The jury is in. And the verdict is that performance marketing has to clean up its act. Every week now we see evidence of the FTC's newly aggressive approach utilizing a “master theory” about online marketing that they are applying across multiple verticals. EDU, health, beauty and financial services have been affected, but make no mistake: we are going to see it … [Read more...]
The Survival Guide For Networks, Part II: the Empire fights back!
The recent discussion of the importance of brand to CPA network survival generated a fair amount of feedback. For an industry rooted in performance, where everything is measurable, the idea that product functions and features aren’t all important is a hard one to accept. But it’s true. Let’s look at exactly why that is. We’ll use Adam Viener’s post … [Read more...]
Shock! Google Isn’t Infallible!
It has become crystal clear over the last week that Google rushed the introduction of Google Buzz, did little or no external user-testing, and as a result is scrambling to mitigate a massive PR failure. As we reported last week, early concerns about privacy were confirmed for many when a blogger writing under the name of Harriet Jacobs complained that her “actual … [Read more...]
Blurring the Lines
Recently, I posed my question to a diverse audience: "At your company, who is in charge of social media marketing? Raise your hand if it's the marketing group." A few hands went up. "The public relations team?" A few hands again. "Market research?" Once again, only a smattering of hands was raised. "So I guess most of you aren't using social media at all?" I suggested. "Must be … [Read more...]
Owning Up
Social media technologies can be a powerful tool, but it's important to know who within your organization should be taking the lead for your social media marketing strategy, which includes responsibility for everything from budgeting to staffing.It's commonplace for executives and managers to ask about social media leadership and inquiries stem from the growing desire … [Read more...]
Participation Is Not Passive
Elvis has left the building and he took the audience with him.The only people left are fellow participants. Social media has made everyone an author, creator, director, developer, editor, critic and media outlet. There are millions of voices, but they are all saying the same thing - listen to me.Participants do not consume passively. They do not sit silently ready to have their … [Read more...]
Incentivize Your Audience
Budgets are tightening, and advertisers need to boost ROI- fast. The social Web is gaining value not only as a medium that delivers measurable results, but also as a resource for gaining insight a company can use to make all of its advertising (TV, print, online) more effective, to increase ROI across the board.Social media is known for its wealth of useful information. Using … [Read more...]
Going for the Gold
If asked to identify the characteristics of an ideal product to market, most would likely put at the top of the list broad appeal, the ability to evoke strong emotion, a venerable brand - and something very, very, sexy.If this sounds a lot like the Olympic Games, then it's easy to understand why TV advertisers line up from Beijing to Burbank with large checks in hand to get a … [Read more...]
Overcoming Your SEO Fears
Ask nearly everyone and they'll say that search engine optimization is intimidating. Search engine optimization - SEO for short - should be a familiar term and practice for anyone or any commercial company with a website. SEO is what you do to your website to get a higher ranking on search engines,particularly Google,Yahoo and MSN.The higher you rank the more likely someone … [Read more...]
The Posh Payoff
Diamonds, private jets, multi-million-dollar mansions, haute couture, luxury vehicles and high-end handbags - customers looking for upscale goods and services could probably find all these items in posh places like Beverly Hills or they could just head to the Web.The online shopping environment for upscale merchandise has been robust in recent years.Websites such as … [Read more...]
Have You Heard the Word?
Tell a friend: Word of mouth rocks. It's how many people find a dentist, a plumber, a pediatrician and a realtor, even a shrink. You tend to trust your friends. So when one of your close pals swears by her hairstylist, raving about what a "shear" delight he is, you are apt to give him a shot rather than thumbing through the phone book and blindly calling random barbers. Then … [Read more...]
Look Ma, No Print: Q & A with Michelle Bottomley
Traditional Madison Avenue advertising agencies have taken their share of lumps lately. More companies are spending bigger bucks to advertise online than ever before. Overall spending on advertising is expected to reach $279 billion this year.That's a 5.4 percent jump over 2004. However, Internet advertising is forecast to grow 15 percent over last year and hit nearly $8 … [Read more...]
Off the Mark
Affiliates and Web publishers who sell goods from the most popular brand name merchants are losing traffic and revenue to Web sites that lure consumers by deceiving them with unauthorized use of trademarked products. This happens when a Web publisher embeds the most popular brand names into their site in order to attract consumers who are using a search engine to find specific … [Read more...]