Digital marketing strategy: keeping it focused
June 8th, 2011 § 1 Comment
We’ve all experienced in our careers this scenario: The President, CMO, VP Marketing walks in and says “Hey, I saw on TechCrunch the Acmesupersocialinteractive.com presentation, and thought their application would fit perfectly into our marketing program”. Yes, it’s the latest cool thing, full of buzz and attention. But how do you determine if this newest application really might be useful, or not?
The importance of having a well designed digital marketing strategy certainly is to direct and measure your programs and campaigns. But it’s also a resource for determining whether new opportunities or technologies present themselves are applicable — something we tend to forget.
Here are some considerations for when the boss arrives with the newest/latest thing:
- Keep your objectivity. Yes, you designed the digital marketing strategy, and have lots of ownership over that. And your bonus is affected by its success. But try to keep your distance, and approach the process with objectivity.
- Do your research. Dive in and learn as much about the new application/tool/platform as you can. It can be difficult when dealing with start-up or barely out of the box technologies, but try to find what the real information is, not just the official press release version. You should consider:
- How long has the company been in business, and what does its financial structure look like? Is it VC-backed and has sufficient funds to continue operations? Does it have a customer base and growing revenues? You want to be certain that it will be around for as long as you need it.
- What is the real ‘reach’ opportunity from using the new application? Are there subscriber/member/user numbers that can provide a sense of what the real reach potential is? And what does that do to your current programs, either by adding significantly or not?
- Who are their current users and can you get information from them? Any user insights will prove very valuable when assessing a new technology or tool.
- How might it fit into your current digital marketing programs, and what might be the ‘cascading effects’ by adding it? Does it add to what you’re trying to accomplish? And importantly, how might its addition affect existing programs, campaigns or tools?
- And of course cost. What is the cost, not only of the new application or tool, but to its implementation, to other programs and tools, etc?
New applications, tools and technologies are a constant in the digital marketing environment. So having a method and discipline for determining which ones bring opportunity and which ones bring distraction is key. And using your digital marketing strategy as the tool for making that determination will produce a more efficient and effective result.
Early Adopters being replaced with Quick Adopters?
December 8th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Historically, new applications, technologies etc. were at launch the domain of the early adopter, someone who was tech-savvy, a heavy tool user, efficiency driven, and willing to take the time and risk to try something new. But a new wave of “quick adopters” has emerged, those users who are less concerned with having the ultimate performing application than with being able to perform simpler tasks easily and quickly. These quick adopters are more consumer-oriented than technology driven, less concerned with efficiency and more with entertainment and social connecting.
What has changed that has created this new user base? First, the emergence of open source has produced numerous new applications and upgrades to existing software, that have resulted in easy-to-use and more consumer-oriented software. Second, the introduction of new apps, smaller software applications that are single-application centric, performing a single utility rather than a more complex set of functions. This has created easy-to-use, lite versions of tools that can be quickly downloaded and tested. Finally, pricing has changed significantly: no longer an expensive proposition to purchase, free or nearly-free apps have become the norm reducing the cost risk of trying something new that may or may not prove worthwhile.
All of this presents a challenge to the digital marketer attempting to capture the interest and loyalty of a quick adopter. How do you make the your new apps or products ‘sticky’ when the quick adopter is just as likely to abandon your product as not?
Social networking going vertical
June 29th, 2010 § 1 Comment
When an industry starts to segment itself into more vertically distinct platforms, that’s a sign that industry has achieved acceptance among a larger user base, and is maturing. Such a maturing is clearly evident in the social networking industry. What was just two years ago an explosion of new entrants, new platforms, many with the same target audience or business model, has now started to display the classic vertical segmentation of a maturing industry.
Two examples point toward this trend, although there a numerous others that support the argument. First is Yammer.com. This is a business segmented social network that brings the benefits of social networking to the business enterprise. Yammer uses a familiar pricing model of a free option for basic services, followed by the typical SaaS approach of seat licensing for additional services and users.
A different category of social networking, but again an example of this move into vertical segments, is Socialgo.com. Socialgo appeals to a different segment, that of consumer interest of community, and enables affinity groups to build their own social network. And the pricing model is different, using a fixed monthly fee depending on level of features. So the group can build and grow as large as they want, for a fixed monthly rate.
This monthly rate approach from Socialgo adds an intriguing point: the shift away from the typical free approach, with advertising sales as the primary revenue model, toward a low-rate monthly fee. As the perceived value of the service increases within a segment, the opportunity to adopt new and different business models follows.
