workweek New Jott Feed Feature Reads Blogs for You Like this post? Share it with others

Stop Trying To Be Better Than the Competition This content from: Duct Tape Marketing And start figuring out how you can be different than your competition. So many business owners or would be start-ups sit around this time of year trying to figure out how they can be better than the competition – better product, better service, better features, and, the real killer, better price. Heck, some even strive to be “best” in class. What they should be doing is figuring out how they can simply be different than the competition. I’m not against lofty goals – the problem is creating a better product or service is hard. Prospects often won’t take the time to understand the subtle differences that make your product or service better and you might spend all your time and energy trying to educate them on better when all they want to know is the price. If you’ve even wondered why prospects are choosing your competitors over your obviously superior offering, you may have just a hint of appreciation for what I’m saying here. Better than the competition is the enemy of different than the competition, and different is where the money is! Instead of trying to be better or exactly like, build a strategy around a simple way that your company is different from the pack. Again, this is sometimes a place where companies will say, “well, we are different we have a better product, or we offer better service.” Really, and do your competitors all suggest they offer crappy service? We can debate the countless intricate ways that companies can use to create a strategy of difference, but it all pretty much boils down to: 1) Better product 2) Better process 3) Better relationships In my opinion focusing all of your strategic thinking, goal setting and actions on building a better process or better relationships is the surest and maybe simplest way to create a true competitive advantage that someone might care about. Would you rather lean on your 5% better product or price or on something so totally outrageous and innovative that people can’t stop talking about it? Creating your own special way to treat customers, creating an experience that’s unique, or creating a totally new and frictionless way for people to get a result is how you stand out from the pack, it’s how you create a difference that can’t be easily copied, and it’s how innovation comes to small business. Instead of spending your precious R&D time on product features, spend it on creating branded intellectual property, a distinct way of marketing, or on developing people and culture inside your organization that enables you to be seen as different. I’ll leave you with two powerful questions to pose to your organization to help you get started. 1) What are we doing that our competitors are not? 2) What are we doing just like our competitors that we could change for good? Image credit: Laenulfean Related Posts: Don't sell something you can't make more of What's So Scary About Marketing Strategy? Your Real Competition Is Perception Be the Red Leaf Stop Wasting Your Time With Social Media Like this post? Share it with others