Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition:  #39

Stories This Week: Facebook advertising problems, the death of Moore’s Law, Axis – Yahoo’s browser, vendor strategies for Marketing Technology, Google’s Webmaster Academy and a BONUS on getting started with SEO

1. Is There a Problem with Facebook Advertising?

[eMarketer]

Interesting stat:

83% of Facebook users say they rarely or never click on Facebook ads or sponsored content.

 My Take: Yes. I feel like I never see Facebook ads (thank you AdBlock Chrome browser extension) and if I do see them I NEVER CLICK ON ADs.  I just don’t believe Facebook is worth $85B.

2. The Collapse of Moore’s Law: Physicist Says It’s Already Happening

[Time]

3. Yahoo Launches a Browser (yes Yahoo)

[VentureBeat] Yahoo’s Axis browser works the way a search engine ought to work. It does away with the search engine results page (SERP) and presents thumbnail images of sites in an updated user interface.

My Take: “It doesn’t have a results page?!?” That was my first reaction. I didn’t read up on Axis before trying it out, I wanted to experience the browser without any preconceptions and at first I was a bit thrown without a SERP.  After using it a bit, it’s an elegant browser, but it won’t become my go to browser. It seems fine for finding simple answers to straightforward questions but less functional when it comes to searching for more obscure things like error codes.  Ultimately, I think the big story is how this user interface will disrupt Google search and Bing.  Google will protect their search ad revenue so expect a competitive response this year.

Try out Axis here: http://axis.yahoo.com/

suite platform portfolio

4. Marketing Technology: Suite, Platform, or Portfolio?

[ChiefMarketingTechnologist] Scott Brinker breaks down three vendor approaches to solving marketing technology challenges.

My Take: I’ll simply say that if you’re interested in this space and you’re not following Scott you’re missing out.  He has a great way of “making sense out of it all.”

5. Google Launches Webmaster academy

[Google] Google released an all in one site to help promote you, your content and your business.

My Take: *sheepishly* Haven’t tried it yet, but I like the sound of it!

BONUS: What You Need to Know about SEO

[TheDailyMuse] Three steps:

1. Choose if your Site is “Long Tail” or “Head”

2. Organize Your Content Using Bread Crumb Navigation

3. Optimize Your Page Titles

My Take: SEO is such a deep and confusing topic. This is a great post on how to get started.

 

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition:  #38

Stories This Week: Google+ still sux, future of Facebook, new SEO metrics, Google’s new mobile strategy, a business plan for Pinterest

1. New Google+ Study Reveals Minimal Social Activity, Weak User Engagement

[FastCompany] A report by RJ Metrics shows that Google+ is a “Ghost Town.” While Google complained that the report was flawed because it didn’t count private messages, it doesn’t look good for the social networking service.

 My Take: Google+ has actually has a lot going for it. The ability to post publicly and privately, awesome video conferencing, photo editing, etc.  What it lacks is an Application Programming Interface. Without an API, developers cannot share content to Google+. What does it mean to users? You can’t share from Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Buffer, Instagram, etc.  When Google releases an API, Twitter will may have a real challenger on its hands.

2. Will Facebook be an Internet Behemoth in 10 Years?

[AdAge] Interesting take on previous internet “monsters.” Did you know in 2000 AOL was valued at $150 billion? Will Facebook be the next AOL or will it live up to it’s lofty market capitalization?

My Take: With global dominance and somewhat limited opportunities for new growth (is it going to charge users?) where will growth come from?  Potentially it could compete with LinkedIn for professional networking but that doesn’t seem like an easy battle. I feel like the IPO was mostly a payoff for early investors. I struggle to see why Facebook is a good buy at a 100:1 P/E ratio. Then again, don’t take valuation advice from me. I thought Apple peaked in 2003 – then they released the iPhone.

3. Trust Flow & Citation Flow, New Link Metrics

[icrossing] Majestic SEO announced two new link metrics, Citation Flow and Trust Flow, for measuring the perceived quality of a domain, subdomain or page.

Citation Flow and Trust Flow

My Take: SEO measurement isn’t my speciality, but I like the idea of an easy to read and understand measurement.

4. Google Finally Gets Serious About Mobile Hardware

[WSJ] Google s shifting its strategy for its Android mobile operating system, in a bid to create a united front with smart phone and tablet makers to take on rivals like Apple and prevent wireless carriers from controlling the devices.

My Take: This had to happen for several reasons:

1. Google has lost control over the Android brand and some expect they will shift their mobile branding efforts away from Android and towards “Nexus”.
2. The marketing of Google phones is too fractured for a customer to figure out. What’s a high-end Android phone? What’s a value phone? Currently they make it too hard for customers to buy their product.
3. There is no caché to owning a Google phone; it’s still a good phone with excellent features (with a few issues like battery life and lag) but it’s the Rodney Dangerfield of mobile. You kids can go look up Rodney Dangerfield now.
4. The fractured hardware specs makes developers reticent to develop apps for Android, this shift only addresses this concern mildly.

