Digital Sea Change

Gone Googley...

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:17:00 +0000

I started this blog back in August of 2008 because, as I noted at the time, "I found myself without a forum to comment on general trends in digital marketing and media." Sure, I had some 15-ish active blogs but they were all specific to some niche in the industry or some quirk of my personality.

Today, I'm fortunate to have found a forum and following through my book, Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Google, and the Googley Lessons blog. Going forward, I'll be putting Digital Sea Change on hold indefinitely and consolidating all my digital marketing blogging on my book website.

I'll leave this blog intact so that you can peruse my posts over the past couple years -- including those I pointed to directly in the book -- but I will not be adding any new content. If this is the first time you're visiting my blog and just want the highlights, please see my "Favorite Posts of All-Time" on the right rail.

I hope you'll join me at GoogleyLessons.com/blog as I continue the blue ocean pursuit. After all, it's only getting Googlier!

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Getting My Groove on with Groupon

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:18:00 +0000

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In this week's Search Insider, I continue my "sexy search" theme. Here's the blurb...

50% Off Top-20 List About Groupon and Search
Posted by Aaron Goldman on Aug 25, 9:04 AM
In my ongoing campaign to bring sexy back to search, I thought I'd take one of the hottest companies on the interweb and relate it to search marketing. Groupon is everywhere. From your inbox to the "Today Show," you can't escape the appeal of collective buying power. Here are 50% of the top 20 ways search marketing is sexy like Groupon. Note: if 100 people give this column a thumbs-up, I'll share the other 50% in my next column.
» 1 Comments

I'm Not Too Sexy (yet)

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:33:00 +0000

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In this week's Search Insider column, I riff on a Justin Timberlake tune to illustrate my point about making Search sexy again. Hopefully, my POV will resonate and I'll have to switch over to Right Said Fred's mantra in the near future.

Here's the blurb...

Bringing Sexy Back to Search
Posted by Aaron Goldman on Aug 11, 10:08 AM
Search has become a bit boring. It doesn't get the headlines. It doesn't pack the halls at conferences. It doesn't trend on Twitter. But still: From social to mobile to video to display, key attributes of SEM are being incorporated into emerging online ad platforms and content development best practices. And it won't be long before the convergence of the online and offline world -- see Google TV -- brings the search mojo to traditional channels. Here are 10 reasons why SEM professionals are positioned well to rule the marketing roost:
» 2 Comments

Google eBook

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:10:00 +0000

Here's a Google eBook I created with McGraw-Hill to showcase each of the 20 Googley Lessons from my book. Hopefully this will give you a good feel for my content and tone.

Note: the actual book contains much more depth on Google's approach to marketing along with mini case-studies of other companies demonstrating these principles and exercises for readers to apply these lessons to their businesses, so don't think you can just read this eBook and be done with it!!

Everything I Know About Marketing I Learned From Google

View more presentations from McGraw-Hill Professional.

Google Rap Video

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:27:00 +0000

Here's the video trailer for my new Google book. If you like the last 50 seconds, be sure to check out the outtakes at GoogleyLessons.com/Videos and keep an eye out for the Googley Lessons Blog Tour Aug. 30 - Sept. 10th which will have me "appearing" at some 30-odd blogs -- many in video format complete with customized raps.

Googley Haiku

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:10:00 +0000

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I've often compared writing search ad copy to conjuring Haiku. Those darn specs can be infuriating! Every time I pen one of these columns I'm reminded how valuable good search copywriters are.

So Few Characters.

Want To Add More Nouns And Verbs.

And Here Is The Blurb...

The New Haiku -- 2010 Edition
Posted by Aaron Goldman on Jul 28, 10:17 AM
Anytime I find myself in a pinch for column fodder, I know I can always fall back on a little Search Haiku. It's not as exciting as covering the search news blotter, but hopefully it will still be as entertaining for you. So here is a fresh new installment of rhymes adding to my collection from '06 and '09.
» 9 Comments

Tomorrow's Buzzword: Media Design

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:45:00 +0000

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Faithful followers know I have a soft spot for buzzwords. While some people loathe them for their overuse and inability to really say anything, I heart them for their ability to give us a common language and describe (even if generically) emerging concepts.

One phrase that hasn't gotten much attention to date is "Media Design." Why? Well, quite simply it hasn't been really introduced. One man is out to change that, though.

Saneel Radia (not pictured above), formerly of Improv Olympic Chicago fame, is the recently appointed Director of Media Innovation at BBH Labs. His role there? Essentially, bringing the idea of "Media Design" to fruition after incubating it for the past few years at Denuo.

So what is Media Design? I have to admit, it took me a while to grasp the concept. Not because it's invalid or unimportant, but because it's a true paradigm-shifter. Yikes, there I go with the buzzwords again!

As Saneel puts it, Media Design represents "the missing skills within the advertising agency creative departments." In fact, that's the subtitle of Saneel's thesis completed in July of '09 for his MBA in Creative Leadership at the Berlin School.

The 70+ page paper -- which Saneel was kind enough to share with me -- makes the case (successfully, I might add) for the importance of Media Design as a discipline and the Media Designer as a critical role within creative shops.

