Performance marketing thought leadership articles are a great resource for those interested in learning from the experts. They offer valuable insight into the business strategy of the thought leader in question. Articles have tremendous upside but they can be rather impersonal. Also, depending on the personality of the writer, they can be boring or teeter on the brink of self-aggrandizing. Nobody likes a know-it-all, even an expert know-it-all. Even the most charismatic thought leader can have a hard time communicating his or her experiences and knowledge in a few paragraphs. Ideally, experts should engage people on a one-on-one basis or in a manner befitting a town hall meeting but these options are often logistically impossible and financially irresponsible. But in the constantly evolving and continuously improving worlds of social media and digital marketing, this may no longer be the case.
Social media allows users to put the direct back in direct marketing. On Twitter and YouTube, people proactively market themselves and their special skills. Some users do exhibit a high degree of talent in a number of areas; i.e. singing, dancing, art, technology. Others, on the other hand, offer mediocrity to the masses. And yet both messages connect with people, sometimes in real-time. They are visual; therefore, more immediately memorable. Now take that one step further by utilizing YouTube as a vehicle to drive thought leadership through the web. Why couldn’t, why shouldn’t thought leadership go viral?
I, for one, will never call for the death of the written word. Thought leadership in print is most certainly an important marketing resource. Still, thought leadership articles, regardless of topic or author, can’t help but lack the appeal of a personal appearance, even if it’s remote. If you were interested in affiliate marketing, would you rather read an article authored by Monetizeit GM Peter Klein or would you prefer to sign into a cyber town hall and have Peter answer your question directly? If you were intrigued by the latest advances in search, would you favor accessing an article by MediaWhiz GM of Search Adam Riff or downloading an informal yet informative dialogue featuring Adam on YouTube?
One could make the argument that preparing for these virtual appearances would be a hassle, that the back and forth involved in scheduling them would become a time efficiency nightmare. There is truth to that - much the way meeting written deadlines, rewrite deadlines and unexpected editing revision deadlines can incite stress related hair pulling. But the end result, the spreading of specialized expertise, makes the process well worth it.
When it comes to promoting thought leadership, I’m not advocating one against the other. At the end of the day, it is a matter of individual preference. Articles and “live” appearances each have their place and should complement each other. Perhaps performance marketing should take a page out of its own playbook, creating something akin to a targeted, audience-specific thought leadership campaign. This would enable savvy marketers and thought leaders to expand their reach, spark discussions and potentially drive results.
lunes, 26 de julio de 2010
lunes, 19 de julio de 2010
Twitter Programs Give Wing To Data Gathering and Display Ad Strategies
By: Mitch Tuch, MediaWhiz GM of Data Acquisition
The Twitter advertising revolution is in top flight. Fresh off its Promoted Tweets revenue earning initiative, Twitter is appealing to consumers and advertisers once again with its new @earlybird feed. The @earlybird program allows participants to opt in to receiving coupons and marketing messages.
For advertisers and performance marketers, the data acquisition and display advertising implications of Twitter’s move into advertising are positive. The goal of any data acquisition team is to find a relevant target audience to effectively market client products and services. Engaging consumers through using a robust data acquisition service can be a highly effective method for building a customer database.
Here's how it works: Consumers sign up to receive exclusive offers and deals from advertisers. For a nominal fee, advertisers will tweet these offers to @earlybird followers. The key is making the consumer feel in control of the information he or she is seeking. By incorporating Promoted Tweets and/or @earlybird into a client data acquisition program, performance marketers will benefit from social media’s ability to influence buyer intent allowing users to proactively research companies before deciding to opt-in. With Twitter, the opt-in becomes the conversational tweet.
Like Promoted Tweets, @earlybird will work for data acquisition purposes for three reasons – it engages a relevant target audience, enhances brand awareness and increases buyer intent. It is also simple, fairly unobtrusive and expected to drive results.
