Is Your Website Doing It's Job?
Is your website doing what you designed it to do? Are you looking to redesign or tweak your current site? Here are three starter questions that are critical to guiding website analysis.
1. Who is your target audience?
2. What is your unique selling proposition?
3. What is your main website goal?
1. Who is your target audience?
2. What is your unique selling proposition?
3. What is your main website goal?
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Can't Miss Events in Memphis this May
Sunday- May 04, 2008 Filed in: Social Media | Social Networking | Events | Memphis | Innovation | Ideas
There are lots of amazing tech events happening in Memphis this May. Here's the rundown of events that I'm getting excited for in the coming weeks. Hope to see you there.
Social Media Breakfast - The 3rd Memphis Social Media Breakfast happens on Wednesday, May 7th at 7:30 AM. Presented by LunaWeb, Social Media Breakfast is an event where social media experts and newbies can come together over breakfast to learn, share ideas and meet other marketers, entrepreneurs, bloggers and new media fanatics. You can find out more information and topics at Social Media Memphis Facebook Group or through the LunaWeb Blog.
TechFuel: Technology Meets Cocktails - Presented by LaunchMemphis, TechFuel is a kick-off event designed for technologists, entrepreneurs, media (bloggers), investors, and others to meet, and share ideas in a fun and open atmosphere. The event is open to the public and includes free food and drink specials. TechFuel is set for 5-7 p.m. May 8 at the Fox and Hound, 5101 Sanderlin Ave.
Startup Weekend Memphis - Startup Weekend is slated for the weekend of May 30th - June 1st. Over the course of the weekend, 100 members of the community come together weekend to found a new technology startup company in Memphis. At last count, I think there were a little over 20 seats still available for Startup Weekend Memphis. $40 is a small price to pay for the ability to work with some amazing people and the opportunity to take home a piece of a startup at the end of 3 days.
Social Media Breakfast - The 3rd Memphis Social Media Breakfast happens on Wednesday, May 7th at 7:30 AM. Presented by LunaWeb, Social Media Breakfast is an event where social media experts and newbies can come together over breakfast to learn, share ideas and meet other marketers, entrepreneurs, bloggers and new media fanatics. You can find out more information and topics at Social Media Memphis Facebook Group or through the LunaWeb Blog.
TechFuel: Technology Meets Cocktails - Presented by LaunchMemphis, TechFuel is a kick-off event designed for technologists, entrepreneurs, media (bloggers), investors, and others to meet, and share ideas in a fun and open atmosphere. The event is open to the public and includes free food and drink specials. TechFuel is set for 5-7 p.m. May 8 at the Fox and Hound, 5101 Sanderlin Ave.
Startup Weekend Memphis - Startup Weekend is slated for the weekend of May 30th - June 1st. Over the course of the weekend, 100 members of the community come together weekend to found a new technology startup company in Memphis. At last count, I think there were a little over 20 seats still available for Startup Weekend Memphis. $40 is a small price to pay for the ability to work with some amazing people and the opportunity to take home a piece of a startup at the end of 3 days.
3 Easy (and cheap) Online Marketing Tools and Initiatives You Should Implement This Week
1. Google recently announced and effort to allow local businesses to add their YouTube video to their listings on Google Maps. Videos will be viewable in Google Earth and Google Maps (press the Photos and Videos tab on the information bubble of you listing). This is one of those simple online marketing efforts that costs nothing to implement, yet sets your business miles apart from your local competitors. Here are 2 quick ideas on how to make your video and entry stand out.
2. Google AdWords Conversion Tracking - You can now define and track several different types of conversions that are important to your business. Different types of conversions can lead to different ROI's for you business. Knowing how well a particular keyword performs can (and should) influence your bid.
Keywords that perform and convert well may be worth a higher bid than those keywords that aren't as hot.
3. Google Website Optimizer - You can now use your Google Analytics account to access Website Optimizer and test designs, headlines, and graphics that lead to the highest conversion rates on your site. Another easy way to squeeze every penny out of that already small online marketing budget. Read their blog for more details and ideas.
- Offer a coupon code specifically for that video. Make it exclusive yet measurable.
- Show your expertise. If you're a landscaper, then plant a tree. If you're a chef, then show how easy it is to cook a delicious meal.
2. Google AdWords Conversion Tracking - You can now define and track several different types of conversions that are important to your business. Different types of conversions can lead to different ROI's for you business. Knowing how well a particular keyword performs can (and should) influence your bid.
3. Google Website Optimizer - You can now use your Google Analytics account to access Website Optimizer and test designs, headlines, and graphics that lead to the highest conversion rates on your site. Another easy way to squeeze every penny out of that already small online marketing budget. Read their blog for more details and ideas.
Music Playlist - April 2008
Wednesday- April 16, 2008 Filed in: Music
Have at it youngsters, here's a fresh list of songs to rock out to. The choices for the April playlist are somewhat random, but that's what makes life great I guess. Enjoy!
Lovecraft in Brooklyn - The Mountain Goats
Midnight Suprise - Lightspeed Champion
Couleurs - M83
I Got Mine - The Black Keys
Fruit Machine - The Ting Tings
Attention - Raconteurs
Small Town Girl - Good Shoes
Always Where I Need To Be - The Kooks
Pink Squares - I Was A Cub Scout
In The Craters On The Moon - The Mountain Goats
List of Demands - Saul Williams
Is This New - The Fall
A Shadow is a Shadow is a Shadow - Forward, Russia!
Kim & Jessie - M83
Silent Hotels - The Answering Machine
Girls Like Mystery - The Cribs
Dreaming Of the Plum Trees - White Hinterland
Check out Friends of One Half Amazing
Keia Johnson
Griffin House
Brock Hillman
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
Lovecraft in Brooklyn - The Mountain Goats
Midnight Suprise - Lightspeed Champion
Couleurs - M83
I Got Mine - The Black Keys
Fruit Machine - The Ting Tings
Attention - Raconteurs
Small Town Girl - Good Shoes
Always Where I Need To Be - The Kooks
Pink Squares - I Was A Cub Scout
In The Craters On The Moon - The Mountain Goats
List of Demands - Saul Williams
Is This New - The Fall
A Shadow is a Shadow is a Shadow - Forward, Russia!
Kim & Jessie - M83
Silent Hotels - The Answering Machine
Girls Like Mystery - The Cribs
Dreaming Of the Plum Trees - White Hinterland
Check out Friends of One Half Amazing
Keia Johnson
Griffin House
Brock Hillman
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
Do you remember when....
