Industry Articles

When You Just Want More Customers

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:36:00 GMT

Getting new clients is a BIG deal.

The first reason is cash flow. I mean, let's face it--new business keeps the lights on.

The second reason is new business fuels our passion. I like to make money in my business, but there's nothing I love more than to have a new challenge. If you're passionate about what you do, I'm sure you're the same way.

But, you know what I've noticed? People tend to do business with people they know, like OR trust. Let's break that down:

People do business with people they KNOW. I read somewhere (although I can't remember where--if you know, please comment and tell me) that by using social media, people can get to know you and your business five times faster than they would via other means (like having lunch, coffee or meeting at networking events).

People do business with people they LIKE. Ditto here. In order for people to like you, they have to know you. And the more you show them who you are, what you're about and what motivates you to do what you do, the more they can like you. Remember, people like you and become attached to your brand in incremental degrees. Social media allows you to show more of your brand's personality and individual flair so your potential clients can really start to like you.

People do business with people they TRUST. Here again, in order to trust you, they have to know you exist; and then people have to like you. Think about it: Have you ever trusted someone you didn't like? Nope. Using social media helps people to trust you in two ways:

1. If you consistently and regularly use social media, people feel that you're not trying to "run a scam." It would ruin your whole reputation to "trick" them, and because you use social media often, you're easy to find and you won't really be "hiding" from them. All of these accessibility factors lead to trust. It's like having an office smack in the middle of downtown--chances are you aren't going anywhere.

2. When you show people that you can be consistent doing one thing, chances are they'll believe you'll be consistent in your activities elsewhere. How you do anything is how you do everything. For example, when I hired my first assistant, she couldn't send my newsletter out on time. It made me feel that I couldn't trust her to do anything else on time.

And, lastly, people do business with PEOPLE, not businesses. If you are already an open, friendly person, social media allows you to be even more so . . . effectively magnetizing people who resonate with your personality to you. If you find it hard to be personable (that used to be me!), social media will open up new channels and means for you to connect with people in ways that feel authentic and right for you.

BUT....

These things can happen only if you take the right steps, in the right order to:

get more visibility,

SO YOU CAN

become the go-to person in your industry,

SO YOU CAN

get more clients.

And more clients means more money and more passion about what you're doing!

People will know, like and trust you, if you let them. Will you?

Originally posted by Lena West

5 Signs Your Call-to-Action Needs a Makeover

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:26:00 GMT

A call-to-action (CTA) is an image or text that tells your readers what action they should be taking next on your site. Hopefully your calls-to-action lead to landing pages where you will collect your visitors’ contact information in exchange for some sort of offer that will benefit them. So an effective CTA equals more leads and conversions for you!

Unfortunately, there are many wrong ways to create a CTA (including a complete lack of an actual CTA). Here are a few ways you can tell that you need to makeover your site’s CTAs.

1. Your Landing Pages Aren't Getting Traffic

One of the most obvious signs that you need to rethink your CTAs is that you’re not getting traffic to your landing pages even though your site overall is getting decent traffic. This may be because your offer and corresponding CTA don’t answer the crucial question your visitors want to know: “What’s in it for me?” One of the weakest calls to action is “Contact Us.” You want to be sure that you’re offering something that visitors are willing to exchange their contact info for.

Some ideas for lead generation offers include:

•Free eBooks
•Free whitepapers
•Free webinars
•FAQs
•Kits
Also make sure that your CTA is clickable. Many times I’ve seen a great offer on the page that either isn’t a link or is a broken link.

2. You’re Not Getting Leads

A lack of leads is another obvious sign that your CTAs need an overhaul, and is also tied to the fact that you need a compelling offer. But you also want to be sure that your CTA accurately matches the offer. Don’t overpromise on the CTA in hopes of increasing your click-through rate! If your readers click the CTA and reach a landing page where the offer doesn’t match up, they’ll navigate away from the page instead of filling out the form. So it’s also important that you follow landing page best practices to ensure that your landing page matches the CTA and offer

3. Your visitors have to dig to find a CTA

I often see the only CTA hidden away on a single child page that takes three clicks to get to. That means that if your site gets 300 visitors per day, that’s 300 lost opportunities to get leads (minus however many actually navigated or Google-searched to that exact page the CTA lives on). There’s nothing wrong with having your primary call to action right on your homepage. In fact, there should be a primary and secondary CTA on nearly every one of your website pages.