5. Confirmed: Pinterest Taking $100m For E-commerce Play

[PaidContent] Here are the important points:

1. Rakuten invested $100m in Pinterest
2. At a reported $1.5b valuation
3. The goal is to connect curation with commerce

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition:  #37

Stories This Week: Google+ broadcast hangouts, historic smart phones adoption, best inbound marketing tactics, last minute Mothers Day ideas.

1. Google+ Hangouts On Air: broadcast your conversation to the world

[GoogleBlog]

My Take: Everyone is a publisher now. I’d love to start a regular Marketing Technology show (if I had the time) or join someone else’s show.

2. Are Smart Phones Spreading Faster than Any Technology in Human History?

[MIT] Today’s technology scene seems overheated to some. Apple is the most valuable company on earth. Software apps are reaching tens of millions of users within weeks. Major technology names like Research in Motion and Nokia are being undone by rapid changes to their markets. Underlying these developments: the unprecedented speed at which mobile computers are spreading.

My Take: In terms of adoption, smart phones are right up there with television.  Think about what television technology did to culture. That’s what’s happening now with smart phones. You are living it.

Most Valuable Inbound Resources

3. What Are The Most Valuable Inbound Lead Sources?

[MarketingSherpa] Nearly 95% of marketers report that SEO has become more important as an inbound marketing lead source.

My Take: What’s interesting is the importance of SEO in face of the changing nature of SEO. Google keeps adjusting search in ways meant thwart search engineering.  It’s becoming harder and harder to “monkey around” with search results.  Still, Marketers can ensure their digital properties are engineered to attract the right viewers.

4. Engaging Your Ultra-Connected Customers

[Forrester] Forrester defines the “Ultra-Connected Customer as someone who:

• Owns and uses at least 3 data connected devices
• Accesses the Internet multiple times per day
• Goes online from multiple physical locations (for example: home, work, in the car, and at the mall)

My Take: This always brings me back to Malcom Gladwell’s book Tipping Point. You need a strategy for activating your Mavens and Connectors.

(affiliate link)

5. Mother’s Day: 10 Digital Gifts for Last-Minute Shoppers

[Mashable] Some of you still haven’t got mom something yet. The internet can bail you out.

My Take: Some interesting ideas, except for sending money via PayPal on Facebook. “Mom, I love you.  Here’s $20.”

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition:  #36

Stories This Week: Showrooming Wars, comparing cloud storage options, Who Googled you?, iPhone kicking Android ass, the Mobile-first imperative.

1. Target, Unhappy With Being an Amazon Showroom, Will Stop Selling Kindles

[NewYorkTimes] Target, signaling its growing irritation with its rival Amazon, announced on Wednesday that it would stop selling Amazon’s Kindle e-readers.

My Take: I touched on “Showrooming” back in January. We’re going to see more battles as bricks and mortar stores move online and online stores move into physical spaces.

2. Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive or…

[LifeHacker] With Google and Microsoft announcing their file sharing services to compete with Dropbox and Box.net, this comparison sheet should come in handy.

File Sync Comparison

3. Who Googled You? This Website Knows

[Mashable] BrandYourself.com helps you manage your person SEO and yes, it can tell you who Googled you. BUT there are tradeoffs that can impact your personal branding.

My Take: BrandYourself.com has good SEO tips. I found useful advice on how to improve my personal SEO efforts; HOWEVER, I dislike how it suggests beefing up a profile page on BrandYourself as a positive measure. For me I’m more interested in focusing my SEO efforts to drive traffic to my owned properties, not their website.

If you want to know who is Googling you, you have to sign up for a premium service. And what they are really going to tell you is who visited your BrandYourself profile – which to me is a bit dodgy.

4. Android Is Either “Winning” Because Apple Is Letting It, Or Losing

[TechCrunch] This Op-Ed piece by MG Siegler revisits what’s happened since the iPhone became available on carriers not named AT&T.

My Take: Not everyone is into the mobile platform wars, but it has been interesting to see iPhone surging since it’s become more broadly available. Kudos to MG for taking the time to respond to so many angry comments on the post.

5. Why You Need A Mobile First Approach NOW

[LiesDamnedLies&Statistics] An agency makes the case that organizations need to think mobile first in order to stay ahead of the growth of mobile channels.

My Take: It’s amazing how fast Marketing is changing. So many companies are still learning to think digital first, will they adapt fast enough to remain relevant to their customers?

Mobile Growth