With Saneel's permission, I'm posting the excerpts from his thesis that most resonated with me. As you read these, you can see how Saneel's thoughtfulness and ability to produce punchy soundbytes may have been shaped by his mentor and Denuo founder, Rishad Tobaccowala.

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On the connectedness of today's consumers:

"When the world was dominated by a traditional media model, advertisers had two major advantages when engaging consumers. First, the vast majority of media consumption occurred from a single source: the content creator. In other words, as television networks broadcasted content, most people who consumed this content were receiving the broadcast, rather than receiving it from a third party. Thus, brand messages needed only to be placed within content moving linearly from a single origin to engage the vast majority of users. In fact, the relationship between the content itself and the ad message placed within it was a secondary or tertiary consideration, with the primary concern being what demographic audience was consuming the content. Of course, a relationship has always existed; audiences tend to follow loose patterns (e.g., sports content is consumed primarily by male viewers), but the content itself rarely prevented brand message insertion."

On the social media model:

"First, it means brands are actually competing for attention with the very consumers they are attempting to engage. Second, in a new media model, consumers are clearly in control. They create the content, decide who and what they connect with, and generally outline the rules of those engagements."

"If a brand’s message or experience isn’t easily portable, doesn’t provide any natural reason for consumers to share it amongst themselves, or doesn’t live organically within the new social media model, the brand is drastically handicapping its messaging potential."

On the need for non-standard creative ideation:

"The experience can simply not be standardized as it was in traditional media. Thus, it does not exist in most ad agencies because they are built to deliver creative ideas in standardized environments."

On the need for new media creative ideas to evolve:

"When crafting creative ideas limited to traditional environments, agencies rarely had to think about the experience as anything other than a message; it was up to the client to provide service and responses, in many cases, not even the same individual responsible for marketing."

On the misprioritization of technology:

"The issue though is that technologies are downstream in the creative process and primarily impact how an idea manifests or how users experience it; they rarely determine if the creative idea itself is an effective platform to engage a brand’s target consumers."

Quoting Hashem Bawja, former New Media Director at Goodby Silverstein:

"Regardless of how the engagement has changed, the best creative ideas are still the ones built from a true and compelling insight into people's lives."

On why creative agencies employ antiquated models:

"The answer can of course be found by following the profits. As traditional creative departments have become less profitable over the last fifteen years, they’ve relied more and more heavily on marking up production to drive profits. As the FTE model has continued to yield lower blended hourly retainer rates while agency compensation for employees has increased, the profit margin has eroded significantly. In other words, clients are spending a smaller percentage of budgets on retaining Creatives in relation to their investment in media and digital production. As stated above, digital creative departments integrate production into their process; this has allowed agencies to establish profit by producing executions in house."

"Any client that listens to an agency attempt to sell a creative idea that requires in-house production at the agency should immediately consider the validity of the recommendation. Is the agency truly attempting to help drive the brand’s business forward, or is it attempting to drive its own?"

On the shift from branded micro-sites to social media:

"The reason is clear: consumers are spending more time in these environments and they tend to be in exploratory mindsets as they surf profiles and updates. It’s much easier to engage a consumer looking for something to do than one in the middle of an objective that must be lured to a micro-site via a banner ad."

On understanding the Media Design concept:

"First, a new frame of reference is needed about the output of creative departments, specifically differentiating ideas vs. their executions. Next, the lines around what constitutes advertising must be redrawn and blurred to some degree as the traditional lines between product, advertising and experience are simply not clear within most new media."

On the role of creative agencies:

"Creative departments are in the ideas business."

"Today’s creative ideas must be broader, more flexible, more modular, utilitarian, and more diverse."

On the role of the Media Designer:

"Philosophically, Media Designers do not approach media as containers for the placement of uniform executions of ideas, as was highly efficient in a traditional media model. Instead, Media Designers view media as a canvas upon which are ideas are placed. More accurately, media is a collection of unique canvases, each of which has a dramatic and distinct impact on the creative manifestation itself."

"The Media Designer's primary tool is 'media' itself, of all types and formats... 'Media' is defined as any environment, virtual or physical, in which consumers may engage brands."

"Media Designers understand channel impact on content."

"Media Designers leverage media as a consumer lens... One key skill set of the Media Designer is the ability to use media as an input as adeptly as he or she uses it as an output."

"Media Designers craft media-scalable ideas. One clear distinction when approaching media as a canvas vs. as a container is understanding the striations of users across a medium and engaging them differently to maximize a creative idea’s potential. For example, YouTube receives about 89 million unique users a month [as of May 2009]. A 'container' philosophy sees this as the total possible universe reachable via advertising on YouTube. However, the audience itself can be cut an infinite number of ways, many of which will yield different outcomes based on variations on the same creative idea."

On Burger King's Whopper Sacrifice Facebook App:

"The creative idea's relationship with its medium was circular."

On why Media Design is such a foreign concept to creative shops:

"The issue currently though is that not enough relevant skills exist in most creative departments to ensure relevant conception, primarily because of the void resulting from an absence in media sensibility."

On why the industry is ripe for Media Design:

"The model is appropriate for agencies now that brand engagement has been so dramatically impacted by the new media revolution. It weaves media into the fabric of the original idea, the key reason most work is rejected by consumers today."

