Internet Marketing Week 3 - A Strategic vs. Tactical Approach - Class Discussion

Wow, what a great discussion topic. This is definitely one that shows up in my life often. So many times the two are interchanged. I find that people very much only look at marketing as a tactical check list of the ‘to do’ items. In the area of internet marketing, I often get the shopping list of ‘places we want to be found’. Although I agree implementation is the act of marketing (using as a verb here) the question is: Implementing what? A tactical to do list?

If I’ve learned anything from this class and the years I have in the marketing world it’s that now more than ever it’s about hearing the voice of the consumer. No longer do we do business in a world where organizations ‘push’ their message down into the crowd by pattern interrupting their daily activities. We’re in a world where one must stop to analyze the behavioral patterns of the consumer in order to even have the first clue as to how that consumer will ‘pull’ a marketing message down into their world. That is all about internet marketing (the noun) strategy.

Call me bias but I’m much more in favor of referring to internet marketing as a noun rather than a verb. It is indeed the marketer that spent time learning about the consumer’s online behavioral patterns that will garner the most traction during that implementation stage.

1. The way I prioritize the elements of a client’s marketing campaign is to first understand the client, figure out if they will indeed ‘fit’ the strategy or if they might find themselves in a bind later on because they were not a fit. Example: Designing an internet marketing strategy around a client that has been DiSC assessed with a low ‘s’ (steady). It would be criminal to encourage that client to create constant content for his company on a media channel like Blogger.com. It would also not serve that client if I made the suggestion that he personally get on the LinkedIn.com groups’ discussion boards a few times a week to build a following.

2. The next thing I do is to learn all about the target market and their ‘new’ behavioral patterns. Just because they did business with my client in the past does not mean they will follow or endorse his brand in a viral capacity. Example: Just because I bought a L’Oreal lipstick does not mean I’m going to go online to talk about it. However, incorporate the brand into an online VR game http://bit.ly/8ZOOsa where I get points for finding the L’Oreal cosmetic, I’m sure telling my team mates online about it. Strategy is very much the first step that leads to a tactical internet marketing game plan.

3. Once I have the first two elements, I then build a plan based on the strategy elements that surfaced. We factor in budget, expected ROI and turnaround timelines and we're off to implement the tactical list.

Internet Marketing Week 2.1 - MySpace vs. Facebook Class Discussion

Social Networks: MySpace vs. Facebook

In regards to marketing, this seems to be a common question: Who does a better job at reaching out to my target community and why? I tend to lean towards spelling out their differences by looking at two key areas. First we identify how far do they want the message to reach beyond their immediate sphere or existing client databases. I then try to profile my marketing the client’s internal staff’s strengths/weaknesses before suggesting either of these two contenders. Staff profiling is a very important part of the decision because we all know that the social media marketing is a living and breathing thing. It needs to be fed for it to offer any return. Having the right kind of content writer and contributors is a critical component. Once we’ve identified these two areas my client can make an informed decision about how aggressively he/she would like to use either of these two social sites. Sample evaluations on each:

Facebook.com tends to very much cater to a 1^st generation level of contacts in my opinion. That means that the jump between you and the person you’re trying to connect with is generally only once. Granted, one can always go in and request friends of friends etc. But the search is narrow and the permissions are pretty limited. The way I ‘d advise a client in this arena is: If you have a strong database of 1^st gen contacts, let’s load them up and see how many you can invite into your network. Growing a sphere by reaching a 2^nd generation or 3^rd generation level of people will be more time consuming and customizable things such as logos, branding, etc. is also very limited. I tend to look at Facebook as more of a tool to connect with one’s immediate sphere. I also tend to recommend Facebook if my client’s staff is limited or not strong content developers. Much of the activity in Facebook is short and to the point, so not a whole lot of depth unless they post videos and notes.

MySpace.com This is a social media site that I tend to recommend when a client is looking to market to specific segments of the demographic that he/she may not know. The search for people is much more diverse. MySpace offers much more flexibility in the areas of customizing one’s page, has much more to offer in the form of blogging as well. In my opinion, this social media site is much more of a place where clients can express themselves to their immediate sphere, while building a network of like minded contacts that may be 2^nd, 3^rd, etc. generation contacts. I also tend to lean towards MySpace if my client’s support staff is savvy when it comes to posting press releases via the blogs, knowing how to manage bulletin board postings, and various media files, etc.

Internet Marketing Week 2 - Media diversity has changed

As a 13 year practitioner/owner of my own marketing and advertising firm, this is indeed a loaded question that I try to answer with a ton of caveats and exceptions. Here's what I mean:

We all know that the communications world as we once knew it has indeed changed. Some would agree it's for the better, others not so much. I have always tried to maintain a neutral posture as my clients all have different objectives and needs that are met via various media vehicles. Today, I'm a bit more bias and tend to favor the web before entertaining former options, hence why I'm working towards a degree in it.

