Make sure your online marketing efforts are focused...laser focused. If people aren't seeing/hearing/understanding what you intended, you need to step back and focus on "your bear".
Via Seth Godin
Posted Tuesday, March 18, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
A new email marketing term I recently ran across is bacn (actually, an ex-colleague of mine at Sanford Health
turned me on to the term). While everyone is familar with "spam" as it
relates to e-mail, bacn refers to messages you have opted in to
receive, but for a variety of reason you rarely (if ever) open. I am
guilty as charged....my inbox floods quickly with e-mails that I have
signed up to receive, but during a busy day, I quickly send them to the
deleted folder. I guess it makes me feel like I am getting something
done. Bacn is apparently "better than spam, but not as good as a
personal e-mail". As in real life, I will take bacn over spam any day.
Is it just me, or does online marketing make a person hungry?
Posted Monday, March 17, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
This past weekend was the men's NCAA Big 10 Tournament in Indianapolis, IN. As a die-hard Gopher fan, let me tell you that the tournament did not disappoint. We had the opportunity to witness one of the best basketball finishes in Golden Gopher history.
If you missed it, the biggest flop of the weekend was undoubtedly the slam poetry. Yes, slam poetry at a basketball game. In years past, rowdy fans have had the opportunity to get in front of a camera in the concourse and sing their school rouser/fight song. The Big 10 then plays these clips on the Jumbotron between games, during time outs, etc. This always goes over huge and is one of the best parts of the tournament. This year, however, they decided to have fans read slam poetry on camera instead. If you don't know what slam poetry is, don't feel bad. Most basketball fans don't either....and don't want to. Here is an example of slam poetry at its best (worst?)
I have never heard so many boos as I did when the fan slam poetry clips played on the Jumbotron. The Big 10 took what was historically the best part of the tournament and turned it into a poetry reading. The point here? Know matter what your biz - online marketing, selling cars, flipping burgers - know your demographic, know what they like, and give it to them. Your customers will be happy, they'll tell ten people about it, and will keep coming back for more. Don't try and turn some meathead basketball fans into poetry reading intellectuals. Just give me the fight songs, man.
If you missed it, the biggest flop of the weekend was undoubtedly the slam poetry. Yes, slam poetry at a basketball game. In years past, rowdy fans have had the opportunity to get in front of a camera in the concourse and sing their school rouser/fight song. The Big 10 then plays these clips on the Jumbotron between games, during time outs, etc. This always goes over huge and is one of the best parts of the tournament. This year, however, they decided to have fans read slam poetry on camera instead. If you don't know what slam poetry is, don't feel bad. Most basketball fans don't either....and don't want to. Here is an example of slam poetry at its best (worst?)
I have never heard so many boos as I did when the fan slam poetry clips played on the Jumbotron. The Big 10 took what was historically the best part of the tournament and turned it into a poetry reading. The point here? Know matter what your biz - online marketing, selling cars, flipping burgers - know your demographic, know what they like, and give it to them. Your customers will be happy, they'll tell ten people about it, and will keep coming back for more. Don't try and turn some meathead basketball fans into poetry reading intellectuals. Just give me the fight songs, man.
Posted Sunday, March 16, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
I just completed a good whitepaper on search advertising spending while killing time in the airport. While still a cost effective marketing buy, the average cost-per-click in 2006 was $0.47, up from $0.39 in 2004 (according to JupiterResearch). Considering that growth pattern and the overall effect it can have on a marketing budget, having a comprehensive search/PPC strategy is a must....no more throwing noodles against a wall to see what sticks. As search competiton continues to heat up ($11 billion predicted to be spent on search marketing by 2011, up from $7 billion in 2006), a demonstrable search ROI is no longer optional. Winning organic search through business blogging and solid seo principles is looking more and more appealing.
Posted Sunday, March 16, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
It seems like one of the first things an organization looks to cut during a soft economy is marketing. With probably one of the hardest ROIs to measure, the target on the back of marketing never really goes away...it just gets bigger and smaller depending on other economic/market conditions.
iMedia Connection, has a good article today on how to manage your search and internet marketing efforts during a recession (if, in fact, we are in a recession. Warren Buffett says we are so who am I to argue?). The great thing about search is that more than TV, print, radio, direct mail, and most other marketing mediums, the ROI measurements on online marketing are extremely scientific. Analytics and various tracking tools allow an organization to directly determine if their online marketing efforts are having a bottom line impact. The CFO is happy. The marketer is happy.