On managing expectations:

"Media Design is not intended as a panacea for any agency, but it certainly provides a tangible and achievable set of expertise that must be secured, then deployed as appropriate in the environment of that particular agency. In order to be successful, most agencies will require some form of reinvention. Media Design is proposed as a key step in that reinvention process for the majority of agencies around the globe."

---

Can you imagine Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce employing Media Designers? Me neither. That's one of the many reasons why SCDP would not be flourishing in today's ad world. (I'd imagine health care and HR costs would be among the others).

Media Design is both revolutionary and evolutionary. It's an approach built to manage the complexities of today's digital world while paying homage to the tried and true principles of successful advertising that have proven to work over the years across shifts in media, technology, and culture.

It will be very interesting to see how long it takes for the Media Design concept to catch on in creative agencies. I do believe it's a matter of "when" not "if" though. And, "if" it doesn't happen at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, look for Radia Goldman coming soon to a mad ave near you.

Google Me: Why Ask Why?

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:02:00 +0000

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In today's Search Insider column, I pick up where I left off 2 weeks ago and dissect Google's social media ambitions.

So why is Google so keen on building a large-scale social network? The answer's not as rhetorical as you might think.

Here's the blurb...

Why Google Me
Posted by Aaron Goldman on Jul 14, 8:00 PM
The world may not need another social network. But Google does. Google needs a place where people can easily congregate and communicate. A place that's as easy to understand and use as Google.com. A place that people "like." Why?
» 2 Comments

Are you a "User?"

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:48:00 +0000

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Pet Peeve:

I hate when people are referred to as "users" in a marketing context.

"We protect the privacy of Web users!"

"We design our products with users in mind!"

Whenever I hear that term, I think of the guy in this picture.

Have I seen Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream too many times? Maybe. But I'm sure I'm not alone here.

When you're speaking/writing/blogging about marketing, I'm sure this is the last image you want people conjuring up. Unless the audience segment you're referring to are actual drug users.

Website visitors are not users. Your customers are not users. Media consumers are not users. Your target audience is not users (unless you sell syringes). They are all PEOPLE.

So let's start calling a spade a spade.

"We protect the privacy of people on the Web!"

"We design our products with people in mind!"

Sounds better, right?

Let's not forget we're in the people business, not the marketing business.

Rant over.

Got Those Marketing Blues?

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:26:00 +0000

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Are you suffering from the marketing blues? Do you live in Chicago?

Well, you're in luck. One of companies I consult for is singing your tune.

Resolution Media, a leading digital marketing agency under the Omnicom (and also my happy home for nearly 5 years) is hosting a great event at the House of Blues on 7/22 for local area marketers, director level and up.

For more details and RSVP info, visit the Resolution Media website. Hope to see you there!

Google Who?

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:16:00 +0000

Woe is me for having branded myself (and my wife) with the Google Me moniker. As rumors fly over a Google social network named Google Me, I'm ducking for cover from Google's lawyers (would they really come after someone who just wrote a book singing their praises!?!) and frantically planning modifications to my t-shirt line (available today via KosherHam.com -- get 'em while they're hot... and legal!)

In last week's Search Insider column, I touch on Google Me (the network, not the shirt... well, ok, the shirt too!) in the context of Facebook's move to use the social graph to influence search results. Will flesh out the Google Me piece more in next week's column.

Here's the blurb...

Link Vs. Like And The Future Of Web Ranking
Posted by Aaron Goldman on Jun 30, 10:12 AM
There's been a lot of discussion about the ongoing fight for Web supremacy between Google and Facebook but, to date, the debate has centered around matters like privacy and metrics like page views and ad dollars. In the past week, however, it appears both companies are taking direct aim at the heart of the other's core business. First, AllFacebook.com reported that Facebook launched an "open graph search engine." Then, Kevin Rose sent the blogosphere into, well, the stratosphere with a tweet suggesting that a new Google social network called "Google Me" is imminent. In today's column, I'll dissect Facebook's search aspirations.
» 2 Comments

Digital Advertising Technology Landscape

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:18:00 +0000

This schematic has become my cheat-sheet of choice for making sense of the digital advertising technology landscape...

Source: Terence Kawaja, LUMA Partners via Slideshare

From my perspective, the take-away here is that the digital marketing ecosystem continues to fragment by the day as innovative firms find new ways to create value. In turn, the challenge is that each bucket that pops up adds another layer between the advertiser and the consumer (and another potential point of confusion for marketers getting hip, or trying to stay hip, to digital).

It's interesting to see how many buckets Google is active in through owned/operated properties. At my count (based on the original schematic below, not the updated one posted above) the Big G has a play in 9 of them:

DSP - Invite Media

Ad Exchange - DoubleClick AdX

Ad Networks - Google Content Network

Creative Optimization - Teracent

Ad Servers - DoubleClick

Analytics - Google Analytics

Mobile - AdMob

And, of course, since this chart only shows the "display advertising technology landscape," it doesn't include Video (YouTube), Search (Google) and all the other Google products.

Methinks it's only a matter of time before advertisers will be able to just go through Google to get to their audience and check all the boxes and buckets along the way.

In 5-10 years, the digital advertising landscape could look very well like this...

And, I suppose it's possible publishers could even be dis-intermediated too!

