Archive for January, 2011

Writing for the Web: 4 Steps to Becoming a Content Whiz Kid

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

These days, most marketers need to develop content for digital consumption on a regular basis. Sometimes in the midst of churning out material, we forget to take a step back and ensure that we are optimizing our writing for the web – both for the reader AND for search engines. Here are a few quick tips to help you become (or remain) a content whiz kid.

Keep it Concise – When it comes to writing web content, less is more. The average user is not going to stay on your web page for very long, and they may just scan the content to see if it warrants further interest. You have a very short amount of time to grab their attention. Respect your audience and don’t waste their precious time with fluff. Write your initial thoughts and cut out anything that is unnecessary.

Keep it Interesting – Use unexpected language. If you find yourself using the same boring old copy over and over again try taking a “vocabulary expedition.” Bust out the thesaurus and enter your over-used old phrases and tired jargon and come up with new ways of expressing yourself.

clip_image004Or, if you are a visual learner, try one of my favorite tools – ThinkMap’s Visual Thesaurus. I’ve had some great brainstorming sessions on this website. It always seems to help me get going again if I’m stumped to find the right words.

If you stumble upon a blog that is using really interesting language, bookmark and return on a regular basis. Also keep lists of fun/interesting words to use for inspiration when you’re having trouble coming up with something creative.

Keep it Simple – You are not writing a research paper, you are writing for actual, everyday people. Remember the average reading level for a general audience is somewhere between 6th-8th grade level. Now is not the time to impress with your flowery language or your cache of obscure, large words. Ernest Hemingway wrote for a 4th-6th grade level – if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for you!

Keep it Searchable – Writing searchable content that is also “readable” can be quite a challenge. Sometimes copy that sounds and looks great doesn’t work for search and sometimes copy with all the right keywords doesn’t quite hit the mark in terms of compelling content. Write your content to be readable first, then refer back to your list of top keywords and find the places where it makes sense to use these terms that you want to rank with. Don’t have your list of top keywords yet? Refer to this whitepaper from Connie Bensen – 4 Ways to Take your Search Marketing to a New Level with Social Media Monitoring to help you learn how to use social intelligence to improve SEO.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Web Content Management | 1 Comment »

An Overview of Community Manager Appreciation Day

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

Last year Jeremiah Owyang suggested that Community Managers be recognized on the 4th Monday of January each year. I used Alterian SM2 to put together an overview that shows how far reaching this role has become.

  • over 2000 tweets, blog posts, and articles written
  • originating from 47 countries
  • in 17 languages

Take a look at it graphically represented.

Community Manager Appreciation Day, 2011

I’m so pleased that the Community Manager role has gotten such a good foothold in organizations. We have been working hard to evolve a role that works holistically and cross-functionally. It is customer-centric and provides a unique value.

If you would like to peruse more in-depth, Jeremiah Owyang is curating the many posts, slide decks and photos that were created for the day.

Posted in General Marketing | 1 Comment »

It’s not Engaging Times, yet – Alterian Annual Survey

Friday, January 21st, 2011

imageIt’s somewhat alarming that nearly 80% of the marketers surveyed in the Alterian Annual Survey admit they are concerned their brand is at risk from not being engaged with customers. At least the majority say they recognize the problem areas and are taking actions to rectify them, such as dedicating a larger portion of the marketing budget toward the social/digital space to gain the necessary resources for increased message customization across web, email and social media.

imageJust as concerning was the fact that the survey showed less than one third of marketers have a strong understanding of social media conversations happening around their brand. In fact, 7 in 10 indicated they either have very little to no understanding (31%) or use a few ad-hoc tools to track and measure social media conversations (39%). This “lack of understanding” trend continues when one considers that a large portion of marketers appear to be limited in analytical competency, indicating they either have no analytical experience concerning digital media (6%), stop at the basic analytical level (29%) or struggle to tie analytics back to the campaign strategy (27.5 %).

Let’s face it: whether it’s Campaigns, Conversations or Clicks, marketers, more now than ever before, must be accountable for results. My CEO is on my case every time we meet. The tools are available to measure all these things, show how well you engage, together with all the clues as to what to do about it.

Perhaps in 2011 we should all resolve to invest in the tools and training… and to get engaging.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Campaign Management and Analytics, Email Marketing, General Marketing, Social Media Marketing | 2 Comments »

Collaboration – it’s what you need

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

Within most organizations there will be many people who are involved, at least to some degree, in the planning and development of campaigns.

Within a smaller company, where much of the work is done internally, this could involve the marketing director coming up with overall strategy, a database manager being responsible for analysis and selections, then a marketing executive tasked with developing creative and deploying.

Within a larger outfit, this process may expand to include agency planners, agency creative teams, product specialists and partners.

Historically, many of these activities have operated as silos as far as technology is concerned, with each team using their own tools which stand alone. This is probably because most software was really designed to be operated solely by light users, power users, or agencies and partners, and not by all of them. This separation of technology usually slows down the speed of activity, with files being transferred from one system to another and new campaigns requiring lengthy gestation periods.

