Autospeak-Straight Talk contains articles covering digital and social media marketing social communities and events marketing
The importance of an integrated marketing plan is important to provide consistency across all your marketing channels.Your ad design and message should function in harmony so when the customer hears and ad on the radio or sees and ad in a newspaper or magazine and takes that next step to visit your website site they can recognize from what they saw or heard that they are in the right place from the uniformity across your marketing channels.
First Impressions
We all know that first impressions can often be the deciding factor and good website design as the first impression is critical and is going to determine if someone is going to engage with your site or not.
And never before has your company’s website’s first impression been more important. If people land on your site and it looks old, outdated or they just plain don’t like it – they leave – and most often will not return.
Now, thanks to search engines algorithms bad web design and poor navigation will get you poor search rankings. Search engines watch people’s habits in an effort to produce better search rankings.
So with that thought in mind search engines reward sites that have good navigation and design with higher organic search rankings because they stay longer and navigate deeper. Compare that to a poorly designed web site that people simply land on the site and leave because of its look – Sites are then penalized and placed far down on the organic search list.
 This makes Good website design the foundation on which all your marketing efforts will be based and will determine the flow of guiding someone through the process of making a purchase or having the opportunity to follow up with them to nurture them up to the point at which they are ready to make a purchase.
Behind The Scene
Once you tackle the task of having a well designed website with great content and properly placed calls to action you must then be sure that you have a functional, easy to use and fully integrated marketing platform working behind the scene from which to control everything and launch your marketing initiatives.
Good website design will open the door to potential customers but the marketing platform technology is the engine that is going to give you the tools necessary to obtain information, communicate, analyze and drive all your online marketing.
Good website design and the platform technology behind are the foundation on which you are going to build your online presence and will determine how effective you can be.
Your website and the technology that powers it is where it all starts. These are the building blocks that are going to mean the difference in how effectively your marketing initiatives reach your audience.
Today Digital Marketing has the biggest impact of all your marketing initiatives. You need to have the latest technology from a company that is constantly creating better ways to keep your digital marketing effective.
You might think that what you already have in place is good enough but is good enough- good enough? There have been a lot of changes and your current technology, if outdated, could now be working against you. You cannot afford to be complacent in today’s Digital Marketplace.
You might have created the next great marketing campaign that is going have everyone hitting those retweets and like buttons and sharing it with all their friends. But if you don’t have the latest updated technology powering it- that great marketing campaign may not fulfill your expectations.
Great innovative technology is what is going to power your everyday “bread and butter† social media, earned media and paid marketing campaigns that will get you noticed - get your message out and keep it there.
William Cosgrove
Bill Cosgrove Straight Talk
Being nimble on your feet and being able to move fast has its advantages when competing in the marketplace.This has always been the case and reasons that one business may succeed where others do not.
By finding a niche to focus your efforts on to gain exposure you can get the attention you need to show the advantage of working with your company over another.
By highlighting an advantage of your service or product to gain that attention you open up the door to form the relationships that will make it easier to communicate all that you have to offer.
Today, online marketing provides the forum in which to get your message out to more potential clients or customers than ever before. Cutting through all the noise may seem like an impossible task but persistence and creativity can make the difference in getting noticed and making those crucial contacts necessary to move forward and be successful.
However, online marketing as important as it is in today’s business plans should just be one of the tools in your quiver to get exposure and produce leads. You must also incorporate traditional approaches like getting out and talking to people and using the telephone and get up close and personal.
There is still no substitute for physical contact to get your point across to convince potential clients of the value you can offer them. If getting out and meeting people to discuss the benefits you can bring them is not one of your strong points, find someone who has the personality and experience who has these qualities.
No one person possess all the qualities needed to run a business and make it successful and those who realize and accept this will move forward at a much faster pace and be more successful.
If you are to succeed you must use every option available to you and implement them in your business plan and figure out ways to make them work for you, be willing to experiment make mistakes learn from them and you will be on your way.