4. Your CTA Is Below the Fold

People are lazy. It’s the truth. Just like most people don’t go past page #2 in Google, people don’t like scrolling down if their eyes don’t find something interesting in less than 5 seconds. Place your CTAs above the fold so the user can see them without scrolling down.

5. Your CTA doesn't stand out

A bit of text in the sidebar isn’t going to be enough to grab your visitors’ attention. Make your CTAs bold, with graphics and colors that they can’t miss. Contrasting colors can help draw a visitor’s eye to the action you want them to take.

If your website isn't getting you the results you need, reevaluate your website's Calls To Action. For a free consultation with one of our online conversion specialists, contact NetGains Marketing today.

Original article posted by Diana Freedman (Hubspot)

Facebook changes meet privacy laws: watchdog

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:27:00 GMT

Facebook's changes in response to an investigation last year meet the expectations of Canadian privacy law, the federal privacy commissioner says, but there is still room for improvement.

Last year's investigation by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada resulted in "many significant changes," said Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart in a statement Wednesday.

In particular, the probe raised concerns about the way users' private information was being shared with third-party developers who create games, quizzes and other applications on the social networking site.

"Facebook has since rolled out a permissions model that is a vast improvement," Stoddart said.

As of last June, applications must inform users what kind of personal information they require in order to run and must ask for consent to use that data. In addition, by default, applications can only access the public parts of a user's profile unless they have been given explicit permission from the user to access private sections of the account.

Stoddart said the commission is also pleased that Facebook has developed "simplified privacy settings" and now allows users to choose different privacy levels for each photo or comment they post. That feature was launched in December.

However, she cautioned that the office is satisfied only with the changes made in response to the 2009 investigation, and "there is still room for improvement in some areas."

In particular, the office:

Has asked Facebook to keep improving its oversight of application developers and to better educate them about their privacy responsibilities.
Warned Facebook against expanding the categories of user information made available to everyone on the Internet and which users cannot control through privacy settings.
Recommended that Facebook make its default privacy settings for photo albums more restrictive.

In addition, the office launched a new investigation in January in response to a complaint about Facebook's invitation feature and its "like" buttons on other websites.

Stoddart's comments outlined the findings of a review of changes made by Facebook following a complaint made against the social networking site in 2008.

In July 2009, after an investigation, the privacy commissioner's office announced that Facebook continued to breach Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act in four areas. A month later, it announced it would give Facebook one year to comply with privacy laws.

Stoddart thanked the Ottawa-based Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic for bringing the original concerns forward and Facebook for its co-operation.

She reiterated, however, that Facebook users also need to take responsibility.

"The investigation has led to more privacy information and improved privacy tools," she said. "Facebook users should take advantage of those changes."

Original Article appeared on cbc.ca September 22, 2010

Paid Celebrity Endorsements On Facebook: They're He-e-r-r-re

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:14:00 GMT

Will celebrities like Heidi Montag be able to move the sales needle when they make transparently commercial posts for a company on their Facebook pages? Evidently, Ad.ly has already convinced a handful of big brands that people such as Montag - with a large number of Facebook "likers" - will do just that.

The Beverley Hills, CA-based advertising platform announced Wednesday that it offers marketers the opportunity to pitch products through so-called influencers on the social site. The company began offering the same service on Twitter one year ago and on MySpace in June.

"Basically, the advertisers want more reach," said Sean Rad, president of Ad.ly. "No brand has done all three [social sites simultaneously] yet. But, we have some very, very large brands that are going to launch with all three very soon…We actually have signed deals. We cannot name them. Though, they are some of the very largest brands in the world."

One small retail brand, PetFlow, has leveraged Ad.ly's automated platform via Montag's Facebook page. The reality TV star's account posted the following message on Wednesday: "Just found Petflow.com, they deliver pet food right to my door for free! No more lugging heavy bags! And the same copy appeared on Montag's Twitter page. The "Ad" copy seen at the end of Montag's message is required by the Federal Trade Commission for the sake of transparency, said Krista Thomas, VP of marketing for Ad.ly.

