Monday, January 24, 2011

Happy Returns: How to Keep Your Audience Returning To Your Website

Editor's Note: The following is another excellent guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Mickie Kennedy, founder and president of eReleases, a cost-effective electronic press release distribution service, and a widely-regarded and well-respected PR professional who maintains the company's popular PR Fuel blog. For both corporate and agency marketing professionals, Kennedy offers insight into how to convince one or more target audiences to continuously return to your business's Website.
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Have you ever surfed your way to a beautiful, interesting and informative Website? You spent a few minutes on it, thought about how clever it was, and then some other shiny Internet link caught your attention. Soon, the original fascinating site was lost in a morass of Internet tabs and eventually closed. Weeks later, perhaps, you tried to remember the name of the site, but gave up. Or, worse, maybe you never even thought about the site again at all.

For you, the Web surfer, “losing” that Website in cyberspace was no big loss. But now imagine you’re the site owner, and browsers are surfing away from your page left and right. How do you keep them coming back for more?

Compelling Content
People remember websites that entertain, inform or engage them. The popular cat picture site, I Can Haz Cheezburger, does not feature the most sophisticated cutting-edge updates in Web design, but it certainly keeps people laughing (and clicking.) The longer people stay on your site, the more likely they are to remember it in the future.

Be Easy
Easy to navigate, that is. Everybody has visited a poorly-designed, frustrating-to-use Website. Think about it: how long do you stay on a site like that? Exactly. Peruse your site from a visitor’s point of view, and make sure it’s easy to use and inviting.

Frequent Updates
There’s a reason why blogs have become so popular on the Internet. They’re constantly updated with new information. Consider adding a blog to your site. Then encourage readers to subscribe to your blog’s RSS feed or e-mail subscription list by placing a prominent button somewhere on the site. Visitors will engage with your site, and be reminded of you the next time on of your posts pops up in their feed reader or email inbox.

Ask Them to Subscribe
You don’t need a blog to have subscribers. Maybe you have an e-commerce site, or your Website supports a cause. Encourage people to sign up for e-mail update about your latest news. Better yet, give them a compelling reason to sign up: offer a discount code, a freebie, or information like an e-book or a white paper upon sign-up. Again, they next time something from you arrives in their e0mail inbox, they will be reminded of your site.

You created your Website because you have something to say. Follow this advice, and people will be likely to listen...and come back for more.

© 1998-2011 eReleases® Press Release Distribution. All Rights Reserved.

Friday, January 21, 2011

CMAC President and CEO Keith R. Pillow Spotlighted In Ventura County Star Editorial

The Ventura County Star, in its Friday, January 21, 2011, print edition, published another solid, well-developed editorial written by CMAC President and CEO Keith R. Pillow. This time around, Keith offers his take on Facebook's valuation, and the newspaper's recent comparison of the company to both Boeing and the fly-by-night firms of the long-gone dot-com era. Check out the coverage below:

Monday, January 17, 2011

The Game Of Thirds And Online Marketing

Editor's Note: The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Chris Brogan, president of Human Business Works, an online education and community company for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs, and a widely-recognized expert, best-selling author, and in-demand speaker on the future of business communications and social software technologies. In this piece, Brogan, who also blogs at ChrisBrogan.com, writes about how small business owners should divide their time, and the various sales and marketing activities they should consider priorities.
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Your roles in running your small business should be split into thirds: one-third prospecting for new customers, another third creating products and services, and the last third supporting your customers. This is the formula I see more often than not, and I don't disagree. Let's talk about how the first and last of these thirds can be accomplished a little more easily in the online world.

Listening Aids Prospecting and Customer Service
I talk about listening more often than I do any other part of business, partly because it results in the most immediate and biggest impact. In this case, I think that listening is the most powerful technology and practice to help you in both prospecting for new clients/customers, as well as the way to help better serve your existing customers. Let's talk about that.

First, grow bigger ears. That is, build a listening station and start listening for the important terms that will help you find prospects. The moment you start hearing opportunities on various social networks and online haunts, the moment you'll be hooked. Second, pay attention to what people are talking about when you're pursuing them for a sale. If they're having a bad day, it will be on their blog, on their Twitter, wherever they hang out online. Observe their social chatter before making any kind of sales call, and you'll see your results change.

On the other end, listen for your existing customers' complaints or discomforts. If you see them talking about other products or services that might lead them away from your product, make a call and see if you can do something to help them. Maybe you've been neglecting them. Does your current client relationship management (CRM) software say when you last connected with them? What? You don't use even the most basic of CRM tools to manage your relationships? That might be a talk for another time. But your customers will often give indications before they leave. With listening and monitoring tools, you'll have a chance to catch them before they go away.


