Blog Indiana 2009 - day 1 digest

Thursday, August 13, 2009 by Chip McComb
Today and Tomorrow I'm attending the 2009 Blog Indiana conference in downtown Indianapolis.  As if there isn't plenty of other people tweeting, blogging, and facebooking about what they're learning, I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents as I'm having a unique experience. 

What I'm seeing at Blog Indiana 2009:
There's a lot of great social media people here sharing a lot of excellent social media tips and tricks. 
1. @jasonfalls of Social Media Explorer shared some rules and best practices about social media, but then showed us that there is always an exception to every rule. 
2. @edeckers @indymike from ProBlogService are doing an excellent job of focusing the discussion on quality writing and metrics based blogging.
3. People are loving @bradjward's presentation on the long tail of search.  And I'm seriously enjoying @y0mbo's creative note taking of the presentation.
4. @pateast Owner of Hanapin Marketing shared some great common sense tips on how to earn business through twitter.  (Take the conversation offline every once in awhile, start conversations, and if you meet offline always buy, be valuable)

What I'm hearing at Blog Indiana 2009:
There is a fair amount of SEO vs. Social Media competition going on.  Why?  We use the same tools (blogs) to accomplish a variety of different objectives.  As a web consultant and marketer who blogs, and is paid to do search engine optimization as well as social media consulting, I encounter this every day. 

So, What can I say?  Oftentimes the SEO will focus on the keyword and search value  of having a blog, conversely a social media advertising guru may only be thinking of the number of people they can engage with via the blog.  Neither party is right 100% of the time as your blogging strategy must always be based upon the goals and business objectives of your web based strategy.  If you miss this first and most important point, you're getting started on the wrong foot.

I think everyone would agree, don't blog just for blogging's sake.  Blog with purpose and a goal in mind, then let that guide your blogging strategy!

Agreed?  What do you think?

Stay tuned for day 2 tomorrow...


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Lessons in Customer Retention

Monday, July 20, 2009 by Chip McComb
Minutes ago, while burning some time in-between meetings and catching up on email at a local Panera (thanks for the free Wi-Fi!), I heard them!  Like a birdwatcher who first hears the sonorous tweet of an Orange-crowned Warbler,  I first heard the sounds of the newspaper readers behind me.  Looking in the window, so as to not attract attention to myself, I spied the reflection of a group of senior aged ladies meeting for late morning coffee.  They went on...

"I used to purchase my subscription to the Star on an annual basis, but I think I'm going to go to a month to month from now on, I'm just not sure if I need it anymore."

"I know!" replied another, "When I pick up the newspaper anymore it just feels so thin, there's not much to it!"
 

Amazed I sat back and listened.  I knew there were people in the world who still subscribe to the daily newspaper, but with this endangered breed on the decline, my encounters with such people are becoming rarer and rarer. 

Sarcasm aside, these long time Indianapolis Star customers, (I call them customers because that is what they are) who never expected to drop their newspaper subscriptions, are starting to consider doing exactly that.  Why?! 

Many blame the Internet and how on line advertising business models are unable to create enough revenue to cover the operating costs of a news gathering organization.  However, I believe that other forces are at work.  I have an idea, and it has nothing to do with Interactive Strategy, Social Media advertising, or Internet marketing.  It's all about how newspapers are approaching customer retention.

Although print news publications recognize that they're fighting a losing battle with the Internet, as illustrated by their drastic cost reduction measures (read: firing journalists) they're not focusing on strategies to retain their most profitable line of business.  As a result, long time dedicated customers are leaving.

So when you're looking for tips on how to retain customers, learn from the mistakes of the Newspaper industry. 

Still scratching your head and asking yourself "How do I retain customers?" Here are 4 points to get you started.
  • How to Retain Customers with a 4 Horned GoatKnow how you make money - Your value as a company doesn't come from the ads you sell, but rather the people (customers) who are willing to look at the ads you sell.
  • Don't Lose Focus - Don't alienate your most loyal customers in pursuit of success.
  • Keep Creating a Great Product - Figure out a way to keep your Cash Cow the best in the business, or at a minimum relevant.  There's no rule that says you can't innovate.  Give the cow some extra udders, or make a goat with 4 horns or something (speaking in analogy of course)
  • Provide Excellent Customer Service - Back in the day newspapers had a whole network for customer service representatives.  Newspaper Boys.  These days some may say Newspapers don't need a customer or subscriber service function.  I don't believe any business can make the mistake of believing that.

