Freakin' Genius Marketing is busily working on content and optimization for about 4 new websites along with the optimization of 2 existing sites this week. In all the hub-bub, what I’ve realized as the main point of contact at our agency is that I’m spending a great deal of time explaining the process to so many clients that I found myself channeling this as a blog post today.
There are three main development specialists each with multiple jobs in the development of a website. All of the web specialists are both integral to the final product and the sum of its parts. These specialists are: The Designer, The Programmer, The Marketing Strategist/Content Writer. Let me explain.
The Designer (Note: sometimes the programmer is also a designer, but mostly a designer is an artist- while a programmer has a more technical background)
The designer is key to the look and feel of the site. We call this the User Interface (UI) which is the pretty part, all the colors, the logo, the layout, the template and the way the whole thing comes together. All this pretty stuff works with the programming and often goes into separate hands. The greatest inventions have been templates of previously designed websites you can purchase so you can visualize what your “website” will look like before it’s built. The templates sell for very little, which is so exciting, but need much programming customization. It’s like buying the empty bear skin at Build-a-Bear. You still have to stuff and dress it for it to be a proper bear.
The Programmer:
So after the designers develop the UI, the programmers then develop the supporting programming that makes it all work like a website instead of just a pretty picture. They are the behind the scenes guys who are the wind in the sails as it pertains to writing the html or developing the Flash (images) that make the site work as an integrated “location” on the web. They program the databases if your website collects information also. They are really all the function while the designer is really all about the form.
The challenge with building a website is that the User Interface (UI), programming, and much of the navigation depends on the content and the goal of the site. Are you looking for a static site to convert a visitor to a certain page to give you their email or call or potentially to get to your shopping cart to purchase something? It takes much collaboration of the offer, the look, the timing, and the ease of getting around the site to accomplish that.
Ok, on to what the site actually says.
The Marketing Strategist/Writer:
Not only does your website’s content have to be descriptive, clearly introduce and cohesively sell what your company’s service and products are all about, but the mapping of it needs to be intuitively navigable, meaning, it has to be natural to move around in it in a logical way. And oh yes, it needs to written with important keywords and key phrases so that prospective clients will find you based on the search engine spiders seeing your relevance to their search. This is called on-page search engine optimization (SEO) and is integral to success as it pertains to your website’s goal of reaching your prospective customers. Writing search optimized content is sometimes counter intuitive. It can be repetitious and lastly doesn’t believe in pronouns. There are many rules to writing for SEO and of course those rules are always changing as the search engines keep us all hopping so we don’t figure them out.
Ok, so now we take one more go round with the programming because, once the UI is working in conjunction with the on-page optimized content, the off-page SEO needs to be developed just prior to launching the site. The writer has coordinated this while writing the on-page content.
The off-page SEO includes the titles, metatags, keywords, and descriptions that go in the body of the programming (off-page) but are in keeping with the final content on the site itself (on-page). In other words, the off-page keywords have to coordinate with the content on the page so that the search engine sees the html language and then confirms the words are indeed present on the site and as such, will send a search prospect the name of your website and the page address and description that is most in keeping with the search term used.
Does this whole thing sound complicated? It's not if you have someone keeping their finger on the pulse. Ask our Smartysite clients, at Freakin’ Genius Marketing, we keep our finger on the pulse of your whole project. We have the 4-star programmers, we have the award winning designers who develop the UI, and we write fantastic optimized content, ready to roll! Turnkey Website Development! Could you even have imagined it to be this easy? SmartySites! It’s Freakin’ Genius!
Freakin' Genius...Loved this!
I just read about a local printer who wanted to encourage prospects to use them, so they sent 1,500 roundtrip transit bus and subway cards to show them how easy it was to get to their facility for a press check. The card, was sent attached to a full-color, 5-panel mailer that spelled out "Take a swipe at us" as the prospect unfolded it. RESULTS: 5% of all mailed recipients placed an order!