In his classic book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Peter F. Drucker describes innovation as a delicate dance between perception and analysis. Analysis, with all its discipline, must be based on a perception of change: “This requires a willingness to say, I don’t actually know enough to analyze, but I shall find out. I’ll go out, look around, ask questions, and listen.’â€
In an age of unanswerable questions, asking the right question might just be the answer.
Here is another thought to keep in mind that is good advice from a very charismatic women who you all have probably heard of Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt our 32 President,  said “ Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself. “
William CosgroveÂ
According to Nielson, The Hispanic consumer represents the greatest potential for sustained growth in the U.S. today. At the current rate of expansion, Hispanics will drive population growth and, in turn, consumption in America for the next generation. Reaching Hispanics effectively should be at the top of every marketer’s to-do list. Hispanics actively embrace new technologies and platforms, while keeping close ties to their roots, especially language. And while Hispanics do consume English-language media, Spanish-language media holds the key to connecting with the greatest number of Hispanic consumers most effectively.
Nielsen breaks down the prevailing myths surrounding Hispanic interaction with today’s media.
MYTH #1:
There is a belief that once Hispanics learn to speak English well and become bilingual, they become “acculturated†and use English as their primary language. However, acculturation is a process rather than an absolute classification whereby Hispanics adopt American customs while still guarding their culture, heritage and traditions. While 77 percent of U.S. Hispanics speak English well, according to current American Community Survey estimates, 61 percent of Hispanics aged 18+ tell Nielsen they prefer to speak Spanish in their homes versus only 17 percent who say they speak only English. Spanish language remains a core component of the Hispanic home long after English proficiency is gained
Monique Manso, publisher of People en Espanol, cautioned that publishers entering this space -- whether in English or Spanish -- need to speak to Hispanic consumers in a contextually relevant way. "There is the danger of not speaking to them correctly," she said.
MYTH #2:
 I can reach Hispanics through my general market campaigns; SPANISH-LANGUAGE ADVERTISING IS AN EXPENDABLE PART OF MY BUDGET. Besides providing access to a unique audience, Spanish-language advertising is generally more effective than English-language advertising for Hispanics. Nielsen’s advertising effectiveness studies show that advertisers who translate English ads into Spanish receive an increase in general recall among Hispanics when compared to general market English-language commercials. However, original Spanish ads (ads that do not have an English counterpart or that are based on existing ads by modifying the narrative and soundtrack) see a 15 percent general recall lift from English-dominant Hispanics and a 69 percent general recall increase from Spanish-dominant Hispanics. Two reasons for this effect are that Spanish ads create a deeper personal connection to Hispanic consumers and Hispanics are less likely to time shift Spanish-language programming.
Michael Sebastian AdAge Media News "Publishing companies realized they had to do a specific product for these consumers," he said. "It was not just about adding a couple of pages in their main book to reach these consumers."Â
MYTH #3:
HISPANICS are late adopters of technology, so using online and mobile campaigns is unnecessary. New studies are finding that Hispanics are equally, if not more involved in emerging technologies than the general market. A recent look at Nielsen’s national people meter panel reveals that Hispanics are just as likely as non-Hispanics to own an HDTV (69% vs.66%). And Nielsen’s 2010 Q4 mobile insights survey of more than 50,000 people and more than 8,000 Hispanics reveals that Hispanics are not only more likely to own a smartphone, but also they are part of the most valuable mobile consumer segments, carrying an average monthly bill that is 14 percent higher than the market average. Hispanics also lead all ethnic groups with an average of 40 percent more calls made per day and are the most likely ethnic group to use text messaging, mobile Internet and e-mail. They are also more likely to download pictures or music on mobile devices.
The Hispanic consumer represents the greatest potential for sustained growth in the U.S. today. At the current rate of expansion, Hispanics will drive population growth and, in turn, consumption in America for the next generation. Reaching Hispanics effectively should be at the top of every marketer’s to-do list. Hispanics actively embrace new technologies and platforms, while keeping close ties to their roots, especially language. And while Hispanics do consume English-language media, Spanish-language media holds the key to connecting with the greatest number of Hispanic consumers most effectively.
Nielsen breaks down the prevailing myths surrounding Hispanic interaction with today’s media.