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Moonfruit vs. Twitter: Can Social Media Advertising be too successful?

Monday, July 13, 2009 by Chip McComb
By now, many people have heard of the success of the Moonfruit twitter campaign, but many thoughtful marketers and social media experts are wondering... what is it's broader effect upon social media as a whole. 

For those of you who haven't heard the story...
On June 30th, Moonfruit, a website development company not to be outdone by their compeitor SquareSpace decided to give out 10 macbook Pro's in honor of their 10 year anniversay as a company.  Per Moonfruit, all you had to do to enter was:
"include the #moonfruit tag in any tweet on twitter. You can be creative with your tweet or re-tweet our message, don't forget to follow @moontweet to find out if you've won."

 
This exciting giveaway garnered attention not only from the majority of the Twittersphere but also from Techcrunch and Mashable, two of the largest social media and technology focused blogs.

So here's the sting.  Within 48 hours, #moonfruit was the top trending topic on Twitter.  Not only was this seemingly harmless promotion/ social media advertising campain garnering over 300 tweets per minute, but it was beating out trending topics like Michael Jackson, #iranelection and Wimbeldon.



Fast forward to day 4 of the campaign, late July 3rd.  Moonfruit began to tumble off of the trending list on twitter.com.  Was this due to a loss in popularity of the social media advertising campaign?  No, Twitter intentionally removed moonfruit from the trending list with no explanation.

Moonfruit posted a compelling post in their blog, charging Twitter with this act of behind the scenes censorship.  Although the removal of the #moonfruit hash tag from the trending topics didn't really have an affect on the success of the overall campaign, and Moonfruit recognized that it may be in Twitter's best interest to remove trending topics that lean towards the commercial, the censoring of the seemingly democratic Trending Topics metric is the greater issue at hand. 

When will Twitter come through with a policy or an offical statement regarding this watershed in social media marketing?  Most people view this as the most successful social media advertising campaign in twitter's history, will there ever be another one like it?


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How strong is your foundation?

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 by Chip McComb
CAUTION: Do not embark upon large Internet marketing projects without laying a solid foundation. 

How do I lay a sound foundation?

Sound Keyword Research

Keyword Research?  What?  Doesn't this only apply to Search Engine Optimization?

I know this may stun some of our readers, but whether you're embarking upon a search engine optimization project, a website redesign, a review of your website strategy, or just diving into social media and marketing, having an idea of what words and phrases your target audience will use to find you is paramount.

Think about it.  In the traditional marketing world this is like conducting focus group testing.  Conduct research to identify how the public will respond to your product, interact with your product, find your product, share your product with others and talk about your product.

So what are the first steps to effective keyword research? 
  1. Find a good marketing firm that lives Search marketing. (Like Fusework)
  2. Brainstorm terms that you want your product, service or company to be known for
  3. Identify through which avenues people will learn about your product.  (your web site, your blog, social media, print media, word of mouth, email marketing, press releases, etc...)
  4. Create a rough list.
  5. Using a keyword research tool (there are many!) refine the list pulling out the keywords that generate the highest level of traffic but have the smallest amount of competition.
  6. Refine the List
  7. Repeat steps until you're satisfied
  8. Incorporate keywords across all relevant media
  9. Track Results
  10. Repeat steps 4-9 on a regular basis or until you are satisfied with the results.
So what are some good keyword research tools?And who are the best search engine optimization firms in Indianapolis?  Well I'm partial, so I'll leave that to be decided by you. 



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Tired of everyone talking about Social Media and Marketing?

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 by Chip McComb
There's a lot of value in developing an on-line social media presence, but so many companies fail to connect the dots and the typical social media conversation often degrades into something like this....
 

Social Media Evangelist: ...so you should join Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, FriendFeed and Smaller Indiana!

social media n00b: But I don't understand, why?  