Marketers offer sweat, tears and blood to their potential clients
Some marketing agencies promise to give blood, sweat and tears to clients. Touch branding, a european-based marketing company has been intent on backing up the claim "We'll give our blood for good branding" with an edgy direct mail campaign built around the message.
With a flair for the dramatic, Touch has mailed real blood bags filled with fake blood to potential clients in their geographic target zone. The mailer includes a letter with a short intro to the company and a link to its website, which resembles a blood bag. They produced the whole thing in-house for around $1 a piece.
The edge that works for this campaign can only be achieved when marketers take risks and aren't afraid to get creative with their direct mail campaigns, even when they are only a part of the total effort.
"Direct mail works when it brings a positive surprise to the recipient", says Creative Director Martin Marusinec. "The postal service can deliver almost anything these days, so there's no reason why your direct mail has to be yet another letter or plain brochure."
With a flair for the dramatic, Touch has mailed real blood bags filled with fake blood to potential clients in their geographic target zone. The mailer includes a letter with a short intro to the company and a link to its website, which resembles a blood bag. They produced the whole thing in-house for around $1 a piece.The edge that works for this campaign can only be achieved when marketers take risks and aren't afraid to get creative with their direct mail campaigns, even when they are only a part of the total effort.
"Direct mail works when it brings a positive surprise to the recipient", says Creative Director Martin Marusinec. "The postal service can deliver almost anything these days, so there's no reason why your direct mail has to be yet another letter or plain brochure."
Email Alone Will Get you Nowhere- Diversity is Key!
When the economy went bellyup two years ago, many marketers did what they had to do: Cut their spending and focused the few dollars they did have on the cheapest available options - primarily digital venues.
That's understandable. But now that the economy is showing signs of life, too many are sticking to that strategy, essentially standing on the sidelines as the economic recovery kicks into gear. Worse yet, increasing budgets but not the channels they use to communicate.
If there's one painful lesson that every investor learned when Wall Street crashed, it's that diversification is key to success. So why haven't marketers learned that same lesson when it comes to their communications?
As the result of this mono-venue approach, the digital world has become increasingly crowded- the average consumer receives 14-15 emails a day from companies or brands. That's not good for marketers lookign for engaging ways to get their messages into the hands of consumers.
Consider, for example, that the average household receives about 16 pieces of advertising-related mail per week (Source: 2008 Household Diary Study- USPS) and you can plainly see the potential that direct mail offers. Four times less clutter, an ability to stand out and the ability to put a brand's best case in the hands of your customer.
Beyond the clutter, there's simple math that says the more marketers diversify the communication venues speaking to the customer, the better the impact. A recent study found that 80% of consumers rely on more than one marketing message in multiple marketing venues when making a purchase decision. That makes sense to me. Most of us need to have multiple interactions with a brand before parting with our hard-earned money.
Don't forget the personalized URL, Quick Response code or other links that can be included in the print driven messages that can take your integrated digital marketing to a whole new level in 1:1 relationship building.
Tactical, dimensional marketing messages- cut through the clutter and get you noticed and will earn you a fair share of your customer's wallet-share. Diversify your marketing mix now and you'll benefit in the long run.
That's understandable. But now that the economy is showing signs of life, too many are sticking to that strategy, essentially standing on the sidelines as the economic recovery kicks into gear. Worse yet, increasing budgets but not the channels they use to communicate.
If there's one painful lesson that every investor learned when Wall Street crashed, it's that diversification is key to success. So why haven't marketers learned that same lesson when it comes to their communications?
As the result of this mono-venue approach, the digital world has become increasingly crowded- the average consumer receives 14-15 emails a day from companies or brands. That's not good for marketers lookign for engaging ways to get their messages into the hands of consumers.
Consider, for example, that the average household receives about 16 pieces of advertising-related mail per week (Source: 2008 Household Diary Study- USPS) and you can plainly see the potential that direct mail offers. Four times less clutter, an ability to stand out and the ability to put a brand's best case in the hands of your customer.
