htc.net Goes Live!

We are very happy that the new htc.net site went live on Monday! This project includes video feeds, action graphics and a snazzy new brand image for this local and progressive communications company headquartered in Waterloo, Illinois. The Web site is designed to be SEO friendly and to better spotlight the company's growing communication service options. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

Online Share vs. Online Search

Many skeptics remain about the value of social media and online news pages in a business marketing plan. This is why... sharing online information is one of the primary ways people find information on the Web.

Share This recently reported that Web sites receive 33 percent of their traffic from shared links - either on Facebook, through e-mail or via another social source. Shared information also received 50 percent more page views.

E-mail and Facebook were the two primary tools for sharing online content with friends and family and show the most page views per shared link. Twitter rates lower on page views per shared link but its shared links reach a larger audience than either Facebook or e-mail.

Read the full Share This report (it's only one page, but interesting).

How does this relate to your marketing agenda? The Web is a BIG place. There is tons of content out there, a lot of users and a lot people vying to attract users. Not only should you stockpile your Web site with SEO content and programming to attract organic search, but you also need to keep information fresh and relevant to your audience by posting regular news updates. Yet, you can't sit back and hope that organic search will magically bring people to your news page - keywords or not. You need to help your Web site along by sharing the information and culling a following. Utilize monthly or quarterly e-mail newsletters, stay in touch via Facebook, post your articles to DIGG, invest in Pay-Per-Click online advertising or share links to your news page on Twitter.

The short is that people do share information about events, ideas and news that they think will interest friends or other audiences. The easier you make it for people to find you and share this information, then the more you compete in the online sphere and see bottom-line results.

Set Goals: Your 2010 Marketing Budget & Plan

The end of the year is a good time to sit back and analyze the year's marketing successes and failures. However, it is also a good time to assess if your marketing efforts match your business goals. When you sit down to plan your 2010 marketing budget and schedule, follow this checklist:

Study Your Business.
Evaluate each of your products/services?
What products/services need to be cut or marginalized?
Who are your target customers for each product/service?
How much money can you devote to marketing?

Set Your Business Goals.
What are your business goals?Where are your best opportunities to grow?
Review Your Marketing Efforts To Date.
Have you over or under promoted any sector of your business?
Where have you dedicated the most money (online, print, radio)?
What efforts offered the best return for your money?
How did budget limitations effect your choices?

Align Your Marketing with Your Budget & Goals.
1. Identify any areas where you might be able to cross-promote.

2. Find out the target demographic of every marketing effort available to you - even if you don't think it's a good fit, analyze the medium's reach, special promotional or partnership opportunities and changes expected to the medium in the next year.

3. Eliminate any avenue that does not hit your target demographic, even though it might appeal to you personally. Then, prioritize the remainder and try to negotiate a bulk buy. Don't forget that sometimes trade or gift cards work as payment for an ad.

4. Don't focus on one medium or one time of year. Make sure your schedule includes a presence online as well as through networking, print, public relations or social media.

5. If you don't have the time or skills for web management, public relations or social media, find an intern or allocate part of your budget to hiring the proper specialist.

6. Measure each effort with a unique Web site landing page, promotion code, coupon or unique phone number.

7. Review your marketing plan quarterly, at minimum. However, ideally you want to reassess monthly.

8. Include Web site updates and maintenance in your monthly schedule.

9. Take your ideal marketing plan and trim it to fit your budget. Keep your marketing efforts that have the most reach at the top of your list.

10. Treat your business as important as your customers and adhere to goals for marketing efforts that require your time.

Deliver the Right Message with Variable Data

Direct mail is far from dead. Even Google sends marketing to the mailbox. However, "spray-and-pray" direct mail efforts are being kicked to the curb. In an era when ROI is demanded from marketing departments and agencies, there is a need for increased results. Couple this with technological advances in database management and digital printing, and you'll find variable printing and variable data are not only competitive with traditional direct mail campaigns, but they are more profitable.

It works like this. Your company has a database full of prospective or historical customer data. This is a gold mine of information (for your benefit) that can help you reduce print and postage costs and better target your message. So, your restaurant has a wine enthusiasts and beer connoisseur. Send a $10 off a bottle of wine with dinner purchase coupon to the wine enthusiast and inform the beer connoisseur about the tasting next week. This is not a breach of privacy. You aren't selling your customer information. You are simply sending them the promotions they want instead of inundating them with every promotion you have.

You pay attention when your mechanic sends you an update specific to the make, model and upkeep of your car, yes? Talk to your customers in the same way. The right message in the right hands can yield double digit response rates as compared to the measly two percent return on traditional non-targeted, direct-mail campaigns.

It's time to demand greater return and profitability from your marketing efforts. Call Marketicity if you want to learn about tailored strategies for your business.

Daring To Be Different Is Strategic

The VIA Group in Portland, Maine designed the Salvation Army "Cost Nothing" campaign for the Northern New England branch of the organization. Everything about this campaign stands out strictly because of its unexpectedness - from its locations to its message vehicles (literally). However, all the ads adhere to the organization's brand image and mission.

