There is a matter of semantics with certain publishers that will saturate some of the true value of employing a retargeting advertising strategy. If a single network is offering a retargeting ’solution’ as a package offering with other display, some sort of CPC, etc., I’d be wary of their temptation to retarget on the click rather than the visit for the sake of impression scaling.
What’s the difference?
Any groomed Google Analyticsman will tell you that a click does not equate to a visit (1-1). There can be pre-page load bounces, multiple session counts, spiders/bots, fraud, and who knows what else muddling up your clicks. If a user is not arriving on my site after clicking an ad, I do not want to waste impressions on them. Call me old school, but behavioral retargeting must be site-based to be effective.
April 22, 2009
Social Media
2 Comments
Where does one begin? Internet marketing has got to be one of the hardest sales professions there is. Why? Because it is a completely intangible product and service. The payoff - although predictable – can never be guaranteed… nor should it. There is no new car to drive off in, there is no new paint on the wall to admire, and (usually) there is no money back if you don’t like the purchase. And… the biggest challenge… there are a lot of companies out there taking advantage of the uncertainty of it all and your lack of knowledge.
Many people don’t understand the mechanics of how Internet marketing works. They know they want it, they want the big payoffs with those number one rankings… but they don’t have the first clue about what it takes to get there. And herein lays the opportunity for the unscrupulous companies to take advantage . Ours is a business that requires a very high degree of technical ability to perform, and technical competence to understand. If you’re like me (having started doing this about a year ago), my computer savvy ended at checking my Yahoo mail and creating spreadsheets for work. So how do you, as a potential client, figure out who to choose for your Internet marketing needs? You do what I did… you learn. You do your homework. You educate yourself.
Once you have done your homework, then what? How do you go about finding and choosing a reliable company? Again… do some more homework. The following list is a sampling of questions you can and should ask any agency you are considering.
- How long have you been in business?
- How many employees do you have working for the company?
- Do you have case studies? Client references? Examples of reporting?
- Who (or how many people) will be working on my campaign?
- Have you ever had a client banned from Google (or any search engine)?
- Have you yourself ever been banned from Google?
- Can you put down on paper and explain all of the services that will be involved in my campaign?
- What terms does your company rank for? (If they can’t do it for themselves… what confidence should you have that they can do it for you?)
These are just a few, but really… there is no limit to the questions you can or should ask. The more you ask, the more you’ll know. Of course every company will tell you they’re the best, so client references and examples of client rankings and reporting are definitely a couple biggies not to overlook.
That said, here are some tactics that you should be wary of should you run across them.
- Guarantees. The number one red-flag… especially when it comes to SEO and rankings. Any company that tells you they will guarantee a particular ranking is just flat out lying. If you don’t believe me… just ask Google. (http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35291&ctx=sibling )
- Did they call you or did you call them? Anyone who calls/faxes/emails you with an offer of rankings for $29.99 a month… uhhh, no. May as well donate that money to charity. At least you get the tax write-off.
- “Proprietary” programs. Anyone that convinces you (and I’m amazed that anyone would fall for it) that their tactics are proprietary and therefore can not be explained – red flag. This goes for website design as well. The whole “we use proprietary software so we can’t give you (or your marketing company) access to optimize it” line… rubbish! Reputable companies like ours all use similar tactics to varying degrees. There are no Holy Grails or industry secrets… however, some companies are clearly better at using the tactics than others.
- Bad-mouthing other companies. This is poor form no matter what your business is. Unfortunately we have experienced this before, first hand, where a competitor slanders our name as a tactic to win a deal. If I am you, the client, and I hear bad mouthing… I’m wondering, “Why aren’t they telling me what they can do instead of telling me what other companies are doing?” Companies should be able to win your business on their merits and not the fear-mongering instilled by unscrupulous individuals.
- “It sounds too good to be true.” Guess what – it is. Nine times out of ten, guarantees of rankings and promises of ridiculous amounts of traffic… all for the low, low price of $49.99 a month… uhh, which charity were you considering for that tax write-off?
- (Lack of) Transparency. There is one company I’m thinking of in particular (although there are many others that attempt this arrangement)… and abiding by my own rules, I won’t mention their name… that does not allow their clients access to their own Adwords account. “Give us $5000 a month and we’ll run your campaign including your spend.” Are you kidding me? You have no idea whether they are spending $1000 of that on your spend and pocketing the rest or where that money is going. Transparency. You should be able to see – at any time – what is going on with your campaign. Whether it is reporting on SEO, looking at analytics or viewing your Adwords campaign – it’s your money. You pay for that privilege.
So, arm yourself. Do your homework. Find a company that you feel good about working with. Trust your gut and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Steer clear of the scam artists and ‘smack’ talkers and listen to the people that are willing to take the time to explain their company, their processes and themselves.
This is an industry where you get what you pay for. The people I know that do the technical work are all extremely intelligent and capable and are paid accordingly. So, when companies are offering ridiculously low pricing, you’re either getting amateurs or they’re just not spending much time on your campaign… or both! One of my favorite quotes that I heard recently holds very true in our industry: If you think it’s expensive to hire professionals, wait until you’ve hired amateurs!
April 15, 2009
Advertising
3 Comments
There are a lot of new developments in the Twittersphere; so much in fact, that people are being sucked into any and all tools that will help to make them ”powerTwitters.” But what they are finding instead is that they are falling short of a successful Twitter account. The success of Twitter branding is not in gaining the most followers, following thousands of people, or in getting a following and then spamming them with outrageous and non genuine tweets.
There is no doubt that Twitter has become the center of the social media world. In becoming more mainstream, many have found that it can be a powerful tool in helping users to build and develop their own personal brand. Whether or not the account is set up for a business, a person, or a brand, there is a basic etiquette that should be followed to ensure an effective Twitter.
Here are some basics that will help you to develop and to maintain a healthy and successful Twitter account:
- Create a Bio. In order to be successful in conversation, you have to gain the trust of those who are following you. Having a bio on your profile (a simple 160 blurb about yourself or your brand) will increase the likelihood of gaining followers, and it makes you approachable as a person. Therefore, it helps your credibility to include a picture, to be direct, to state your position, and to provide a link back to your original site. DON’T: create so many blank accounts without a bio that you never touch. Not only will it hurt the brand you are trying to develop, but it will never get off the ground and typically results in the Fail Whale or the even more feared, Foul Owl:
- Followers. Once you have a profile, start following people. There are many tools that will help you to find people beneficial to you. As you find people to follow, look through their followers for other interesting people. Using search.twitter.com allows you to search tweets via keywords.
- Engage in discussion. As people follow you, start following back. Begin conversations and stay consistent. Make sure that you are not adding too many followers without following any tweeters back. As you gain followers, reach out to them to reassure them that you are a real person, not:
- Ratios. You should be adding followers at about an even pace as people start to follow you. In addition to that, you should be tweeting your own content at the same ratio that you are tweeting to others. It is important that you are not only preaching to your followers, but also talking to them.
- Retweet. Retweeting other people’s tweets is an effective way to create buzz, to gain followers, and (if it is originally your tweet) to gain more traffic back to the original content. In essence, a retweet is another way to linkshare. (Example: RT @evisibility check out our latest blog post…) The more people that retweet it, the more links you are sharing to more people; thus, helping the viral nature of the content.
In the end, to be successful on Twitter you have to participate. The more realistic you can make your profile and your discussions, the better your chances are of gaining not only more followers, but followers that will stand by your word and will help to bring you more business.
April 1, 2009
Social Media
3 Comments