MYTH #1:
There is a belief that once Hispanics learn to speak English well and become bilingual, they become “acculturated†and use English as their primary language. However, acculturation is a process rather than an absolute classification whereby Hispanics adopt American customs while still guarding their culture, heritage and traditions. While 77 percent of U.S. Hispanics speak English well, according to current American Community Survey estimates, 61 percent of Hispanics aged 18+ tell Nielsen they prefer to speak Spanish in their homes versus only 17 percent who say they speak only English. Spanish language remains a core component of the Hispanic home long after English proficiency is gained
Monique Manso, publisher of People en Espanol, cautioned that publishers entering this space -- whether in English or Spanish -- need to speak to Hispanic consumers in a contextually relevant way. "There is the danger of not speaking to them correctly," she said.
MYTH #2:
 I can reach Hispanics through my general market campaigns; SPANISH-LANGUAGE ADVERTISING IS AN EXPENDABLE PART OF MY BUDGET. Besides providing access to a unique audience, Spanish-language advertising is generally more effective than English-language advertising for Hispanics. Nielsen’s advertising effectiveness studies show that advertisers who translate English ads into Spanish receive an increase in general recall among Hispanics when compared to general market English-language commercials. However, original Spanish ads (ads that do not have an English counterpart or that are based on existing ads by modifying the narrative and soundtrack) see a 15 percent general recall lift from English-dominant Hispanics and a 69 percent general recall increase from Spanish-dominant Hispanics. Two reasons for this effect are that Spanish ads create a deeper personal connection to Hispanic consumers and Hispanics are less likely to time shift Spanish-language programming.
Michael Sebastian AdAge Media News "Publishing companies realized they had to do a specific product for these consumers," he said. "It was not just about adding a couple of pages in their main book to reach these consumers."Â
MYTH #3:
HISPANICS are late adopters of technology, so using online and mobile campaigns is unnecessary. New studies are finding that Hispanics are equally, if not more involved in emerging technologies than the general market. A recent look at Nielsen’s national people meter panel reveals that Hispanics are just as likely as non-Hispanics to own an HDTV (69% vs.66%). And Nielsen’s 2010 Q4 mobile insights survey of more than 50,000 people and more than 8,000 Hispanics reveals that Hispanics are not only more likely to own a smartphone, but also they are part of the most valuable mobile consumer segments, carrying an average monthly bill that is 14 percent higher than the market average. Hispanics also lead all ethnic groups with an average of 40 percent more calls made per day and are the most likely ethnic group to use text messaging, mobile Internet and e-mail. They are also more likely to download pictures or music on mobile devices.
The Hispanic consumer represents the greatest potential for sustained growth in the U.S. today. At the current rate of expansion, Hispanics will drive population growth and, in turn, consumption in America for the next generation. Reaching Hispanics effectively should be at the top of every marketer’s to-do list. Hispanics actively embrace new technologies and platforms, while keeping close ties to their roots, especially language. And while Hispanics do consume English-language media, Spanish-language media holds the key to connecting with the greatest number of Hispanic consumers most effectively.
The Hispanic segment of the US Population Represent the 13th largest economy in the world and are the youngest, fastest growing segment of the US population representing 60 % of overall population growth here in the US.
The tremendous Buying power of Hispanics is growing exponentially including a current per capita income of ($39,730) that is closing in on the national average ($57,009.00) makes it important to finds ways to effectively penetrate this market now and into the future.
Hispanic households defined as having an income of $75,000 or more have more than doubled accounting for 75% of all Hispanic Consumers. Their buying power will be worth over 680 billion dollars by 2015.
More than 8 in 10 (82%) Latino Adults say they speak Spanish and nearly all (95%) say it is important for future generations to do so.
54% of Spanish- dominant Hispanics are “Much more loyal to companies that show appreciation of our culture by advertising in Spanish.
Hispanics are the largest users of internet and mobile data services of any segment of the population in the US.
Hispanics are:
The most community minded segment of the US population
The most socially active segment of the US population
The most connected segment of the US Population
Monique Manso, publisher of People en Espanol, cautioned that publishers entering this space -- whether in English or Spanish -- need to speak to Hispanic consumers in a contextually relevant way. "There is the danger of not speaking to them correctly," she said.
