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A new eMarketer report predicts that U.S. marketers will spend $40 million in 2008 to advertise to a business audience via online social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook.
With LinkedIn being an online network of experienced professionals, this pairing makes sense – I get it. But Facebook? Now, for me, that’s a stretch considering their online network is not as exclusive – collegiate and high school networks are also thrown into the mix – which I am sure is not the audience these B2B marketers are after. However, Facebook may be ideal for marketers targeting a consumer audience, particularly those that skew younger.
While I understand the benefits of utilizing these social networking sites – such as exponential growth in the number of users and therefore exponential growth in the number of people a message will reach – I don’t think just any will do. Careful consideration should be taken in utilizing social networking sites as a marketing tool. Doing your own research and perhaps consulting specialists may be the best bet to help ensure that the right people are being targeted and the message is not getting lost in the clutter.
Amy Mengel, Engagement Coordinator
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Do a search on “learn Google AdWords” and the word “secret” is likely to appear in at least a few of the ads you see displayed. Then the advertiser will tell you how fast and easy their system is to teach you how to do it. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Sure, in two or three days you can learn how to navigate the interface and set up an account physically. But lets face it, there is going to be a lot of trial and error as you try to use the keywords that Google suggests, many of which have nothing to do with your business. Many beginners simply select all of the keywords that Google suggests and then wonder why the account has a high CPC, low Quality Scores, and horrible CTR (much less ROI).
Selecting the keywords that will work well in search marketing is a process that involves researching keywords, the more tools the better. Then the keywords must be sorted, organized, and semantic judgment must be applied.
I’ve started talking recently about semantic judgement in forums and other people’s blogs, and the effects of having it, on PPC marketing. So what exactly do I mean by semantic judgement? Do a search for “semantic judgement” on Google and most of what you see is academics dealing with the learning process in children, intelligence, and special needs individuals and someone who picked up one of my previous statements on the topic.
Semantic Judgement – The process of intelligently discerning the multiplicity of meanings of words and phrases to organize massive amounts of keywords or information in a way that identifies the commonalities, differences, and cross-over between the categories and classifications of terms.
That’s it. It may seem like a bunch of academia but break it down and it all seems so simple. It’s not. But now I have defined what the true skill that is required for a successful search marketing campaign. It’s not about worrying about if Google’s next change to the system will ruin your campaign, but about making the best decisions so that no matter what Google does to change the system I know any account I have set up will be successful.
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Whenever I hear someone who is new to writing AdWords ad copy they inevitably mention great “tricks” they learned from whatever “guru’s” course they took. The first one to always come up is dynamic keyword insertion.
Here is what dynamic keyword insertion is physically: {keyword:alternate text}
So you search for “local laundry service”
And see the ad:
Buy local laundry service
Best deals on local laundry service
Limited quantities. Buy Today.
www.store.com/local_laundry_service
I went little overboard, but it illustrates the point. You have seen ads like these, where they use the insertion only once, and you have laughed because it was so irrelevant to what you had searched for. I had heard they were so effective from so many sources that I agreed to do it for one client who had been suggesting it for months, to my resistance. Upon testing we discovered a higher CTR, corresponding to an increased bounce rate, lower conversion rate, and higher cost per conversion.
I have not used dynamic keyword insertion since. I find that it is much easier to properly structure an AdWords account so that each ad group is so finely focused that filling in the 25 character headline at least 2/3 of those characters will be the keyword that every phrase in the ad group has in common. Dynamic keyword really is an effective trick, a trick by the platforms on advertisers who just run for the click, no matter who is doing the clicking.
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Although many superheroes that we know today have concealed identities, they have something we can remember them
by.
They all carry a symbol or logo that lets people know who
they are. Almost everyone knows Superman and Batman. These are our childhood heroes.