Publishing to Preserve the First and Last Thirds
The other way you can gain more traction is by creating interesting content not only for your prospects, but also for existing customers. I was recently sent a link to a guided tour of how one customer of a product I had subscribed to was using that product to make more revenue. Truth is, I hadn't logged into that platform for over a month, and as a paying user, I imagine that their system tracked this, knew I'd be the kind of guy who might change his mind and leave, and they mailed me this excellent screencast tutorial that gave me some "serving suggestions" on how to build more revenue using their product. I'm still a customer.

What should you create? That's up to you. Would videos showing people how to better use the product help your prospecting efforts? Would a blog that provides information on the space at large be useful to showing your prospects that you want a relationship and not just their sale? There are lots of great ways to look at creating useful information that might help your prospects on one end and will definitely support your paid customers on the other. It's up to you to decide what that content will be.

Quick story: I once showed a heating/ventilation company how to use content to help them attract sales, simply by having them film testimonials from their installers, showing their pride in a job well done. It certainly helped things, and it only cost the company a few hours of shooting and editing, which they did themselves on an inexpensive camcorder.


Why Online and Why Not Phone or E-mail?
In all of the above, I showed you some ideas on how you could help with prospecting and customer support. I showed you very open-faced ways to help. Why didn't I talk about the importance of a phone call or a well-timed e-mail? While those methods are useful, my point is that the methods listed above are ways to leverage the power of the Internet and to let you scale a bit more. The listening tools help you hear more voices (opportunities and/or complaints) at once. The publishing of useful content helps many people with sales and support information, instead of just a singular event.

With that said, there is always a need for phone calls, for face-to-face, for one on one contact. Don't ever throw one away for the other. But as a busy small business, you have to find your time for all your efforts. Can you see how this will help you scale a bit?

One last point: Listening in the first piece of advice often points to great ideas for content creation for the last piece of advice.

© 2011 American Express Company. All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

For What It's Worth: The Changing Landscape Of Facebook's Valuation

Following the recent collective investment of $500 million in Facebook by Goldman Sachs and Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, there has been an onslaught of media coverage, as well as a ton of discussion in the blogosphere and Twitterverse, asking the $64,000 (well, let's add about six zeroes to that for accuracy) question: what is Facebook really worth?

Estimates about Facebook's valuation are all over the map, even those by so-called industry insiders and deeply-informed financial analysts, and range from a modest $15 billion to the more widely-reported figure last week of $50 billion. The broad spectrum of forecasts has been fueled by widespread speculation concerning the timing and scope of Facebook's future initial public offering (IPO), rumored to occur some time in 2012, and Goldman Sachs' recent offering of private shares in the social networking company to its preferred clients. An editorial in my hometown newspaper, the Ventura County Star, even compared the $50 billion valuation, which the author felt was outrageous and unfounded, to the heady days of the dot-com era when many companies were both overvalued and unprofitable.

I wouldn't go that far. While $50 billion may be a stretch, Facebook is the real deal and is here to stay — it warrants a multi-billion-dollar valuation. Here's why. Based on reports last week in the Wall Street Journal, and according to individuals with knowledge of Goldman Sachs’ offering to investors, Facebook generated net income of $200 million on revenue of $777 million in 2009. While revenue and net income figures for 2010 have not been disclosed as of this writing, multiple financial analysts and tech insiders collectively estimate Facebook’s 2010 revenue to be approximately $2 billion, driven primarily by tremendous growth in its online advertising business. Indeed, this is a far, far cry from the dot-com days, when so many companies had ZERO revenue or products on the market, and it's certainly nothing to sneeze at. But $50 billion, 25 times last year’s revenue? No way!

More than likely, based on revenue and growth rates right now, and augmented by conservative forecasts regarding its future operations, Facebook is legitimately worth $10-15 billion at the present time. There's no doubt that, like the Google IPO in 2004, the company can command a multiple of 2-4 times this in the equity markets once it becomes public. But is CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and TIME's Person of the Year for 2010, willing to withstand the Securities and Exchange Commission's ongoing scrutiny? Only time will tell.

And speaking of time, let's take a look at how Facebook's valuation has changed since its founding in 2004, as reported in this great piece by TechCrunch. Click on the image for a larger view of the rising curve:

The Wall Street Journal has a slightly different take on these figures in this story, which also analyzes the fluctuations in Twitter's valuation since 2006.