Beyond the clutter, there's simple math that says the more marketers diversify the communication venues speaking to the customer, the better the impact. A recent study found that 80% of consumers rely on more than one marketing message in multiple marketing venues when making a purchase decision. That makes sense to me. Most of us need to have multiple interactions with a brand before parting with our hard-earned money.
Don't forget the personalized URL, Quick Response code or other links that can be included in the print driven messages that can take your integrated digital marketing to a whole new level in 1:1 relationship building.
Tactical, dimensional marketing messages- cut through the clutter and get you noticed and will earn you a fair share of your customer's wallet-share. Diversify your marketing mix now and you'll benefit in the long run.
How do you REALLY connect with your customer?
By integrating elements of logic, general thought processes, emotions and their five senses you can discover a unique approach to the task of connecting with your customer.When marketing in an experiential manner your objective is always to encourage such a deep connection with the customer that they respond to your product offering based on both their emotional and rational response levels. Here are a few of the basics of experiential marketing, and how this process can help you succeed when other marketing strategies fail.
Appealing to a variety of senses, experiential marketing seeks to tap into that special place within consumers that has to do with inspiring thoughts about comfort and pleasure, as well as inspiring a sense of practicality. This means that, a marketer, you need to have a firm grasp on the mindset of the prospective target market you wish to attract. By understanding what the consumer is likely to think and feel, it is possible to get an idea of how to steer the customer in a direction that will relate with the product, and entice individuals to act on that impulse to purchase.
In order to engage in experiential marketing, it is necessary to connect with as many of the senses as possible. Striking displays with powerful visual elements, such as websites, and visual media such as print ads should not only be visually appealing, but also conjure up daydreams of locales and reminders of sensations that are enjoyable to the individual. When used to create customer experiences of this nature, a sense of rapport between the product and the consumer is established that helps to make the good or service more desirable with each encounter.
Because experiential marketing connects with the consumer on multiple levels, the strategy is ideally suited for contemporary sales and marketing campaigns. Shortened attention spans demand that any ad campaign make a quick impression, or the opportunity to engage the consumer will quickly pass. While thirty second ads on radio and television once had a great impact, many people now use modern technology to avoid this sort of marketing approach.
This means that ads you place on the internet, in the print media, and on modern billboards must immediately catch the attention of prospective clients and hold that attention long enough to make a lasting impression. Experiential marketing holds the key to making this happen. By appealing to all five senses, and making the connection quickly and seamlessly, this approach to the marketing task ensures that you can still attract and satisfy the needs and desires of your prospective target market.
Resistance
My 4 year old skips everywhere. It confounds me how in one moment she can be screaming bloody murder with the water works on full steam and the next moment she can be bounding for the next activity, at the height of a joyful prance. I guess this is the definition of true resilience.
It’s not as if it’s harnessed in any way….it’s so natural that it just sort of falls out of her. So, when I, like the smarty pants that I am, try to mimic it, subscribing to the fact that it will manifest the same resilience in my world, well….I just look like damn foolish.
I guess the whole thing has me looking at resistance a little bit differently. This came to me as I was running this morning, as I’m dedicated to do 3 times a week no matter what! Don’t think that commitment to running wasn’t initially met without resistance either, because it was. It’s not easy finding that time for myself in a busy day, but what I’ve found is that the hour I dedicate to running, thinking without interruption, praying, and writing in my brain makes me about 100X more productive the other 18 hours of my generally non-stop work-filled days.
So, I was running today, which I do with no Ipod, no Iphone, no distraction or friend to chat with, and no expectations and suddenly I found myself attuned to the smell of the late season clover, sound of the secadas, the wind in the leaves as it swept over the miles I could see, the birds chirping, the geese wings flapping above, the bees buzzing to my right, my sneakers as they hit the gravel at an even pace, my breath- all was synergistic. Like a puzzle, it all fit into a nice neat package of a fully realized moment in time.