Now, surely, this outcome might cause some concern for marketers over Google having access to all the data, potentially fixing pricing, etc. But I think the benefits of centralization, simplification, and efficiency will outweigh the cons for 98% of the 5 million-ish advertisers that currently work with Google today. For the other 2% (big Internet retailers, Fortune 500's, etc.), there will still be a need for either a) agencies to act as their advocates or b) internal teams that will put all these pieces and buckets together themselves.

And, while the 2% may control a good 20% of the total digital advertising spend, that's a healthy 80% ripe for Google's picking. My bet is Dennis Woodside, Penry Price, Jim Lecinski, and the other Google ad sales big wigs have this cheat-sheet affixed to their desks as well.

Update 7/27: Just came across a great post by Doug Weaver on his blog, The Drift, reacting to this graphic. He likens the state of today's overcrowded display advertising technology landscape to 2 hobos slicing a bean. Rather than introducing "one more data source that's going to refine targeting by a quarter of a point" or "another technology or platform to shave a nickel off the CPM," Weaver urges us to focus on finding/creating companies that will create "new online wealth."

Who's Ready to Get Googley?!?

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:02:00 +0000

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Gotta love that old Snickers ad. "Hey, that's great but who are the Chefs?!?"

Yesterday saw the new website launch for my Google book, Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Google, at GoogleyLessons.com.

I'm very pleased with how it came out and must tip my hat again to the good folks at Elevate Studios for the amazing work.

The site is full of content including executive summaries of each chapter, the full text of nearly every interview I conducted while researching the book, as well as the complete book introduction. There's also a blog where I plan to share behind-the-scenes tidbits as well as keep everyone updated on news and info related to the book and its subjects.

One of my main goals for the site is to make reading the book a more interactive experience. Throughout the book I included URLs for people to click on e-readers and/or type in to their browsers to get more context for a particular topic. And I set up specific URLs for each chapter for readers to share thoughts and exchange ideas with others.

My hope is that the book will become much more than the paper -- and, as the case may be, digital ink -- it's printed on. As noted in Chapter 17, "Show of Your Assets," it's always a best practice to extend the shelf life of your products through digital asset creation and distribution. This website is one small way I'm looking to practice what I preach. Other tactics include a promotional video I'm shooting tomorrow along with a blog tour around the book release date (which is set for 8/27, btw) -- both of which were concepted and being executed by my publisher, McGraw-Hill.

When you have a few minutes -- or hours -- to spare, please check out the Googley Lessons website and, if you haven't already, pre-order the book and engage in the conversation.

And, if you like the shirt below better than the one up above, feel free to pick one up -- choose from 20 color combinations! -- through my pals at KosherHam.com.

Image Credit - Photo Images, Inc.

Remember, Googley is as Googley does. And who doesn't want to get Googley every now and then?!?

Google's Invitation to SEM VIPs

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:35:00 +0000

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In today's Search Insider column, I invite those in the SEM community to RSVP to Google's proposition to buy online display media in a more search-like manner through its latest acquisition, Invite Media.

I didn't touch on this in the column but another interesting thread related to the Invite Media deal is that Google now owns an ad network and ad exchange as well as an ad server (DoubleClick) and demand side platform (Invite) that can be used to buy inventory (and see rates among other data) across other (non-Google) networks and exchanges.

Nat Turner, Invite Media CEO, himself said that this was a huge conflict of interest just a few short months ago. In his guest post on AdExchanger.com about "True DSPs", he wrote...

"A true DSP must remain neutral and have zero allegiances to any publishers, exchanges, data providers or other vendors. A true DSP should embody the word 'platform' and not just be conduit or pretty interface to a pre-existing business."

And, as if that didn't make it clear enough, he went on to say...

"The DSP should not, under any circumstances, own or operate an ad network. This is in direct conflict with the neutrality aspect."

Will be interesting to see how this is resolved.

Meanwhile, here's the blurb from my column...

Google Invites SEM Attributes To Display
Posted by Aaron Goldman on Jun 16, 10:34 AM
In the display world, Google has fared pretty well of late. YouTube will turn a profit this year. And the Google Content Network enjoys 80% reach globally, becoming a staple on most every media plan that includes online ad networks. And Google's success in display can be largely attributed to incorporating key features of SEM.
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Googley Tube

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 03:35:00 +0000

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In yesterday's Search Insider column I pontificate on the ideal ad format for Google TV.

As you might guess, I advocate for taking lessons learned from SEM and applying them to the big screen.

Let's hope Google doesn't act like a bunch of n00bs when incorporating ads onto the boob tube.

Here's the blurb....

What Will Ads Look Like On Google TV?
Posted by Aaron Goldman on Jun 2, 10:18 AM
As many of you know, Google introduced Google TV a couple of weeks ago at its I/O developer conference. Details have been posted via Google blog post , intro video, and developer guide. Conspicuously missing, though, was any information about advertising via Google TV. So, on the off chance Google hasn't yet figured out the proper ad format for Google TV, I thought I'd share some suggestions.
» 4 Comments

My Best Career Advice: Don't Wait... Ask!

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sat, 29 May 2010 00:38:00 +0000

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I seem to be in a bit of a retrospective mode this week. That, and I've happened to have some very interesting conversations lately with some very interesting people.