It is very easy to stick with traditional advertising avenues if they are part of the core marketing curriculum of a company. However, as you start in the month ahead to reassess your marketing dollars and advertising avenues, this campaign should serve as inspiration. The Salvation Army campaign is no-doubt creative and out-of-the-box but additionally it is well organized, strategic and brand savvy. Is your marketing plan meeting these objectives? If you don't know, answer the following:

- What is the mission and image of my brand?
- Is my advertising design, message and placement in accordance with this brand image?
- Are my branding touchpoints relevant to my brand image and my target demographic?
- Do I plan my advertising one-year out or month to month?
- What are my marketing goals and objectives?

Marketicity can help you strategize your marketing plan. We look at the whole picture, not just the pieces, to determine how each piece will work with and leverage the others to create an effective marketing strategy that is well planned and budgeted.

Rotnem: A Corporate Bridge Between Young and Old

"Younger employees help senior executives unlock social media mystery," reads the Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009 Chicago Tribune. The story talks about the new trend in corporate America ... Gen Y is mentoring top executives in social media in a successful program called Rotnem - reverse mentoring.

The success of the program is not just in sharing knowledge, but in bridging the generational divide and corporate hierarchy in the workplace. In working with younger staff, business leaders are learning to appreciate and better understand their younger co-workers. Vice-versa, the young are reap the mentoring benefits of working with industry experts as well as seeing their leaders in more approachable and respectful light.

Rotnem need not be only for big business. It can certainly be applied at smaller levels. Even here at Marketicity, with each member of the staff from a different decade, we consult heavily with one another about how different generations will see an idea. More often than not, by pooling our thoughts and varied levels of expertise and experience, our ideas start to branch out into new arenas.

If your company is transitioning into the social media arena, incorporating a Rotnem program could be beneficial in equalizing the playing field ... and bridging the cultural divide.

Online Privacy: How Do You Feel?

In a September 29, 2009 New York Times article "Two-Thirds of Americans Object to Online Tracking," reporter Stephanie Clifford discussed a new survey by professors at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley that focuses on Americans view of online privacy.

The study reveals that 66 percent of Americans do not like tailored ads. In contrast, 51 percent liked tailored discounts and 58 percent like tailored news.

However, the more information that was revealed about the data collected on Internet users, the more adult Americans objected to the methods. This opinion did not vary significantly between 18-24 year olds as compared to older adults.

As the article reveals, marketers note that the amount of free information is largely made possible through advertising dollars. And tailoring discounts and news requires some tracking to do well. So where is the fine line?

As the debate about online privacy starts to enter the political arena and legislation is proposed, what are your feelings on online tracking? Does it scare you? Do you like tailored discounts? What is the fine line between providing relevant content and protecting personal privacy?

For some tips on providing yourself with more online privacy, read this Electronic Frontier Foundations "Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy."

"Every Economy Brings Opportunity..."

Every economy brings opportunity for those who make brave and intelligent decisions.
-The Yellow Paper Series: Capturing Opportunities in Challenging Times

I like this quote because it reminds me of so many of the entrepreneurs (friends) that I have the good fortune of knowing. And, I'm surprised sometimes that they forget in this testy economy that they have the chance to be a model of inspiration.

Here are some tips from The Yellow Paper Series (the same source as the quote) to help entrepreneurs and career optimists alike keep the communications strategy, for the business you own or manage, bravely and intelligently on course:

Better Understand Consumer Behavior and Insights
Know your target demographic as well as their spending behaviors, media preferences and primary social concerns. Newspaper ads might have worked for decades, but as a new set of technology-forward consumers become your target selling market is your marketing strategy adjusting accordingly?

Stress Tangible Benefits, But Appeal to Emotions
In a recession, consumers purchase things they need, but also the things that they feel are important.

Creativity Is the Most Powerful Force in Business
A recession is not the time to skimp on design or ideas. Stand out with savvy, sophisticated design and copywriting.

Be Integrated to Be Heard
Don't focus on one marketing channel. Strategize your message through a variety of diverse media and marketing arenas -- but keep your message consistent and cohesive.

Focus on the Influencers
Identify and target smaller brand influencers that have the power to propel your brand more than advertising to the masses. Word-of-mouth from an influencer provides more ROI than an ad seen by 100 passive viewers.

Building Your Client Database

Earlier this week, we reviewed the benefits of investing in an e-mail system. But what good is an e-mail system if you don't build your client list?

Building a strong client list requires creativity, patience and perspective.

Bigger is not better.
Client databases are most effective when people voluntarily sign-up for the information and if they are targeted. For instance, if you own a restaurant you would want to send marketing directors information about your catering specials and your beer aficionados information about special tastings or new arrivals.