William Cosgrove
Additional Must read material:
A Market not to be Ingnored
Statistics:
(United States Census Bureau & Income Pew Research Center 2012.)
Humphries J, The multicultural economy 2012
Selig Center for economic growth 2012
Nielson Pop-Facts 2011-2016
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Listen and learn is what we all must do in today’s customer centric marketplace both through both social media channels and direct communication. But if we think about it listening, the central part of communication, is an art form that for many is not something that is done well or worse- not at all.Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. The most successful people all have one trait in common-They are good listeners.
Listening affects how we interact with and understand our colleagues, employees, customers; friends and family- virtually every aspect of our lives. So it is a subject worth exploring and studying and being conscious of.
"Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated." (skillsyouneed.com)
Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal and professional lives:
"A greater number of friends and social networks, improved self-esteem and confidence, higher grades at school and in academic work and even better health and general well-being. Studies have shown that, whereas speaking raises blood pressure, listening brings it down."Â (skillsyouneed.com)
Today there are programs that listen to what people are talking about, thinking about and it informs us of what people are saying about us and what is important to them to give us ideas about how to micro market to these consumers to win their business.
But we must also program ourselves to truly listen to our customers whether it be knowing how to better nurture a lead online as well as customers and clients offline in our everyday professional lives.
The following video featuring Julian Treasure highlights 5 steps on how to listen better to understand our world around us to enrich us personally as well as professionally.
LISTEN & LEARN-Make a difference in your life and it will make a difference in others
William Cosgrove
The first part of this discussion covers online product reviews and the second part touches on a subject that we don’t hear much about but is an important topic that by its very nature is controversial but never the less must be discussed  and certainly one that I and probably many of you have strong feelings about.In the past if you criticized a person or business while talking with friends and colleagues, it went “no further than who was within ear shot of you.
Now, if you post a comment or do a bad review your comments are available across the online digital spectrum for millions of people to read.
The first part of this discussion concerns lawsuits regarding online reviews and comments which have become more and more common. Many of these lawsuits are often referred to as Slapp Lawsuits (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation)
Slapp lawsuits refer to meritless defamation suits filed by businesses or government officials against citizens who speak out against them. The plaintiffs are not necessarily expecting to succeed and most do not but rather are intended to intimidate critics who are inclined to back down when faced with the prospect of a long, expensive court battle.
Jeremy Gin, CEO of SiteJabber a review site for online businesses stated that these types of lawsuits are dangerous because they interfere with free speech and lessen the value that online reviews provide to consumers when they are searching for service providers or businesses. His fear is that such lawsuits would lead to fewer authentic customer reviews thereby providing less value to consumers.Â
If you plan to post reviews online, Gin offers three tips to make sure your reviews don't result in a lawsuit -- or, at least, a lawsuit that you'll lose.
1.      Tell the truth. "If you tell the truth and you're honest with your experience, you should not be held liable" said Gin.
2.      Write to help other consumers. Gin suggests that you write your review to help other customers avoid the same fate rather than posting an angry diatribe against the company.
3.      Cool off before you start typing. Finally, just like you should have a cooling off period before sending an angry email at work, walk around for 15 minutes and cool off before posting your review to make sure you don't let your anger cloud the facts surrounding your problem.
He goes on to say that if you're a business there are better ways to handle negative online complaints. Obviously, responding to the criticism online won't remove it, but for businesses that do care about their customers responses the response may be perceived as genuine and legitimate. And filing for a lawsuit to silence a critical review? Well, that can most definitely backfire. In fact, it generally results in more negative exposure.
The second part of this discussion is that aside from online product reviews there is the subject of just voicing ideas and opinions by posting comments and blogs. The big question here is if no law has been broken does anyone have the right to decide if your comment or blog is published just based on what they personally think is appropriate or not appropriate or should it be left up to the readers themselves to decide by just ignoring or leaving their personal comments to let their position be known. This question brings up what could be a very slippery slope with overtones of censorship a word that I am at total odds with.