Social Media Evangelist:  Because that's what you have to do if you want to conduct a thorough social media strategy!

social media n00b: I sill don't get it.

 
Sadly, with so many "social media experts" out there (using the term loosely), Mr. Social Media n00b is still left scratching his head.  Why? because at the end of the day, all of the social media buzz has just turned into background noise.

How has the value proposition of social media for business degrade into such a poorly communicated message?    "Just do it!" wasn't enough to sell me when I was a chubby high school freshman, and it still isn't enough to sell me now that I'm a chubby 28 year old.  So to combat this crowd mentality, here's how I break down the social media value proposition without sounding like a bunch of empty hype.
  • Keep it simple
  • Mention a single specific platform or tool
  • Reference relevant case studies

        Keep it simple - Social media is about developing the right relationships, and each relationship provides an opportunity for business.  If you have friends, you already understand social media.  Want to learn how to retain customers, consider social media optimization.

        Mention a single specific platform - Rather than make it sound like you need to be in all places at the same time.  I usually limit my advice to one specific technology. Depending on the situation, Blogging is the best way to start.

        Reference relevant case studies - This point is self explanatory.  If you need a case study, email, call, tweet @rocketchip, or connect with me on IndyLink, Smaller Indiana, Friend Feed or LinkedIn.  I love to share!

Do you have a social media success story?  Share it below, I'd love to hear about it.

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Are you Measuring your Marketing?

Thursday, May 14, 2009 by Chip McComb

I was driving home last Monday from a short vacation in northern Michigan.  Do you know how many Cracker Barrel billboards there are between Gaylord and Indianapolis?  It's astonishing, nearly too many to count!  So, after six hours on the road and after seeing what felt like my 100th Cracker Barrel advertisement, my Internet marketing mind started to wonder.  How is Cracker Barrel measuring the success of these billboard campaigns? 

Simon Turner, CMO of Cracker Barrel stated in 2007 that... "Billboards remain Cracker Barrel's primary marketing medium to generate sales and brand awareness among travelers..."  This makes sense if they are targeting travelers, it's not a bad strategy.  However, I'm more interested in knowing if putting nearly all of your advertising budget into this media is really giving you the results you need?  What's your ROI Cracker Barrel?  How does this affect the sales in the stores nearest to these billboards?

Although it may sound like, it, I'm not trying to come down hard on the traditional media folks.  I'm just asking a question that needs to be asked.   Regardless of whether or not you choose to market your company using social media advertising, search engine optimization or any type of web based strategy, you should still be asking yourself:  How am I going to measure the effectiveness of my marketing investment before you blindly go purchasing hundreds of billboard advertisements.

I hope that they did some actual testing to determine which locations actually benefit from the billboard signage prior to their exits.  cracker barrel triangle puzzle

So here's my idea.  Take down 10 billboards, and measure the revenue at the stores that are closest to the billboards.  Does the location's revenue go up, or down?  I bet you'd be surprised.  If you're able to identify 10 ineffective billboards nation wide, imagine what you could do with just one month of that money (i.e. $25,000).  If it were me I'd invest in the creation of an iPhone and FB app that embodies their Triangle Puzzle game.  People who beat the game would then receive a free entree, a free drink, or a reserved seat next to the fireplace.   I don't know about you, but that would actually get me to visit the Old Country Store.  And the best part of it all, it's much more measureable than a billboard.  What do you think?



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Internet Marketing Indianapolis

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 by Chip McComb
Indianapolis is a hotbed of Internet marketing activity.  Consider the following.
  • Exact Target, one of the world's leading email marketing firms is headquartered in downtown Indianapolis.
  • Compendium Blogware, business blogging SaaS provider also has it's HQ downtown.
  • The Indianapolis Chamber of commerce is leading the way among other chambers by diving into social media through the creation of indylink.com an exclusive niche social community for it's members.
  • Niche social media community, Smaller Indiana is a thriving hotbed of Indianapolis based Internet marketing experts.

I say this in response to a question posed to me recently by a client.   She said... "Do you think that going with a social media agency, or search engine optimization firm on the east/west coast would be a wise choice?"