Profitability wise, it's a win-win for both advertisers and Twitter. Well, for Twitter it's presumed to be a win. The Blue Bird is being tight-beaked about how much it stands to gain financially from the service. Considering Twitter wasn't earning anything before Promoted Tweets came along, even modest revenue streams would be considered quite a coup.
The benefits to data acquisition are fairly obvious, but that is not the only area poised to profit from Twitter. If strategically implemented, Twitter advertising can drive increases in display advertising revenue. Effective performance marketing relies on recognizing and utilizing trends. Twitter is all about trending, being of the 140 character moment. According to a recent Nielson social media study, social brand advocacy increases ad awareness and quadruples buyer intent. Where does Twitter advertising fit in?
Yahoo! Finance reported that twenty four hours after purchasing their Promoted Tweet, Coca-Cola drove 85 million ad impressions with an engagement rate more than 5.5% above normal levels. With that kind of increase in brand awareness, it is hard to imagine that @earlybird will not be able to, at least, duplicate the success of Promoted Tweets. Disney agrees, becoming the first @earlybird partner.
Enhanced profitability and improved audience targeting methods aside, perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Twitter’s latest advertising announcement is the lack of a public uproar. If you recall, Twitter Nation alleged that Promoted Tweets would be intrusive to users ultimately ruining the social network. Such talk died down pretty quickly when folks realized they could actually profit from these tweets in the form of drastically slashed airline tickets or exclusive retail sales.
If marketers strategically implement Promoted Tweets and @earlybird into their data acquisition and display advertising platforms within client campaigns, they’ll be chirping with the little blue bird all the way to the bank.
Mitch Tuch is the leader and general manager of MediaWhiz's Data Acquisition team.
The Twitter advertising revolution is in top flight. Fresh off its Promoted Tweets revenue earning initiative, Twitter is appealing to consumers and advertisers once again with its new @earlybird feed. The @earlybird program allows participants to opt in to receiving coupons and marketing messages.
For advertisers and performance marketers, the data acquisition and display advertising implications of Twitter’s move into advertising are positive. The goal of any data acquisition team is to find a relevant target audience to effectively market client products and services. Engaging consumers through using a robust data acquisition service can be a highly effective method for building a customer database.
Here's how it works: Consumers sign up to receive exclusive offers and deals from advertisers. For a nominal fee, advertisers will tweet these offers to @earlybird followers. The key is making the consumer feel in control of the information he or she is seeking. By incorporating Promoted Tweets and/or @earlybird into a client data acquisition program, performance marketers will benefit from social media’s ability to influence buyer intent allowing users to proactively research companies before deciding to opt-in. With Twitter, the opt-in becomes the conversational tweet.
Like Promoted Tweets, @earlybird will work for data acquisition purposes for three reasons – it engages a relevant target audience, enhances brand awareness and increases buyer intent. It is also simple, fairly unobtrusive and expected to drive results.
Profitability wise, it's a win-win for both advertisers and Twitter. Well, for Twitter it's presumed to be a win. The Blue Bird is being tight-beaked about how much it stands to gain financially from the service. Considering Twitter wasn't earning anything before Promoted Tweets came along, even modest revenue streams would be considered quite a coup.
The benefits to data acquisition are fairly obvious, but that is not the only area poised to profit from Twitter. If strategically implemented, Twitter advertising can drive increases in display advertising revenue. Effective performance marketing relies on recognizing and utilizing trends. Twitter is all about trending, being of the 140 character moment. According to a recent Nielson social media study, social brand advocacy increases ad awareness and quadruples buyer intent. Where does Twitter advertising fit in?
Yahoo! Finance reported that twenty four hours after purchasing their Promoted Tweet, Coca-Cola drove 85 million ad impressions with an engagement rate more than 5.5% above normal levels. With that kind of increase in brand awareness, it is hard to imagine that @earlybird will not be able to, at least, duplicate the success of Promoted Tweets. Disney agrees, becoming the first @earlybird partner.