An outstanding example is what's happening with the Boomer demographic. Only three years ago Boomers, area I specialize in and the dominating segment of the US population, were not a demographic we'd advise reaching via the web. Many efforts were centered around television and radio. The only questions we'd have to ask are what stations? and how often? Granted there's lots of options in those two areas but most options were weeded out quickly simply by the product or service we trying to promote (ie. financial service ads on the golf channel). Plug in a budget and a creative niche, mission accomplished, we had a campaign.

Today, the formula is totally different. Boomers are very much online and aggressively growing in numbers everyday. Perhaps it's due to recent jump in unemployment numbers affecting that segment of the population. Whatever the reason, bottom line is that their numbers are significant enough for us to now pay attention to their trends online. A recent study shares that they make up 36% of the total adult online activity: http://bit.ly/8Rcbdc What does this mean for the TV and radio venues we used to fund with advertising dollars? Not a whole lot since their sales are slowly diminishing (you should see the deals you can get nowadays). I mean think about it, the last segment of the population that TV and radio was catering to is now paying attention to what's happening online, that's a pretty significant industry impact. Rule of supply and demand tells us that its only a matter of time before we care as much about using those venues, as we do about sending out a message via a beeper. Hence why I used the Boomer example, they were the last segment of the population the internet had to capture and it now has done exactly that.

Back the question at hand. Yes I believe there is diversity in the media is here to stay, but not in the form of more channels on TV to choose from nor more broadcast radio providers. I in fact believe those two contenders will soon be holding on for dear life. I mean with Hulu.com (TV) and Pandora.com (radio) who even needs TV or radio stations anymore? I believe that the diversity of media will soon take shape by the social networks out there because power is now in the hands of the people. Right?

Think about it. If power was once in the hands of the providers (stations and broadcast centers), but now has entirely shifted to the consumer, what choice do I have as a marketing/advertising exec. but to learn how to now meet those people on their paths most traveled? My prediction? I believe that over the next 5-10 years, we're not only going to see dramatic diversity taking shape on the web in the forms of virtual stations you design and watch on your flatscreen, we're also going to experience the UNI factor where the lines between TV, radio and web are all going to be very blurry. Why do you think everyone is going digital? Broadcasters are not stupid. Diversity will then take shape based on relevant content, interactivity and entertainment value that is decided upon by the consumer. Behavioral Science? You betcha.

Internet Marketing Week 1 - Negative Buzz

Things kicked off as the advisor said they would. Our first round of discussion was based on the results of negative buzz factor. How it affects business today to have so much of their brand exposed and managed by the consumer. The case studies were pretty amazing. Various posted about the Domino's Pizza employees goofing around on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhBmWxQpedI

Apparently this cost Domino's a ton on money, but the real question is what does it do for product buzz factor? Were there millions of people talking about Domino's Pizza overnight? Can executives turn this buzz factor around? My opinion: of course they can. I'm a strong believer that working with bad PR is easier than working with no PR. They key? Entertainment value. I've said it once, I'll say it again. If we as marketers can default to the entertainment value in a message, we're light years ahead of the competition. If Domino executives decided to spoof the act or better yet, get a skit going on SNL, people will not only be laughing about it...it would almost become a fear factor to order a pizza from there. Gen X darlings would have a field day with it.

Another great example was the 1.8M people that tuned into the Hewlett Packard is Racist YouTube video. It's relating to the new face tracking web cam on laptop models. Unfortunately, the web cam doesn't recognize faces with darker contrast. The clip is jovial and entertaining but sends a screaming message of "opps, we forgot our friendly ethnic consumer that spends a surplus of 1.9 billion on computers alone." This clip hit YouTube during the hub of the Christmas buying season and is thought to have caused a significant decline in sales.

Now, how does a company with that much market share get out of this mess? Well, after issued apologies on Twitter they may have given some acknowledgment to the socially frayed problem, but there's a greater objective and untapped opportunity. Now more than ever I believe the African American audience feels empowered and acknowledged for their skills, talent and capabilities. It is indeed refreshing to see ad execs making huge strides in casting more ethnic families to deliver their message. How about taking it to the next level and turning the apology over to some of our beloved comedians like Chris Rock or Wanda Sykes? The cost to hire this high level talent is sure to be less than the millions HP could incur...so why not? I can not even imagine the huge fun they could have with this and what better for HP than to laugh at themselves for such an oversight? Anywhoo, here's the clip, enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4DT3tQqgRM