Publicize.
Don't be bashful. Invite your friends, and tell people about your e-newsletter. As a business owner, you are constantly being handed business cards. Send each new person an opt-in e-mail with an introductory message to join your e-newsletter. Chances are your new contact is also interested in building a work relationship and wants to keep in touch with your company.

Be Creative.
Aside from publicizing your e-newsletter and including a sign-up option on your Web site, be creative in gathering e-mails. Collect names and e-mails for a chance at a raffle prize or gift certificate. Offer a one-time 10% discount for contact information. Include sign-in sheets at all business events. In your newsletter, encourage clients to forward the information to a friend and include a "how to join" our newsletter option. Invite your Facebook friends.

Be Patient.
In the digital age, spam and overloaded e-mail boxes are increasingly common. Dedicated clients will find and follow you. So, offer a variety of ways to stay in touch - your Web site, a Facebook page, an e-newsletter.

Provide Value.
Last, and perhaps most important, create an attractive newsletter that is easy to read, is not too long and provides content relevant to your clients. Also, be timely and diversify content. If we go back to our beer aficionados, then you can link them to a feature article in a publication about a brewer, talk about what is special about Belgian beer and spotlight one of your products.

Now, start building!

Opt For An E-mail Marketing System

Promotion via e-mail is the status quo for most organizations. However, effective e-marketing is not always the norm.

The first step is to find an e-mail marketing service that suits the size and needs of your business. Examples of e-mail systems include Constant Contact, Marketvolt or IContact. The benefits vary but can include:
- tracking actions of database group
- storing and managing e-mails
- easy Web sign-up
- maintaining integrity of database
- targeting clients
- making one e-mail for html and text versions

Translation. Different e-mail readers, such as Yahoo!, Outlook, Thunderbird or Gmail, allow various degrees of html-formatted or text e-mails. This is a bit of a hassle. If you are sending messages with images and graphics from your Outlook, the e-mail may or may not open in certain e-mail readers. Or, others have restrictions on attachments.

So, you, the sender, either need to keep a list of each users preferred format, maintain two databases and send two e-mails... unless you are benefitting from an e-mail service that automatically determines the end-users e-mail reader needs. And since first impressions are key, an e-mail system will usually provide text versions of an e-mail with a link to the html-formatted newsletter or coupon that you've created.

Relevance is key. An e-mail service allows you to see what e-mails are bouncing so that you can maintain the integrity of your database list. Further, it also tracks who is opening your e-mail and what links are of most interest to your readers. This allows you to better cater your information or promotion in the future or to target customers with particular interests.

Database integrity. Nobody wants spam. Thankfully, most e-mail services take the legal hassels off your agenda and automotically create links that allow people to opt-out of their subscription.

Each e-mail service has its own functionalities and costs and should be carefully assessed based on a company's needs.

Check back for tips on how to build and maintain your database of contacts.

Using Facebook As Your Newsroom

Your company is now streaming on multiple social media applications, and you don't know how to effectively integrate the myriad of platforms to work to your business' best advantage. One option is to turn your Facebook page into a newsroom.

In his article "How To: Make Facebook Your Company Newsroom," Mashable.com contributor Josh Peters provides a step-by-step approach for integrating multiple social networking applications into your Facebook fan page. This integrated approach strengthens the power and appeal of a fan page since it is more effective method to finding a number of items related to your business. Here are the highlights:

1. Integrate your Web site blog, Twitter account or other RSS feeds so that Facebook fans can quickly access this information from one portal.

2. Connect to news stories about your company by bookmarking them on Delicious and integrating a Delicious box onto your Facebook Fan page. Again the motivation is to aggregate the information for clients or customers of your business. Make it simple for people to learn about you and what you do.

3. Import access to your FlickR and YouTube accounts.

4. Reset your Facebook URL to include your company name. For instance, facebook.com/marketicity - check it out and become our fan!

If you are interested in transforming your Facebook fan page into your company newsroom, call Marketicity 314.266.4450 or 618.281.6648 and propel your business forward.

Garden Place Adult Day Club Featured

The Messenger featured Garden Place Senior Living's Adult Day Club services in an article titled, "Adult Day Club Offers Alternatives to Caregivers." Editor and author Liz Quirin dedicated a full page to this emerging service for seniors in our communities. Read the article.

Marketicity is happy to assist in promoting Columbia, Illinois' first "A Day To Play" event from 1-4 pm on Sept. 19th starting in Bolm-Schuhkraft Park. Our Graphic Design Specialist, Casara Heaton, created the fun logo that is being sported throughout the City of Columbia, Ill. on promotional items for the event.

The event is in recognition of the city's "Playful City" status in 2009 by KABOOM! With a limited budget in its first year, the Columbia Play Commission, headed by John Traube of Traube Tent, is relying heavily on volunteers and donations to promote the event. Social Media along with old-fashioned word of mouth are expected to be the biggest advertising avenues.