Wednesday- April 09, 2008 Filed in: Innovation | Ideas
Do you remember when.....
A majority of the things above weren't even around 10 years ago. What are you doing right now to prepare your business (and yourself) to be successful in the next 10 years? Do you have a plan? Your business could be gone in the blink of an eye (just ask Blockbuster). Why are you still sitting on that great idea? Get out and get moving. Take action. Talk is cheap.
- there wasn't such a thing as an iPhone, let alone a cellphone. Remember when you actually had to plan a time to call someone?
- you had to be home at 8pm on Friday night to catch your favorite show because there was no TIVO or on-demand?
- there was no Starbucks?
- you had to visit each of your favorite sites on a regular basis to see if they were updated because RSS hadn't been thought of yet?
- there was no mapquest or turn-by-turn GPS?
- only the rich and privleged had access to Harvard, Stanford or MIT?
- AltaVista was your search engine of choice?
- you taped your favorite song off the radio when it came on?
- there was no way you'd fill up a 20GB hard drive?
- voting in a presidential election you had the choice of one old white guy or another old white guy?
- it cost too much to quit your job and do something you loved.
- you lost track of friends because Facebook and MySpace were still figments of imagination?
A majority of the things above weren't even around 10 years ago. What are you doing right now to prepare your business (and yourself) to be successful in the next 10 years? Do you have a plan? Your business could be gone in the blink of an eye (just ask Blockbuster). Why are you still sitting on that great idea? Get out and get moving. Take action. Talk is cheap.
Measuring Social Media Success
Tuesday- April 01, 2008 Filed in: Social Media | Analytics
I'll be attending Memphis Social Media Breakfast #2 tomorrow and have been asked to talk on measuring social media success. Trying to get a grasp on the current social media landscape and tools available is no easy task, thats why I first believe you must discover what's important to you before you can implement and strategy. A quick overview of my thoughts follow. Let me know what you think and what's important to you.
Your Goals
What your overall marketing goals? Do you want to push sales, drive engagement, increase awareness? What is considered a success? In the end is it the number of people who took an action, products sold, satisfaction index, mainstream media coverage, subscribers/listeners?
Your Tools
● Buzz – See who is talking about you. Go to blog search engine Technorati or get feedback from Google Alerts. Use existing functionality located within your online blogging platforms (WordPress dashboard). Use the old SEO trick by searching for your domain in Google, Yahoo and MSN with the following: link http://www.mysite.com. It’s not an exact science and many of these are very rough numbers, but will serve as a good indicator to see who is talking about and linking to you.
● Content Consumption – Measure who is reading your blog, where they are coming from and what content they are reading. Web analytic reports will show you the most popular content on your site and/or blog. This data will also show you how long they were on that particular page, where they came from, and also the bounce rate. Also consider vanity urls.
● Content Contribution – A quick and easy metric would be to monitor the number of visitors who are actually interacting with your content such as commenting or pinging back to your original post.
● Social Bookmarking – See who is adding your site/article/posts to sites like Del.icio.us, Reddit, Digg and Stumbleupon. Create profiles in each of the bookmarking sites and search for your urls.
● Subscribing to a RSS feed – Measure the number of your readers who are actually subscribing to your RSS feeds. Feedburner gives your readers lots of options to subscribe to your feed with useful stats on the backend
● Emailing posts – Use your blog platform tool like to see how many emails are actually being sent through your form i.e. forward to a friend.
● Profile Engagement - Profiles on Myspace, Facebook, or Mybloglog can give you some of the same metrics mentioned above; as well as monitor the number of friends that you have, total profile visits, etc.
Download this as a PDF
Your Goals
What your overall marketing goals? Do you want to push sales, drive engagement, increase awareness? What is considered a success? In the end is it the number of people who took an action, products sold, satisfaction index, mainstream media coverage, subscribers/listeners?
Your Tools
● Buzz – See who is talking about you. Go to blog search engine Technorati or get feedback from Google Alerts. Use existing functionality located within your online blogging platforms (WordPress dashboard). Use the old SEO trick by searching for your domain in Google, Yahoo and MSN with the following: link http://www.mysite.com. It’s not an exact science and many of these are very rough numbers, but will serve as a good indicator to see who is talking about and linking to you.
● Content Consumption – Measure who is reading your blog, where they are coming from and what content they are reading. Web analytic reports will show you the most popular content on your site and/or blog. This data will also show you how long they were on that particular page, where they came from, and also the bounce rate. Also consider vanity urls.
● Content Contribution – A quick and easy metric would be to monitor the number of visitors who are actually interacting with your content such as commenting or pinging back to your original post.
● Social Bookmarking – See who is adding your site/article/posts to sites like Del.icio.us, Reddit, Digg and Stumbleupon. Create profiles in each of the bookmarking sites and search for your urls.
● Subscribing to a RSS feed – Measure the number of your readers who are actually subscribing to your RSS feeds. Feedburner gives your readers lots of options to subscribe to your feed with useful stats on the backend
● Emailing posts – Use your blog platform tool like to see how many emails are actually being sent through your form i.e. forward to a friend.
● Profile Engagement - Profiles on Myspace, Facebook, or Mybloglog can give you some of the same metrics mentioned above; as well as monitor the number of friends that you have, total profile visits, etc.
Download this as a PDF
3 Things to Learn from Netflix about Customer Service
Wednesday- March 26, 2008 Filed in: Customers
Here's a great example of what to do (right) when you mess up. Netflix had some problems with their shipping system recently and instead of the usual corporate spin, they turned it into a positive. They (1) gave a sincere apology, (2) admitted fault quickly and (3) made it up to the user. Take a note, wheather your business is offline or on, people want to be treated fairly and will remember memorable experiences.
Music Playlist - March 2008
Sunday- March 09, 2008 Filed in: Music
I'm going to be traveling a bit over these next few weeks for work so I thought I'd post the monthly Indie Playlist early for March. I've kept a few of these artists and songs in my pocket for a while now - maybe a little too long. Who would have ever thought that Vampire Weekend and Bell X1 would shoot through the spectrum as fast as they did? So if any of these hits are a little stale to you please accept my apologies. For that reason, I've thrown a couple more songs into the mix this month. Enjoy - you are now 1% cooler than you were yesterday.