On Wed., I posted thoughts shared by Scott Kier about Google's energy ambitions. Yesterday, it was a response to a request I received about corporate blog best practices.

Today, I'd like to share an introspective chat I had earlier this week with a former colleague of mine from Resolution Media, Josh Dreller, who's gone on to build quite a name for himself and his current agency, Fuor Digital, in the digital marketing space.

We got to talking about what it takes to succeed in this industry. Sure things like smarts, connections, and passion came up. But we landed on one very simple tenant that really separates the wheat from the chaff. And, looking at some of the most successful folks I know in this industry (and others, for that matter), I find this to be something they all exemplify...

Don't wait for anything to be handed to you. Ask for it!

This adage certainly applies in the sales and business development world where "asking for the order" is Sales 101. But anyone anywhere can take this to heart and use it to propel themselves and their company to higher levels.

The bottom line is that it's rare to work for a company where anyone is really looking out for you and your best interests. Sure, there are good managers that will reward you with more money, a promotion, etc. But, at the end of the day, they've got their own asses to cover. And they'll respect you as an employee even more if you show some initiative and ask for whatever it is you want.

Now, of course, make sure your request is grounded in a) reality (read: commensurate with your contributions/skillset and the current marketplace) and b) the best interests of the company (read: more revenue and/or reduced costs) or else your "ask" will fall flat as will your chances of moving up the chain of command.

For whatever reason, I find that the vast majority of people in the marketing world are too scared, embarrassed, timid, jealous, and downright unsure of themselves to ask for what they want. And, of those that do, only a few actually take the time to consider the position of the "askee" and determine if what they are asking for is something that deserves to get green lit.

Yes, that means doing some homework. Yes, that means practicing your pitch. Yes, that means listening intently. Yes, that means understanding the motivations of the person you're asking. Yes, that means building a business case. But, most of all, that means getting off your ass and doing something about your situation.

To be sure, some folks may say that it's even better advice not to ask for permission, rather ask for forgiveness. In other words, don't wait to be told... don't even ask... just do it. Many times I'll agree with that approach but it's hard to make a sweeping statement like that and advocate for it across all situations. There are times where that can get you into serious hot water. So, as a rule of them, I'd start by asking until you get familiar enough with all the moving parts in an organization to know when it's ok to "just do it."

So, now, I ask you, what are you waiting for?

Corporate Blog Best Practices

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:29:00 +0000

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Earlier this week, a colleague asked for my thoughts on best practices for corporate blogs. This was for a service provider in the digital marketing space but I think these guidelines can be applied to any business:

• Post at least once a week. Blogs are supposed to be timely. Any less frequent posting will show you're not serious about the platform.

• Have multiple contributors but one voice. No-one wants to hear only from the CEO or only from the marketing director. We want to see the different personalities and viewpoints of the company. That said, we also don't want 100 different styles or writing, contradictory POV's, etc. Create a filter that all content must pass thru. For example, before posting, always stop and ask yourself, "Would I say this to a customer?" Or, always use "we" when referring to the company and never use "they" without specifying who "they" is.

• Create a schedule ahead of time so everyone knows when they are on the hook for content.

• Always keep 2 posts "in your pocket" for when scheduled contributors are delinquent.

• Pick topics that are a) relevant to your business b) relevant to SEO keywords you want to win for and c) controversial (to generate links).

• Don't just talk about yourself. Make it personal and show your personality but it shouldn't just be a less-formal version of a self-promotional corporate website. Comment on (and link to) topics of interest for other companies, even your competitors as appropriate. To be clear, it's ok (and encouraged) to post about the goings-on at your company but if every post is a pat on the back, your only readers will be employees and their friends/family.

• Along those lines, keep your audience in mind. It includes your clients, competitors, employees, potential employees, etc. Everything you write should be meaningful to all those constituencies. If you write in a tone that only appeals to one group, you risk alienating the others. For example, I never like to use the word "clients" because that means something different to a network vs. an agency vs. a marketer. Whenever referring to corporate marketers, I say "marketers."

• Don't write in a formal tone. But don't use too much slang. And certainly mind your grammar and spelling.

• Link wherever possible to other web pages related to your topic.

• Cross-link to your own older posts as relevant. Extend the shelf-lives of that archival material.

• Create categories to bucket content into and tag each post accordingly. This helps readers go deeper on certain topics of interest.

• Make it easy for others to link to your posts. Include social-bookmarking and sharing icons as well as FB "Like" buttons. RSS Feed is also a must for people who prefer to consume that way.

• Give people a reason to link to you. Write about things that others will find useful.

• Use images (and video) wherever possible. All text blogs are boring. Also, bullets and lists are helpful. No paragraph should be longer than 3-4 sentences. Quick, puchy reads are best.

• Make sure sensitive content is not posted (eg, client data, internal memos, etc.) without the proper permissions.

• Encourage feedback and comments. Blogs should be 2-way (or multi-way) dialogues. Don't censor comments. Take the good with the bad. It's part of building a community and a conversation.

• Promote your posts. You can't just post and expect people to read. Tweet links to new posts. Ask employees to email links to relevant parties. Include links in press releases, POV's, decks, newsletters, emails to customers, etc.

