Leveraging advanced technology is considered to be of the utmost importance in digital marketing. Yet, more often than not technology's role in driving results is often relegated to metrics, data and algorithms. Not in this blog post! Today, the technological infrastructure of an online performance marketing agency gets its moment in the sun.
If a major client demands immediate turnaround on an email marketing initiative reaching 200,000 subscribers, online marketers have to be ready to deliver. Suppose a client makes an immediate request for new servers. What if you are out of the office - on the road in between calls or relaxing on the beach? Remember, being an online performance marketing leader means always being available.
Expertise in a given channel is important. But developing and maintaining a strong, centralized technological infrastructure can be a performance game changer. This can transform email management into the equivalent of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) able to generate upwards of hundreds of millions of emails per day. A robust infrastructure can also provision new equipment immediately from any remote connection. The impact on client management is massive; immediate response times are improved and the ability to meet client needs at granular levels is enhanced. It will set you apart in the performance marketing space.
All this talk of infrastructure might be confusing and intimidating but forward-thinking technology is extremely valuable to your overall operations. So let's hear it for infrastructure! The right mix of expertise and technology will keep your performance ahead of the pack.
lunes, 14 de marzo de 2011
lunes, 7 de marzo de 2011
The World According to Mark
Here's more evidence that this is Mark Zuckerberg's world and we are all just living in it. Facebook is essentially giving privacy advocates and members of Congress the finger by insisting it will continue sharing user home addresses and cell-phone numbers with third-party developers. Users will be given the opportunity to opt-out of the sharing but many remain unhappy.
If this is Planet Zuckerberg, online performance marketers are pleased to be its inhabitants. Facebook is the dominant force in social networking. It has changed the digital game making social media a necessary performance channel, one that when properly leveraged can significantly increase leads and improve ROI. Social media is driven by information sharing. The Facebook Like feature has revolutionized brand building and buyer awareness. If people were truly wary of sharing information, Facebook would be inconsequential.
The privacy debate is an old one. For privacy advocates and politicians looking to garner favor with constituents, it is a hard argument to win - especially when advocacy groups like the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation, not to mention Washington politicians, have Facebook accounts.
If this is Planet Zuckerberg, online performance marketers are pleased to be its inhabitants. Facebook is the dominant force in social networking. It has changed the digital game making social media a necessary performance channel, one that when properly leveraged can significantly increase leads and improve ROI. Social media is driven by information sharing. The Facebook Like feature has revolutionized brand building and buyer awareness. If people were truly wary of sharing information, Facebook would be inconsequential.
The privacy debate is an old one. For privacy advocates and politicians looking to garner favor with constituents, it is a hard argument to win - especially when advocacy groups like the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation, not to mention Washington politicians, have Facebook accounts.
lunes, 28 de febrero de 2011
Online Couponing Quite a Branding Coup
Online performance marketers understand that targeting the right offer to the right consumer is the name of the game. By leveraging performance-based media across a variety of channels including display advertising, search, affiliate, email marketing and social networks, advertisers and marketers can help brands better locate relevant customers. This brings us to digital couponing.
According to Kantar Media, digital couponing increased across key CPG websites in 2010 by close to 60%. This includes a 23% increase in digital coupons offered to consumers by over 260 manufacturers. Unlike their paper forerunners, they offer consumers a convenient, and dare I say even trendy means of saving money. Perhaps more importantly, they create brand awareness and drive results for advertisers and marketers at the all-important local level. Local is so "of the moment" I expected it to be working the katwalk during Fashion Week.
Still, some doubt digital couponing has legs. They believe it to be nothing more than a way to grab the attention of the fickle deal seeker at the expense of true relationship building with consumers. And though that might be the case, how's that working out for Groupon?
According to Kantar Media, digital couponing increased across key CPG websites in 2010 by close to 60%. This includes a 23% increase in digital coupons offered to consumers by over 260 manufacturers. Unlike their paper forerunners, they offer consumers a convenient, and dare I say even trendy means of saving money. Perhaps more importantly, they create brand awareness and drive results for advertisers and marketers at the all-important local level. Local is so "of the moment" I expected it to be working the katwalk during Fashion Week.
Still, some doubt digital couponing has legs. They believe it to be nothing more than a way to grab the attention of the fickle deal seeker at the expense of true relationship building with consumers. And though that might be the case, how's that working out for Groupon?
lunes, 21 de febrero de 2011
The Happiness Metric - Coming to a Campaign Near You
This past January, Coca-Cola completed a year-long social and global initiative called Expedition 206. It sounds like something you'd expect to see coming to your neighborhood IMAX theatre. No, Expedition 206 was not intended to be the next Hollywood blockbuster. It was engagement on an epic scale. The brand selected three random Joes and Janes to act as Happiness Ambassadors. This involved travelling to 206 countries and spreading the gospel according to Coke through various social channels. The idea of a big brand leveraging Happiness Ambassadors might seem a little hokey. After all, every social media user has the potential to be a Happiness Ambassador. That's the benefit of earned media. But what makes Expedition 206 rather impressive is that it was actually a hyper-local, hyper-social campaign.
