Social Media ROI
Yesterday I wrote a post on taking action. The point was that it is very easy to get caught up in endless discussions about how and why to execute a new marketing strategy instead of just doing it. Of course you want to make informed decisions but in many cases deliberation is the enemy of progress. Social media tools are new but the concept is as old as marketing itself. It’s nothing more than good old-fashioned networking amplified by Internet... [Read More...]
Taking Action
Over and over I’ve heard the old adage that knowledge is power. It’s a philosophy that has served me well. I am that guy that is constantly listening to educational CD’s and news programming in the car. And if I’m not meeting a client for lunch you can bet that I will be sitting alone somewhere reading a book or magazine on business, marketing or technology. One of my biggest pet peeves is being stranded somewhere i.e. an airport, restaurant,... [Read More...]
Worth Your Time
Advertising as we know it is quickly heading towards extinction. Many would argue that it’s already extinct. This isn’t as gloomy as it might sound however because it is being replaced by more accessible, affordable, and powerful methods of interacting with your customers. The opportunities are so massive that it is difficult to understate them. The only way to keep up with these changes is to get engaged with the technology and jump... [Read More...]
Patience
Looking for a sustainable competitive advantage? Try patience. There are no shortcuts to marketing your business. We live in a marketing culture obsessed with finding the right tactic to boost sales instantly; that one big idea that will immediately define a brand and differentiate it from competitors. Here’s a tip: If you really want a strategy that is unique, one that 90% of your competitors will not be able to duplicate, go with patience. It’s... [Read More...]
Deception
The secret to great online marketing is relevancy. The reason so many advertisers get this wrong is because they try to apply traditional offline strategies to online campaigns. Traditional marketing is based on reach and frequency. The more eyeballs you can aggregate, the better, because only a small portion of the market is ready to buy at any given point in time. You cannot buy TV commercials that are only shown to people that need to... [Read More...]
Focus
People that plan advertising campaigns often spend a lot of time focusing on the negotiation and mechanics of purchasing ad space/time. It’s easy to get caught in this trap. Business owners naturally gravitate towards numbers as do the sales reps selling the products. Answering the “how many spots, banners, column inches, clicks etc. can I get for my budget” question seems like a logical way to gauge the kind of deal you are... [Read More...]
Competition
Lots of other companies provide the same product or service that your company does. Many of them have been doing it longer than you. Many of them have more extensive resources than you: More people. More money. More customers. More clout. This keeps a lot of businesses (and people) from stretching. It’s intimidating to survey the landscape and see a wall of giants. You have a hard time imagining how your business could possibly compete. Marketing... [Read More...]
5 Steps to Flawless Advertising
Become comfortable with failure. Test – Anything and everything that feels right. Start small. Measure – Everything. Optimize – Based on the data you collect during step #3. Repeat. Read More →
Online and Offline Media
There seems to be a lot of confusion out there about the role of offline media in an increasingly online world. Companies are busy creating MySpace pages, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds, writing blogs, running search ads, banner ads, streaming ads etc. because they know that these tools are all part of the revolution that’s going on with online marketing. And all of this is healthy. You should be building, testing, and refining these things... [Read More...]
What Advertising Cannot Do
Advertising is just one of many tools you need to market your business. It’s the process of communicating with your customers. While this is extremely important, it is by no means an end in itself. The reason I say this is because I often meet people that say things like “I tried advertising on TV and it didn’t work” or “Outdoor advertising has never worked well for my business…” The mistake that they are making is assuming that... [Read More...]