The Web Uncovered

Part of working on the world of online marketing is  that you are straddling two very different worlds.  One on hand you have the seasoned Chief Marketing Officers, whose education and understanding of marketing predates the internet.  They often are confused by the technologies, and attempt to apply their knowledge to the new media, not realizing that a new medium requires a new strategy.  On the other side you have tech-heads, who are absolutely necessary as they hold the key to using these technologies, but often have no basis of understanding marketing principles, or best practices.  Your basic need is to be their middle man, and your endgoal should be to understand both worlds well enough that you can take over both their jobs.

When it comes to online marketing, the most elemental part of traditional marketing that I believe is missed is marketing research.  Once you have your target segment, you MUST answer these questions:

1.  What websites is my target segment patronizing

2.  How are they using the website

3.  What is important to them, and how can I reveal our value added?

If you don’t have a marketing background, think of it like fishing.  If you grab random bait and go to a random body of water, if you catch fish, it was dumb luck.  Most fishermen find out what fish they are targeting, then put together a tackle box of what they need.  The most important part is your bait or lure; without the bite, there is no fish.  Your fishing pole, bait, etc is all dependent on marketing research.

Now let’s just avoid a fishing story.  :)

As the different technologies online become decreasing tied to the youth or the Millenials, new demographics can both be focused on in marketing research, and targetted in content generation.  Social Media Marketing guru Scott Monty shares with his blog readers about the bourgening market of moms.  He says:

There’s no question that so-called “mommy bloggers” are an interesting demographic. Recent statistics show that there are more than 36 million of them online, and they definitely wield influence in purchasing power. Which is why many companies think this community can be a key in their word of mouth efforts. 

However, he points out the fact that these broad segments also have high diversity within themselves.  Nonetheless, marketing research about the internet use of a specific demographic can also reveal how to market to them, or what advertisements will speak to them based on their values, and unmet needs.

The Takeaway:   Now that the late adaptors are joining the chorus of social networking, how you can you address their new unmet needs in the online world?  If you figure it out, you could be creating the next big thing to an underexploited niche market.

Youtube has already been determined as the victor in the world of user-generated video.  This isn’t news.  However, the relatively recent addition of insights in Youtube reveals something that all marketers fear.  What if your content is attracting the wrong audience?

Let me give you an example.  You are selling lingerie, and your target audience is women from ages 20-40.  You find models who make your product look very good, or vice a versa, and you post your video on youtube.  Within a week you have over 1,000 hits, and a 10,000 within a month.  While you are excited about the virility of your campaign, you don’t understand why it is not generating traffic to your website or any signicant sales increase.  Then you look at Youtube Insights at demographics, and find that 80% of the viewers were men, ages 14-24.

The Takeaway:

Remember, segmentation and product placement are not enough alone.  You have to generate content based on the values of your target segment.  Using themes like pricing and value, or improved body image, could better focus this campaign.  While Youtube gives you only basic segment data, this is enough to know if your framing of content is seriously flawed.

For those looking to explore the possibilities on PPC advertising (that’s pay-per-click for you newbies), Facebook generates a strong appeal. No longer representing a slice segment of the market, Facebook has quickly become the standard social network, leaving Myspace and others in the dust.

Their advertising interface is extremely easy to use, and requires very little technology comprehension. This should be highly attractive to those looking to spread their wings in the world on PPC. Furthermore, their segmentation abilities are amazing; not only can you target based on age, location, and gender, but you target consumers based on religion, sexual orientation, and relationship status. Even more amazing is their ability to create search parameters within users profile to advertise (e.g. “target anyone who lists Tool as their favorite band and Watership Down as their favorite book”). If you choose a larger campaign, you create a plethora of ultra-targeted ads in a sort of micro-segmentation.

The Catch:
While these technologies are great, for those companies leading larger campaigns, Facebook’s cost per ad is much more expensive than most other PPC opportunities. For those selling a product rather than promoting a campaign, this will take a big bite out of your ROI (return on investment). This is a huge drawback for those on limited marketing budgets as well.

The Takeaway:
If you want to test content in a limited fashion, or have a high-end product that doesn’t require widespread response, the segmentation abilities of Facebook ads are great. This is especially true for those who are not technologically savvy. If you want to run a larger PPC campaign, many other opportunities exist that will give you better ROI. Remember, even if the segmentation ability isn’t there, if only interested people are clicking on your ads, you are still reaching your target audience.

For more specifics as to how to execute a Facebook PPC campaign, look at Facebook Ads 101.

What is viral Marketing?

So often times marketing managers talk of making sure their product goes “viral,” yet lack any real definition of what this means. Whether a digital flu or a communicable advertisement, viral marketing is seen as an ambiguous internet term at best. Rather than being a new technology to learn, viral marketing is much closer to traditional marketing than many assume.

Before the grand days of the internet, cellphones, telegraphs, or even written language, information was disseminated in one way. Whether news, service, or product information, it all came by word of mouth. The credibility of the source was directly tied to the one providing it (Mcluhan anyone? read the previous post). Today, it is very difficult to determine credibility of an online source, which complicates the message, especially in the presence of so much content and so much noise. Viral marketing is word of mouth in the digital age.

Takeaway:
If you want to have an online presence, you have to imagine what will get people talking. A Youtube video of you explaining why your real estate services are the best in your county is not exactly newsworthy. Instead, you need to generate content that makes the viewer laugh, cry, vomit, or most importantly inspire them to talk to their friends. This could happen in a traditional conversation, or come as an Facebook link, email, twitter update, or instant message. Once again, and I will repeat myself on this: The quality, targeting, and placement of your marketing content is now important as ever to producing results.

Act accordingly.