Heading up the social media effort is Paul Ellis, Columbia's director of community & economic development. With so many municipality and state budgets in dissarray, Ellis brings a wealth of experience in using social media as a marketing advantage in promoting a community. Previously, he served more than 20 years with a regional chamber of commerce in Tacoma, Washington, where he administered a business improvement area, pioneered use of social media and helped start one of the most successful angel networks in that state. He speaks nationally about how to deploy blogs to draw customers to downtown centers. Several of his blogs in Tacoma, including the highly-regarded BIA Blog and Tacoma Tech Connect are still serving that community.

Learn more about Columbia's A Day To Play.

Marketicity: Evolving in a Tough Economy

Business news is littered with stories about the need for companies to evolve during this recession. In the world of marketing, this is even more critical as the dramatic changes in technology are rapidly redefining and splitting the agency world. In general, marketing companies are becoming more specialized, concentrating on search engine optimization, mobile marketing, video or branding and design. In fact, in the St. Louis metro region, there are more firms collaborating on client accounts instead of expanding their reach.

For Marketicity, the recession has prompted a shift as well. However, it is in the arena of expanded services. As demand for print materials has declined, the company has made a dramatic shift in the summer of 2009 to expand our services in the arenas of social media, online marketing and search engine optimization. This expansion was prompted by a simple need to respond to clients' expanding needs. Frequently working as an integrated member of a company's marketing team, Marketicity needed not only to deliver traditional advertising and branding options for clients but also those that maximized Web opportunities and kept our clients in front of a range of targeted clientele.

As a result, Marketicity increased its client base this summer and expanded services to existing clients. It was a strategic business choice to make these changes. And, the goal of these changes is to better position clients for success. Here is to the innovation that recessions encourage.

Feelings Measured on the Internet?

With "70-80 percent accuracy," you can now measure online sentiment regarding your brand. That's right, the latest wave in culling the Internet for market research uses algorithms to do a "sentiment analysis" on a topic and grade the emotional reaction on subjects related to your brand.

"Mining the Web for Feelings, Not Facts" in the August 24, 2009 issue of The New York Times details the emerging field of Sentiment Analysis and looks at three companies: Scout Labs, Jodange and Newssift - all offering some context for analyzing and, daresay, managing online sentiment.

Sentiment Analysis is especially interesting, because it targets the ever-increasing desire and concern of business owners and managers to contain negative online messaging. It is essential for company's to participate in social media via blogging, Facebook, Twitter and/or LinkedIn. But, the biggest impediment to diving into the Internet marketing universe frequently is a fear of losing control of a brand's image and its message.

Sentiment Analysis applications take Google Alerts to the next level. These new applications agree that comments on the Web rarely die into utter obscurity, but they can be tracked and mobilized into positive business-to-consumer engagement.

The days of the Internet being the land of anonymity to vilify businesses or people are quickly being wrangled. There is, as yet, no perfect science to controlling negative online messages, but if your company continues to add to the authentic and transparent messaging through news posts and other social media avenues, then your brand is certain to weather the critics well.

While the concept of adequately measuring emotions - especially written feelings - seems a tad far-fetched, these sentiment analyzer applications do work to better harness negative online commentary. Most marketing gurus would tell you that, in most cases, dissatisfied customers could be converted to satisfied customers if the situation is properly managed. Well, consider the World Wide Web on its way to being properly managed.

PR Is Not Dead; It's Online.

Perhaps it is the former journalist in me, but I am constantly on the hunt for a story. Not surprisingly, my eyes still pop wide and the eagerness piques at the sound of a good public relations opportunity for a new or existing client. But when I ask, "Have you received any press for that story?" Far too often, the answer is, "Not really. I didn't think about it." Or, it is simply a matter of time to promote one's own business.

In a recession or any other time, public relations is a key part of any marketing plan. Granted, in today's marketplace, it is more and more difficult for your story to appear on the coveted editorial pages of a publication. Yet, the opportunities still exist. You just need to craft the right message, define it well and cater to your choice publication. Media in prime media outlets still offer a credibility, authenticity and reach that ignite prized word-of-mouth advertising for a business or service.

Or in more tense situations, a good public relations expert or team can help you and your business navigate negative media attention ... and prepare you ahead of time to deal with it.

Public relations, however, is being redefined and is a blend of traditional and new media efforts. Social Media Marketing, E-Mail Marketing and Web site news pages are all public relations avenues. In general, I always encourage a company to include a Content-Management System (CMS) news page on a company Web site. Blogger and WordPress are free examples of a CMS platform and are easy for most to use.

Your news page serves several objectives:
1. It always publishes your PR story.
2. It lets you advertise promotions, events and success stories.
3. It leaves a record of authenticity and timeliness for anyone visiting the site.
4. It boosts your Web site's Search-Engine Optimization (SEO) results.
5. It can easily be connected to social networking sites that will increase your reach.
6. It increases your online image.
7. It can be used to encourage prospective or current customers to sign up for targeted e-mail marketing news.