• Have fun with it! If your people enjoy contributing, it will come thru to readers and they'll have fun reading it!

The Big G is Energized

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Thu, 27 May 2010 02:19:00 +0000

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A good friend and colleague of mine, Scott Kier of Mosaic EcoSystems, pinged me a few weeks ago asking for my POV on Google's Energy Foray. I turned the question back on him and here was his response (posted with permission). Very intriguing stuff...

"One of the silver bullets in terms of energy efficiency is the 'smart grid' - a power grid that does more than just send a powerful stream of electricity to your home or office or factory for you to tap into. Rather, it's going to involve attaching a network to the grid - or merging the grid entirely with existing data networks.

Consider:

Just about anything that's plugged in - a lamp, a dishwasher, etc... - draws a trickle of power even when turned off. Eliminating that trickle won't revolutionize anyone's electric bill, and fossil fuel energy remains extremely cheap for you and me, so we don't tend to worry about these small moves towards efficiency. But if EVERYONE eliminated that trickle, collectively it significantly moves the needle of overall energy usage. So what needs to happen isn't just turning off the power switch on the appliance, but rather, turning off the outlet it's plugged into. So you need the outlet to be networked so that when you turn an appliance back on, it re-activates the outlet.

Here's another smart grid application: the power company in Las Vegas knew that people were over-cooling their homes. In the summer in Vegas, setting your thermostat to 78 feels the same in the dry air as setting it to 69-70 does here in Chicago. But most people were setting it to 72-74. Well, when it's over 100 outside, cooling those extra 5-7 degrees is a major usage of power. So stimulus money went to providing single-family homes in Vegas with a smart thermostat which allows the power company to set a default temperature. You can override it, but they were convinced that people wouldn't do so when they realized that 78 degrees was perfectly comfortable and saw the result of that on their electric bill. My parents' electric bill last July fell almost $100 year-over-year.

There are tons more, like smart water heaters that shut down when not needed as opposed to running all the time, keeping water hot.

And when most homes have at least supplemental solar and wind power, it's going to take a smart system to know how to optimize the mix of in situ renewables and grid power, in much the same way as a Google algorithm generates placement for paid search and SEO.

Think of the progression from the typewriter to the computer: it gave you and me a lot more to DO, a lot more access to information, it replaced the card catalog at the library with a query, so we could customize our usage of information. Droid and iPhone OS are the distillation of that for mobile usage, and I believe (and HP seems to believe, too, based on the rationale for their acquisition of Palm) that this is the way in which more and more people will interact with their data.

Well, the progression from a dumb power grid that just blasts power and loses a ton of it along the way to a smart grid that, much like a query, will only go where it's needed - will only find the "relevant" destination - will give you and I will many more applications to manage that, just as we have applications to manage our data.

Tom Friedman calls this the 'energy internet': replacing a dumb, manual system with one driven by queries and manipulation of data. This is exactly what Google knows how to do, so as we move into an era where energy and data will be part of the same technological ecosystem... who better than Google to be a leader in an emerging space that will be built as much on a technological, data-driven platform as an industrial one? They have the processes and culture for innovation, many of the core competencies, and the resources to to be ahead of the pack in this next phase and essentially avoid the fate that befell Microsoft when they really fell behind Apple and Google when the game moved on them.

(Yes, I know PC still crushes Apple in market share, but Apple is still viewed as the premium product, and as tablet computing emerges, Apple will narrow that gap dramatically, and Google will further encroach on Microsoft's position as you have Droid-based tablets.)"

Don’t Hate the Mayor. Hate the Game.

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:22:00 +0000

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I’ve been cited in the press twice in the past two weeks regarding social media.

The first pertained to Four Square monetization and the second was re: Facebook and privacy. As always, I’ve posted recaps of the Connectual blog and added an extended POV on each topic and the implications for the digital marketing ecosystem.

So the next time one of your friends annoys you by clogging your social media feeds with check-ins or crop-dusting, just think… it could be worse. Imagine if those notifications came with ads!

Putting the KITT in Kittlaus

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:06:00 +0000

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In last week’s Search Insider column, I share the complete transcript of my interview with Siri CEO, Dag Kittlaus.

I conducted this Q&A in the context of exploring the future of search for my book. Chapter 21 is titled “Future-Proofing” and takes a look at what the world of Google will look like 10 years from now and how marketers can best prepare.

Without stealing thunder from my book, the short story is that the future of search will look nothing like the keyword-triggered results we get today. As app-ssistants like Siri complement -- and eventually replace -- Search Engines, we’ll see instruction-triggered actions leveraging intimate knowledge of our preferences.

And, with Apple now owning Siri, we may also see a shakeup of power among the key players in the space.

Let’s just hope the next wave of virtual digital assistants leaves the Hoff behind.

Here’s the blurb…

A Siri-es Of Fortunate Events
Posted by Aaron Goldman on May 19, 10:07 AM
To be sure, Siri is not yet ready for prime time, but it has all the makings of a Siri-al Google Killer. And, with continued investment from Apple, it's not unreasonable to think that Siri could do to search what the iPhone did to phones -- that is, completely change the way we think about them from both a consumer and marketing standpoint. Here's my chat with Siri CEO Dag Kittlaus.
» 3 Comments

Yahoo Chides Google for Keeping It Simple. Who's Stupid?