Social networking is still in its development phase, but this trend toward vertical integration accompanied by the enormous numbers of users, points to a maturing industry that still has great opportunity and lots of change.
iPad: A right brain – left brain thing?
May 11th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
While on a recent cross country flight I sat next to a man who was enjoying his newly acquired iPad. As we casually conversed, he used his iPad to create a photo album of pictures of his young daughter, elegantly edited and burnished. An obviously proud father, he spent nearly an hour working and reworking the photos into shape, and finally into a well arranged album. And then he picked up his IBM Thinkpad and went to work.
That got me thinking: is the iPad, at least in its current version, a tool for creativity and expression, and less a tool for work or business? Is it more a left brain rational and analytical versus right brain intuitive and random distinction? And if so, will the iPad make the leap to become more of a work-oriented platform?
The enormous consumer adoption of the iPad makes me think its uses are primarily right brain. And a further proof is the continuing growth of the purchase of other Apple products, especially MacBooks. So for now, iPad addresses a consumer interest in creativity and expression. Later, particularly as the move to web-based or cloud hosted applications grow, the iPad will migrate toward a more tool-like instrument.
One final thought: my colleague seated next to me on the plane had no difficulty moving between his Wintel laptop PC and his Apple iPad. Has the distinction between competing operating systems finally been eliminated, and interoperability finally achieved a level of success?
Corporate identity theft — is a competitor using your brand name to steal customers?
February 2nd, 2010 § 1 Comment
Identity theft is a huge topic among consumers these days, but corporate identity theft, the use of your own company’s name by a competitor, particularly if it’s a keyword on search engines like Google AdWords, is no trivial matter.
Recently, as we were building a new AdWords campaign, we shared with the client that their brand name was being used by a competitor on AdWords to advertise against them. This tactic was a revelation tour client, but certainly no news to us. And that took us to a discussion as digital marketers on how to build your keywords from a strategic viewpoint. Here’s what we came up with:
Select and organize your potential keywords from four strategic categories:
1. Category: What are the keywords most likely to be in search strings that describe your product or company’s industry category. Are you a shoe or apparel business, or in automotive, or window repairs? What best describes the industry, service, product or other category you’re in?
2. Product name: Include the name of your own product(s), and those similar to competitor’s products or services. Searchers very often search on known product names, but use that as a means to find similar, related products.
3. Competitors: Here’s where it gets interesting: include names of your competition. Much like the category search, someone looking for a Toyota might also be interested in Honda, etc.And look for competitors using your own brand name, and list against them.
4. Features & benefits: And include words that describe key describe key features of your products or their benefits. Energy saving, non-toxic, anything that associates credibly–and that’s the test, that it is relevant and thus credible–with your business or products.
Finally, more is better. Since with AdWords you pay only if the ad is clicked on, the more keywords the better. But you also want to balance that with the reach of the campaign, so make sure you are targeting a geography that you can address or fulfill.
Usability trumps utility — maybe.
January 28th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
So today Apple launched their new iPad, to much fanfare and industry anticipation (hype?). And the contending question seem to pit the product’s success on the issue of whether usability offers more value, or whether utility overcomes usability. The iPad certainly continues Apple’s ingenious ability to keep usability at its most simple and effective. And with the continuation of their ‘open systems’ approach that allows independent developers to create new applications, the distinction between usability and utility is blurred.
That said, there are some real challenges to the iPad becoming a full time use-it-anywhere device. I’ve already replaced one iPhone after having dropped it and I suspect the issue will be the same with the iPad. And what about the environment we use computers in: desks loaded with coffee mugs and water glasses, papers that slide on to floors with just a touch, and other opportunities to shorten the iPad’s life? And should we ever buy the first release of a new product? Certainly more and better is to follow. And at a reduced price point. There’s a cost associated with being a ‘early adopter’ of technology.
All that said, I’m confident we all will follow the market’s acceptance of the iPad with great interest. And as for me, I’m leaning toward the usability side of the equation.
One chart says it all.
January 20th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
“I skate where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” — Wayne Gretzky
The challenge of digital marketing is that you are constantly chasing a moving target (audience). The chart below made me take a moment and consider its implications. As the father of a 14 year-old daughter, I experience daily the various ways social media, especially Facebook, mobile phones and other platforms get used among her and her friends. And I believe that mobile phones are rapidly becoming the platform of choice, as they increase both their internal functionality, and their ability to incorporate Web based applications and access.