L.E.S. Artises - Santogold
Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend
Good Day (Remix) - Jukebox The Ghost
Tonight - We Are Scientists
All I Want Is You - Barry Louis Pollisar
Flame - Bell X1
The Begining of the Twist - The Futureheads
Honey - The Hush Sound
I Feel Weird - Steel Train
Oh My God - Kaiser Chiefs
Falling Slowly - The Frames
Skinny Love - Bon Iver
West Coast - Coconut Records
TIme to Pretend - MGMT
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance - Vampire Weekend
Mr. Pitiful - Matt Costa
Hang Them All - Tapes 'n Tapes
Lights Out for Darkier Skies - British Sea Power
Heels on Fire - Sargasso Trio
Tiger Phone Card - Dengue Fever
My First Born For a Song - Bell X1
Lay Down the Law - Switches
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
L.E.S. Artises - Santogold
Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend
Good Day (Remix) - Jukebox The Ghost
Tonight - We Are Scientists
All I Want Is You - Barry Louis Pollisar
Flame - Bell X1
The Begining of the Twist - The Futureheads
Honey - The Hush Sound
I Feel Weird - Steel Train
Oh My God - Kaiser Chiefs
Falling Slowly - The Frames
Skinny Love - Bon Iver
West Coast - Coconut Records
TIme to Pretend - MGMT
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance - Vampire Weekend
Mr. Pitiful - Matt Costa
Hang Them All - Tapes 'n Tapes
Lights Out for Darkier Skies - British Sea Power
Heels on Fire - Sargasso Trio
Tiger Phone Card - Dengue Fever
My First Born For a Song - Bell X1
Lay Down the Law - Switches
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
Memphis Social Media Breakfast
Tuesday- March 04, 2008 Filed in: Social Media | Social Networking
I was lucky enough to be invited to Memphis' first Social Media Breakfast tomorrow by Dave Barger from Lunaweb. As of right now I think we have about 15 attendees coming, so we're off to a good start. I'm really excited to meet new social media Memphians and from the looks of the video below, I have some work to do tonight to prepare for tomorrow.
Additional Resources:
Understanding the UnConferences
100 Idea Topics for You to Cover at PodCamp
What is BarCamp?
Updated - Social Media Breakfast #1 Flickr Photoset ~ Official Social Media Breakfast page ~ LunaWeb
Additional Resources:
Understanding the UnConferences
100 Idea Topics for You to Cover at PodCamp
What is BarCamp?
Updated - Social Media Breakfast #1 Flickr Photoset ~ Official Social Media Breakfast page ~ LunaWeb
Free Trade Ideas - YouTube Promo & Cultural Phenomenon
So let's say you're a Mom and Pop ice cream shop or even Ben & Jerry's for this matter. What could be a better promotion than embracing social media and integrating it with the latest cultural fad? Not only do you get your customers (and potential customers) involved with your brand, but you also make it fun for them and leave a lasting impression.
This is how I see the promo set up, but feel free to add you own twist on it. Start a YouTube page for your business - they're free. Encourage your customers to upload their best performance of one of the greatest lines from There Will Be Blood - "I drink your milkshake." Promote the effort on your website, company blog, in-store promotions and to your best clients. Have a definitive start and end date in mind. At the end, have the community vote on they think gave the best rendition of the movie. Have a screening of the movie for all participants, give away prizes such as a years supply of milkshakes or let the winner be in your next company commercial.
Not only to get free PR out of the effort, but you create goodwill and get your customers talking. They'll share their story and videos with their friends. Their friends will want to take part in the promotion and before you know it, you've got life-long engaged customers. Now the tough part comes when you have to do your next promotion.
This is how I see the promo set up, but feel free to add you own twist on it. Start a YouTube page for your business - they're free. Encourage your customers to upload their best performance of one of the greatest lines from There Will Be Blood - "I drink your milkshake." Promote the effort on your website, company blog, in-store promotions and to your best clients. Have a definitive start and end date in mind. At the end, have the community vote on they think gave the best rendition of the movie. Have a screening of the movie for all participants, give away prizes such as a years supply of milkshakes or let the winner be in your next company commercial.
Not only to get free PR out of the effort, but you create goodwill and get your customers talking. They'll share their story and videos with their friends. Their friends will want to take part in the promotion and before you know it, you've got life-long engaged customers. Now the tough part comes when you have to do your next promotion.
Online Marketing Summit - Day 1
Thursday- February 21, 2008 Filed in: E-Marketing | Online Marketing | Marketing | New Marketing | SEO | Social Marketing
I'm currently away at the Online Marketing Summit in beautiful San Diego. Just wrapped up the education portion of Day 1 and I'd give it about a 7 on a 1-10 scale. The day started out real strong with a presentation by Catfish on SEO. The guy is brilliant and the education I picked up from him more than paid for the entire conference.
In all, there are about 400 online marketers in attendance so lots of great networking opportunities. During the Q&A session for an advanced paid-search presentation (advanced was a very loose term at this particular presentation) I was speaking to the lady who happened to sit next to me. She pointed out something very interesting trends in the questions coming from the audience. Everyone wanted the magic pill. They wanted actionable and measurable things that they could do right now in order to be successful. The waters are so murky in the online marketing world that these people are in over there heads and don't know who to trust. They read one thing, but the data tells them another thing. They're on short budgets and need results fast. The sad thing I realized is that things are better than they used to be, but I don't see them clearing up anytime soon.
Hopefully next week, I'll be able to share with you my findings and give you some great insight that you can actually use right now in your day-to-day business. Stay tuned.
In all, there are about 400 online marketers in attendance so lots of great networking opportunities. During the Q&A session for an advanced paid-search presentation (advanced was a very loose term at this particular presentation) I was speaking to the lady who happened to sit next to me. She pointed out something very interesting trends in the questions coming from the audience. Everyone wanted the magic pill. They wanted actionable and measurable things that they could do right now in order to be successful. The waters are so murky in the online marketing world that these people are in over there heads and don't know who to trust. They read one thing, but the data tells them another thing. They're on short budgets and need results fast. The sad thing I realized is that things are better than they used to be, but I don't see them clearing up anytime soon.
Hopefully next week, I'll be able to share with you my findings and give you some great insight that you can actually use right now in your day-to-day business. Stay tuned.
Music Playlist - February 2008
Thursday- February 14, 2008 Filed in: Music
Wu-tang Clan ain't nuttin to f*ck with and neither are these indie artists. Check it.
Let's Dance To Joy Division - The Wombats
Ready for the Floor - Hot Chip
She Loves Everybody - Chester French
The Hollows - WHY?