Enhanced profitability and improved audience targeting methods aside, perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Twitter’s latest advertising announcement is the lack of a public uproar. If you recall, Twitter Nation alleged that Promoted Tweets would be intrusive to users ultimately ruining the social network. Such talk died down pretty quickly when folks realized they could actually profit from these tweets in the form of drastically slashed airline tickets or exclusive retail sales.
If marketers strategically implement Promoted Tweets and @earlybird into their data acquisition and display advertising platforms within client campaigns, they’ll be chirping with the little blue bird all the way to the bank.
Mitch Tuch is the leader and general manager of MediaWhiz's Data Acquisition team.
Google Me or Not
When I first heard about Google Me, the search engine’s latest foray into the social media space, I thought of the numerous times I have googled myself. Though I never knew what I was looking for or hoping to find, I was confident in and trusting of Google to come through on page one. With Google, reality and perception have proved to be one in the same. Google Search’s propensity toward reliability and relevance could turn out to be the keys in making Google Me a success, even in what is becoming an over-saturated social environment.
Simplicity and user-friendliness are what set Google apart from other search engines. There’s nothing flashy about the homepage. It’s not cluttered with celebrity news, sports scores or trending alerts. It’s a search engine. People find that comforting. Advertisers are rather fond of it, as well, especially when it comes to ad dollars and cents. Mirroring Google Me after the search engine should drive similar results for individual users and those controlling ad spend. Yet, many industry insiders are concerned about Google’s chances of making a dent in Facebook’s stronghold of social media. There is no arguing that in spite of its recent privacy kerfuffle, Facebook remains the social network of choice for individuals, businesses and advertisers. But in the seemingly infinite online space, it’s hard to imagine that anything Google related would have a difficult time catching on.
Simplicity and user-friendliness are what set Google apart from other search engines. There’s nothing flashy about the homepage. It’s not cluttered with celebrity news, sports scores or trending alerts. It’s a search engine. People find that comforting. Advertisers are rather fond of it, as well, especially when it comes to ad dollars and cents. Mirroring Google Me after the search engine should drive similar results for individual users and those controlling ad spend. Yet, many industry insiders are concerned about Google’s chances of making a dent in Facebook’s stronghold of social media. There is no arguing that in spite of its recent privacy kerfuffle, Facebook remains the social network of choice for individuals, businesses and advertisers. But in the seemingly infinite online space, it’s hard to imagine that anything Google related would have a difficult time catching on.
lunes, 12 de julio de 2010
Getting in Tune with Music Search
Search always seems to be searching for the next big thing to drive traffic and results. This time, it’s music. Microsoft states that 10 percent of online searches are entertainment-based. Nearly three quarters of that percentage pertains to searches of music lyrics. That may not seem like much but it is enough of a sampling to propel Bing and Google into music search. Both Bing and Google will look to include song streaming, tour dates, lyrics and link acquisition opportunities within their search capabilities. For performance marketers, link acquisition’s role in music search is most important.
With the popularity of online song streaming on the rise, music downloads have stalled. Stalled downloads mean diminished returns. The logical next step in streaming is an ad-supported system. The music industry as a whole is still reeling from piracy issues, which threatened to permanently cripple record labels. The emergence of an ad-supported system has prompted some record executives to develop their own ad-supported streaming websites. As the music industry prepares to go digital by necessity, digital marketers and SEO link acquisition teams should collaborate with record executives to ensure they buy relevant ads that will target the right audience. The music industry has lost millions via illegal downloads. The pitch from link acquisition experts should focus on helping record executives sing a happy authority song.