Indeed, her company's platform lets celebrities, athletes, or other popular personalities place ads into their social activity streams. In addition to Montag, she said, participants include skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, NBA basketball player Paul Pierce, comedic talk show host Stephen Colbert, and TV personality Dr. Drew Pinsky, among others.

Thomas said celebrities get compensated for the commercial posts/tweets on a pay-per-message model. More specifically, she said that payments are based on an equation that includes: their number of followers/fans/friends on a social site; how often they tweet or post, and engagement achieved (number of replies, re-tweets, click-throughs, etc.). And the company's platform - called "Influencer Network" - charges brands on a CPM model, Thomas said.

She said some of those celebrities have recently authored promotional tweets on Twitter and posts on MySpace on behalf of brands like Toyota, CNN, Sony, NBC, Microsoft, and Universal. A Toyota "Swagger Wagon" campaign effort, she said, helped garner 2.7 million YouTube views.

Meanwhile, Rad said Facebook has signed off on the endorsement posts appearing on official brand pages. "It is within Facebook's guidelines," he said. "A fan page has the permission for a fee to promote a brand…but a user page does not."

Endorsements for major brands will begin appearing on Facebook within the next three or four weeks, Thomas said. "It's very similar to the [traditional] endorsement marketplace, but at a micro-level, obviously," she said. "So it's much more affordable to a far larger group of marketers. We have proven out that model in the past year on Twitter, and the company is growing quickly. We have a price point that marketers can afford, up and down the full range."

Original article by Christopher Heine (Clickz)

Go Daddy For Sale, Anyone Got $1 Billion For GoDaddy.com?

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:08:00 GMT

This may be the biggest domain name sale ever. According to the Wall Street Journal, Go Daddy Group, Inc. which owns GoDaddy.com – the world’s biggest domain name registrar – is offering itself for sale in an auction that could see the company sold for more than $1 billion.

Go Daddy has hired technology banking firm Qatalyst Partners – led by iconic banker Frank Quattrone – to handle the sale. According to the Wall Street Journal, private equity firms are likely to be the prime bidders for the company, attracted by the consistent, and consistently large, cash flows GoDaddy.com generates on an ongoing basis.

GoDaddy, which is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, was founded by eccentric entrepreneur Bob Parsons back in 1997. Since then, while the Internet bubble rose and burst, and while the technology media focused most of its attention on ‘sexier’ Internet companies – ranging from Amazon and eBay, to Yahoo and Google, to Facebook and Twitter – GoDaddy steadily became the leading domain name registrar, with over 43 million domain names under management.

Go Daddy hasn’t exactly been a ‘quiet’ achiever – its outspoken founder and CEO Bob Parsons has relished media attention and the company is known for his infamous TV commercials featuring the ‘Go Daddy Girls’. Nevertheless, it still shocks me how both GoDaddy and Bob Parsons have garnered so little attention among the technology media.

Dare I say it might have been a different story had Bob Parsons started Go Daddy in Silicon Valley with venture capital, instead of building it in Arizona with his own money?

GoDaddy is also well known within Internet marketing circles for embracing and capitalizing on a range of innovative and lucrative conversion tactics. The company is one of the leaders – if not the leader – in attracting customers with cheap domain names (arguably loss leaders), and then up-selling and cross-selling them into buying a host of other services.

To this end, apart from being a domain name registrar, GoDaddy.com sells website hosting, website creation tools, security solutions, e-commerce services, domain parking, runs a domain name aftermarket, and has just introduced its X.co URL shortening service (see Go Daddy Launches X.co World’s Shortest URL Shortener).

According to the Wall Street Journal, all this adds up to an estimated $750 million to $800 million in 2009 revenues for Go Daddy Group, Inc.

So why is Bob Parsons selling GoDaddy? I can only speculate, but the fact that Go Daddy is seeking a private sale rather than, say, go public by filing an initial public offering (IPO) indicates that Bob Parsons doesn’t just want to cash out. It says to me that he no longer wants to run the business.

That’s fair enough and kudos to Bob Parsons for building GoDaddy into such a successful company. All the same, I have mixed feelings about the Go Daddy sale and, I presume, Bob Parsons’ exit from the company.

