Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

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The Schools of StumbleUpon

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Taking a completely random survey of the Internet over the past year or so, by throwing a rock in any given direction, you’re bound to find more than one article about this hip new thing called Social Media Marketing. It’s different from search engine marketing in the sense that you’re optimizing your content through making it genuinely interesting rather than making it easier for search engines to read. A common up-hill battle many people face is doing these both at the same time, but that’s an article for another day.

What I’m here to talk to you about today, specifically, is StumbleUpon, and the arguments I typically hear for and against it.

StumbleUpon accounts for X% of the traffic my blog receives

You’ll often hear some success stories from people preaching this ubiquitous service, quoting parts of their analytics application, revealing insane traffic spikes. Some people even accomplish upwards of tripling their traffic just by getting a few people to hit the thumbs up.

Unfortunately, what they’ve forgotten to tell you is that traffic from StumbleUpon tends to be that of very fickle people. These are the people who are looking for pretty pictures, list posts, and some form of political argument. If you have a gorgeous, yet politically charged, photo next to the catchiest title in the world, you’ll probably get some decent traffic. Unfortunately, if your blog post is focused on fixing your finances (or web development…) and isn’t in the form of “Best Tools for X,” don’t expect a bounce rate lower than 75% and definitely don’t expect the average time on-site to be higher than 30 seconds.

StumbleUpon is the worst source for conversion rates ever

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the other kind of person obsessed with numbers, just in a negative way. These are the ones who put tracking numbers on every letter they send just to make sure they can obsessively check which marketing material has done its job.

These people are the ones who will complain about anything they don’t feel is worth their time and StumbleUpon is definitely one of the opportunities in their firing lines.

They feel that the two or three new readers from a successful StumbleUpon campaign are not worth the time it took to submit a review. While I can see the point here, and the frustration, any new reader, to me, is worth much more than that.

StumbleUpon… Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of that

This is what you’ll typically hear from bloggers who aren’t concerned with traffic, an audience, making money online, visibility, or even making it through the month. You’ll recognize them by their long, in-depth content with no particular purpose other than to express how they feel.

They don’t know what StumbleUpon is, what it does, or how it works. They just write away until their little hearts’ content and move along at a later date.

Unfortunately, this is the boat Butch and I fall into.

I use that to find cool pictures!

Another kind of blogger who might be considered out-of-the-know, these people might not even be bloggers at all. In fact, they account for the high bounce rates and low time-on-page metrics, because all they want is a pretty picture, a funny joke, or a junk e-mail to pass along. Don’t worry too much about pleasing these people if you have any actual content, because you won’t. Don’t sell out and put up some pictures just for them. Granted, it’s a good idea either way. I just don’t like pictures.

Yeah, I love it! By the way, plz like and review!

Oh, the world of the SU spammer. These are the people who start following you at 3:32 AM. They seem nice enough, but when you add them, suddenly you’re flooded with bizarre pages which have no relevance to your interests whatsoever.

Most spammers find SU very beneficial, as most don’t have the heart to Just Say No. Unfortunately, this won’t change any time soon, so it’s best to just remove them and move along.

While I’m positive I’ve missed many schools of thought on StumbleUpon, I think most people fit into one of the above. Whether they brag or complain about metrics, chances are they are incapable of seeing the other side.

If you find people to be completely clueless as to the advantages (Me, for example), you should enlighten them, as they’ll quickly succumb to the logic and jump on the bandwagon.

If you find people to be spammers, however, ignore them immediately.

No, I will not like and review. Not even if you say, “Please.”

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Posted in Blogging, Marketing | No Comments »

Surviving the Economy

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

People keep linking the state of the economy to many things, but regardless, it is here and happening. So what can you do to keep from letting this affect you too much? First off, pick up the pieces and move on.

Some important things to remember right now is absorb, assess, and then act. Knowledge without action is impotence. If you do not act, nobody will find you. Keep getting out and doing things.

Avoid the comfort zone. It is not going to save you. There is nothing wrong with paying for a movie for the guy or family behind you and then leaving your business card; your name is out there then. There are lots of things you can do.

Put things into perspective. Things may be tough but it will not go away without persistence. What you do will determine how well you will survive. You have made it this far, keep doing what you were, but step it up and be creative.