These are a lot of pros for a relatively low investment. BUT, you have to manage the content, develop a voice, maintain a posting schedule and target each news piece so that it is valuable to potential readers. In short, your news page is a 24/7 tool for public relations, but you have to know how to use it. And, you still need to couple efforts with traditional public relations avenues.

If you need help developing your public relations efforts, contact Marketicity at 314.266.4450 or 618.281.6648. We can work with your budget, helping you with full-time public relations needs or acting as a consultant for your in-house efforts.

Teens Not the Driving Force for Twitter

In general, trend forecasters look to teens to forecast trends and to predict growth. In general, teens are a good source; they initiated the Facebook trend, they are early adopters of technology, and they know no world without Internet.

Yet, in the case of the social media network Twitter, it is the 25-54 year olds that comprise this application's largest user demographic. In fact, teens are the least likely to use Twitter. Even the 55 and older demographic outpaces teens on Twitter. Read the original Mashable article.

Not surprising, it is the 35 and older group that is the fastest growing group among Facebook users. And in June alone, Facebook acquired 24 million unique visitors worldwide to increase their total user count to 340 million.

To further the importance of the ever-expanding reach of the Internet, a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article quoted a recent survey that showed a 11 percent spike in broadband connectivity among senior citizens, so that 30 percent of senior households are now opting for faster Internet speeds.

As a broader range of age demographics adopt regular Internet and social media usage, so must businesses seeking to reach their target audiences. Even today, a lead from a client that wanted to advertise on Dish led me to discover Google's new TV ad campaigns, which make cable-broadcast commercials accessible to smaller vendors who need more regional than national advertising.

While I do not advocate dropping all traditional marketing efforts, I do recommend starting to better track your advertising dollars and the effectiveness of each avenue. Likely, you will find that you will need to reallocate your marketing budget, decreasing avenues in some areas to start driving new media alternatives.

If you need consulting services on how to better allocate your marketing dollars, call Marketicity at 618.281.6648 or 314.266.4450. We help companies in the St. Louis metropolitan region, including the Metro-East, and beyond.

Usability and Your Web site

There are a number of Web sites that feature really cool design. Others hold a derth of valuable content. But occasionally, despite the advantages of good content of aesthetic finesse, many Web sites are not designed with the end user in mind.

Not surprisingly, the Web site industry is increasingly hiring Usability experts to help tests sites so that the end construction produces user satisfaction and repeat business. This is especially important for e-commerce sites. If it is too hard to order your Metro ticket online, you simply won't do it. If the online shopping cart for your favorite boutique is confusing, you will shop elsewhere. Likewise for informational sites, you want to break up content into logical, easy to follow categories with a home page that provides an overview of your company or organization.

Here are some tips for increasing the end-user satisfaction with your Web site:
1. Outline the Content.
All those outlines you did in grade school will come in handy. This is your way of mapping the content and organizing it. Decide what your "Chapters" will be in your navigation bar - About, Contact, Services, etc. Then, decide what are the main themes of each "Chapter." These will be your sub navigation bar content. For example, under About - there will be a landing page with an overview of the section, there might be a philosophy or mission page, a history page and/or a meet our staff page.

2. Create a Web Site map.
Decide the relevance of the content on your Web site. Larger sites often feature three or four navigation bars - the primary, secondary, footer and header. Draw a map of lines and boxes that indicate how these pages will connect with one another.

3. Keep your navigation bar consistent throughout the site.
Whether you are on the Home page or the About page, keep the primary navigation consistent. It is easy for users to get lost, especially when all ages are equally likely to find your page. Continue to add a Home link in your primary navigation. While younger users are prone to clicking on the company logo, usually placed in the upper left corner, there are still a large number of Web users aged 30+ that are not familiar with this trick.

4. Scavenger Hunt Testing
Make sure any "Make an appointment" or "Shopping Cart" features are easy to use. Before taking your site live, have your grandma, your neighbor, your 10-year-old niece, your brother and your best friend try to use the shopping cart and all other features on your Web site. Make sure none of these people are Web programmers or designers. You want to test with non-savvy or traditional Web users, with older, younger and peer age groups. But most importantly, find some friends or relatives that are part of your target demographic. Use their feedback to improve the functionality of your Web site so that you have fewer adjustments after it goes live.

5. Continue to improve and update your site.
Web sites act differently depending on changes to Explorer, Firefox and Safari, so expect a few glitches when going live. Also, Web sites are expected to change and to be the most current. Keep pace with the technology and with your clients and continue to improve your Web site so that it is always working for you.

For more ideas about how to improve your Web site, contact Marketicity at 618.281.6648 or 314.266.4450.

HTC's New Web Site Premiers

We are excited to announce the sneak-peak premiere of the HTC (Harrisonville Telephone Company) Web site at the Monroe County Fair this week. This Web site, which features dynamic flash features and a video tour guide of the site's primary service pages.

Watch for its online debut in the very near future!