My response: Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to hire a New York, Boston, LA or Seattle based marketing house to see solid Internet marketing results.  Don't go with a firm just because they have an address on the coast.  Sure, there are a lot of great thought leaders who have made the NYC or the Emerald City their HQ, but the vast majority of firms are on exactly the same footing as the rest of us. 

They have access to the same information and tools that the internet marketers in Indianapolis do.  When you're searching for an Internet marketing agency, social media marketing company, or search engine optimization firm, hire based upon a solid history of results and excellent client service.


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Get on the Blogging Horse -

Saturday, April 18, 2009 by Chip McComb
I need to start carrying around a notepad.  Everywhere I go, I'm hit by "Blog Post Inspiration."  (The little voice in my head goes..."ooo I could write a blog post about that")  Sadly though, now that I find myself actually writing a post, all of these awe inspiring and game changing ideas seem to have evaporated into thin air.

That's why I'm writing about something simple today.  Blogging.

Have you incorporated blogging into your corporate Internet marketing strategy?  Or, at minimum have you considered the search engine optimization benefits of blogging?  If not today is your day.

I hate to add to all of the "noise" that's currently buzzing around the subject, but when it comes down to it.  Blogging is important for businesses today.  Here's why your web strategy should include a blog.
  • Blogs increase the number of pages on your site that can be returned in search queries
  • Blogs allow you to cast a wider search engine optimization net by targeting a large number of keywords.
  • Blogs allow you to engage with new site visitors by offering them information they're interested in reading
  • Blogs, have a higher ROI than PPC ads on Google.
  • Blogging is an integral part in not only search engine optimization but also social media optimization.
Now for a practical example.  One week ago we launched a suite of blogs on MySpeedRail.com, a community for bartenders using Compendium Blogware's software.  Within the first week we've seen a 600% increase in site traffic.  I'm satisfied. 

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Internet Marketing Success isn't found in Tools

Friday, April 10, 2009 by Chip McComb
I'm thankful for my co-workers!  Today I was on the wrong side of an argument and they graciously helped me to see the light.  Here was the debate:Tools

Do we use our own proprietary Content Management System (CMS) and custom tools to build a web site that highlights our Video Production skills, or do we rely upon a third party tool that already has much of the functionality we need built in?

I was arguing that we need to build the new site using our internal tool set.  Why?
  • We are expert software developers so we should be able to tweak our tools to meet this new need.  (We don't need no stinkin 3rd party tool)
  • The additional functionality that this would bring will expand our ability to retain customers and service our clients.
  • We could sell the new tool and it would result in more revenue for us
  • We should just do it because I want to. (PRIDE)

Well, although these reasons may sound right and good (except for the last one) my colleagues gently and graciously reminded me that we're not in the business of building tools.  That's for the VC backed Web 2.0 companies to do. 

Fusework is a creative house specializing as an Interactive Advertising Agency / Social Media Agency.  Our value isn't our tools it's in our creative prowess, our Internet marketing and branding expertise and our ability to use the tools to create creative and strategic ideas that engage with consumers!  (That's sound interactive strategy.)

I frequently tell clients, "Internet Marketing Success isn't in the tools you use, it's how you use them."  If I'm so good at telling other people this why did I fail so miserably today?  Live and learn I suppose.  There's always tomorrow.
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SEO Success!

Monday, April 6, 2009 by Chip McComb
Why do I blog? 3 Reasons...
  • Everyone is doing it
  • It's part of my job description
  • It works as a business acquisition tool!
Blogging has become a necessary part of any search engine optimization strategy as it drives qualified traffic to your points of conversion.  So, since I'm getting a lot of questions from clients asking what blogging looks like as part of a complete Internet marketing strategy, I thought I'd share some data from our own Fusework Studios blog to flush out the concept. 

Below are some screen shot from our web site's Google Analytics.  The first image below shows the top 18 search terms that people used to find our web site during the last week of march 2009.
Fusework Studios Web Site Keywords


As you can see the terms that generate the highest amount of traffic are branded terms.  This in general indicates that most of the search traffic that came to our site was basically direct traffic.  People who have heard about Fusework but they just need to find our URL.