With the popularity of online song streaming on the rise, music downloads have stalled. Stalled downloads mean diminished returns. The logical next step in streaming is an ad-supported system. The music industry as a whole is still reeling from piracy issues, which threatened to permanently cripple record labels. The emergence of an ad-supported system has prompted some record executives to develop their own ad-supported streaming websites. As the music industry prepares to go digital by necessity, digital marketers and SEO link acquisition teams should collaborate with record executives to ensure they buy relevant ads that will target the right audience. The music industry has lost millions via illegal downloads. The pitch from link acquisition experts should focus on helping record executives sing a happy authority song.
martes, 6 de julio de 2010
Freedom from Ineffectual Email Marketing
Email marketers, welcome back from your July 4th break. Rest assured - email didn’t cease to exist while you were stuck in traffic en route to the beach or at home watching fireworks in HD. Email is here to stay. That’s what everyone says, at least for the foreseeable future. But as Facebook and Twitter drive improved email marketing results and higher click-throughs by way of "like" features and non-intrusive engagement strategies, standard email marketing systems must evolve. Performance marketers fresh from the Independence Day holiday should take a moment to thoroughly assess their email marketing programs, freeing themselves from inefficient, inoperable systems.
When evaluating an email marketing platform, performance marketers should consider the following – the strength of their opt-in, the overall design and content, whether the SPAM police have issued an APB, the importance of continuous testing and optimization, and perhaps most importantly integration into social media channels. By ensuring the functionality of their email marketing systems, performance marketers will increase the likelihood of driving higher ROIs. Driving those kinds of results will make future holiday traffic jams all the more tolerable.
When evaluating an email marketing platform, performance marketers should consider the following – the strength of their opt-in, the overall design and content, whether the SPAM police have issued an APB, the importance of continuous testing and optimization, and perhaps most importantly integration into social media channels. By ensuring the functionality of their email marketing systems, performance marketers will increase the likelihood of driving higher ROIs. Driving those kinds of results will make future holiday traffic jams all the more tolerable.
jueves, 1 de julio de 2010
Trailing Display Engagement
The entertainment industry is getting quite a boost from display advertising, especially films. The popularity of movie trailers make them a perfect fit for video display.
It used to be that people only saw trailers on television or at the theatre. For some people, a movie preview can actually be better than the film they bought tickets to see. With that in mind, bringing movie trailers online through display and banner ads simplifies the user engagement process. For movie trailers, successful engagement means that upon viewing the online trailer, the user is more likely to go to the theatre to watch the film. How are display advertisers able to obtain this information?
Having the right technology in place is important. In a recent comScore study, it was reported that Flash and Rich Media Ads make up 40% of display impressions. It is unclear if online video display was included in the study. Regardless, QuickTime and other dynamic technologies enable display advertisers to accurately gauge engagement. When users view the trailer, interest in the film can be measured through changes in volume, the number of times it is played and the format it is in.
To further illustrate the significance of video display advertising on engagement, the aforementioned study showed that over 90% of those users served entertainment ads and trailers converted on the ad rather than through a dedicated website. Leveraging this type of technology has an initial cost, but the eventual benefit – increased conversions and enhanced engagement – make incorporating it into a display campaign hard to argue against.
It used to be that people only saw trailers on television or at the theatre. For some people, a movie preview can actually be better than the film they bought tickets to see. With that in mind, bringing movie trailers online through display and banner ads simplifies the user engagement process. For movie trailers, successful engagement means that upon viewing the online trailer, the user is more likely to go to the theatre to watch the film. How are display advertisers able to obtain this information?
Having the right technology in place is important. In a recent comScore study, it was reported that Flash and Rich Media Ads make up 40% of display impressions. It is unclear if online video display was included in the study. Regardless, QuickTime and other dynamic technologies enable display advertisers to accurately gauge engagement. When users view the trailer, interest in the film can be measured through changes in volume, the number of times it is played and the format it is in.
To further illustrate the significance of video display advertising on engagement, the aforementioned study showed that over 90% of those users served entertainment ads and trailers converted on the ad rather than through a dedicated website. Leveraging this type of technology has an initial cost, but the eventual benefit – increased conversions and enhanced engagement – make incorporating it into a display campaign hard to argue against.
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