I came across these today and found them very clever:

There are more of these on the DesignMom website.

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One of the best aspects of online marketing is the ability to measure performance almost instantly. Most webmasters these days know to have a form of web analytics software that provides insights on visitors, traffic performance etc. I use Google Analytics for this exact purpose as do most of the clients I work with. While Google Analytics is great for measuring the performance of the visitors to your website is is also helpful to be able to tie this performance directly to your online ads and activities. In other words you need to be able to measure your clients activities a full circle in order to maximize your marketing.

This is where the integration of Facebook Insights with Google Analytics becomes powerful. Until very recently Facebook didn’t offer a sophisticated analytics package. Facebook Insights was useful but in reality it wasn’t really that great. And to top it off analytics was only available if you had paid ads on Facebook. There was no real way of measuring the other things you were doing in your marketing efforts. So, for instance Facebook Insights wasn’t as useful if you were running a social media outreach and wanted to measure the performance of this traffic in Google Analytics.

Well, worry no more, Raven Internet Marketing, has introduced a tool called The Facebook Tool that is designed to fill this void. This tool helps you to manage and analyze multiple Fan Pages. The goal is to help you improve your efficiency. Plus this tool works seamlessly with Google Analytics providing that 360 view of your market.

Here is how the tool can benefit your social media campaign (from The Social Times):

• Gain better understanding of the performance of Fan Pages beyond what is provided by Facebook Insights
• Create custom, white-labeled reports on the data
• Schedule updates to ensure updates are posted during high-visibility periods
• Manage multiple Fan Pages all from within the Raven system
• Assign clients and management read-only access to view metrics at their convenience

Check it out and let me know what you think.

photo credit: The Car Spy

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I just noticed a sponsored link on Google Local Search while searching for a meeting venue in Phoenix, AZ. I noticed that the local map listing had a “sponsored link” section. I had never seen this before. I did some investigation and found that this comes from connecting your Google Places account to your Google AdWords account. In addition to connecting your accounts you then have to activate the connection. I don’t know if this is going to be a permanent feature – but apparently you’re not paying to be listed first (this only shows up on the second listing). So, the advertiser is only paying for a link. At this point its hard to be sure how that plays into the cost and value of using this feature. However, right now this feature can offer you a competitive advantage since not too many advertisers are aware.

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Accents are fun.  That’s why this video is exceptionally fun to watch.

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Online reviews are the rage and while not every company may be soliciting them, customers on the other hand seem eager to post them online within any forum they find comfortable. Open ended and non-solicited customer reviews can be a very positive element for a company’s marketing.  This is because they’re genuine and consequently the most persuasive as well. Due to the pervasive nature of reviews and range of sites across the Internet companies oftentimes do not even know what is being said about them – let alone address the negative comments.

Oftentimes the topic of reputation management is not discussed as part of the marketing strategy. However, with information dissemination facilitated by the Internet and the explosion of social media, online reputation management should be one of the items to consider as part of you an overall marketing strategy. One negative comment that resonates with your customer base could undo years and years of careful brand management and messaging. Online reputation management in one aspect of social media that can have an immediate ROI for your company. So, your reputation on the web needs your complete and full attention.

Getting Started with Online Reputation Management

When considering online reputation management it is very important to have a strategic  framework for not only monitoring what is being said on the Internet about your company, but also to devise a mechanism for responding to negative comments and positive ones. The full scope of work should include the following:

1. Set up alerts with the major search engines and follow through to the links as the alerts are delivered.
2. Monitor social media sites, review sites, and online forums. It may be necessary for you to create accounts to do this.
3. Develop a company wide mechanism for responding to negative comments within 24-48 hours.
4. Respond appropriately to positive comments. You do not need to respond to every one of these but at least a few. It will make you look genuine.

Online Reputation Management Software Tools

The suggestions above are meant to be an initial start. In order to be proactive and totally alert you may need to deploy specialized online reputation management software programs. I would recommend any specialized software that is specific to your industry. This will make the process of staying on top of the conversation easier.

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I’m really curious to see how Microsoft and Yahoo merge their two independent PPC systems.  Account transitions are slated for October and from what I understand all Yahoo accounts will be converted over to Bing AdCenter accounts. This means your AdCenter account will not be affected but if you have a Yahoo Search Marketing account then you may be in for a bumpy ride.