Paper Float - Cassettes Won't Listen
Elvis - These New Puritans
Flex-it Formula - Professor Murder
See These Bones - Nada Surf
Chin Music - Young Dudes
Touch Too Much - Hot Chip
YES - LMFAO
Mexican Life - Catpeople
A-Funk - Vampire Weekend
The Beginning of the World - The Feminists
Death to Los Campesinos - Los Campesinos
Cliffhanger - Britta Persson
Can't Say No - The Helio Sequence
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
Let's Dance To Joy Division - The Wombats
Ready for the Floor - Hot Chip
She Loves Everybody - Chester French
The Hollows - WHY?
Paper Float - Cassettes Won't Listen
Elvis - These New Puritans
Flex-it Formula - Professor Murder
See These Bones - Nada Surf
Chin Music - Young Dudes
Touch Too Much - Hot Chip
YES - LMFAO
Mexican Life - Catpeople
A-Funk - Vampire Weekend
The Beginning of the World - The Feminists
Death to Los Campesinos - Los Campesinos
Cliffhanger - Britta Persson
Can't Say No - The Helio Sequence
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics
Monday- February 04, 2008 Filed in: SEO | Search Engine Optimization
No one knows for sure how search engines actually rank your site, but there are things that you can do to optimize your website for a better ranking. I've outline a list below of the 4 most important things anyone can do to understand search engine optimization and rank your site better.
1. Keywords - Keywords are the very foundation of your search engine strategy. I refer to a "keyword" as a word that your typical user will input in the search box when searching for specific information about a product or service. You may have put many efforts on fine-tuning your web pages for a better ranking with the major search engines yet it become not enough if the right keyword phrases are not targeted. Even if you achieve high search engine rankings, you may not get relevant traffic if you select the wrong keywords. The most significant keyword steps for search-engine optimization are (1) identifying your target audience and (2) keyword phrase researching. I've outlined some of the best ways to analyze and collect this search engine data below;
Search Engine Analysis
a. Brainstorm within your group. What keywords do you think embody your site? What are the obvious words and phrases?
b. Check your logs (I'm assuming you have some sort of web analytics program). What terms are bringing people to your site? Companies often make mistakes with their keywords because they choose based on how they, rather than their customers, think about their products or services.
c. Examine your competitors
d. Make sure you don't forget the misspellings
e. Synonyms, Split & Merged Words, Singulars & Plurals, Hypens
Keyword Suggestion Sites:
Google AdWords Keyword Suggestion
Free WordTracker Keyword Suggestion Tool
2. Content - Stuff (text) on your website. Good content is simply a well written paragraph or page which communicates to your readers, exactly what you hope to get through, with no ambiguity, while it also offers info to the search engines so our site is categorized properly within their database. Content on your site should be the first thing you think of when optimizing it. You must convey to the search engines that your site is worthy of ranking, and that you are here to offer something of value to the masses. Content is king and a very important factor in getting a high search engine ranking.
3. Links - There are 2 types of links in the eyes of Google - Inbound and Outbound links. Both are important, but Inbound links carry much more weight in the eyes of search engines. An inbound link (from someone else's site to yours) basically tells the search engine your site is worthy and other people should visit it. The crucial way to ensure Google finds your site, is for your site to be linked from lots of pages on other sites. In essence, its a vote from their page for your site.
Things to consider about links
a. How relevant is the website that is linking to your site? Is it targeting similar keywords and about similar subjects? If that inbound link comes from a site with relevant content, a high page rank and has been around for a while, its an even bigger vote of confidence to your site.
b. Find and resesearch other websites with relevant content. Join the conversations on that site. Establish your expertise. Be the first to link to them.
4. Time - The older the site is, the more recognized and regarded it will be. Sites that have been around longer are given preference to younger sites.
Additional Resources:
WebConfs SEO Toolset
35 SEO Tips Simplified According To Value And Importance
The Blogger's Guide to Search Engine Optimization
SEO TOOLBOX - 30+ Tools and Services to Improve Your SEO
1. Keywords - Keywords are the very foundation of your search engine strategy. I refer to a "keyword" as a word that your typical user will input in the search box when searching for specific information about a product or service. You may have put many efforts on fine-tuning your web pages for a better ranking with the major search engines yet it become not enough if the right keyword phrases are not targeted. Even if you achieve high search engine rankings, you may not get relevant traffic if you select the wrong keywords. The most significant keyword steps for search-engine optimization are (1) identifying your target audience and (2) keyword phrase researching. I've outlined some of the best ways to analyze and collect this search engine data below;
Search Engine Analysis
a. Brainstorm within your group. What keywords do you think embody your site? What are the obvious words and phrases?
b. Check your logs (I'm assuming you have some sort of web analytics program). What terms are bringing people to your site? Companies often make mistakes with their keywords because they choose based on how they, rather than their customers, think about their products or services.
c. Examine your competitors
d. Make sure you don't forget the misspellings
e. Synonyms, Split & Merged Words, Singulars & Plurals, Hypens
Keyword Suggestion Sites:
Google AdWords Keyword Suggestion
Free WordTracker Keyword Suggestion Tool
2. Content - Stuff (text) on your website. Good content is simply a well written paragraph or page which communicates to your readers, exactly what you hope to get through, with no ambiguity, while it also offers info to the search engines so our site is categorized properly within their database. Content on your site should be the first thing you think of when optimizing it. You must convey to the search engines that your site is worthy of ranking, and that you are here to offer something of value to the masses. Content is king and a very important factor in getting a high search engine ranking.
3. Links - There are 2 types of links in the eyes of Google - Inbound and Outbound links. Both are important, but Inbound links carry much more weight in the eyes of search engines. An inbound link (from someone else's site to yours) basically tells the search engine your site is worthy and other people should visit it. The crucial way to ensure Google finds your site, is for your site to be linked from lots of pages on other sites. In essence, its a vote from their page for your site.
Things to consider about links
a. How relevant is the website that is linking to your site? Is it targeting similar keywords and about similar subjects? If that inbound link comes from a site with relevant content, a high page rank and has been around for a while, its an even bigger vote of confidence to your site.
b. Find and resesearch other websites with relevant content. Join the conversations on that site. Establish your expertise. Be the first to link to them.
4. Time - The older the site is, the more recognized and regarded it will be. Sites that have been around longer are given preference to younger sites.