So if the CFO has got you in trim mode, go ahead and cut your mass media budget, throttle back your direct mail volumes, and skip the Vegas tradeshow. But cutting out your search marketing and overall online marketing efforts? Think long and hard about that one.
iMedia Connection, has a good article today on how to manage your search and internet marketing efforts during a recession (if, in fact, we are in a recession. Warren Buffett says we are so who am I to argue?). The great thing about search is that more than TV, print, radio, direct mail, and most other marketing mediums, the ROI measurements on online marketing are extremely scientific. Analytics and various tracking tools allow an organization to directly determine if their online marketing efforts are having a bottom line impact. The CFO is happy. The marketer is happy.
So if the CFO has got you in trim mode, go ahead and cut your mass media budget, throttle back your direct mail volumes, and skip the Vegas tradeshow. But cutting out your search marketing and overall online marketing efforts? Think long and hard about that one.
Posted Sunday, March 16, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
I had a friend ask me today about a site (competitor) that seemed to be popping up organically on a lot of searches - some searches which were related to their business and some which were unrelated. In looking at the site a bit deeper, not only was there some mad keyword stuffing going on, but they had embedded a small frame on their site which contained a boatload of copy - probably 2000+ words. Are they benefiting from this in search right now? Yes. Will the Google cops eventually bust them? Probably. Just as in all walks of business, their are ethical and unethical ways to run your online marketing show. If you are looking for blackhat seo (define) to cheat your way to the top, don't contact us. If you want to earn it (through blogging for business, ethical seo, and online business development), we've got the Red Bull ready.
Posted Friday, March 7, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
If you don't have an online business development strategy, you need one. Nuff said. It's Friday. I'm out.
Posted Wednesday, March 5, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
The video clip below has nothing to do with online business development, business blogging, online marketing, or any of the other stuff we post about here. It's a video that I saw last year and recently stumbled across it again. Take three minutes to watch this, smile, and I can almost guarantee that you will never forget this story.
Posted Wednesday, March 5, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
Internet penetration is something I get asked about all the time - specifically as it relates to South Dakota (many people are under the impression that SD just got electricity a few years back, thus, the "world wide internet" is something we only see in picture shows).
Before diving into an online marketing campaign, good marketers want to know what their reach and frequency will be using the web as a communication vehicle. eMarketer's daily goodness today was in regards to internet penetration by state in the US. I've always had difficulty finding good data on this, but the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has a tight little report here that summarizes broadband penetration by state. The report puts good ole' South Dakota above the likes of Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, and Iowa in terms of broadband penetration. Yee haw, little doggies! A business marketing strategy must include a web component, and understanding the technical capabilities of your audience is important to any internet marketing plan.
Here are the highs and lows...props to eMarketer for the charts.
Before diving into an online marketing campaign, good marketers want to know what their reach and frequency will be using the web as a communication vehicle. eMarketer's daily goodness today was in regards to internet penetration by state in the US. I've always had difficulty finding good data on this, but the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has a tight little report here that summarizes broadband penetration by state. The report puts good ole' South Dakota above the likes of Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, and Iowa in terms of broadband penetration. Yee haw, little doggies! A business marketing strategy must include a web component, and understanding the technical capabilities of your audience is important to any internet marketing plan.
Here are the highs and lows...props to eMarketer for the charts.
Posted Tuesday, March 4, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
The Sioux Falls marketing landscape - as well as on the national scene - has been shifting in recent years, with traditional agency models (being all things to all people) giving way to specialized shops (we do this, only this, and do it very well). There is a great WSJ article here from 2007 on this very topic that is worth the read.
While claiming to be leaders in all mediums is bold, fulfilling on that promise is nearly impossible. Social media is a perfect example. AdWeek had a great article recently on online marketing / social media and how the traditional agency model of "placing ads = placement dollars" does not jive with social media concepts. Social media and traditional media are very, very different and trying to apply blanket principles to both can potentially do more harm than good. Heck, faking a social media profile can get you jail time in Morocco.
At Click Rain, we have our niche, and it's online marketing. Not branding. Not print. Not broadcast media. We know online marketing and how it relates to a business marketing strategy. If you want something outside of our core competencies, we'll be the first to tell you it's not a fit. In the meantime, we'll keep sharpeing our axe on what we do best.
While claiming to be leaders in all mediums is bold, fulfilling on that promise is nearly impossible. Social media is a perfect example. AdWeek had a great article recently on online marketing / social media and how the traditional agency model of "placing ads = placement dollars" does not jive with social media concepts. Social media and traditional media are very, very different and trying to apply blanket principles to both can potentially do more harm than good. Heck, faking a social media profile can get you jail time in Morocco.
At Click Rain, we have our niche, and it's online marketing. Not branding. Not print. Not broadcast media. We know online marketing and how it relates to a business marketing strategy. If you want something outside of our core competencies, we'll be the first to tell you it's not a fit. In the meantime, we'll keep sharpeing our axe on what we do best.