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Fri, 07 May 2010 03:37:00 +0000

Yahoo! Tile Video @ Yahoo! Video

I came across this video in my Facebook news feed thanks to my friend who runs the self-titled "Geoff DeMars Internet Marketing News" page on FB.

The crux of this video and Yahoo's new campaign can be summed up in these 2 lines...

"There's nothing to look at but a box and a button... you come to this place so you can leave."

"At Yahoo, we've got another idea... a place you want to stay."

In his post, Geoff linked to this piece on Search Engine Land in which Yahoo's approach is called "misguided and off the mark" by Greg Sterling and "stunningly stupid" by Danny Sullivan.

For what it's worth, I see merits and demerits to this strategy...

Merit: Yahoo realizes it can't compete with Google and is trying to position itself as an entirely different resource.

Demerit: If Yahoo really realized it couldn't compete in search, it wouldn't repeatedly play up its search capabilities in the voiceover.

The bottom line, though, is that there's nothing Yahoo can do about the fact that most advertisers don't want to reach people on a place that "people want to stay."

Rather, as I discuss in Chapter 4 of my book, "Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Google," advertisers want to reach people when they're in a commercial mindset aka "buy mode." More often than not, that type of intent is displayed by going to a place to find what you're looking for and leave. Hence why Google did $6.7 billion in revenue in Q1 compared to Yahoo's $1.6 billion.

I cover the whole "should I stay or should I go" thread in Chapter 3 of my book and the copy is so darn close to the script in this Yahoo ad I thought I'd better share it now before anyone reads the book in September when it's released and thinks my POV was skewed by the Yahoo campaign.

So here's an excerpt from Chapter 3 -- the first 797 of 3647 words in the chapter, to be precise. Note, this is unedited copy from my original manuscript and, outside McGraw-Hill, no-one else has seen it. Would love any and all feedback.

Chapter 3: Keep It Simple, Stupid

What are you supposed to do on Google.com?

Easy, right? Search.

The big search box surrounded by white space beckons you to do one thing and one thing only.

Search.

When you first told someone else about Google, did you have to explain how to use it? Nope.

How do you think Google became a verb? Simple.

There’s very little ambiguity. Google means search.

Today, this seems like a no-brainer. But, in 1998 this was a novel concept. At that time, the most popular websites more closely resembled newspapers, covering every inch of the page with content and ads.

What you were supposed to do on these sites was less clear. Read articles. Look at ads. Communicate with friends. There was one common goal, though. These websites wanted you to stay -- maybe not on that particular page but definitely on that site.

Contrast that with Google. Google doesn’t want you to stay on its site. It wants you to leave.
And what better way to hammer that idea home that to put a big box in the middle of the page with nothing else around it.

Fade to White

Today Google could command millions of dollars for ads on its homepage. But that would distract you from the task at hand. Searching.

In fact, Google recently went a couple steps further. First, in September 2009, it made the search box bigger. Then, a few months later, it removed everything but the box, logo, and search buttons, only fading in the other menu items, links, and footer upon movement of the mouse.

In a blog post, Marrisa Mayer, Google’s VP of Search Products and User Experience, explained the change as follows…

“For the vast majority of people who come to the Google homepage, they are coming in order to search, and this clean, minimalist approach gives them just what they are looking for first and foremost. For those users who are interested in using a different application like Gmail, Google Image Search or our advertising programs, the additional links on the homepage only reveal themselves when the user moves the mouse. Since most users who are interested in clicking over to a different application generally do move the mouse when they arrive, the ‘fade in’ is an elegant solution that provides options to those who want them, but removes distractions for the user intent on searching.”

Of course, what happens after you search is a different story. In the early days, Google results pages were pristine lists of blue links. Today, they resemble almost every other page on the Web replete with images, widgets, and ads.

This layout is quite calculated, however. Once you’ve already searched, Google doesn’t want you to search again. It wants you to click. On whatever seems most relevant to you at the time. Organic listing. Image. Map. Ad. It doesn’t matter. Just click. Hopefully you’ll have found what you wanted and then come back again to search.

Everything about the way Google lays out its pages screams what it wants you to do. Search. Then click. And repeat.

“Don’t over think it. Sometimes simple creates the best experience.” -- Sean Cheyney, VP,

Marketing & Business Development, AccuQuote @scheyney

Easy Does It

On its corporate website, Google lays out its design principles. One of them speaks to the power of simplicity.

“Simplicity fuels many elements of good design, including ease of use, speed, visual appeal, and accessibility. But simplicity starts with the design of a product's fundamental functions. Google doesn't set out to create feature-rich products; our best designs include only the features that people need to accomplish their goals. Ideally, even products that require large feature sets and complex visual designs appear to be simple as well as powerful. Google teams think twice before sacrificing simplicity in pursuit of a less important feature. Our hope is to evolve products in new directions instead of just adding more features.”

In June of 2000, Google stuck a deal with Yahoo! to power its search results. But, despite returning the exact same results, more and more people flocked directly to Google.com when they wanted to find another website. Why? Simple. Google meant search. Yahoo! meant stay.