Do not fear. That will only cause you grief and lots of stress. This happens and it has happened before.  Don’t negate your own power. Whatever you’ve been dealt, know you can deal with it.

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Getting A Name

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

As I sit here I am trying to think of what makes good PR. There is nothing concrete or for a sure success. There are a lot of things you can do, though, that may make things easier and at least get your name out there.

The most important thing is to get out.  Attend social functions. I am not talking about a bar, but events that places like the Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce put on. This is a great way to get a name for yourself.  You may not get a client right away, but you will meet people, be able to hand out your business cards. Doing that you will have your name out there and next time people need your service they might think about you.

Become an expert. I have said it before, but it needs to be said again. You know your business better than anyone else, so let people know. Do not be afraid to tell people, especially the news media. Make people know that you are the one to turn to when their needs need to be met.

Host an event. There are many things you can do to make this happen. Simple things I have said before, like host a blood drive. You can also get really creative and do something like holding a rally outside your business. It does not have to be for a cause (although that would be better). Just get some people to be in front of your store, maybe holding signs stating what your business is, it can be that simple. Just be creative.

Twitter some. It may not sound like a great thing or even be something you are sure how to do, but learn it. It is a lot like going out to social functions. The more you do it, the more people will notice you. Just another way to get your name out.

There are lots of things you can do, but the important thing to remember is to get out there. If you do not tell people about your business they will never know about you and what you can do for them.

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Posted in Marketing, Public Relations | No Comments »

Getting Noticed At Almost No Cost

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

There are many ways to get your business noticed. Many of them are either free or at a very low cost. The most important thing is that they create a virus. When you get people talking about your business, even if those people do not become clients, some of the people they talk to may become clients. None of these are new. They have been done before, but you can do them and put your own spin on them. So here are a couple cheap ways you can have  fun and make others notice your business.

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Posted in Marketing, Public Relations | 1 Comment »

How to Get People to Listen

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

I’m about to lie to you.

You’ve got a superior product (or so you believe) or service, you’ve got a small customer base, and you’ve got employees hired to mass produce your product or provide your service for more than you would be able to. Your prices are established, you’ve got some basic business cards and introductory letters, and now you’re wondering what else to do. You own a small business. Accepting that is the first step.

You see, many people are in denial that they are owners of a small business.

No, not really. I told you I was going to lie. The whole point of all that was to show it’s not that hard to get people to listen, especially online. You come up with a decent title, start with a promise or something intriguing, and then make your point. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to do in person. People are a lot harder to reach in their daily lives than online.

Below is an explanation of how to stop people in their lives through guerilla marketing tactics (think guerilla theatre in this sense).

What the $&%* is that?

This is the in-person equivalent of a catchy title. You have to have something that stands out and catches an eye. It doesn’t necessarily have to be flashy colors, nudity, or gore, although if you can efficiently tie all those in you have a much better chance of standing out (while offending) among your competitors. Just figure out something to catch attention long enough to sell your point. A good idea for the down economy right now would be a CD labeled “Free Money” or something to that effect. Hand out a hundred of those at the bus station and I guarantee you’ll get something out of it, depending on if your content actually does what it promises.

Why do I care?

Say you’ve got our attention. Now what? You’re selling yourself, of course. But what do solar panels have to do with me? I don’t even own a corgi, and I’m certainly not from Wisconsin (see the post below for an explanation of this rambling). You’ve hit the next major hurdle: you’re advertising. Remember, you can’t advertise. You have to sell me on your product without me knowing it. I have to become a believer without witnessing the act, or else I’m not going to become a believer. An interesting way would be to have that CD packed with catchy songs about your business.

Convert!

The final step in getting people to listen to you is to provide an easy way for them to convert. Maybe you hand out a mail-order form with your CD or you have your phone number on that billboard. So long as there’s some way for you to be reached, you should be fine.

So how do you put it all together? Think of it like a blog post. Include some flow, some structure, with your marketing, and identify the major events which happen in a blog post. There’s the hook, the major content, the reassurance, the conclusion, the call to action.

If you’ve got more ideas on how to get people to listen or want to know where I got that “solar panels to corgi owners from Wisconsin” bit, share with us in the comments.