Coke's Happiness Ambassadors journeyed to countries like the Ukraine, the Dominican Republic and Bermuda - regions with little to no social network presence. Some locations readily adopted social media while others had a hard time generating followers. But that did not stop Team Happiness from spreading Cheery Coke messaging. Social actually became social - word of mouth communication, one on one chats, and even sincere invitations to people's homes for dinner.
Yes, there were significant digital results. Expedition206.com and the big three social networks - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube - drove over 650 million impressions. But whether Coke meant to or not, the brand brought a renewed emphasis to the human element of social connection. Understandably, measuring handshakes would be nothing short of a logistical nightmare. Social media likes and tweets are rightly becoming the brand value measurement standard for digital campaigns. But in an industry that utilizes social networks to drive users to offline locations with increasing regularity, human happiness must count for something. Coke certainly thinks so. Expedition 206 The Sequel, anyone?
Coke's Happiness Ambassadors journeyed to countries like the Ukraine, the Dominican Republic and Bermuda - regions with little to no social network presence. Some locations readily adopted social media while others had a hard time generating followers. But that did not stop Team Happiness from spreading Cheery Coke messaging. Social actually became social - word of mouth communication, one on one chats, and even sincere invitations to people's homes for dinner.
Yes, there were significant digital results. Expedition206.com and the big three social networks - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube - drove over 650 million impressions. But whether Coke meant to or not, the brand brought a renewed emphasis to the human element of social connection. Understandably, measuring handshakes would be nothing short of a logistical nightmare. Social media likes and tweets are rightly becoming the brand value measurement standard for digital campaigns. But in an industry that utilizes social networks to drive users to offline locations with increasing regularity, human happiness must count for something. Coke certainly thinks so. Expedition 206 The Sequel, anyone?
lunes, 14 de febrero de 2011
Does Social Media Spark Social Change?
Social media is fundamentally changing the way people communicate and conduct their everyday lives. The political uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt are extreme reflections of this phenomenon.
From a marketing perspective, the situations in both regions amount to an earned media success story. Earned media refers to positive press garnered through free promotional initiatives – second-by-second tweets, Facebook posts and YouTube videos highlighting the mass injustices being perpetrated on the people. Social traffic driven by Twitter followers, Facebook messaging, or viral YouTube plays cannot be bought or scheduled. The results of an earned social media campaign must be organic online and offline.
Digital companies utilize social networks as virtually zero-cost user engagement tools that increase traffic, brand awareness and engagement. If these networks can be trusted to deliver highly measurable revenue for small to large scale businesses globally, why is it hard to fathom that, if properly leveraged, social media could politically unify and engage society?
There are varying opinions among regional experts, bloggers and mainstream journalists trying to quantify social media’s role in sparking each uprising. It would be irresponsible to christen Twitter as the next revolutionary hope. But to reject the notion that Twitter and Facebook effectively united and rapidly motivated Tunisians and Egyptians to act - with little else invested but a desire for change - is to deny the powerful far-reaching engagement potential of social media.
From a marketing perspective, the situations in both regions amount to an earned media success story. Earned media refers to positive press garnered through free promotional initiatives – second-by-second tweets, Facebook posts and YouTube videos highlighting the mass injustices being perpetrated on the people. Social traffic driven by Twitter followers, Facebook messaging, or viral YouTube plays cannot be bought or scheduled. The results of an earned social media campaign must be organic online and offline.
Digital companies utilize social networks as virtually zero-cost user engagement tools that increase traffic, brand awareness and engagement. If these networks can be trusted to deliver highly measurable revenue for small to large scale businesses globally, why is it hard to fathom that, if properly leveraged, social media could politically unify and engage society?
There are varying opinions among regional experts, bloggers and mainstream journalists trying to quantify social media’s role in sparking each uprising. It would be irresponsible to christen Twitter as the next revolutionary hope. But to reject the notion that Twitter and Facebook effectively united and rapidly motivated Tunisians and Egyptians to act - with little else invested but a desire for change - is to deny the powerful far-reaching engagement potential of social media.
lunes, 7 de febrero de 2011
Social Less Than Super
It is the Monday after the Super Bowl. One city is thrilled, one city is miserable and a bunch of cities in between had no emotional stake in it whatsoever unless you consider the office pool to be such an investment. On Super Bowl Sunday, the main attraction is the game itself but it is also that special day when advertisers pull out all the stops to score a brand awareness touchdown. Last night, those stops included social media. Audi sought to drive results, pun very much intended, by incorporating a Twitter hashtag at the end of its minute-long commercial. YouTube and Facebook continued their practice of having users vote for their favorite ads. Call it the Super Engagement Bowl! But now it's time for some Monday Morning Quarterbacking courtesy of a new study from ForeSee Results.