Work Your Web Site

More and more clients are aware of their Web site's SEO, that is it's search engine optimization. Simply, clients want their Web site at the top of a search result.

But I'm alarmingly surprised to find so many companies invested in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) or AdWords campaigns as the only method for optimizing the power of a company Web site. A PPC campaign is one way to help boost a Web site's traffic, but it is certainly only a piece of the puzzle. You want your company's Web site to rank organically in a Google or Yahoo! search. So, your Web site needs to be optimized to work for you beyond your PPC campaign.

A lot of a Web site's SEO happens in the back end programming - so you need to trust the company with which you are working. Transparency about Google Analytics and where your PPC campaign dollars are going is key. A lack of transparency in either of these areas should be a red flag.

When a programmer is talking about your Web site's optimization code, these are some of the things you should expect to hear:

1. The description, title and keywords should be programmed for each page.
2. Text should be properly coded in html as a header or paragraph.
3. Your pictures should have names in the code, because Web site crawlers can't read a picture... they read the code.
4. You should have Meta data on your site with keywords.

These are things that are apparent to a programmer, but there are other things that you can easily observe.

1. Your home page should be dense with key words while still being readable.
2. You need some page of your Web site to receive frequent updates.
3. You want to monitor Google Analytics and change key words, news content and PPC campaigns accordingly.
4. You want to interlink to parts of your site within your Web copy, not just in your navigation bars.
5. You want outside sources, such as a twitter, facebook, vendor or client post to be linking to your Web site.
6. You want each of your primary services to have their own page - with titles.
7. Are you registered with Google Maps and Yahoo Maps?
8. A video!

It takes several months to fully optimize a Web site, and it is a constant work in progress. Much in the manner of a public relations campaign, you need to be consistently monitoring, adjusting and updating to match the ever-changing standards for Web site grading.

If you have questions about your Web site's optimization, contact Marketicity today at 618.281.6648.

More and More Targeted

During the weekend, I caught a brief discussion on 90.7 KWMU about the tailored advertising developed for XBox users. With more than 40 million XBox owners, according to Microsoft, ads are being streamed for 30 seconds before the start of an online game or between levels. Much in the manner of many YouTube or online video posts, watching the ad is not optional ... if you want to play the game or watch the video. Unlike the video posts, Microsoft is collecting a range of demographic information for its online users, so that ads can be highly targeted towards an advertisers target audience. This is Microsoft's advertising info page with the reasons why one should opt for XBox advertising: Microsoft XBox Advertising.

Already, Facebook and Google are well known for such similar targeting techniques. Today, I read a blog about a 63-year-old, male Facebook user who generally ignored all the marketing efforts on Facebook in pursuit of his own entertainment with his friend community. However, he was struck by a group of female Facebook users dedicated to removing their birth year from their Facebook accounts. Why? The ladies were tired of the wrinkle cream and weight loss ads. I admit to ignoring the ads, but my office co-hort complains about the inundation of wedding ads on Facebook since she changed her status from single to engaged.

Even the digital press has made print more targetable. On a recent print-house tour, I saw an ag-based magazine with a client that had three different ads for the inside cover, depending on the subscribers demographic information. So, the corn farmer would receive an ad pertinent to his crop and the dairy farmer would receive an pertinent to his. Think about what your magazine subscriptions would look like if, say Vogue, knew your household income. Guaranteed mine would be much thinner without those Chanel and Versace ads.

With advertising becoming more and more targeted and with an increasing number of forums to reach customers, effective advertising is becoming more affordable to most businesses. The best plan when constructing a marketing plan is to consider your budget, your target audience and all the media platforms available. While I've heard some say radio or print is dead, I completely disagree. I think savvy marketers straddle both the old and new media worlds and hand-pick the most targeted and cost-effective venues for promoting their business.

Standing out in the advertising arena is still hard, but at least advertisers can negotiate more bang for their buck.

How Much Does Twitter Matter?

The July 3-9, 2009 St. Louis Business Journal's The Pulse section asked: "Have the protests in Iran changed your attitude toward Twitter?" The result was that 51% had better things to do, 29% still don't get what the fuss is about and 18% love being connected through Twitter.

I'll be honest. I was an initial skeptic of Twitter, and I recommend its use conservatively with clients. Why? Twitter is a Web site driver. I prefer to think of it as a news feed or connector. In general, I don't find Twitter a relevant forum for general, personal conversation, but it is a great forum to connect new visitors to a blog or Web site, to post updates or to find other industry-related blogs or Web sites pertinent to your business, personal or non-profit objectives.

In general, I don't find Twitter an effective tool for businesses providing a very local niche service. If you are a senior living community in Southern Illinois, it doesn't really help to have someone in Thailand connecting to your Web site and more than likely the visitor from Indiana is also not a viable prospect. Twitter does a great job of expanding a Web site's reach and visitors, but a business Web site also needs those hits to be relevant. A community-based business needs a community-focused social media marketing plan.