Next however, we have a list of keywords that represent traffic that came to our blog from the same period.



These keywords are different.  The people behind these search queries aren't just looking for information, they're looking to engage and therefore they are much closer to the point of conversion.  This is having immediate results for our business.  This past week we've seen an influx of inbound leads.

If you ask me, everyone needs to make blogging part of their complete Internet marketing strategy.  It works.

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Retain Customers with Social Media

Monday, April 6, 2009 by Chip McComb

Companies have a unique opportunity these days.  With social media reaching market saturation levels, you don't have to be a B2C company to keep in touch with your clients via Facebook or MySpace.

Working for an Internet Marketing agency I've had the opportunity to help quite a few B2B clients who are trying to understand how the social media and marketing rules can work in their favor during time of this recession.  So, here are some things I've learned as I've walked through this process with our clients.
  1. Decide how you are going to use social media.  With the line between personal and professional being blurred more and more, you need to decide what you're personally ok with.  Do you want your customers to see you doing that keg stand?  Are you ok with letting your clients know exactly what you are doing when you tweet?  Draw a boundary between the personal and professional aspects of your life and know where it is.
  2. Now that you have the line drawn, connect with your clients using the tool's that you've relegated to professional use.  With just a few tweaks, Facebook can become a highly invaluable professional tool.  When you connect with your clients, you not only get tons of personal information about them, but you can know what they've done during the weekend even before you head into work on Monday morning.
  3. Use this information to grow your relationship and connect with them on a deeper level while giving them visibility into your life.  It's not just about information gathering, it's also about sharing.  Sharing content (aka information) is the glue that keeps social media from collapsing into a black hole of nothingness.
  4. Facebook is a great start, but be sure to examine Twitter, FriendFeed, Digg or some blogs that both you and your clients may read.  And if you're in Indianapolis, be sure to check out SmallerIndiana and IndyLink.
As I'm sure we can all agree that retaining customers is far less expensive than bringing on new clients, use social media to remind your existing customers why they chose to do business with you, and watch the repeat and referral business pour in.
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SXSW impacts Corporate Internet Marketing

Thursday, March 19, 2009 by Chip McComb
This week has been a whirlwind and with SXSW Interactive 09 wrapped up, I thought I'd share a bite sized summary of what I think are the main takeaways from this year's hoopla.

Facebook Launches New Design - with each new design, Facebook gains a few fans and loses others, but here's the important part.  The new design gives brands excellent tools that they haven't had before.  The page has become more like a profile... see someone with more than 5000 friends... it's a page.  Pages will become more and more prevalent and as they do, you'll see brands gaining a larger and larger foothold.  Profitable Monetization still seems a far flung concept for Facebook however.

Facebook launches Facebook Connect integration with the IPhone: Read TechCrunch's post on the development. 

Tweetdeck allows users to post to Twitter and Facebook simultaneously.  Need I say more, if you haven't downloaded tweetdeck, I recommend you check it out. 

and Best Buy Launched an API: What would a corporate web site need with an API?  You'd be surprised.

And best of all... The AT&T network was overloaded by all of the IPhone usage.  (they had to double the network capacity to resolve the problem!)

Although not as groundbreaking as in years past, I've kept pretty busy following the excitement in Austin via Twitter and my tweetdeck.  It's the best way to be there if you have to be in Indianapolis.

Thanks to all of my tweeps for keeping me updated!



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Internet Marketing to End Hunger

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 by Chip McComb

Pledge to End hungerWhile tweeting this morning and reading up on the social media and marketing happenings at SXSW, I came across a RT (re-tweet) from Guy Kawasaki imploring his followers to head to www.PledgeToEndHunger.com and help feed hungry children in their own community. 

Intrigued, and not a guy to pass up on such a request, I followed the link and found that with a few simple clicks I could help trigger a truckload of food to be sent directly to help feed the poor in my community!

This isn't only a worthy cause, but it's a great example of cause marketing that truly leverages the potential behind a corporate brand (Tyson) and social media advertising across a variety of channels blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.  I didn't find out about this initiative through google or through my internet marketing circles in Indianapolis, I learned about this through Twitter, researched it using Google and then completed the transition on the actual web site.