Then, from out of nowhere a motor revved, a plane flew overhead, and it was an assault to that moment. I couldn’t help to think, because this is what this hour for, about how analogous this was to my business day. All that noise, but such important messages in each succinct piece. Competition of individual messages to be heard in a noisy world, that when listened to, in an attuned moment make complete sense. As a runner, in that moment I could hear it all, including the assault. But in the same moment, I was able to assess the assault, tune it out, and continue my momentum. Of course, just when I thought I had it all under control, I rounded the corner of a steepened hill and I was nearly rendered breathless when met with a wind that would barrel me full force for what would be another mile
It was in this resistance that my mind took me to my work. Ah, I thought, this wind is the negative self speak my clients have when they come to me with viable ideas and no self confidence to implement them. This wind bespeaks of naysayers and competitors trying to knock pricing into a commodity mode. This wind is trying to slow me down until my momentum merely becomes a race in time for a motionless end to my success at mental clarity. But then it came to me, my daughter…prancing along like a pony. Just Skip, the little voice inside my head prodded!
So I did.
And as I skipped, the wind that had been rushing against me fueled my prance and I found I was moving faster instead of slower. As I skipped, I began to giggle and then laugh forgetting entirely that I had been out of breath from the previous 4 miles. What a fool I must have looked like, I mused, at which point I decided to pull out all the stops and put my arms out like an airplane and zoom my way through the last half mile of the trail. When I skipped and zoomed into the parking lot, where I generally show up looking haggard albeit with an unparalleled mental clarity, I arrived joyful…feeling like I could take on another 5 miles. Well, almost. Most importantly I had this revelation about resistance, and how if you take it on like a wrestler in the ring, it can be USED as a piece of the puzzle to get you to your goal. So the next time you feel like you just can’t go that last mile, just approach it differently. What’s there to lose? And man oh man, there’s way too much to gain not to try. So, when you are next faced with resistance either from a colleague or a prospect, just skip!
Note to reader: As a practice, my business is fueled by experience. The anecdotes I often share with clients and seminar attendees have often been the moment of revelation for me or someone I work with. Associative learning is a wonderful strategy to understand new concepts in a rapidly changing world. Learning by anecdote and metaphor enables a level of understanding one might otherwise never get if forced to learn a new language and skill set.
It’s not as if it’s harnessed in any way….it’s so natural that it just sort of falls out of her. So, when I, like the smarty pants that I am, try to mimic it, subscribing to the fact that it will manifest the same resilience in my world, well….I just look like damn foolish.
I guess the whole thing has me looking at resistance a little bit differently. This came to me as I was running this morning, as I’m dedicated to do 3 times a week no matter what! Don’t think that commitment to running wasn’t initially met without resistance either, because it was. It’s not easy finding that time for myself in a busy day, but what I’ve found is that the hour I dedicate to running, thinking without interruption, praying, and writing in my brain makes me about 100X more productive the other 18 hours of my generally non-stop work-filled days.
So, I was running today, which I do with no Ipod, no Iphone, no distraction or friend to chat with, and no expectations and suddenly I found myself attuned to the smell of the late season clover, sound of the secadas, the wind in the leaves as it swept over the miles I could see, the birds chirping, the geese wings flapping above, the bees buzzing to my right, my sneakers as they hit the gravel at an even pace, my breath- all was synergistic. Like a puzzle, it all fit into a nice neat package of a fully realized moment in time.