However, a marketing company, for instance, can provide a service to companies across the nation and sometimes beyond. In this case, it makes sense to promote a Web site and company news on Twitter, which provides an increased chance of attracting new customers from a wide range of new locations that would otherwise be very expensive to reach.

For larger companies, Twitter can also be a nice instant-message tool. Why not use regular instant messaging? Twitter allows you to have a public transcript when attempting to solve customer service issues; it gives enhanced meaning to Live Chat. Further, this style of customer-service conversation gives a company the opportunity to transform negative commentary into positive branding.

In short, Twitter is best rated for what it is -- a connector. And, a connector is only as good as the connection it makes. So, what sort of connections does your company need? Answer this question, and you will have a fair assessment of how much Twitter matters to your business.

Negative Exposure: Controlling Your Whuffie

According to Tara Hunt, author of the book The Whuffie Factor, your Whuffie is your online social capital. Any negative reviews or posts on the Internet count against your whuffie. Positive Web reviews and authentic blogging along with other social media practices build your whuffie. Think of whuffie like the stock market. And, we've all seen how one bad piece of news can kill a company's stock value.

Your online presence and brand is much more than managing a Web site, e-newsletters or an online ad campaign. You have to participate in the online world to have a credible place at the conversation table. Otherwise, you are opening your company and your work up to potential scams or fraud.

Just ask Clint Page, CEO of Dotster, a 100-employee, $50 million Internet service provider, whose company identity has TWICE been high-jacked. In the June/July 2009 issue of Business Week SmallBiz, Page says, "A comment left unchallenged becomes perception, and perception becomes reality."

Famously, Tony La Russa, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, sued Twitter earlier this month to remove an account fraudulently made in his name. Now, Twitter as well as other social media companies are often quick to remove fraudulent accounts - but they need to be made aware of the problem. With more than 180 million Facebook users and 32.1 million Twitter users, some self-monitoring is not only in order, it is a necessity.

Use one or more of the following tools to manage your online whuffie: (source: June/July 2009 issue of Business Week SmallBiz article "Saving Face Online")

google.com/alerts: sends alerts when company or brand appears on the Web, blogs, news, video or discussion groups
backtype.com: sends alerst when a comment is made that includes your company name or brand
blogpulse.com: searches blogs for mentions of your company
boardreader.com: searches message boards, forums, videos and Twitter
icerocket.com: searches blogs, news, Web, MySpace, Twitter and images
search.twitter.com: searches Twitter
tweetdeck.com: searches Twitter
technorati.com: searches blogs, photos and videos

Googlenomics

The internet has spawned, at an alarming rate, a bevvy of new words, among them the verb (and noun) google. "I'll google it." "I was googling about that and found..."

It's not too shocking that we are not yahooing things. Google is known for its radical, alternative avenues to success, thereby the company has captivated the general public while at the same time it has redefined media sales strategies and the world of advertising. This is where you get Googlenomics - economics Google-style.

The June 2009 issue of Wired dives into "Googlenomics Explained: The Secret Formula That Made Advertising Smart" by Steven Levy and looks at the auction theory applied to Google AdWords. Advertisers bid on ad space. That's right. There is no guaranteed "price" to ensure the business plan, so Google looks at more than just the dollar amount on the bid. There is a lot of data and quality assessment behind each ad sale.

"The bids themselves are only a part of what ultimately determines the auction winners. The other major determinant is something called the quality score. This metric strives to ensure that the ads Google shows on its results page are true, high-caliber matches for what users are querying..."

Quality score is determined by:
- An ad's relevance to Keywords
- Quality of the landing page to which an ad connects
- Percentage of clicks an ad receives when it appears in search results

To break this down, it is important to do a relevant keyword analysis of a company. This is not a guessing game; there are real tools and analytics and a lot of constant analysis behind the most effective keyword strategies.

Then, you need a quality Web site - not the most elaborate or most tricked out Web site. You need a site that works in all Web browsers, talks about a product relevant to the ad, provides code that boosts SEO rankings and is an actively updated site.

Last, you need a compelling ad that inspires click-thrus. Design. Content. Appeal.

Googlenomics is not a random theory. It is based on providing quality and relevance, and it is based on the data collected by searches, visits and consumer action. "Algorithmic Spelunking" is how the article describes it.

This post just touches on the surface of things, so Read The Entire Article.

Why is Social Media Important to Your Marketing Stratetgy?

Social Media is a definite part of most marketing strategies in today's world. And while many would like to ignore it, the simple fact is that as a marketing tool it is a very difficult thing to push aside and not recommend, especially in the present economy.

Mull over this tidbit from a recent Fast Company article, "Social Networks are More than Networking," by Lon Safko. He writes:

Facebook has more than 150 million members with more than 80 billion page views each month. Facebook is represented in 170 countries & territories, every continent, even Antarctica, and is available in 35 different languages. More than 1 in 5 people who access the Internet visit Facebook. If Facebook were it's own country, it would be the eighth most populated country in the world, just ahead of Japan, Russia, & Nigeria....
And finally, LinkedIn is used as a professional directory and has more than 27 million users with an average household income over $110,000. The gender distribution weighs heavily toward males at 65% and 35% Female with an average age of 41 years old.