Posted Monday, March 3, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
We all know that kids are getting pretty sharp when it comes to the web. Point in case, I can hardly do any work from home anymore without my 2-year old daughter begging (whining) to watch Dora the Explorer on my laptop. She even understands that "stuff happens" when you click the mouse. And Nickelodeon is no dummy, either. Sprinkled throughout the site and in between the online videos is a smattering of self promotion for their programs, getting kids even further hooked on the shows and subsequentially, driving offline sales of pajamas, DVDs, and sippy cups.
eMarketer's article today on the savviness of kids on the web is not a huge shock, but it still is quite interesting. Depending on your vertical, business marketing strategy now needs to include an online element for reaching the tween and pre-tween demographic. There is a new generation out there that online marketers need to target, and they watch Sponge Bob.
eMarketer's article today on the savviness of kids on the web is not a huge shock, but it still is quite interesting. Depending on your vertical, business marketing strategy now needs to include an online element for reaching the tween and pre-tween demographic. There is a new generation out there that online marketers need to target, and they watch Sponge Bob.
Posted Friday, February 29, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
Have you ever used a search engine from your mobile phone? Asking that question four, three, even two years ago would have gotten you a resounding number of no’s. However, we are now in the days of the Treo, i760, Pearl, BlackJack, BlackBerry, iPhone….mobile search as component of an online marketing strategy is taking flight. I recently read a great article over at eMarketer on mobile search and the advertising spending that is being realized on this growing medium. A quote from the article:
eMarketer forecasts that mobile search spending in the US will grow from $34 million in 2007 to over $1.4 billion by 2012
That is some mad growth. Search marketing no longer means targeting the people sitting at a PC ready to make an online purchase or perform product research. It now means getting in front of users looking for a restaurant while riding the subway, researching florists while pounding the elliptical, or making household purchase decisions while riding shotgun on the way to Target. The opportunity to cash in on mobile search as part of an overall business marketing strategy is there, and several are diving into the game here, here, here…..it will be interesting to see who grabs the brass ring. You gotta love internet marketing.
Posted Thursday, February 28, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
Blogging continues to remain a hot topic across all levels of business, but increasingly, larger organizations are starting to feel the pressure of the blog beast and are asking themselves a couple of key questions:
1) Do we need to have a business blog? If so, why?
2) Who will be our blogger(s)?
3) What will we say?
All good questions, all needing answers. Blogging for business is no longer merely an "interesting" concept. Blogging is intended to be a open and honest online dialogue with those in your target demographic. It’s not 
for press releases, speeches, or whitepapers. Further, blogging is an online cup of coffee with your readers. Once that personal level of communication is established, you are no longer “XYZ Business” to your audience but are now, “The folks over at XYZ.” That’s a big difference. We’ll talk about who should blog and the appropriate messaging down the road.
Why does Click Rain blog? Communication with customers, for one. Also, however, is a sometimes-not-so-thinly-veiled sales pitch, like this one. Our RainBlog tool takes blogging up a notch by not only providing an easy-to-use, web-based communication vehicle, but also combining it with leading-edge technology and algorithms proven to boost organic search engine ranking (define). Thus, blogging can now serve two very key purposes: casual yet pointed communication with target audiences and a seo boost. Collectively, leading to online business development, leading to sales, leading to you getting the corner office.
Posted Thursday, February 28, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
The folks over at TopRank out of Minneapolis ran a casual survey among readers to see where their online marketing efforts would be focused in 2008. The results were a big surprising, especially the fact that blogging topped the list of things to do. The author, TopRank CEO Lee Odden, goes on to make some good points about the importance of business blogging to drive seo and online PR, among other things.
If you’re a company doing business and/or marketing online and aren’t using a blog in some way, you’re really at a disadvantage. The longer a company goes without a blog of some sort, the greater an advantage their blogging competition will have. Of course, not ALL companies need to have a blog, but the number of qualified reasons not to is getting smaller each day.
Excellent insight. If you are not business blogging, you need to be. Communicating with your audience is a key benefit of blogging, but there is so much more imbedded in a good blogging strategy - seo, organic search improvement, establishing leadership on a specific topic, to name a few.
Posted Thursday, February 28, 2008 by
Jeff Meuzelaar
For the first of many posts on this blog, I want to take a moment to welcome what I hope will be a growing audience of readers who want to learn how to harness the power of the web. That is the mission of Click Rain– to help organizations not only understand the wide array of online marketing tools that can help grow their business, but to develop the proper strategy on how to use them.
Through mediums such as blogging, e-mail, search, advertising, affiliate marketing, social media, and a variety of other areas, the web can drive your bottom line. Period. Some of these tools are newer than others, but all are continually evolving. And we are tracking that evolution to stay on the leading-edge. Fun for us, good for your business. Heck, we all win.
Let's do this.
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