Additional Resources:
WebConfs SEO Toolset
35 SEO Tips Simplified According To Value And Importance
The Blogger's Guide to Search Engine Optimization
SEO TOOLBOX - 30+ Tools and Services to Improve Your SEO
Ink-a-dink a bucket of Links
- Smashing Magazine - 100 of the best free Wordpress themes
- 9 Benefits of Twitter for Bloggers - Also see my free trade idea post on using Twitter for your business
- The New Rules of Viral Marketing - free ebook
- How to Sneak Social Media into the Enterprise
- Best of Adobe Flash Tutorials
- How To: Effectively Talk to Execs and Clients about Social Media
- You Suck at Photoshop
Music Playlist - January 2008
Sunday- January 20, 2008 Filed in: Music
Hey Chickens, the Indie Playlist is back. Enjoy this set of music. I plan to make this a regular monthly installment in 2008. Contact me if you know of a band that I should check out or if you'd like your music featured here.
Rock N Roll - Remi Nicole
Deathray - Clear Tigers
Outsiders - Franz Ferdinand
Boy with a Coin - Iron & Wine
This Car is Hot as Hell - Ride Your Bike
Traveling - Chucky Danger
The Hollows - Why?
K.I.D.S - Tiny Masters of Today
Worst Case Scenario - The Hoosiers
Two Ghosts - Boy Eats Drum Machine
When I Say Go - The 1900's
Guns are the Tongues - Richard Thompson
The Count of Monte Christo - The Noisettes
Hospital Drama - Help She Can't Swim
Banned from The Roxy - Jeffrey Lewis
Ring My Bells - Sufjan Stevens
The Miracle That Never Came - Straylight Run
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
Rock N Roll - Remi Nicole
Deathray - Clear Tigers
Outsiders - Franz Ferdinand
Boy with a Coin - Iron & Wine
This Car is Hot as Hell - Ride Your Bike
Traveling - Chucky Danger
The Hollows - Why?
K.I.D.S - Tiny Masters of Today
Worst Case Scenario - The Hoosiers
Two Ghosts - Boy Eats Drum Machine
When I Say Go - The 1900's
Guns are the Tongues - Richard Thompson
The Count of Monte Christo - The Noisettes
Hospital Drama - Help She Can't Swim
Banned from The Roxy - Jeffrey Lewis
Ring My Bells - Sufjan Stevens
The Miracle That Never Came - Straylight Run
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
Taking the Social out of Social Networking
Thursday- January 17, 2008 Filed in: Social Networking | New Marketing
Here is an excerpt from an actual conversation that took place today at work.
Meeting Leader - "Mr. Executive wants our official corporate MySpace page to have all our friends turned off (this isn't even an option) so people can't add us as a friend or even comment on our page."
Web Guy Who Gets It - "That's like removing search from Google."
I know Social Networking and Social Media is scary to some. There are huge risks to many organizations, but there are also a wealth of opportunities. What do you do when the person in charge doesn't get it? How do you show value in creating a conversation amongst your fans?
Additional Resources:
Five Starter Moves for Introducing Social Media Into Your Organization
How To: Effectively Talk to Execs and Clients about Social Media
Meeting Leader - "Mr. Executive wants our official corporate MySpace page to have all our friends turned off (this isn't even an option) so people can't add us as a friend or even comment on our page."
Web Guy Who Gets It - "That's like removing search from Google."
I know Social Networking and Social Media is scary to some. There are huge risks to many organizations, but there are also a wealth of opportunities. What do you do when the person in charge doesn't get it? How do you show value in creating a conversation amongst your fans?
Additional Resources:
Five Starter Moves for Introducing Social Media Into Your Organization
How To: Effectively Talk to Execs and Clients about Social Media
Goodbye Blockbuster, It Was Nice to Know You
Wednesday- January 16, 2008 Filed in: Innovation | New Marketing
Yesterday, Apple dropped a Hiroshima-like atomic bomb on Blockbuster.
The game has changed and Blockbuster just received the biggest wake-up call in their companies' history. It's not as if they didn't see the writing on the wall. Apple has been begun putting distribution channels out of business over the past 5+ years. Not to mention the beating Netflix has already put on Blockbuster.
In my opionon the main advantage that Apple holds are low overhead and scalability. The costs of resources that Apple has remain fairly fixed and will continue to be so. Users downloading an additional copy of iTunes costs them next to nothing. In addition, the advantage of the web makes selling 1 copy vs 1 million copies of a single movie nearly the same.
Blockbuster on the other hand is crippled with fixed (and escalating) costs of doing business. Not to mention store upkeep and such, but also purchasing an additional copy of a movie for the local store is much more than the cost Apple incurs. Blockbuster has a limited number of physical movies that are available in each store, this isn't the case with Apple and iTunes.
I can remember about 10 years ago when Blockbuster was opening stores almost every 24 hrs. What if they would have taken some of these resources and devoted them new technologies and initiatives? Would Blockbuster be sitting in a better position?
Lessons you can learn from Blockbuster
What would you do if you were the CEO of Blockbuster? How do you modify your business plan? What should other businesses take away from this situation?
Additional Resources:
The Internet Changes Everything
Blockbuster, Netflix shares fall following Apple's movie rental service launch
The game has changed and Blockbuster just received the biggest wake-up call in their companies' history. It's not as if they didn't see the writing on the wall. Apple has been begun putting distribution channels out of business over the past 5+ years. Not to mention the beating Netflix has already put on Blockbuster.
In my opionon the main advantage that Apple holds are low overhead and scalability. The costs of resources that Apple has remain fairly fixed and will continue to be so. Users downloading an additional copy of iTunes costs them next to nothing. In addition, the advantage of the web makes selling 1 copy vs 1 million copies of a single movie nearly the same.
Blockbuster on the other hand is crippled with fixed (and escalating) costs of doing business. Not to mention store upkeep and such, but also purchasing an additional copy of a movie for the local store is much more than the cost Apple incurs. Blockbuster has a limited number of physical movies that are available in each store, this isn't the case with Apple and iTunes.
I can remember about 10 years ago when Blockbuster was opening stores almost every 24 hrs. What if they would have taken some of these resources and devoted them new technologies and initiatives? Would Blockbuster be sitting in a better position?
Lessons you can learn from Blockbuster
- It's not the smartest of the species that survive, but the one that is most adaptable to change.
- Bigger is not always better. some may say that small is the new big. No longer can you compete on size. In the current business environment, companies that rely on being fast and nimble are much more likely to be successfull. Apple should keep this is mind as well, as I'm sure more and more companies and startups looking to take them down.
