Whether you think the iPad is the greatest thing since sliced bread, or just another over-hyped product, Apple’s new device is sure to please the mobile advertising industry. They’ve been laboring to optimize their ads and websites for the tiny screen sizes of smart phones. But the iPad’s 9.7 inch screen should make it much easier to see traditional display ads, such as those seen on magazines or TV episodes. Plus, the iPad offers the personalization and geo-locational features of a smart-phone.
However, one downside of the iPad is its inability to support Adobe Flash, the software many online ads rely on. As a result, mobile marketers who use Flash won’t be able to adapt their existing ads. They will have to develop new kinds of ads to reach iPad users.
On the other hand, users will be able to download applications for the iPad, creating similar advertising opportunities to those found with the iPhone. Apple had recently announced plans to buy Quattro Wireless, a mobile advertising platform. Analysts say that deal makes much more sense for Apple now due to the increased market for mobile ads for the iPad.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Is Social Media relevant to Business?
“Social media is great for keeping in touch with people, but it takes too much time, and I’m not sure how it benefits my business.”
How many times have you heard that comment? I personally hear it quite frequently. And a recent informal inquiry of my clients and business associates showed the majority of them feel the same way. Although, most of them do like the fact that social media is a quick, easy and free way to reach a big audience, and maintain a personal connection.
Business owners and executives are interested in learning more about social networking sites, particularly how to use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to grow their business. Not knowing how to use social media is probably the main reason why a majority of my respondents said they spend less than 30 minutes a week on social media.
Another reason a lot of people are unsure about how to use social networking sites for their business is the fact that they don’t know how to measure ROI. There are tools out there to help you do this such as Addictomatic and Tweetalyzer, as I mentioned in an earlier blog post.
How many times have you heard that comment? I personally hear it quite frequently. And a recent informal inquiry of my clients and business associates showed the majority of them feel the same way. Although, most of them do like the fact that social media is a quick, easy and free way to reach a big audience, and maintain a personal connection.
Business owners and executives are interested in learning more about social networking sites, particularly how to use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to grow their business. Not knowing how to use social media is probably the main reason why a majority of my respondents said they spend less than 30 minutes a week on social media.
Another reason a lot of people are unsure about how to use social networking sites for their business is the fact that they don’t know how to measure ROI. There are tools out there to help you do this such as Addictomatic and Tweetalyzer, as I mentioned in an earlier blog post.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
8 Tools To Assess Social Media Metrics
Social media will be the top priority over search engine optimization for 45% of marketers this year, according to a recent emarketer.com survey. With that much attention being given, it’s becoming more important for marketers to be able to gauge their ROI from social media. Here is a list of 8 tools to help assess social media metrics:
Google Analytics – This free tool lets you track incoming links and the activities of the users they send.
Omniture – For a fee, Omniture has tools to track your Facebook and Twitter metrics.
PostRank Analytics – Not only does PostRank measure social engagement on other platforms and services, it allows you to see the messages and comments from other sites that contribute to your stats.
HootSuite – This Twitter manager offers click data that enables you to see if those clicks translate into transactions or impressions on your other sites.
Addictomatic – This search engine puts together a visual representation of your presence across social media sites. It can help marketers identify which elements of a corporate presence should be improved, such as photo or video results.
Tweetlevel – A tool to measure a person’s importance on Twitter. Besides taking into account how many followers a Twitter user has, it places more importance on whether the Twitter user actively participates within the community, and how much trust people have in what the user is saying.
Twitalyzer – Web Analytics Demystified built this analytics application which allows people to track their Twitter use over time. One metric, the signal-to-noise ratio, measures how often people pass information, as opposed to anecdote.
Twinfluence Rank – An automated third party tool developed by Innovation Insight, Twinfluence uses APIs to measure influence and includes factors such as the quality of the group of followers.
Google Analytics – This free tool lets you track incoming links and the activities of the users they send.
Omniture – For a fee, Omniture has tools to track your Facebook and Twitter metrics.
PostRank Analytics – Not only does PostRank measure social engagement on other platforms and services, it allows you to see the messages and comments from other sites that contribute to your stats.
HootSuite – This Twitter manager offers click data that enables you to see if those clicks translate into transactions or impressions on your other sites.
Addictomatic – This search engine puts together a visual representation of your presence across social media sites. It can help marketers identify which elements of a corporate presence should be improved, such as photo or video results.
Tweetlevel – A tool to measure a person’s importance on Twitter. Besides taking into account how many followers a Twitter user has, it places more importance on whether the Twitter user actively participates within the community, and how much trust people have in what the user is saying.
Twitalyzer – Web Analytics Demystified built this analytics application which allows people to track their Twitter use over time. One metric, the signal-to-noise ratio, measures how often people pass information, as opposed to anecdote.
Twinfluence Rank – An automated third party tool developed by Innovation Insight, Twinfluence uses APIs to measure influence and includes factors such as the quality of the group of followers.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
SEO Best Practices for Video Marketing
When you create a video to promote your business, how do you get anyone to see it? Search Engine Optimization, of course!
SEO isn’t just for Web sites. Your videos can reach more online viewers when you create them using best SEO practices.
Here are 6 tips to remember regarding SEO for Video:
SEO isn’t just for Web sites. Your videos can reach more online viewers when you create them using best SEO practices.