Joseph Kerschbaum over at Search Engine Watch has a detailed article on the status of the transition as well as how differing features between the two systems will be managed. There is reason to be apprehensive of the transition and Joseph has this suggestion:

Hopefully, all of the account transitions will go smoothly and advertisers won’t feel too much discomfort during the change.

However, I have one tip that is pretty straight forward and should save you a lot of headaches. To avoid all of these account merger issues, you should just open an adCenter account now and build it exactly how you want it. If you already have an adCenter account, then you’re already covered and you won’t need to do anything.

Take a look at Joseph’s article to see why he makes this recommendation.

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An online community is an interactive group of members joined together by a common interest.  An online community can be one of the most powerful tools a marketer can deploy for retention, word of mouth marketing, and market insight. To host a successful community it is important to focus on objectives, chart a road map, assemble the right team, and plan to be flexible. Then launch the community with the backing of your most enthusiastic customers and stay engaged as the community grows. Above all, all successful communities are aware that control is in the hands of the members, so it is vital to put their needs first, build trust, and become an active part of the community. The host needs to learn to be a host and not a policeman.

Over the past decade many companies have launched online communities. There is good reason for this. Online community members visited Web sites nine times as often, stayed five times as long, and represented 65% of sales, according to a recent McKinsey & Company survey. A 2006 survey of midsize and large companies suggested that 89% of them had adopted at least one of six community-building tools, such as blogs, wikis, social networking, or content-tagging. There is therefore a great movement among companies to adopt a form of online community best suited to reach their business goals.

Benefits of an Online Community

When starting an online community it should be open to everyone interested in participating in the forum. While there will be certain restrictions imposed on the community in terms of topics and language, these will be performed with community goals in mind. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with establishing an online community  primarily as a marketing platform for your company.

There are many benefits to establishing an online community. Here are a few:

• Facilitate conversation among customers, prospects and other stakeholders
• Marketing platform for products/services
• Social media presence
• Brand building tool
• Create a self supporting user base for customers
• Gain insights into target market

Online Community Management

After setting up an online community there are a few things you need to be aware of in order to have a successful and vibrant community. Once members have signed on and agreed to the terms of participation, managing the conversations and fostering an environment of trust will be critical. To ensure the experience is beneficial for all  parties provide the following as part of the community management process:

1. A clear and concise purpose statement for the community which is visible to all members at all times.
2. Communicate the goals for the community to its members on a regular basis.
3. Develop and enforce community rules for engagement in order to maintain a fair, safe, neutral and professional environment for participants.
4. Pre-post content on the forum within 15-20 relevant categories. This ensures the forum is not deserted with the first members arrive.
5. Ensure all participants feel welcome when they join the community.  For example send an introductory gift card once a member comes online and creates a discussion thread for the first time.
6. Create a climate of trust and open communication.
7. Devise a membership reward system to encourage participation and discussion.
8. Create a regular fun activity to enjoy the lighter side of online community engagement.
9. Monitor popular topics on a regular basis in order to gain insights.
10. Monitor subjects that raise the most passion in the online community.
11. Identify the most influential members of the community and seek their assistance in community development.
12. Directly communicate with members as needed.

photo credit: Leah Gregg

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

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As a passionate fan of world cup soccer I’m pretty excited that the World Cup is finally here. The fact that it is being hosted in South Africa makes it an extra special event in my mind. While winning the cup is the main goal, there are many ways in which you can measure the success of your team in the World Cup.  Facebook recently launched a Goal Leaderboard to track the top teams in the competition.

The Goal Leaderboard doesn’t rank teams based on their performance in a game, that would be pretty boring. Instead it ranks teams by the most passionate fans. So, here is your chance to put your team over the top. Check it out and get y our team up there.

Here is a snapshot as of the writing of this post (Chile is on top):

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This blog is not focused on the issue of the massive oil leak. However, this blog does pride itself on coming up with simple and innovative solutions to problems. I have demontrated my solution in a  simple diagram above. Please tell me why this is not possible.

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Woes of a Literal Marketer: Link Bait, originally uploaded by HubSpot.

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