This will definitely be a situation to keep close tabs on, particularly since hot social media companies, such as Groupon, continue to generate huge venture capital investments and are constantly eyeing billion-dollar IPOs and exit strategies.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The 10 Commandments Of Writing Web Content

Editor's Note: The following is another outstanding guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Mickie Kennedy, founder and president of eReleases, a cost-effective electronic press release distribution service, and a widely-regarded and well-respected PR professional who maintains the company's popular PR Fuel blog. This time around, Kennedy delivers 10 excellent tips for developing Web content, a task which requires a vastly different approach than writing for print.
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Writing content for the Web is completely different from writing content for print consumption. People read differently on a computer screen than they do on a piece of paper. Not only do computer monitors make it difficult to read for long periods of time, but people who use the Web tend to be especially impatient, looking for the information they want as quickly as possible.

With all of this in mind, I’ve come up with a list of 10 commandments for writing Web content. Whether you’re writing a blog post, sales copy for your Website, or a press release for online distribution, you should always keep these rules in mind.

1. Keep your headlines clear and catchy. The headline is often times the only thing a reader will first see from your Web content. Maybe they came across a link to a blog post on their Twitter feed, or maybe they’re viewing your headline in the search engine results. Your headline needs to be clear, memorable, and to the point. Put the most important information at the lead of the headline.

2. Get to the point. Web users typically give a new website eight seconds to capture their attention. If they can’t find what they’re looking for by then, they back out of the site. This means you need to get right to the point in your Web content. No long, meandering intros. Cut to the chase so the reader knows he’s in the right place.

3. Link to resources for further information. It’s always a good idea to include links within your content. This is a good way to help readers get more information on a particular subject, and keeps them moving forward on your website.

4. Keep paragraphs to a few short sentences. Online readers are easily overwhelmed. Whenever they see a huge block of text, they usually get scared away. Keep your paragraphs to just a few short sentences so that it’s easy to scan.

5. Use bullet points and numbered lists. People tend to scan content online rather than read it word for word. By using bulleted or numbered lists, you help to make your content quick and easy to scan. Consider this post. If you wanted to, you could scan over it in maybe 15 seconds and get the key information from it.

6. Include subheads to break things up. Subheads are useful for making your content easier to scan, and they help to keep your copy more organized.

7. Optimize your content for relevant keywords. No matter what type of Web content you’re writing, you need to remember that it’s going to be indexed by the search engines. The more search traffic you can drive to it, the better. So, always optimize your content for the right keywords.

8. Write like you talk. The Web tends to be a more conversational, less formal medium of sharing information than most print communication. With that in mind, it’s important that you write content that has a personality and engages the reader. Simply put, just write like you talk. No need to try to dress your content up or make it more complicated than it needs to be.

9. Double check everything. Whenever you put something online, it’s going to be up there forever. The Internet has a long memory. So before you publish anything, double check the facts, and make sure there aren’t any typos.

10. Encourage feedback. The Internet is all about interaction. Now, readers have just as much of a voice as the authors. And that’s a good thing. Just make sure you’re encouraging your readers to give feedback.

© 1998-2011 eReleases® Press Release Distribution. All Rights Reserved.

Friday, January 7, 2011

CMAC President and CEO Keith R. Pillow Featured Again On Nationally-Syndicated Radio Show, "The Business Of Life"

Yesterday, CMAC President and CEO Keith R. Pillow once again co-hosted the nationally-syndicated radio show, "The Business of Life," with host and creator Coach Ron Tunick from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. PST. The show is heard locally in Ventura County on KKZZ-AM 1400; nationwide on dozens of affiliate stations; and online through "The Business of Life" Website.

Additionally, Keith was the featured guest from 5:30 - 6:00 p.m. PST, during which he discussed marketing strategies for small businesses.

In addition to his radio show, Coach Tunick is also a successful entrepreneur, business executive, motivational speaker, and best-selling author. Currently, he is president and CEO of Nations Transaction Services, Inc. in Newbury Park, California. Drawing from a successful background in finance, banking, sales, and management, Coach Tunick helps companies grow and thrive through positive business practices which he discusses as a sought-after speaker and in his book, The Thinking Room: A New System for Success.

Altered States: How Individual States Rank In Twitter Use Per Capita

Here's another interesting look at current Twitter usage statistics, which continue to shift as rapidly as the site's traffic and user base growth rates.

Do you think you're located in one of America's top tweeting states? Well, that's exactly the question that HubSpot sought to answer when analyzing the latest data from its Twitter Grader tool. The following findings were reported yesterday in this post on AllTwitter.com, MediaBistro's unofficial Twitter resource. Take a look at the map below, and see how your state fared against others in the nation.