You can't ignore numbers like these, they are a marketing strategist's dream.

Read the entire article.

Marketicity Featured for Work with City of Columbia, Ill.

As a business based in Columbia, Ill., the Marketicity team was honored to work with the City of Columbia Economic Development Coordinator Paul Ellis to create a marketing tool catered to attracting new businesses to the city. (photo: final DVD and interior graphics of DVD sleeve)

But perhaps the biggest treat came in today's Suburban-Journals article by Kevin Darr, titled COLUMBIA: City joins technological wave, where we found a very gratifying quote from Paul Ellis, it reads:

"They came up with all the graphics and the layout while the words are mine," Ellis said. "They exceeded my expectations and came up with some really great ideas."

Read the full article.

Paper bills, video rentals and newspapers…what’s next?

Just in the past year, we have experienced a few changes among our local media. One being that the Suburban Journals has moved to a subscription-only basis. As seen, this has made a rather large impact on their circulation numbers and on the level of investment for our clients.

As most would agree, the newspaper industry is taking quite a hit this year. So what does this mean for our local media?

Newspapers are continuing their evolution from print to Web. After all, that’s where most of us are getting our news these days. Twitter, a social networking vehicle, is the newest media source that is tossed in the mix. We’re using it, as well a many of our clients, to drive traffic to our Web site and keep customers in the know.

Where do you receive your daily dose of news: newspapers, broadcast, Internet sites or networks such as Twitter and Facebook?

The question that remains in the minds of many is, ‘are these news sources as credible as print?’ With this question in mind, I thought this was an interesting article from yahoo.com:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Irish-student-hoaxes-worlds-apf-15201451.html;_ylt=ApJV6d46gpkjFqG4YhFIkTEazJV4?.v=1

Q1 '09 - What We're Seeing

From the looks of it, everyone's in full spring-cleaning mode. New and existing clients are brightening their product/service lineups, polishing up their printed materials, dusting off their marketing plans and sprucing up their physical and virtual identities. As mentioned in an earlier post, many are also remodeling the effectiveness of their sales meetings.

Simply put, your peers in industry are busy and moving forward. We hope you are, too. It's definitely not a time to be caught flat-footed.

We're also seeing a renewed sense of responsibility on a fiscal basis. Although businesses are certainly investing in marketing efforts -- our first quarter sales were well ahead of last year and nearly at '07 levels -- they're doing so prudently and wanting to monitor the return on that investment. We're helping with that evaluation, as well, and we believe it's wise.

This uptick in spending isn't confined to one industry, either. We're seeing it in health care, agribusiness, construction, manufacturing, transportation and engineering. It's widespread. So consider this your fair warning to get started on a spring cleaning of your own ... before your business is left in the dust.

How Are Your Sales Meetings?

In light of the current economy, it's a valid question to ask. In fact, it's one we're seeing business owners and leaders ask of themselves ... and they've asked us to help.

We've recently added two new clients who look to us to help in leading, facilitating, documenting and scheduling their company's monthly sales meetings. Why?

• The company realized the meetings either weren't taking place or weren't productive
• The company wanted third party input to provide a fresh perspective
• Our involvement injected marketing and public relations expertise into their discussions
• They wanted accountability and someone to ensure people deliver on their monthly promises (that's us)
• The company realizes that now, more than ever, regular and EFFECTIVE sales meetings are a must for all businesses

So, they gave us a call. And frankly, it works great. We meet on a regularly scheduled basis with the company owner/leader and his or her sales team. We brainstorm, report on progress, identify opportunities and document promises for the coming month. As these meetings progress, we're seeing greater internal company sharing and cooperation, as well. It's true team building in challenging times.

If other priorities have derailed the regularity or effectiveness of your sales meetings, give us a call. We can get you back on track.

We're So Proud of Casara!

The newest member of our team, Casara Heaton, has already notched a first for our agency. A piece of Casara's work will be featured at the Human Nature - His/Hers exhibition at Art St. Louis. Casara is a graphic design specialist at Marketicity.

Casara's contribution to the exhibit is a diptict photo presentation (i.e., two photos) titled "Oops!" One of the two photos is included with this blog entry. The exhibit was juried by Bruno David, owner of Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, and artist Lindsey Stouffer, visiting assistant professor at the Washington University Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts in St. Louis.

The opening reception for the exhibit is this Saturday evening, Jan. 17th, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Art St. Louis is located at 555 Washington Avenue, Suite 150. Feel free to join us there in congratulating Casara or stop by during the month-long exhibit to see her work. The exhibit runs Jan. 19- Feb. 19, 2009.

Way to go, Casara!