Superman carries a large red and
yellow icon on his chest that stands out because of its bright colors. Batman
uses a simple bat as his symbol. Although superheroes like Batman, Spiderman,
Green Lantern and others have concealed identities, they still have an identity, a brand, because
of the symbol engraved on their costumes that lets you know right away who they
are.
Even
today you can find all sorts of apparel and accessories with those
logos because they are worth money. Children and even adults still love these superhero icons to this day. Depending on how great the superhero
is, people will go out of their way to be dress like them. So whether you are Superman or not, you can still
wear that "S" on your chest and look good, if not super.
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By now you’ve probably gotten a gander at Microsoft’s newest marketing ploy: a 90-second commercial featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. But just in case you haven’t, here’s what you need to know: Seinfeld runs into Gates in a discount shoe retailer at a shopping mall. Seinfeldian silliness ensues. No mention of Microsoft is made until the last 10 seconds of the spot –– the last 10 seconds! –– when Seinfeld asks Gates for assurance that Microsoft will soon deliver a computing panacea.
Around our office, the spot has been a hot topic. Not only for its big-budget celebrity firepower, but for its brazen flouting of marketing rules. Where’s the product imagery? The litany of features and reasons to by? The logos? On its face, the commercial seems –– like Seinfeld’s TV show –– to be about nothing. But is it?
Absolutely not. In fact, it’s about something very important –– the Microsoft brand. Specifically, it’s about demonstrating that Microsoft is as hip and desirable as Apple. It’s about making us forget the stuffy, Windows-loving PC guy from the Mac commercials. And on all these fronts, I think the spot succeeds with flying colors.
Although I’ll be a Mac user until the day I die, I have to admit that I can’t stop watching, forwarding and talking about this spot. And if that’s not the hallmark of good branding, I don’t know what is.
Angela Costanzi, Director, Creative Services
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Currently the portion of the advertising budget being spent on search marketing has been increasing much faster than other advertising forms, and for many businesses it is difficult to gauge what percentage of their media spend should be allocated to search. From 2006 to 2007 ad spend on Search advertising increaded by almost 19% according to Neilsen’s. In December of last year ComScore reported the top five search engines had increased their share by 15%, totaling almost 100% of search queries. So the traffic is becoming limited to a few lanes, and reaching it has become even easier for advertisers.
But what percentage of media budget is usually spent on search? Sources vary greatly, but it breaks down that in the US search budget for an average company is about 11% of their marketing budget. Dies this mean that 11% needs to be your budget, no. What it is is a starting point, from which to begin the discussion of who you are targeting and how to best target them.
With over 99% of search moving through five search engines it is then good to start by looking to gain exposure across all five of these engines.
According to ComScore the US search share for July 2008 breaks down like this:
#1 Google @ 61.9% (up .4%)
#2 Yahoo @ 20.5% (down .4%)
#3 MSN @ 8.9% (down .3%)
#4 AOL @ 4.5% (up .2%)
#5 Ask @ 4.2% (up .1%)
By breaking down the total search budget by these same ratios a business can make the most informed choice as to where they will get the best ROI, and a positive first impression of search marketing.
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With MSN still loosing search market share, and the failed Yahoo bid, you would think that Google would have written them off as competition and figured the software giant would, well… …stick to software. It seems like Google has other plans than to quietly back away from possible confrontation with Microsoft. The new Google open source browser has been released as a beta: Google Chrome.
I run Chrome on my PC that I use to handle the large spreadsheets I work with. My experience so far has been a generally positive one. It seems to run smoothly, crashing less than Firefox, my up-till-now default browser. I have to admit, I haven’t used Internet Explorer for years. The only problem I have had with Chrome so far is the time it takes with certain graphics, like the graphs in AdWords reports. I would have thought Google would have made sure that Chrome ran all its interfaces smoothly, but I guess they don’t plan to worry about a feature that isn’t used, since the graph can only be saved through a screen shot.