Okay, I’ll admit it: I have ‘Bob Parsons’ 16 Rules For Success‘ poster above my desk. Go Daddy is the classic entrepreneurial success story and I’m a bit sad that the company is going to be sold to a bunch of bankers (if that’s what happens)!

On the other hand, in case the domain name industry couldn’t get any more interesting, it just did. Which makes this industry all the more fun to be involved in. Watch this space.

Source: Anupreeta Das, “GoDaddy.com Goes on the Auction Block,” WSJ.com, September 11, 2010

Original article by Anna Johnson (Kikabink News)

How Advertising Became a Conversation Business

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:01:00 GMT

"PR people understand this but can never execute it: if you don’t like what is being said, change the conversation.” —Don Draper

As creative director at Sterling Cooper, the fictitious advertising agency at the heart of Mad Men, Don Draper is fast becoming an industry icon, unleashing timeless maxims on the nature of the advertising business. The show is set in the early ’60s, and yet his insights seem to strike a chord for those still plying their trade in the ad game. But when Draper advised a client in crisis to “change the conversation,” the show’s writers unwittingly showed just how much has changed since 1963.

In Mad Men’s era, marketers of all stripes — but especially advertisers — operated from the singular principle of top-down communication. There were fewer channels of communication and fewer media outlets, and so it felt like there were fewer voices. Much more importantly, there was less of a voice for consumers in that mix. The thought was that people weren’t really talking about brands with any sort of impact. And that’s why Don takes a swipe at the PR industry, which has always been about generating word of mouth rather than dominating it.

Sure, people would chat about advertising at the metaphorical water cooler, but the belief was that conversation couldn’t possibly have the same impact as a million-dollar commercial or network airtime. Advertisers thought that they could quite literally change the conversation — shut down one side of it until their message was the only one being heard. Draper may have called it a conversation, but he meant to shout louder and better than everyone else, until the conversation became a monologue — his monologue.

That’s all changed, of course. Marketing, PR and word of mouth are now deeply intertwined. The marketing monologue is a relic: it’s all dialogue, all the time. It’s an Internet-driven phenomenon, as the development of a two-way media channel has transformed the thinking in the industry to the point where consumer engagement to spread a message is now a part of most marketing plans.

Taking advantage of this conversation means giving up control and engaging in the chatter on the street. One can’t join a conversation without first paying attention to what’s being said, and how, and by whom.

Nowhere is this more evident, lately, than in the sad death of bike courier Darcy Sheppard and the subsequent arrest of former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant. The battle for Bryant’s image is already being waged, in advance of his actual court case. A fight that until recently would have been fought almost exclusively through television appearances and press conferences is now a conversation being had online. Sheppard supporters have annotated surveillance camera footage and posted it on YouTube to argue Bryant’s guilt (with tens of thousands of views); Bryant’s team has started a blog and a Twitter feed (both called “Bryantfacts”) to reply to “demonstrable errors of fact” surrounding the event; a counter-Twitter (there’s a new term!) called “Bryanttruths” has been established too. The last thing his team wants to do is to engage on this immediate, uncontrolled series of ground skirmishes — but they’re smart enough to know that a modern marketer has to join the conversation.

So what does this mean, in practical terms? How do we really follow the rules of a conversation in marketing?

First of all, we listen. And in this case, that means paying attention to what people are saying about our brands and companies (and in Bryant’s case, our public figures). It starts with regular, constant searching online for any reference to your subject. So join every Facebook group that makes reference to your company; search for your brand on Twitter every day; and pay attention to what is being said.

Next, we have to respect the rules of the conversation. No shouting, no overpowering, and we wait our turn. If you’re starting a social media campaign, make sure that your branded work looks more like the site that it’s a part of. Great branded Facebook pages feel like great Facebook pages first. It also means accepting that some negative feedback is a part of the deal, just as it is with any conversation.

And lastly, we give to the conversation. Increasingly, this means getting your message out there in as entertaining a fashion as possible — even if it sometimes means losing a little bit of that brand sell. Whether it’s an unbelievably entertaining 30 seconds of video or a terrific game or something else entirely, we need to let people know that they are going to like talking to us, and then they’ll come back for more.

By Max Valiquette (originally appeared in Canadian Business Magazine, Oct 2009).
Don Draper would certainly approve of that.