- Your business can evaporate in the blink of an eye. Now, I'm not saying that all Blockbusters will shut down overnight, but I firmly believe Apple will tighten the noose and Blockbuster's current business will cease to exsist. Netflix has seen the erros of those that came before them. They will survive and continue to fight Apple for market share.
What would you do if you were the CEO of Blockbuster? How do you modify your business plan? What should other businesses take away from this situation?
Additional Resources:
The Internet Changes Everything
Blockbuster, Netflix shares fall following Apple's movie rental service launch
Creativity comes from absence
Sunday- January 13, 2008 Filed in: Personal
Yesterday, I got the chance to take a tour of the wonderful Stax Museum of American Soul Music here in Memphis. As the tour tour finished, my uncle says to me "You know, all this creativity came from poverty and absence." It struck a cord with me. He was right. All too often we think we will be more productive with more more bells and whistles, but this is hardly the case. Yes, its nice to have a nice Mac Book Pro, an iPhone and whatever else you can throw in your bag, but at what time do you get to the point of diminishing returns?
As you think on this, I encourage you to get to the raw essentials of your day. If you want to make game changing things, get to the core of your essence and use those gifts that your were given and developed over time. Use your raw creativity and your raw energy to do the things you love and see what you get. I can bet it will push the boundaries of all the things your competitors have ever done along with all the things you've ever done (with your Mac Book Pro).
As you think on this, I encourage you to get to the raw essentials of your day. If you want to make game changing things, get to the core of your essence and use those gifts that your were given and developed over time. Use your raw creativity and your raw energy to do the things you love and see what you get. I can bet it will push the boundaries of all the things your competitors have ever done along with all the things you've ever done (with your Mac Book Pro).
Launch of "Where I Go" Page
Saturday- January 05, 2008 Filed in: Links
I've just added a new section to my site called "Where I Go." It's very similar to the old Links page that many sites used to contain. Within it I've added a list of blogs, podcasts and sites I love. These sites are the community and the people who share ideas, push the world forward and make the story better in the end. If you'd like to be part of One Half Amazing, then you should be on this page. Email me and give me your URL, and your RSS feed.
New Year, New Opportunities
Tuesday- January 01, 2008 Filed in: Online Marketing | Marketing
I want to hear what things you are looking forward to in the New Year. What are the most pressing issues in relation to online marketing, social marketing, social media, etc for your business? How are you planning to implement these features into your overall strategy? Do you see this as the year in which social marketing finally steps up and becomes an integral part of every businesses marketing strategy? What are your thoughts, predictions, fears and anticipations for 2008?
I write this site for you; your feedback helps me shape what I post and give my attention to over the next year. Leave a comment, contact me or drop me an email with your thoughts.
Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year!
I write this site for you; your feedback helps me shape what I post and give my attention to over the next year. Leave a comment, contact me or drop me an email with your thoughts.
Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year!
I need to recharge - I'll be back in 2008
Work and the holidays have really been taking a toll on my mood and energy levels. With that in mind, I'm taking a break for the next couple of weeks to relax, touch base with the family and reenergize. I promise to come back stronger, post more often and with better content in 2008. If you're still looking for great social media and marketing minds, check out the sites below.
Chris Brogan - Chris Brogan advises businesses, organizations and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value.
Jeremiah Owyang - Jeremiah discusses how web tools enable companies to connect with their customers.
Seth Godin
Chris Brogan - Chris Brogan advises businesses, organizations and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value.
Jeremiah Owyang - Jeremiah discusses how web tools enable companies to connect with their customers.
Seth Godin
Striking Writers Should Flip the Script
Tuesday- December 04, 2007 Filed in: Videos
As the writers continue to strike in Hollywood, I can't think of a better time for them to change the game. As media and the content providers continue to change, the writers could easily pick up their ball and go play somewhere else. Is this the time that television and movies distributed and viewed primarily online finally make the turn? There is money to be made if someone wants to take the risk.
The best time to change the game is when you're losing and behind.
Updated 12/12/07:
Looks like Paramount is one of the first studios to take the plunge by offering the new Jackass movie free online. It may not be the best content or optimal situation, but at least it's a start.
Additional Resources:
No Writers at the Network? - People Powered Media takes off!
NY Times - Web Videos Stealing TV Viewers, and Marketers
The best time to change the game is when you're losing and behind.
Updated 12/12/07:
Looks like Paramount is one of the first studios to take the plunge by offering the new Jackass movie free online. It may not be the best content or optimal situation, but at least it's a start.
Additional Resources:
No Writers at the Network? - People Powered Media takes off!
NY Times - Web Videos Stealing TV Viewers, and Marketers
Music Playlist - November 2007
Tuesday- November 27, 2007 Filed in: Music
Sorry for the delay on the music. My job has transitioned, I'm moving to a new apartment and Leopard decided that it didn't like my iTunes library, so I basically had to rebuild all my playlists. Any who, to make it up to you, here's a extra helping of indie tracks for the holiday season. Most of these are pretty recent, but there may be a few older tracks that I've been rocking out to.
Nantes - Beirut
Sunrise - Yeasayer
The Con - Tegan & Sara
Ruby - Kaiser Chiefs
Music Is My Hot Hot Sex - C.S.S.
Tranquilize - The Killers
Hummingbird - Born Ruffians
People Have a Way - Matt Pond PA
Cake Parade -Georgie James
Wait for the Summer - Yeasayer
Sherry and Her Butterfly Net - The Most Serene Republic
Saturday Night - Kaiser Chiefs
Supergirl - Minor Majority
Sweet Marie - Timo Raisanen
Passing The Hat - Cold War Kids
2080 - Yeasayer
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
Nantes - Beirut
Sunrise - Yeasayer
The Con - Tegan & Sara
Ruby - Kaiser Chiefs
Music Is My Hot Hot Sex - C.S.S.
Tranquilize - The Killers
Hummingbird - Born Ruffians
People Have a Way - Matt Pond PA
Cake Parade -Georgie James
Wait for the Summer - Yeasayer
Sherry and Her Butterfly Net - The Most Serene Republic
Saturday Night - Kaiser Chiefs
Supergirl - Minor Majority
Sweet Marie - Timo Raisanen
Passing The Hat - Cold War Kids
2080 - Yeasayer
If you are the copyright holder of any of the above files and would like them removed, please drop me a note. My contact information is at the bottom of the page.