From everything I have taken in on the Tweetisphere it looks like this is Google’s way of shaking up the browser market, by solving several problems that have led to tons of crashes. But its just a beta, and with Google’s never ending betas it will be interesting to see when or if Chrome gets polished up and out of the beta phase.
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Have you needed information so fast that you pull out your cell phone only to see that website of your bank does not work with the phone’s web browser? Maybe it does work but the loading time is too long for you to even access your bank account.
People do not always want to surf the full website to access their bank account while they have their phone. Marketing companies will have to simplify their websites to mobile versions. As of now , with web technologies growing everyday and websites becoming more dynamic by the minute, cell phone makers have to upgrade their web browsers to meet the demands. Not all browsers in cell phones can handle large content sites to the point the browser crashes. All that time you waited for a single page to crash was wasted.
As more users use their phones to surf the internet, Companies will have to supply mobile versions of their websites.
Notice how Yahoo and Google automatically redirect the browser the phone has to their mobile version of their website once the type of browser is detected. You get instant information because mobile websites are optimized to provide all you need within seconds.
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There is no arguing the fact that social networking is here to stay. If you’re like me you subscribe to multiple networks, some, like Facebook for your personal interests and others ,like LinkedIn, for your professional interests. The problem for many of us, besides finding time to actively manage our social universe, is finding ways to efficiently leverage them as both an information resource and for those of us in marketing, a marketing channel– but that’s about to change.
In the not so distant future search engines will all deploy applications (hooks) into social networks that allow you to search your trusted network of friends and business colleagues for recommendations regarding businesses, products, services and more. Consider a scenario where you needed to evaluate potential streaming video hosting partners. Sure you could use Google or Yahoo! to find and review the multitude of businesses returned in the SERPS, which is fine, but time consuming. Additionally, if you’re like me, you would reach out to a few friends and colleagues to see if any of them could provide a recommendation to which you may find yourself making a more then a few calls before you get a recommendation.
Now imagine a scenario where instead of searching the Web for businesses that provide the service you seek, you could query your professional network to see if anyone in your network has a relationship with, or recommendation for, a company who provides the service. Assuming your professional network is comprised of people who are in a similar profession or industry as you, the chances are pretty high someone will. Think of it. Easily accessible and acquired recommendations from your trusted network of friends and colleagues for goods and services relevant to your world, your needs. That’s trusted search.
Trusted Search will become a core feature of the social network experience and in the process revolutionize search advertising. Not only will marketers be able to target based on keywords, geography etc., they will be able to target a group of people who all share common interests. More on this in my next post. For now. I’d like to hear your thoughts on trusted search. Where you feel it is currently, where its headed etc.
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For Sale: Baseball team. Has not won a World Series in 100 years.
Ballpark is second oldest in the major leagues and is falling apart. Parking around stadium is horrendous. Sixteen pennants won, 0 since 1945. Asking price: $1 billion.
You guessed it, I’m referring to the Chicago Cubs who are currently being sold by Sam Zell to the highest bidder. What makes a franchise like the Cubs, one of the worst teams over the past 100 years, worth as much as $1 billion? That’s easy, it’s the brand.
If you think of a brand as “a commodity wrapped in experiences”, the Cubs have a lock on the baseball experience. From the vines in the outfield, the bleachers, the manual scoreboard, the rooftops, to the bullpens down the left and right field lines, Wrigley Field and the Cubs are pure baseball.
Fans come from around the world to experience a Cubs game. Even in losing years, of which there have been many, the Cubs have drawn over 2 million visitors. This year, they attracted over 3.3 million fans.
While other franchises are known for their winning ways (think Yankees), the Cubs’ brand has always been about the experience. While disgruntled fans have criticized management and ownership over the years, nobody can argue that the organization has done a great job of building and maintaining their brand.
For more on this topic, a great read is “The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage”, by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore. In building a powerful brand, the Cubs have created one of the greatest stages, and experience, in all of sports.
Bob Murphy, Managing Partner