So now on to the best part... Indiana is leading this initiative in 2 ways:
  1. Indiana is in first place to receive one of the truckloads of food!  Please go to the site and pledge to volunteer, donate, or just share the link with your friends.  www.PledgeToEndHunger.com
  2. Media Sauce, an Internet marketing agency here in Indianapolis partnered with Kompolt and Tyson Foods to develop the campaign!  Props to media sauce.
Please share this with your friends, and pass the word along.  Indiana may be the recipient of a truckload of food to help feed the hungry in our cities.


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Social Media for Irish - Isn't Facebook Enough?

Monday, March 16, 2009 by Chip McComb
Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Although this oft overlooked holiday is usually just an occasion to throw back a few beers, one strategic thinking web company in New York launched a new social community that is specifically hoping to take advantage of the Irish themed web traffic that will be taking place this week.  IrishCentral.com.

With the majority of the growth in social media taking place in niche communities, it's not a surprise that this new social media community was launched.  However, despite this one intelligent move, I fear that IrishCentral.com somehow missed the Web2.0 revolution while they were developing their new interactive strategy.   All Irishness aside, IrishCentral.com has a long way to go.  Although built upon the Clickability platform, the site is plagued by a Web 1.0 design, poor navigation, and very few real social tools.  When it comes down to it, Irish Central is more of a news portal for Irish related content than a social media community. 

So, are you considering the launch of your own niche social community?  Here are some practical tips to take into account as you consider your own social media Internet marketing path:

  • Target a real niche
Does the group of people you're targeting already have an on-line place to call home?  Are their needs currently being under served by Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Xanga or any of the other major social communities?  Do your research.
  • Evaluate registration

If you need to protect the content being shared, or the exclusiveness of the community then yes, of course require registration.  However, more often than not you'll find that the hurdle of creating an additional user name, password and yet another profile is becoming a larger and larger hurdle for the average web user to overcome.

You may want to consider integrating Facebook Connect or Open Social.  With these platforms beginning to increase in popularity,  you may find that integrating simple tools into your web site will give your web site the "community" element without creating a registration hurdle.
  • Integrate tools and Allow widgets

Critical mass is difficult to achieve for a niche social community, therefore try to integrate some social media tools like Twitter or content sharing tools like Share This into your platform.  Without communication tools in place, your site will serve as a web portal and not a community.
  • Develop content

Content remains king!  The adage "if you build it they will come" is not true for social media Internet marketing.  Before you build your community plan your content.  What will draw them to your site?  What will they discuss?  This is just as important as selecting the software platform you'll build your community upon.
  • Blog

You've got to blog, it adds transparency to your operation and helps your fledgling community get found search.
Social Media is one of the great tools that interactive advertising agencies now have in our interactive strategy toolkit, but it doesn't apply to all situations.  If you have any examples of niche social community share them in the comments below.

Here are some solid examples of niche social community that I've come across in my web wanderings:

SmallerIndiana.com
MySpeedRail.com
IndyLink.com
1 Comments »

Can TV Ad effectiveness be graded by website traffic?

Thursday, February 26, 2009 by Chip McComb

I don't know about you, but I think that the most effective Super Bowl Ad of 2009 was Denny's announcement that they were giving away free Grand Slam Breakfast's a few days after the big game.  Why?

1. Because it caused me to brave the sub-zero temperatures, drive through a snow storm and then wait 30 minutes in a crowded lobby with 75 other wet patrons to score my free breakfast.

2. Their website received a 17x increase in traffic the week after the big game.

Although general web site traffic is a somewhat gross metric, it is absolutely necessary to look at your web site traffic and the more granular associated web metrics when one is seeking to measure not only the success of online campaigns but offline campaigns as well!  This blog post from Web Analytics house Compete, Inc. speaks to just that.  It also shows that of all of the Super Bowl advertisers, Denny's was the big winner on Superbowl Sunday.

Check it out, and then ask yourself, "how are my offline and online marketing efforts working together?"  What is my website strategy?If you're not sure, take a look at your web analytics and look for spikes in your web traffic. Were these associated with offline marketing efforts?  If so, was your site prepared to address the unique business and communication needs of the visitors being driven to your site as a result of your offline marketing?

