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Facebook’s ‘Life Events’ are the main event for digital marketers

October 4, 2011 by 6 Comments

The life-events engine behind Facebook’s new timeline may be the most powerful digital marketing tool ever created.  It allows Facebook users to record the milestones of their life. And, it allows digital marketers to deliver the most effective and  relevant just-in-time messages.

One of the biggest challenges for all marketers is getting the right message… to the right people… at the right time.  Digital marketers have typically had the advantage meeting this challenge by leveraging pay-per-click advertising (PPC) and display ads triggered by keywords appearing in on line content.  While these tactics allow better targeting than traditional media, they’re still limited by the universe of individuals searching with the right keywords and finding the right destinations.

Facebook’s new timeline overcomes these limitations by enabling and encouraging Facebook users to share their life events with others.  Facebook’s new timeline allows users to share information when they move, buy a home, add a vehicle, have a child, change their job and so on. The possibilities are endless.

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Filed Under: Facebook, google, Strategy, Web Tagged With: , , , ,

Search Engine Optimization isn’t dead. It’s UNDEAD.

March 1, 2011 by 5 Comments

Unless you’re a business owner or marketer, you may not be aware of the lurking hoard of flesh eaters approaching you from all sides: by telephone, by email and by social networks. They call themselves ‘SEO experts’ but if you open a door for them, they take a pound of flesh and leaving you in the cold.

The practice of improving the visibility of a website is noble. But, increasing the visibility of a site isn’t search engine centric any more.

<RANT>Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a pipe dream.  It’s an empty promise. It’s a parlor trick.  And those who peddle it are selling a pile of rancid, outdated techno-marketing babble.</RANT>

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Filed Under: Misc T Tagged With: , ,

The fun of ‘un’: A pick-me-up book for social media marketers

November 29, 2010 by 3 Comments

The most POPULAR marketing books find clever ways to point out the problems of traditional marketing. The most HELPFUL marketing books, explore ways to solve these problems.

Unmarketing, by Scott Stratten, is a popular book.  It’s an enjoyable and inspiring read on the failure of traditional marketing strategies, tactics, and mindsets. In the tome, Stratten advocates for the universal truths we too-often overlook in business: treating customers as human beings, improving customer service, telling the truth and interacting with prospects instead of selling to them.

“You need to know where you stand in the eyes of your customer,” Stratten said. “You need to know if your customers are happy, and if they aren’t you need to know why and how you can change it…Are they happy, are they estatic, or are they just there holding on until something better comes along?” Stratten said social media is an effective tool for creating and restoring meaningful social relationships with customers and prospects. However, he cautions against the halfhearted approach that most companies take.

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Filed Under: advertising, Books, Facebook, LinkedIn, Misc T, Twitter, word of mouth Tagged With: , , , , ,

World Wide Rave: How PR Professionals Join the Social Media Party

November 10, 2010 by 3 Comments

PR pros are naturals at conversation and relationship building.  So, it’s no surprise that Dave Meerman Scott adapted many of his rules of PR to social channels.

World Wide Rave, one of Scott’s latest books,  shares his ideas for adapting communication strategies to come alive on social networks.  The tactics shared by Scott are straight forward and easy to apply. The challenge, he contends, is the state of mind that traditional marketers need to cultivate.

“Many of the easy techniques for triggering a World Wide Rave are the exact opposite of what you’ve learned on the job or in school,” Scott said. Stop selling and share good content. Lighten up. Start conversations. Give up control. Go the distance. These characteristics are ingrained in PR-based communications.

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Filed Under: advertising, Books, Misc T, sales, Strategy Tagged With: , , , ,

Punk Marketing: It’s retro, social and (GASP!) mainstream

October 4, 2010 by 3 Comments

In 2007, shortly after the Sex Pistols were involuntarily inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Punk Marketing was born. And, it only asks one thing of us: “Get off your ass and join the revolution.”‘

If you had done so then, you’d be ahead of the curve now — because Punk marketing (like Punk music) has gone mainstream.

Punk Marketing, by Richard Laermer and Mark Simmons may be in paperback, but it remains a timely resource for social media marketers.  Marketing via manifesto is inherently social: “It’s about knowing that what you do passes the bullshit test and is meaningful, honest and interesting. If it isn’t do something else instead,” said the punks. “Realize that people don’t care about your business, and certainly not your marketing, unless you give them a good reason.”

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Filed Under: Books, Web, word of mouth Tagged With: , , , ,
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