The infographic attaches a percentage to each state based on how much higher, or lower, its tweet rate is compared to the national average. The top three states, as indicated by the map, are Massachusetts, Washington, and Oregon. All three states used Twitter more than 60% more than the national average, with leader Massachusetts at 69%.

The research also reviewed the top gainers, states that experienced the most growth in Twitter usage from 2009-2010 compared to the national average. Based on this date, the fastest-growing state over the past year was Utah at 66%.

Click on the map to view a larger version of the graphic:

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Link Between Online Advertising And Public Relations

Editor's Note: The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Jonathan Gardner, director of communications at Vibrant, a worldwide leader in contextual technology and the leading provider of in-text solutions. For several years now, marketers have sat back and watched as digital media has blurred the lines between communications disciplines. With this in mind, Gardner discusses why PR pros should continue to be mindful of developments in the online advertising world and how these impact the public relations domain...for better or for worse. This post first appeared in PRNewser.
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Going into 2011, it is clear that the worlds of online advertising and marketing are being shaped by tremendous forces. But why should anyone outside of advertising care? Because in our experience, none of the disciplines live in isolation: developments in advertising, communications, and PR all resonate with the others in the marketing universe.

In 2011, we think there are phenomena that are of particular relevance to those throughout marketing and communications: the continuing debate over online privacy (“do not track”) and the evolution of content and social media.

Consumers will need to decide what information they want marketers to have in exchange for access to content and advertising that is relevant to their wants and needs. As Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg put it, the public is unclear if privacy is still a “social norm.” And while government debate over online privacy continues, the industry is advancing an agenda of self-regulation. There is widespread agreement that there needs to be increased transparency in how marketers engage in behavioral targeting.

Whatever the outcome of the privacy issue, marketers are looking beyond behavioral to contextual technologies, which still allow precise targeting at scale. We see surging interest in a whole slate of new contextual marketing innovations that use banner ads, rich media, and video, along with established in-text advertising. This year will bring “super-relevant” dynamic ads with custom content that changes based on the content of a site’s page.

Smart communicators know the new world of content is defined by opportunities – all the new channels for content and the evolution of consumer product companies as “content producers.” PR professionals are stepping up to put in practice what they preach: using social to grow the network effect of communications content, within and beyond their organizations, in B2B and B2C, in every marketing channel. We’ll see amped-up integration of social-sharing and recommendation tools that bridge content and ads, such as toolbars, which have already made inroads with publishers.

As media and technology converge across devices and platforms, the content and channels are crossing boundaries and borders. And so for advertising and communications, what happens in one area will surely be impacting the other in 2011 more than ever before.

© 2011 WebMediaBrands, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Social Media Version Of The Mood Ring

Even though we're only four days into 2011, amazingly insightful research regarding Twitter usage and demographic statistics continues to pour in from all corners of the globe. Case in point: the recently-released results of a joint study by Harvard and Northeastern University which tracked the nation's tweets minute-by-minute over the last three years to determine precisely what their mood is at various time of the day.

A waste of time, you think? Perhaps not. The research revealed that Americans are happiest in the morning and late evening, and most depressed on Thursday afternoons. Interestingly enough, Americans are happiest on Sunday mornings, the study found. Some of these variations can be explained by the three-hour difference between the West and East Coasts; essentially, this means that the West Coast is happy three hours after East Coast residents. A detailed analysis of the study can be reviewed in this post on Business Insider.

To summarize their results, Harvard and Northeastern researchers created the following time-lapse video showing a typical day's tweeting activity, with red being grumpy and green being happy:

And the insights don't end there. According to the researchers, several interesting trends can be observed in the data on both daily and weekly bases. Check out the following graphs, as well as the cartogram illustrating state-by-state variations:

Daily Variations

Weekly Variations

Cartogram

For additional insight on Twitter usage statistics, please check out our pre-Christmas post, entitled "The User Demographics And Usage Patterns Of Twitter," which discusses the prestigious Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project's findings that only 8% of American adults that are online are now using Twitter, among other interesting data.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Social Media Commandment #1: KNOW Your Audience

Happy New Year, one and all!

I thought I'd kick off 2011 with a humorous blog post, and hopefully one that sets the tone for the rest of the year. While busy closing out year-end business today, I happened to come across this hilarious cartoon on Mashable, and I just couldn't resist sharing it here on Marketing Mulligans:

See you later on this year...