These traditional stand alone platforms certainly won’t meet the different needs of marketing professionals. For instance, there aren’t many marketing directors who will want to drill into the minutiae of contact history rules, but they will want to see overall campaign performance dashboards. Whilst an analyst or planner won’t be satisfied with top level reports, they will want granular access to interrogate data. Whereas the campaign team won’t be looking to create insight from the raw data, they will want to use the findings to run better targeted multi phase and multi wave triggered campaigns.

Recent developments in technology have been designed to fundamentally change this situation. The latest platforms are specifically designed with collaborative multi team working at the heart of them.  These shared platforms bring relevant information together, but perhaps more importantly, enable users in different roles to see only what is relevant.

By adopting a truly collaborative platform, each type of user sees a tailored view suitable for them, can rapidly access work shared by colleagues, and as a result can carry out their own tasks more effectively.  I strongly believe this approach will let companies drive out more sophisticated, insightful campaigns in less time, and put a smile back on the face of marketers.

Tags: ,
Posted in Campaign Management and Analytics | 1 Comment »

The future is a con: Why we should strive to innovate, and how social media can help

Friday, January 7th, 2011

Several iPads made it down chimneys this Christmas, and yet in a matter of weeks we are certain to hear more news of the imminent release of iPad 2. Here we have the classic dilemma faced by consumers making buying decisions. The pull of the present (a bird in that hand etc.) and the bright lights of the future make it hard for us to know when to commit.

Tech lovers part with their hard-earned cash for a slice of the future and are destined to discover that the future is, in fact, a con! Off they set, bags packed with supplies for the long journey ahead of them, getting to the future, only to discover when they arrive that they are right back where they started, in the present (snakes and ladders anyone?).

So what is wrong with being in the present exactly? Well, we can answer that one by first asking what it is that we all seek from the future. The future holds all our ideals in their purest and most ageless form, untarnished by time and free from criticism. How many of us will have imagined our perfect selves in 2011 and made resolutions to become perhaps fitter or more adventurous in the future? We create the future to meet our needs in the best way imaginable.

So is innovation the product of what we seek in our futures? Let’s define innovation in a commercial context as something that meets a human need in a way that should also generate economic value. Meeting that need might be as much about improving an existing scenario as it is about breaking new ground, in the way that products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad have done.

Businesses must consistently strive to innovate because, in 2011, tougher economic climates, stiffer competition, greater choice and faster markets mean that we must have the competitive advantage when it comes to understanding what our consumers’ future needs look like. Innovation is the link between the present and the future, and we will need insight to help us tap into consumers’ future needs in order to be the business most able and ready to meet them now and in the future.

When it comes to understanding our consumers’ needs, Social Media is becoming more widely accepted as the ideal source of ‘evidence based insight,’ and insight is the fuel to innovation. However, having the right tools to capture the social media data and the right skills for gaining insight from this data is a real challenge. Think of social media not as changing the fundamental practice of how insight is created, but as an additional data source that should be subjected to the same rigor and techniques as any other data source.  By carefully framing the problem up front, conducting great research and re-applying that in a creative but customer-centric way, you can deliver real innovation, rooted in human need, and support growth for businesses anywhere in the world.

So when the iPad2 is eventually announced, proclaiming the future of tablet computing and no doubt making improvements that will meet our future needs, will your slice of the future seem already consigned to the past? After all, tomorrow never comes and the future is a fallacy!

Tags: ,
Posted in Social Media Marketing | 7 Comments »

Does Your Marketing Deserve a Standing Ovation?

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Tonite I was watching the finale of a show called The Sing Off because Sara Barielles was making a guest appearance & singing a favorite song of mine.

The show consists of a well known person singing with an acapela group. This was the final show of the season. Sara did a great job with her popular ‘King of Anything’. The audience clapped on her appearance and after she was finished.

The next group sang with Nichole Scherzinger. Mid way through her song, she invited the audience to participate and sing with them. She had the judges standing and visibly engaged. The audience was helping to create the song.

There was a definite difference between the two performances. Sara performed for the audience and Nichole engaged them. If you were to attend a live event, what would you prefer?

Now think about your marketing methodologies.

Are you simply performing for your audience? Or are you engaging them?

  • What will be more productive?
  • Will you win their confidence?
  • Will they want to do business with you?
  • Will they vote with their pocketbooks?

If your marketing is pushing a message at consumers, ask yourself some questions:

  • What will hold their attention?
    • Are your headlines/titles for your email/blog posts engaging?
  • Is your content informative and does it provide value?
    • How can you revise it so that it’s less promotional?
  • Do you offer ways for your readership to engage beyond clicking on a link?
    • Do you ask for their feedback? Do you provide places for them to review and comment on your products?

What tips do you have for making marketing effort worth a standing ovation?

Posted in General Marketing | 1 Comment »