Open Social will Change the Game
Yesterday, Google along with a host of other major social networks (MySpace, Bebo, SixApart, Orkut, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo, Friendster, Viadeo and Oracle) announced OpenSocial – an initiative to share an open API amongst across multiple sites. This will allow developers to create applications or widgets that can efficiently extend their website experience to existing communities on popular social networks.
What this means for you?
Additional Resources:
Wired covers the aspects of Open Social
Open Social FAQ's
All the Children are Insane courtesy of Magnus Kjall
What this means for you?
- We no longer need to have a MySpace strategy, a LinkedIn strategy, etc, but rather we can develop one application or widget that can be accessed throughout all services. A standard API will greatly reduce development time.
- Harness existing communities. We don’t have to go out and build an audience, but rather we can leverage what’s already there.
- Combined, the core group of networks involved represents over 100MM subscribers.
- The open API was just released yesterday, so bugs may occur
- Inconsistencies may emerge – not all applications may behave the same across all platforms
- No two networks are the same. LinkedIn and MySpace have 2 different user bases.
- Facebook, Yahoo! and Microsoft haven’t bought in yet.
Additional Resources:
Wired covers the aspects of Open Social
Open Social FAQ's
All the Children are Insane courtesy of Magnus Kjall
Links - Social Media Edition
Thursday- October 25, 2007 Filed in: Links | Social Media
Social Media Marketing Essentials
A few ways to be successful with social media are to interact with participatory communities, create and promote viral (and beneficial) content and research the key influencers in a certain industry. When you or your company successfully incorporates these tactics into your social media marketing plan, you can increase brand awareness and increase traffic to your site or subscribers to your blog. These can also lead to increased conversions and sales for your company. SMX NY Session: Social Media Marketing Essentials
What's Your Social Media Strategy?
Chris Brogan has a great way of taking complex social media theory and breaking it down into digestible chunks. In this article he gives you some overall thoughts on what you should consider while developing your social media strategy. What are you doing with it all? What is your plan? How are you tying this all together to make it meaningufl, useful, and/or otherwise impactful conversations with your community?
Is Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Passive or Active?
Measuring Your Social Media Efforts
I firmly believe that when talking to a CEO or any other high level decision maker who doesn't understand Social Media, you must be able to show the value first and foremost. Chris takes on this issue. Wouldn't it be great if someone could actually make a system to measure all of your social media efforts?
How to write a Social Media Press Release
A few ways to be successful with social media are to interact with participatory communities, create and promote viral (and beneficial) content and research the key influencers in a certain industry. When you or your company successfully incorporates these tactics into your social media marketing plan, you can increase brand awareness and increase traffic to your site or subscribers to your blog. These can also lead to increased conversions and sales for your company. SMX NY Session: Social Media Marketing Essentials
What's Your Social Media Strategy?
Chris Brogan has a great way of taking complex social media theory and breaking it down into digestible chunks. In this article he gives you some overall thoughts on what you should consider while developing your social media strategy. What are you doing with it all? What is your plan? How are you tying this all together to make it meaningufl, useful, and/or otherwise impactful conversations with your community?
Is Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Passive or Active?
Measuring Your Social Media Efforts
I firmly believe that when talking to a CEO or any other high level decision maker who doesn't understand Social Media, you must be able to show the value first and foremost. Chris takes on this issue. Wouldn't it be great if someone could actually make a system to measure all of your social media efforts?
How to write a Social Media Press Release
Your Last Lecture - Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.
This video is long, but worth every minute.
What would you say if it was your last lecture?
This video is long, but worth every minute.
What would you say if it was your last lecture?
Radio Head understands the true value of the CD
Radio Head is the first band that finally "gets it". Forget that they're only selling their new album through their online site and not piecemealing it through services such as iTunes and Amazon. Forget that they believe that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The most important lesson you can learn from this whole article is that they understand that the CD is no longer a money maker, but rather a marketing tool and a gateway to the consumer. They understand that if you make good music, people will support you.
Congrats Radio Head for being the first to break the mold! You're gonna make tons of money from this.
Congrats Radio Head for being the first to break the mold! You're gonna make tons of money from this.
Consumer 2.0 and How You Can Improve Your Seach Engine Marketing to Capture them
As the internet becomes more and more ingrained in our everyday lives, a new breed of consumer has emerged - Consumer 2.0. Who is this person? What makes them tick? How can you improve your social media and search engine marketing efforts to build your brand around their needs?
Who is Consumer 2.0?
Who is Consumer 2.0?
- Addicted to Leisure - They work hard, but they also expect a certain amount of work/life balance. They expect products and brands to conform to both aspects of their day. They want their phone to sync with Outlook while also keeping tabs of their Facebook profile.
- Create and share content - In their own eyes, they're a rockstar. They twitter, pownce, blog and YouTube everything in their life. If they like it, they share it.
- Always connected and love information - They subscribe to hundreds of RSS feeds, have thousands of friends online, never leave home without their iPod or their web-enabled phone. These consumers can find what they're looking for in a drop of hat (and expect it as well).
- Hypertaskers - Forget David Allen, these consumers chat online, play games, stream music and send text messages all while watching TV. In a survey produced by Yahoo!, 60% of 18-34 year olds said they surfed the web while watching TV.
- Love to be part of communities - They have multiple social network accounts and use them all on a regular basis.
- Listen to them. - They are more than willing to tell you what they think of your product, if you simply ask. Use them as your guinea pigs for new ideas and improvements on old ones.
- Collaborate with them. Just as Stromhoek, a small vineyard who collaborated with bloggers to create a grass roots initiative, so should you. Respond to their online posts and comments, answer their emails one at a time and take the initiative to create 'wow' experiences in your store. If you scratch their back, they'll scratch yours as well.
- Give them the tools to share. Create an online toolbox in which users can remix your brand to meet their style. Include RSS feeds, pictures, videos, music, Facebook applications, custom t-shirts and everything else they could use to evangelize your product.
So how does Search Engine Marketing tie back to Consumer 2.0? Well, because Consumer 2.0 is so intrenched and dialed in on a regular basis, they've developed a small case of ADD. Nearly 72% of people answered that they cannot recall URL's that appeared on TV spots. Therefore, not only should you do the things I've mentioned above to gain attention online, but you should also work to control those things you do have power over.
Your search engine marketing must include using appropriate keywords so Consumer 2.0 can find your brand, creating lots of relevant content, making sure your pages are user-friendly and have appropriate titles and descriptions just to name a few. Consumers expect brand leaders to consistently be in the top results of search and I can guarantee that many will look at a site because it was one of the first results regardless if it was what they were looking for or not. Great search engine marketing increases your brand familiarity, pumps up your brand consideration, improves customer satisfaction and results in a better brand experience.