The report found that only 5% of people visiting retail sites were directed there by social networks. Instead, search and email marketing initiatives were more likely to drive relevant user traffic to these sites. This illustrates a point this blog has made on several occasions. Social media is only as good as the performance marketing expertise behind it. A pretty Facebook wall, a fun Twitter feed or a video-filled You Tube account may make you think you are an active social media maven but these alone will do nothing for your bottom line. Success for a social media campaign should not be reaction-based. Success must be results-based.
It's too early to tell if Audi will profit from its hashtag ad or if the winning Facebook and YouTube spots will realize a significant sales boost. In the meantime, here's a little analogy marketers should keep top of mind. In every football game, a coach will make a call that will have fans cheering wildly or pulling their hair out. But if the play call manages to produce the desired result, a score or better still a win, it achieved the ultimate goal. To quote Lombardi - the coach and perhaps Tom Brady's favorite play - 'Winning isn't everything - it's the only thing.' When only 5% of Internet users are effectively leveraging social media, winning seems further away than many of us would care to admit.
The report found that only 5% of people visiting retail sites were directed there by social networks. Instead, search and email marketing initiatives were more likely to drive relevant user traffic to these sites. This illustrates a point this blog has made on several occasions. Social media is only as good as the performance marketing expertise behind it. A pretty Facebook wall, a fun Twitter feed or a video-filled You Tube account may make you think you are an active social media maven but these alone will do nothing for your bottom line. Success for a social media campaign should not be reaction-based. Success must be results-based.
It's too early to tell if Audi will profit from its hashtag ad or if the winning Facebook and YouTube spots will realize a significant sales boost. In the meantime, here's a little analogy marketers should keep top of mind. In every football game, a coach will make a call that will have fans cheering wildly or pulling their hair out. But if the play call manages to produce the desired result, a score or better still a win, it achieved the ultimate goal. To quote Lombardi - the coach and perhaps Tom Brady's favorite play - 'Winning isn't everything - it's the only thing.' When only 5% of Internet users are effectively leveraging social media, winning seems further away than many of us would care to admit.
lunes, 31 de enero de 2011
PPC is not for Miss Cleo
The development of forward thinking proprietary technology that can predict major Pay-Per-Click (PPC) outcomes such as conversions, revenue, and ROI is a current industry trend. Predictive optimization is one such advancement; a bid management tool used primarily at the keyword level. It establishes optimal bids for advertisers by leveraging historical and overall performance data. If properly implemented, predictive optimization could allow those in paid search to focus more on driving revenue rather than costly bidding and monotonous keyword practices.
Predictive optimization involves analyzing complex outcome and predictor variables to come up with a best fit line. The line illustrates, with the least amount of possible error, the relationship between your predictor and outcome variables. In addition to the regression line, the process also produces massive migraines affecting laymen and search professionals alike. Feeling one coming on? Go pop an Advil. Back? Great. OK, simply speaking, predictive optimization helps you determine your ultimate ROI, cost-per-click and click-through rate.
For predictive optimization to truly be effective, it must adhere to a cycle of continuous improvement – ongoing testing, analyzing and evaluating. This is where many agencies cease and desist with their predictive program. That’s a problem because the power of predictive optimization is in the data, which changes rapidly in the short-term and the long-term. If an agency does not disclose the statistical significance of their models, how can folks be expected to trust their predictions? Accepting the results of a linear regression without at least knowing the significance of the model is like accepting a loan without knowing the interest rate. The results could be devastating.
Predictive optimization can be a useful, even revolutionary proprietary tool – if utilized correctly. It is the responsibility of performance marketers to thoroughly investigate such predictions before we implement them into PPC campaigns.
Predictive optimization involves analyzing complex outcome and predictor variables to come up with a best fit line. The line illustrates, with the least amount of possible error, the relationship between your predictor and outcome variables. In addition to the regression line, the process also produces massive migraines affecting laymen and search professionals alike. Feeling one coming on? Go pop an Advil. Back? Great. OK, simply speaking, predictive optimization helps you determine your ultimate ROI, cost-per-click and click-through rate.
For predictive optimization to truly be effective, it must adhere to a cycle of continuous improvement – ongoing testing, analyzing and evaluating. This is where many agencies cease and desist with their predictive program. That’s a problem because the power of predictive optimization is in the data, which changes rapidly in the short-term and the long-term. If an agency does not disclose the statistical significance of their models, how can folks be expected to trust their predictions? Accepting the results of a linear regression without at least knowing the significance of the model is like accepting a loan without knowing the interest rate. The results could be devastating.
Predictive optimization can be a useful, even revolutionary proprietary tool – if utilized correctly. It is the responsibility of performance marketers to thoroughly investigate such predictions before we implement them into PPC campaigns.
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