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Posted in Advertising, Marketing | 1 Comment »

Why You Should Stop Advertising

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Advertising is a common practice which attempts to drive traffic to websites, sell products, and generally create a need or want where there is none. For the most part, a niche product which does what it claims to do can be the driving force behind a company, with a good advertising campaign sending sales soaring through the roof.

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours

Unfortunately, the age of advertising is dead. With AdSense becoming nothing more than a virtual tip jar for bloggers (I’ll click your ad if you click mine, etc.), many of us are paying for click traffic without getting the conversion rate typically found through genuine interest.

This isn’t about that, though. This is about why advertising is dead, and what you can do to save yourself from the sinking ship.

What happened?

You see, at least according to most marketers, during the golden age of television, all you had to do was create a drive to your product through advertising. This was usually done on television through commercials between shows or on infomercials at 3 AM. It worked well for a while. Unfortunately, this age is dead, as many people are desensitized to advertising, and most simply ignore commercials. There are a few with good entertainment value which still stick in the heads of consumers (Think Progressive’s Flo), but for the most part, it’s no longer a viable way to reach the mainsteam customer.

What else has died?

In addition to television commercials sinking, another thing has taken a dive: reaching the mainstream. This is no longer a good way to try to market yourself. It’s a lot nicer to imagine yourself in the typical American household. Unfortunately, people aren’t interested in things which apply to everybody anymore and by losing a bullseye, you miss everybody completely.

So what do I do?

Everybody’s talking about this new hip thing called “niche marketing.” Basically, you find a small demographic and pray that it pays well enough to keep your company afloat. This approach, however, has serious flaws. First, it takes a lot of energy to find a high-paying niche which hasn’t become overcrowded, and by the time you’ve finally found a good place, you’re in an incredibly narrow market like “bioinformatics” (whatever that is) or you’re selling solar panels made only of copper to corgi owners from Wisconsin. Before long, your market has become saturated and you’re in red ink, or worse, you gain money and everybody else has to come invade with their own products.

What can I do?

Well, the only way to get around these problems is to throw out what doesn’t work and embrace what does. If you’re running a blog, you cast a wide net to go viral and at the same time provide niche content which will attract repeat visitors. A common way of doing this is linkbaiting through list posts to reach the front page of digg (so passe).

If you’re running a company, the best way to attract traffic from the masses while still maintaining your niche value is to breed some sort of new idea or trend to catch on.

In other words, go viral, but keep your regulars happy at the same time. It sounds difficult (and it is — I’m still trying to perfect it myself), but it can be done. If you can generate word of mouth, that’s the best way to attract new customers. After all, if Miss Becky Butterhead likes it, I should too.

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Performing a Marketing Audit

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

To perform a marketing audit is basically to take stock of the current environment in which your company is surviving. It includes everything from current advertisements being run to general customer opinion about not only your company but also your niche and so on.

Marketing audits are an important part of every marketing plan because, as a component, they provide a good look into how difficult growing your business will be as well as a good way to estimate your marketing department’s ideal budget for the next year, etc.

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Analyze Your SWOT for Better Optimization

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

A common task for every marketing department is to analyze where a company is, where it needs to be, and how it can get there. From surveys and forums to learn customer opinion to hiring outside sources to make recommendations, the task takes a lot of work and often outside help. An effective way to analyze your company’s position, though, is through a SWOT method of research.

SWOT is an acronym which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It is an important part of every marketing plan to include these four criteria in the write-up.

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How to Market a Website Offline

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

A common mistake made by websites is to simply believe that all of your marketing and traffic building should be done online. Ignoring a vast majority of the local traffic you could be getting can have a detrimental effect on your website, especially if it’s a site for your business which serves local individuals or businesses. A major benefit can be gained through marketing offline, as people are more likely to trust a website to which they can attach a face or a name.

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PR, The Uncontrolled Message

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

PR has many benefits. But there are also things that could become a disadvantage and there is nothing you can do about it. This is not meant to discourage anyone from PR practices; it is just things that you need to be aware of when trying to get PR.

Public relations and advertising pretty much use the same avenues to get their message out. TV, Radio, Print and any other type of media that you can get your information out.

The difference is that when advertising, you pay for it. That means that you get what you want. You control where your Ad is places, what information is in it, how long it is, that kind of stuff. With PR, you are getting the word out, but not paying for where it is placed, so you lose some of the control.

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