Integrating Consumer 2.0 into your marketing plans and tweaking your search engine marketing will allow you to close the loop on your customers and engage advocates. I guarantee that if you implement the above to a tee, you will see much success online and off.
Additional Resources:
CASH courtesy of *mgwinc
Free Trade Ideas - Using Twitter/Pownce/Dodgeball to Advertise to Your Best Customers
This post is the first in a series I like to call 'Free Trade Ideas'. To give you the shortened overview; I post idea an idea that I've been tinkering with and if it's something that you like, then you are free to use it as your own. No string attached, no gimmicks, no restrictions.
Why would I do something like this? In simple, the idea part is easy for me, its the implementation that I find hard to overcome. No, I'm not worried about someone taking my idea and turning it into a billion dollar business. My main concern is to strengthen the quality and quantity of my ideas and to better communicate them within this community. Ideas and innovation are meant to be free. It serves no purpose trying to hole them up within some Moleskine notebook anymore.
The Setup:
Blogs and social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are all the rage within the business community. Every business should have some sort of communication platform in which they can reach out to their customers and fans. If you're still trying to get to this level, then maybe this article isn't for you. But, if you're ahead of the curve and have had a blog, Facebook, MySpace page, etc and are looking to capitalize on new ways to reach your customers, then this should be right up your alley.
Twitter is a micro-blogging service which allows its users to send updates to both their personalized homepage and other users or 'followers' who have signed up to receive them. Messages are sent through SMS (text messages), instant messages or e-mail and are capped at 140 characters. Twitter's service revolves around one simple question: "What are you doing?"
There are legions of followers within microblogging services such as Twitter, Pownce and Dodgeball, so I wholeheartedly believe that somehow a business model must come out of it.
The Idea:
An experienced and trusted Twitter user that merges, captures and translates real time data from these microblogging services and marries it to an advertising partner. Not simply showing an advertisement or spamming the community, but rather starting true conversations and solving problems for both the community members and their advertising partners.
For an example, lets say your client is a small business coffee shop in Manhattan. You (the trusted Twitter user) setup a script or notification through a proprietary service or use something like Search Twitter with a set of keywords you plan to target. Through your feed, you receive instant notification when user AngieAnn (who happens to live in Manhattan) is disappointed in the coffee her roommates left on the burner.
Your service relies on speed so you quickly comment on her Twitter page, introduce yourself and offer her a discount on her next drink at your client's coffee shop. She can use the coupon code you've just left for her and your client can then measure the effects of this.
When she then redeems the offer, the coffee shop staff is in on the promotion and asks AngieAnn to become a follower of their feed. Through your Twitter profile, you can then offer the coffee shop's best customers (those that have signed up as followers) discounts, free products and exclusive offers. Followers feel special and privileged, your client has customers for life and the effects of your promotion may even cause a Twittermob.
Therefore, the benefits you can present to your advertising clients are;
Concerns:
Its important that you establish yourself first within these communities, that's another reason why a middleman who already has a expertise in this can excel. Ensure that your clients don't get a case of Twitterhea or want to overwhelm their customers with messages. Encourage them to really get to know their customers and slowly begin to slow value within the community.
Additional Resources:
Twitter
Pownce
Dodgeball
Twitter Search Engine
Beyond Madison Avenue - Apparently, Twitterers are Morons
Why would I do something like this? In simple, the idea part is easy for me, its the implementation that I find hard to overcome. No, I'm not worried about someone taking my idea and turning it into a billion dollar business. My main concern is to strengthen the quality and quantity of my ideas and to better communicate them within this community. Ideas and innovation are meant to be free. It serves no purpose trying to hole them up within some Moleskine notebook anymore.
The Setup:
Blogs and social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are all the rage within the business community. Every business should have some sort of communication platform in which they can reach out to their customers and fans. If you're still trying to get to this level, then maybe this article isn't for you. But, if you're ahead of the curve and have had a blog, Facebook, MySpace page, etc and are looking to capitalize on new ways to reach your customers, then this should be right up your alley.
Twitter is a micro-blogging service which allows its users to send updates to both their personalized homepage and other users or 'followers' who have signed up to receive them. Messages are sent through SMS (text messages), instant messages or e-mail and are capped at 140 characters. Twitter's service revolves around one simple question: "What are you doing?"
There are legions of followers within microblogging services such as Twitter, Pownce and Dodgeball, so I wholeheartedly believe that somehow a business model must come out of it.
The Idea:
An experienced and trusted Twitter user that merges, captures and translates real time data from these microblogging services and marries it to an advertising partner. Not simply showing an advertisement or spamming the community, but rather starting true conversations and solving problems for both the community members and their advertising partners.
For an example, lets say your client is a small business coffee shop in Manhattan. You (the trusted Twitter user) setup a script or notification through a proprietary service or use something like Search Twitter with a set of keywords you plan to target. Through your feed, you receive instant notification when user AngieAnn (who happens to live in Manhattan) is disappointed in the coffee her roommates left on the burner.
Your service relies on speed so you quickly comment on her Twitter page, introduce yourself and offer her a discount on her next drink at your client's coffee shop. She can use the coupon code you've just left for her and your client can then measure the effects of this.
When she then redeems the offer, the coffee shop staff is in on the promotion and asks AngieAnn to become a follower of their feed. Through your Twitter profile, you can then offer the coffee shop's best customers (those that have signed up as followers) discounts, free products and exclusive offers. Followers feel special and privileged, your client has customers for life and the effects of your promotion may even cause a Twittermob.
Therefore, the benefits you can present to your advertising clients are;
- Challenging customers with information that provokes a response. Customers want to take action.
- Speaking with them on theirr own turf. You are tailoring your conversation to them and not trying to sell them items they don't need. You are starting two dimensional questions in which the user feels engaged.
- Customizing the experience to that specific user. No where else in the world is someone getting the same attention.
Concerns:
Its important that you establish yourself first within these communities, that's another reason why a middleman who already has a expertise in this can excel. Ensure that your clients don't get a case of Twitterhea or want to overwhelm their customers with messages. Encourage them to really get to know their customers and slowly begin to slow value within the community.
Additional Resources:
Pownce
Dodgeball
Twitter Search Engine
Beyond Madison Avenue - Apparently, Twitterers are Morons