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Simple Website strategy leads to a positive customer experience

Thursday, February 26, 2009 by Chip McComb

Every company has the same dilemma when it comes to building a new Web site: There's so much to say, but how do you say it in a way that will connect with your audience, lead to a positive return on your investment, and how can I use it to retain customers (i.e. revenue, conversion and interaction)

Web design, and website strategy is not an exact science, but many basic principles still apply. Here are some tips to help you sort through the challenges associated with organizing web content to tell your story in a way that attracts results:

  • Can you place your content in video form? Video can often be more compelling than written word. If you can use video, have you considered utilizing YouTube or other social media?
  • Is your navigation simple or can it be simplified? If your customer is viewing information that is relative to other content, make the navigation consistent for that section so your customer can find each piece of information in one click.
  • Is your content specific and relevant? Sometimes it's very easy to divulge all you can into your site and have pages of content that confuse the customer. If you see that many of your pages are not being viewed by those who visit your site - it may be time to adjust them or remove them altogether.
  • How long is the content on the page? If your customer has to scroll down several pages to get to the content that matters to them most, you may need to make it a separate page completely or skim down the verbiage you're using.
  • Finally, don't forget to target your content around one specific topic and a few specific keywords per page.  This will ultimately help you raise the organic search ranking of your site.
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Internet Marketing Success: A Recipe goes Viral

Thursday, February 26, 2009 by Chip McComb

2 Days before Christmas 2008 A pair of BBQ fanatics from Kansas City (Jason Day and Aaron Chronister) decided to share an interesting new recipe they had invented.  Originally devised as a response to a challenge Mr. Day had received from someone on Twitter, the Bacon Explosion simply defies all logic (and health concerns for that matter) weighing in at a massive 4 pounds of sausage, bacon, and saturated fat.  


In order to share the recipe with others in the BBQ community, Day and Chronister logged into www.bbqaddicts.com  and posted the recipe to their blog.  Christmas day the site received over 27,000 visits. 

Chronister then noticed an opportunity.  Employed as an internet marketer at a local social media agency, he then sent tweets to his Twitter followers, began posting links to the site from Facebook, and bookmarked the recipe on StubmleUpon.  20,700 inbound links, and countless YouTube videos later, the traffic and popularity has grown exponentially putting BBQaddicts.com on the map.

 

This is an amazingly successful application of social media advertising and marketing, however, the story itself is what drove it's viral popularity. 

The moral of this story...

  • lead with creative content
  • execute with sound internet marketing strategy

If you're interested in trying it out yourself.  Here are some helpful links.


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A customer is on your site...now what?

Thursday, February 26, 2009 by Chip McComb

Complete Internet marketing doesn't stop at getting customers to come to your site and get to know your brand. I feel that you still have to look at the ultimate factor that determines ROI for your internet marketing - the conversion.

What are some common goals for conversions?

  • I want a customer or potential customer to contact me.
  • I want to make a sale on my site.
  • I want a customer to engage with my brand via social media or commenting on by blog.
  • I want customers to watch videos and engage with media.

Those are only a few. The opportunities for conversions really are endless, but the point is to build a conversion around your business goals. Take some time to really strategize how you will land your conversions to reach those goals. Every customer experience on your site is allowing that customer to measure their experience and their ROI dealing with your brand.

Sometimes it's so easy to focus on only of half the picture (getting customers to the site) that they forget about what to do on the site when they get there.

So here area some tips you can implement on your site to drive conversion:

  • Make online forms simple and straight forward. Don't have a customer fill out a form to fill out a form.
  • If possible keep your forms to less than 8 fields.
  • Place conversion points in plain site. Do not make the customer drill down to find it. You may lose them after only one or two clicks.
  • Make it known what the customer will receive if they perform the step you wish them to perform. Are they getting product in return? Are they getting customer service? Are they winning a prize? What's in it for them? If you can't answer, "What's in it for me?" from a customer point of view, then you may lose that valuable conversion.

So think about it.  Put together a website strategy and measure the results.