Here are 6 tips to remember regarding SEO for Video:
- Create Useful, Relevant Content – Videos won’t be a successful marketing tool unless they contain useful content. Remember – you’re not making a music video! Think substance, over style. Be sure to include relevant keywords in your audio and video content as well.
- Shorter is Better – Attention spans are short today. Your videos should run between 3 and 5 minutes for optimal viewing. Don’t despair if that’s not enough time to cover everything. Just break up the content into two or three parts. Tease the second part at the end of the first video to entice your viewer to keep watching!
- Keyword-rich Titles – Include relevant keywords in your video’s title, as this will likely be the first thing the search engines look for in deciding where to rank your content.
- Keyword-rich Descriptions – Make sure your video has a keyword-rich description that details what the video is about.
- Tags – Tag your videos with relevant keywords. You may also consider adding the word “video” to the title, description and tag, such many people add the word “video” to their search phrase.
- Ratings and Reviews – Allow viewers to rate and review your video. The higher your rating, the more authority your video is perceived to have by the search engines. In addition, if your video gets a great review, it’s more likely to be shared – so your video gets seen by more people.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Web Analytics – Improving Website Performance
We all know that SEO and social media marketing are great tools to get your website to rank high on the search engines. But another tool is even more vital to an online business’ success, even though it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves: web site analytics.
With web analytics, you can measure:
Here’s one example of how you can use analytics to effectively measure a marketing campaign:
Let’s say you offer a white paper for download to your target audience. Of the 100 people who visit your landing page, only five of them complete the download (conversion). This suggests there may be a problem with your landing page. Maybe the design is poor, the copy is confusing, or a visitor has to give too much personal information. Now, you have the opportunity to make some changes, and use analytics again to see if there’s any improvement in conversions.
Web analytics can help you keep track of what areas of your site are working, and which need to be updated. For instance, if visitors aren’t going to a web page as often as they once did, you may need to freshen up the content. Or if one of your pages isn’t getting any traffic, that may indicate a problem with navigation or promotional channels. Maybe a link is broken, or visitor didn’t find what they expected when they clicked on an ad.
Spend some time exploring the opportunities web analytics offers. The more familiar you become with the measurements it offers, the more you can use it to help you improve your website’s performance, and ultimately, your company’s profitability.
With web analytics, you can measure:
- how a visitor arrived at your site
- what pages were viewed
- what action was taken – ideally, a conversion
Here’s one example of how you can use analytics to effectively measure a marketing campaign:
Let’s say you offer a white paper for download to your target audience. Of the 100 people who visit your landing page, only five of them complete the download (conversion). This suggests there may be a problem with your landing page. Maybe the design is poor, the copy is confusing, or a visitor has to give too much personal information. Now, you have the opportunity to make some changes, and use analytics again to see if there’s any improvement in conversions.
Web analytics can help you keep track of what areas of your site are working, and which need to be updated. For instance, if visitors aren’t going to a web page as often as they once did, you may need to freshen up the content. Or if one of your pages isn’t getting any traffic, that may indicate a problem with navigation or promotional channels. Maybe a link is broken, or visitor didn’t find what they expected when they clicked on an ad.
Spend some time exploring the opportunities web analytics offers. The more familiar you become with the measurements it offers, the more you can use it to help you improve your website’s performance, and ultimately, your company’s profitability.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
E-Mail Marketing: A Good Solution for Small Businesses
It’s a no-brainer that small businesses should reduce expenses during a recession to help maintain profitability.
But which expenses? If you think marketing should be cut back, you couldn’t be more wrong! Marketing should be stepped up during bad economic times, so a company will be well-positioned to take advantage of the economic recovery.
A new study by Hurwitz & Associates, reported in eMarketing.com, supports this theory as it relates to small businesses. The study found that two-thirds of small businesses that expected increased revenues had raised or planned to raise marketing spending. That compares with just 32% to 36% of businesses with flat or declining revenues.
The study also found that small businesses are keeping marketing costs in check by switching to cheaper, web-based tools such as social media, e-mail newsletters and search. E-mail in particular, is likely to remain a vital force for marketing.
The decision that small businesses need to make is whether to outsource their online marketing needs to freelance copywriters, or handle the work in-house. The DIY (do-it-yourself) instinct may be “cheaper,” from a strict-cost standpoint, but it may wind up costing a company more in the long run due to the time spent on blog-writing, e-mail marketing campaigns, and social network management.
But which expenses? If you think marketing should be cut back, you couldn’t be more wrong! Marketing should be stepped up during bad economic times, so a company will be well-positioned to take advantage of the economic recovery.
A new study by Hurwitz & Associates, reported in eMarketing.com, supports this theory as it relates to small businesses. The study found that two-thirds of small businesses that expected increased revenues had raised or planned to raise marketing spending. That compares with just 32% to 36% of businesses with flat or declining revenues.
The study also found that small businesses are keeping marketing costs in check by switching to cheaper, web-based tools such as social media, e-mail newsletters and search. E-mail in particular, is likely to remain a vital force for marketing.
The decision that small businesses need to make is whether to outsource their online marketing needs to freelance copywriters, or handle the work in-house. The DIY (do-it-yourself) instinct may be “cheaper,” from a strict-cost standpoint, but it may wind up costing a company more in the long run due to the time spent on blog-writing, e-mail marketing campaigns, and social network management.
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