Then, from out of nowhere a motor revved, a plane flew overhead, and it was an assault to that moment. I couldn’t help to think, because this is what this hour for, about how analogous this was to my business day. All that noise, but such important messages in each succinct piece. Competition of individual messages to be heard in a noisy world, that when listened to, in an attuned moment make complete sense. As a runner, in that moment I could hear it all, including the assault. But in the same moment, I was able to assess the assault, tune it out, and continue my momentum. Of course, just when I thought I had it all under control, I rounded the corner of a steepened hill and I was nearly rendered breathless when met with a wind that would barrel me full force for what would be another mile
It was in this resistance that my mind took me to my work. Ah, I thought, this wind is the negative self speak my clients have when they come to me with viable ideas and no self confidence to implement them. This wind bespeaks of naysayers and competitors trying to knock pricing into a commodity mode. This wind is trying to slow me down until my momentum merely becomes a race in time for a motionless end to my success at mental clarity. But then it came to me, my daughter…prancing along like a pony. Just Skip, the little voice inside my head prodded!
So I did.
And as I skipped, the wind that had been rushing against me fueled my prance and I found I was moving faster instead of slower. As I skipped, I began to giggle and then laugh forgetting entirely that I had been out of breath from the previous 4 miles. What a fool I must have looked like, I mused, at which point I decided to pull out all the stops and put my arms out like an airplane and zoom my way through the last half mile of the trail. When I skipped and zoomed into the parking lot, where I generally show up looking haggard albeit with an unparalleled mental clarity, I arrived joyful…feeling like I could take on another 5 miles. Well, almost. Most importantly I had this revelation about resistance, and how if you take it on like a wrestler in the ring, it can be USED as a piece of the puzzle to get you to your goal. So the next time you feel like you just can’t go that last mile, just approach it differently. What’s there to lose? And man oh man, there’s way too much to gain not to try. So, when you are next faced with resistance either from a colleague or a prospect, just skip!
Note to reader: As a practice, my business is fueled by experience. The anecdotes I often share with clients and seminar attendees have often been the moment of revelation for me or someone I work with. Associative learning is a wonderful strategy to understand new concepts in a rapidly changing world. Learning by anecdote and metaphor enables a level of understanding one might otherwise never get if forced to learn a new language and skill set.
FTC Guidelines for Blogging and Tweeting
Are you left scratching your head how the heck you can comply with the new FTC “Endorsement” Guidelines when sending a “tweet” that is limited to 140 characters?
Do you have any idea how you are supposed to comply with the new FTC Guidelines when doing something as simple as updating your facebook wall, or posting something to your blog?
Well, you aren't alone.
Since the new FTC Guidelines went into effect last December people have had thousands of questions but very few of them were ever answered.
Chicken little might scream the sky is falling, but believe it or not, the FTC has been busy answering those questions on their website.
Go to the FTC Guidelines by clicking this link and scan the hundreds of questions and answers for some of your own.
It really boils down to truth in advertising and practicing integrity and the honor system as the revised Guides – issued after public comment and consumer research – reflect three basic truth-in-advertising principles:
1. Endorsements must be truthful and not misleading;
2. If the advertiser doesn’t have proof that the endorser’s experience represents what consumers will achieve by using the product, the ad must clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected results in the depicted circumstances; and
3. If there’s a connection between the endorser and the marketer of the product that would affect how people evaluate the endorsement, it should be disclosed.
Do you have any idea how you are supposed to comply with the new FTC Guidelines when doing something as simple as updating your facebook wall, or posting something to your blog?
Well, you aren't alone.
Since the new FTC Guidelines went into effect last December people have had thousands of questions but very few of them were ever answered.
Chicken little might scream the sky is falling, but believe it or not, the FTC has been busy answering those questions on their website.
Go to the FTC Guidelines by clicking this link and scan the hundreds of questions and answers for some of your own.
It really boils down to truth in advertising and practicing integrity and the honor system as the revised Guides – issued after public comment and consumer research – reflect three basic truth-in-advertising principles:
1. Endorsements must be truthful and not misleading;
2. If the advertiser doesn’t have proof that the endorser’s experience represents what consumers will achieve by using the product, the ad must clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected results in the depicted circumstances; and
3. If there’s a connection between the endorser and the marketer of the product that would affect how people evaluate the endorsement, it should be disclosed.
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