As Kenneth Fadner, Chairman and Publisher of MediaPost and one of the founders of Adweek, observed, “Yahoo's search was always buried inside its cluttered portal page. When people thought "search" they thought about Google, even while on the Yahoo page, where they could also search using Google. It was not the promise of a better result that moved them, it was the inability of people to hold multiple thoughts in their heads at the same time that made them think: ‘If I want to search I need to go to Google.’"

It was that simple.

I am Siri-ous and Don’t Call Me Shirley!

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:47:00 +0000

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As promised, in today’s Search Insider column, I cover Apple’s acquisition of Siri in the context of its ambitions to change the way we think of mobile and search marketing.

I asked my Twitter followers to weigh in with other good Siri puns and @telerob inspired the title to this post. Here are some others I like:

1. Siri-al (Google) Killer
2. Mis-Siri Loves Company
3. A-Siri-an Nation
4. World Siri-es Champ
5. Look out Siri-han Siri-han
6. Siri-sucker Suit
7. Montes-Siri Education
8. Siri-ndipitous Turn of Events
9. The Sooth-Siri Sees All
10. Healthy Does of Triglyc-Siri-ide

In my next Search Insider column, I’ll share highlights from my interview with Siri CEO, Dag Kittlaus. Meantime, I need to Siri-ously get a life.

Here's the blurb...

Apple Is Siri-ous About Search
Posted by Aaron Goldman on May 5, 11:23 AM
Nearly one year ago, fellow Search Insider Gord Hotchkiss declared, "Search needs an iPhone." With this "mobile Web and computing device.... [Apple] intended to vault over the competition, changing the rules and opening a new marketplace. Apple strategists had nothing short of revolution on their minds."

Two recent events make it pretty clear that Apple feels the same way about search as it does/did about the phone.
» 5 Comments

Privacy Shmivacy

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Mon, 03 May 2010 22:27:00 +0000

Today marked the first time I encountered (or noticed) one of the IAB ads from its "Privacy Matters" campaign. Launched back in December, the goal of the program is to "to educate consumers and provide them with the resources to help them manage their privacy online."

Accompanying the ads is "an information-rich website where consumers can... engage in conversation about their privacy concerns."

Now, I don't know about you, but the only place I've seen people engage in conversation about their privacy concerns en masse is on Facebook via threads related to the latest effort by the social media giant to "extend the social graph" by sharing personal information with little-to-no advance notification and a mere opt-out.

Of course, the data collection, sharing, and targeting practices of IAB members are also opt-out but seldom (if ever) involve personally-identifiable information. Alas, the call to action to "engage in conversation" has produced a grand total of 16 comments to date on the IAB Privacy Matters website.

Google, for its part, took a different tact when it launched Interest-based advertising. For the most part, it avoids using the words "behavioral" and "targeting" altogether. Instead it suggests that its platform makes ads more "relevant" and "useful." I believe I called this approach putting lipstick on a pig.

My personal take? All the campaigning, notifications and wordplay in the world can't change the fact that the reason people don't like behaviorally (or otherwise) targeted ads is because they know someone's getting rich off their data and it ain't them.

As I said before, let's stop educating people about privacy (or even policing it) and just pay them!

Don't get me wrong, I applaud the IAB and its members for doing something to educate the public and keep the vocal minority from becoming a vocal majority. That said, I think we need pop the pig open and see if it squeals rather than just making it over.

Apple Signals Sea Change, Buys Siri

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:01:00 +0000

Today brought word that Apple bought Siri, a virtual personal assistant that I cover in detail in chapter 21 of my book. Siri CEO, Dag Kittlaus, was kind enough to grant me an interview as I prepared my manuscript. Little did I know -- or did he let on -- what was cooking behind the scenes.

WSJ has good coverage of the news. Will share my POV in next week's Search Insider column. For now, just wanted to call everyone's attention to this latest development in the Google/Apple saga. One day we'll point to this and say this was the moment Apple threw down the search gauntlet.

More on how these two are tangoing in my recent post on the Connectual blog, including a press mention in MediaPost speculating about Google's hire of a new "Developer Advocate."

Wish I Were There

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:06:00 +0000

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In this week's Search Insider column, I collaborated with Frank Lee of The Search Agency to recap the highlights of the MediaPost Search Insider Summit. (Frank attended the conference in person while I monitored it live via Twitter #mpsis.)

In my last column, I shared predictions for what would have people buzzing in Captiva. Turns out I got 4/10 right -- 5 if you count Attribution as a variation of Data. Not a bad average for a major league baseball player. Not great for a guy who's been closely tracking SIS buzz for eight shows running.

Here's the blurb...

Search Insider Summit Buzz-O-Tweeter
Posted by Aaron Goldman on Apr 21, 10:05 AM
Last week saw the annual spring migration of search geeks down to Florida for the Search Insider Summit. After attending the previous seven shows and tracking the buzz, I had to turn the reigns over to Frank Lee of The Search Agency for on-site buzz tracking -- which is very scientific, mind you -- and settle for remotely monitoring the #mpsis tweet-stream. Here are the top ten buzzwords dropped by conference attendees, with some context for each one from Frank -- and a little added commentary from me -- along with the tweet I think best captured the sentiment.
» 2 Comments