Putting Google Realtime to Real-World Use

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:16:00 GMT

By Tony Bradley at PC World ; Fri Aug 27, 2010 1:35pm EDT

Google added new functionality to its real-time search engine, and moved it from an obscure feature buried in the options on the left pane of the standard Google search, to its own Web site. The new Google Realtime can be a powerful tool for businesses that know how to use it.

Search rivals Google and Bing were engaged in a heated race last fall to forge deals with social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter in order to incorporate those real-time status updates into search results. With the changes delivered by Google, the real-time data is more customizable, and more accessible--making it much more valuable.

Customer Relevance

Companies can use information gleaned from Google Realtime to "read the minds" of consumers. Conducting searches related to current or planned products or services can help identify what customers want and what concerns they might have.

As the next-generation Kindle launches today, e-reader rivals like Barnes and Noble and Sony can use Google Realtime to monitor real-world comments and feedback about the device. The information will let them know what the target audience likes about the new Kindle, as well as what customers still feel it's lacking or wish it had--enabling them to apply that information to their next e-reader models and stay a step ahead of consumer demand.

Proactive Support

Most customer contact centers maintain a database of known issues and resolutions for more efficient customer support, but that information is typically gleaned as the calls come in. Google Realtime enables businesses to monitor customer issues and complaints--in real-time--to track any pervasive issues and begin to develop solutions before the phone starts ringing off the hook.

The filters provided by Google Realtime can also help isolate an issue. If HTC were to monitor Google Realtime and see a spike in Droid Incredible customers complaining that the device can't get a signal, it could filter the results by location to determine if it is a prevalent issue with the smartphone in general, or if it is limited to a specific geographic area--perhaps indicating that the problem is with a Verizon tower rather than the HTC device.

Reputation Management

This is perhaps the Holy Grail of real-time search. What company wouldn't like to know what customers really think of it? Commissioned telemarketing or Web surveys are helpful, but being able to see what people are actually saying to one another behind closed doors is truly valuable.

The significance of monitoring real-time Facebook status updates and Twitter tweets is that it is raw, unfiltered information. When a customer has a bad experience at a restaurant, he is not shy about sharing that information with the Twitterverse. When someone really loves the movie she just saw, odds are fair that the Facebook social network will hear about it.

The best part for businesses that want to put Google Realtime to use is that it doesn't require hiring a full-time employee dedicated to monitoring Google Realtime streams. As Google explains in the blog post announcing Google Realtime "we've also added updates content to Google Alerts, making it easy to stay informed about a topic of your choosing. Now you can create an alert specifically for "updates" to get an email the moment your topic appears on Twitter or other short-form services."

Google Realtime is a valuable business tool. Check it out. Experiment with different search terms to understand how it can be applied for your business. Set up some Google Alerts to keep an eye on it, and put the information to use.

Original story -here

Latest Social Media Demographics

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:52:00 GMT

Users aged 55+ represent biggest growth in social media sites. Read More.

Thinking Like Your Customers

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:26:00 GMT

When done well, marketing is the most important element in a successful business. Think as a small business owner that you can't afford to market your business? Its time to change how you think. Great article in the Financial Post about how to use marketing to get into the headspace of your customer. Read More.

Google introduces Google Voice

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:18:00 GMT

Need to make a phone call when you're sitting at the computer? Poor reception? With Google Voice, you can make calls using your gmail. Read More

How to Deal with Complaints on Twitter

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:55:00 GMT

Ready to try Twitter, but afraid to open the conversation? Here are 5 tips on dealing with negative comments on Twitter. Read More

Facebook Places: Do You Know Where Your Friends Are?

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:42:00 GMT

Facebook rolls out "Facebook Places" in the USA, once again raising privacy questions. Read More

Bing Now Powers Yahoo Search

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:36:00 GMT

After more than a year, Yahoo search is now officially powered by Microsoft Bing: Read More

Apple Executive Quits

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:44:00 GMT

Following problems with the iPhone 4, the executive responsible for the iPhone hardware is leaving the company. Read More...

Changes to Fan Pages

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:43:00 GMT

Do you have a Facebook fanpage? There are major changes coming August 23. Find out what you need to know