So when I saw this chart, I had to pause, and consider the implications:
This gives a whole new meaning to ‘early adopters’. With kids incorporating mobile phones into their daily lives in growing numbers, and parents accepting mobile phones as standard equipment, we digital marketers must explore new ways to both follow behavior and adapt our marketing. These pre-teens will grow into teenagers, and then college, and of course, then adults. And as they do, their use of mobile phones as an integral means for communicating, making purchases, finding friends and colleagues, searching for information, will be the platform of choice.
Digital marketing is a fluid practice, and we must always look for the direction and choices made by our target audience.
Have — and use — a methodology!
January 15th, 2010 § 1 Comment
“How can we go forward when we don’t know which way we’re facing?” — John Lennon
When it comes to website development, I’m frequently asked the question “How much will it cost to build me a website?” And without meaning to be flip, I usually respond, “Well, how much have you got?”
The point is, building a website, or any other digital marketing program for that matter, requires discipline. And the best way to ensure discipline from the very initial stage of the project is to use a methodology. Having a specified methodological approach ensure the program is built to scale, developed in a timely and cots-efficient manner, and that the end result melds the strategic requirement with the tactical outcome.
Methodologies come in all shapes and sizes. So it’s important to examine yours, or the one your developer uses, and consider its own scope and scale. Does it take a comprehensive approach, starting from establishing what your own business objectives are, to completing the development cycle by addressing the post-project environment.
Here’s our methodology, which we use to develop and build our client’s digital marketing programs. It begins with the Discovery phase, which we believe is critical; getting a clear understanding of the goals and benchmarks specific to the project. This is done before we ever start designing, programming, or building, and establishes the metrics we will use to define the success of the project once it’s completed.
Methodologies are no cure-all for making a project or program successful, but they certainly provide a device for increasing the opportunity for success and make the project management function proceed smoothly and efficiently.
3 clicks or die!
January 14th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
How often do you actually use your own or your client’s website? Do you try to make a purchase or get information or download an article or document? The number of clicks a user needs to complete a transaction determines largely whether they will complete that transaction or not. And if they must click more than 3 times, you’re dead.
Keeping the number of clicks to the fewest possible is crucial to a successful e-commerce website. Keeping it to 3 or less requires discipline in page design and content; don’t hesitate to eliminate pages that are redundant, that contain only additional images or product information, or that get in the way of the user’s ability to add to the shopping cart.
And what about the abandon rates with shopping carts, anyway? They are ridiculously high, and a contributing factor often is the number of clicks needed to complete the purchase once the user is done shopping.
Consider this: move your products as close to the ‘front’ of your website as possible. Treat the home page design and layout as the user’s first opportunity to purchase. Keep copy brief and include all the information needed to complete the purchase, such as price, color, sizes, etc. on the same page. And once the shopping process is done, test your online commerce application and make it as short and easy as possible. If possible, use a one-click application like Amazon, a great tool for regular or frequent purchasers.
Successful e-commerce is all about ease-of-use and user comfort. Keep your clicks to 3 or less, and you’ll see both first-time and repeat purchases increase.
Thinking strategically about content
January 13th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Whenever beginning a digital marketing program, it is fundamental to address the content for that program as a strategic asset. Content, that which is available at the initial stage of the program’s creation, or that that will be needed to be created in order to complete the program, determines largely the scope, efficiency and effectiveness of the program. To address content as a strategic asset:
- Conduct a formal content assessment. What content will be needed, in what format, how frequently will new or additional content be required. It will be helpful to recognize that in most digital marketing program, you are acting as a publishers. Whether it is an email program, a social media program, an online advertising campaign, all are dependent on the availability and quality of content.
- Audit the content you have. Recognize some or much of the content you already have will need to be maximized for the program. For efficiency and expense sake, knowing what format the content is in and what format you will need for the campaign will help you to project costs and delivery times.
- Sourcing new content. Virtually every digital marketing program will require new or additional content. Identifying from the start what that content requirement is, where that additional content can be found, in what format, etc. will save time and expense.
- Think and act like a publisher. By approaching the program is if you are a publisher, the role of content, content management and scheduling will seem to more intuitive. And as a publisher, the content requirement over time will be supported by use of an editorial calendar, and the content acquisition and management needed to sustain that.
So consider content as a strategic asset when developing a digital marketing program, and the program will develop more smoothly at its creation and efficiently as it matures.