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Twitter for dummies

Thursday, February 26, 2009 by Chip McComb

I've been hearing from a lot of clients lately, "What is Twitter?"  So I thought I'd take the time to write a short introduction to Twitter and share some examples of how companies are using it to achieve their marketing Goals.


Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows users to disseminate information to other Twitter members in short messages no longer than 140 characters or less.  Originally created so that you could stay in touch with friends...
Watch this video produced by Common Craft to get the gist...


The above video does a great job of explaining the technology, but why are businesses using Twitter?  Simply put, people are discovering that Twitter is an excellent tool tool (along with blogging) to develop customer touch points, communicate with clients on a personal level, develop brand identity, and network.  So how do business capitalize on this tool?

1. Creating a customer touch point. - @BarackObama
     The president elect may not be a business or corporation per se, but during his run for the presidency he amassed over 140,000 followers on Twitter.  Why did people follow Senator Obama's twitter updates (tweets)?  They desired to keep in touch, and know what's going on with the candidate.  Don't forget, this can be done well and it can be done poorly.  Hilary Clinton, John McCain and Sarah Palin all had twitter profiles as well, but Senator Obama succeeded where they failed by 1) having his twitter profile updated with substantially engaging content, 2) by following and engaging with the the twitter users who opted in to receive his updates thus creating a two way relationship with those that were interested in knowing about him.  Senator Obama used Twitter to develop relationships and spread his message through those relationships.

2. Communicate with Clients on a personal level and develop relationships - @JetBlue,
     An excellent example of how to retain customers, there's always a real person behind the tweets of JetBlue.  How I know?  Just respond to one of their tweets with a question.   JetBlue uses twitter as an extension of their corporate culture by brining the message of excellent customer service to reality.  I've heard countless stories of real customer service issues being resolve through JetBlue's twitter presence.

3. Develop Brand Identity - @MCHammer
     Hammer may have been down and out during the late 90's but his resurgence in the past decade has been fueled by Nationwide Insurance TV commercials and among other things an active twitter presence since April 29th of this year.  Although Hammer may always be remembered for his rapping, he is using Twitter as well as other social media outlets like YouTube, and his own creation DanceJam to rebrand his message to that of an emerging dancer in touch with the newest street trends in urban dance.  Twitter is an important part of his entire social media strategy.

4. Networking - @ChrisBrogan
    In reality there are really two issues facing you when you decide to embrace twitter as a company.  1) What should the corporate presence look like on twitter and 2) what should our employee's presence look like on twitter? As a faceless company can't "network" it's important that you encourage your employees to do this on your company's behalf. 

Chris Brogan is an excellent example of someone who is using Twitter to network and build professional relationships.  As president of New Marketing Labs, a social media agency his job is to have a significant presence on twitter, however by looking at Chris we see a great model for how your employees could embrace twitter as a networking tool.  Although you can't force your employees to tweet, or to engage in social media community, it's important to discuss with your employees how they can see the benefits of twitter by using it as a tool for them to build relationships, and dialogue with their network in a way that can lead to business.  Twitter is becoming an important part of any corporate internet marketing strategy.

I hope this post has helped you better understand what twitter is all about.  For more help, or if you have any questions, comment below, follow @Fusework on Twitter, or Follow me personally on Twitter @rocketchip.
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Do you find it hard to trust a company blog?

Thursday, February 26, 2009 by Chip McComb

Forrester just released an interesting report that comes down pretty hard on the company sponsored/corporate blog.  Although I think the report is a bit harsh, the most notable stat from their research states that corporate blogs are only trusted by 16% of the world's average web users.  What are we supposed to do with this information?  I find that the post by Forrester researcher Jeremiah Owyang does much to actually provide some solutions to the problems raised by the Forrester Report. 

I'd love to hear any Compendium Blogware people out there provide their take on this report, and Jeremiah's proposed solutions for building the trust factor of your corporate blog.

If you don't have a blog or if you don't quite understand how or why the blogs has become an absolute necessity for any new web site, post a comment below and we can start a lively discussion.  I want to do my part and make sure that none of my fellow web consultants are left behind by the social media and search marketing revolutions.

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