 In your opinion, at what point has the line been crossed concerning 1. online reviews and 2. just voicing views and opinions and what should be done to resolve these situations?
William Cosgrove
Bill Cosgrove Straight Talk
"Would you do a little research to save tens of thousands of dollars on your marketing budget? Then take the time today to read this and research these relevant articles below and other relevant articles and you will discover the tremendous benefits and cost saving that an Onsite Social Community can provide."Social communities provide customers a central place in which to directly communicate with a business and gain valuable information about all of the businesses services and offerings. Social communities also provide an ongoing opportunity for the business to gain knowledge about the customer as an individual by listening to and addressing their constantly changing individual wants and needs.
Social Communities also provide an open forum in which customers can ask questions relevant to them and share their feelings with others on why they like doing business with your company. What better way to get to know a customer than genuinely listening to their wants and needs and providing the solutions and answers that concern “them†from one central place-your website.
As well as enjoying the rewards of being a customer of a business through special member discounts and drawings they get to know you as a business and you get to know them as a customer.
The process of buying a product is fleeting in terms of the length of time it takes. After the sale your relationship can last for years when it comes to servicing, communicating and establishing a positive relationship with that customer.
Don’t get drawn in by all the bell and whistle costly offerings that will never match the effectiveness and economy that having an onsite social community will provide.
The cost effectiveness of having that customer on your site as a community member is immeasurable when comparing it to the cost of campaigns to reach them. (See Know These Must Have Social Media Marketing Tools) Â Your communication also becomes welcomed and not intrusive to them.
Also, by having one central landing page for community members to provide helpful information from service to sales and relevant topics with the ability to ask questions that they have that concern them will turn your customers into brand ambassadors to provide invaluable marketing opportunities for you to increase you customer base.
Online social communities can also be combined with online events marketing to provide powerful and effective marketing campaigns that will stand out and which cannot be accomplished otherwise.
Analytics have provided more and more insight into online users behaviors and have started to provide more insight into target marketing to the individual.Â
The rapid advancement in technology as a whole promises to bring new and better ways to measure and market online much more efficiently. I for one am excited that as we move forward businesses will start embracing the advantages that current technology already offers.
Two of these advantages are that more businesses see the advantage of onsite communities to integrate current customers and employees into the company culture to better leverage these existing resources and integrating on and offline marketing into one cohesive marketing plan.
Would you do a little research to save tens of thousands of dollars on your marketing budget? Then take the time today to research these relevant articles below and other relevant articles and you will discover the tremendous benefits and cost saving that an Onsite Social Community can provide.
William Cosgrove   Â
Relevant Articles:
Activating your employees in social
What is “Social Influence Marketing†to You?
Are you Ignoring Your Best Brand Advocates?
Social Communities Can Redefine the Customer Experience
What is Social Casting?
The following article by Lisa Barone exemplifies Forrest Gump's famous saying “Simple is as simple doesâ€and in this sense is how you must construct your web pages to make them easy to navigate and your calls to action and vital information visible. Inundating people with all kinds of bells and whistles only distracts and confuses them.
Utility is the name of the game if you want to keep moving your customer through the funnel. Â Keep a constant eye on how your pages are working to make adjustments and remember this is all a constant work in progress
William Cosgrove
Utility is the name of the game if you want to keep moving your customer through the funnel. Â Keep a constant eye on how your pages are working to make adjustments and remember this is all a constant work in progress
William Cosgrove
6 Usability Mistakes That Kill Conversions
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It's happened to you before.
You arrived on a website confident in your mission. You needed to buy a vacuum cleaner! But once you got to Target.com or Amazon.com or wherever you planned to make your purchase, you become enraged.
- What category are vacuums in? Home? Electronics? Tools?
- How do you get through the site?
- Where do you click to see reviews?
- Are there color options?
- Is that a link in the corner?
- What if you want to search by price?
- Or by brand?
Bad usability kills otherwise pleasant website experiences and makes customers angry. Angry customers don't buy things.
User experience design is about creating the right path for your users and removing unnecessary roadblocks. Below are six common usability roadblocks killing your customers' experience and your bottom line.
1. You Aren't Keeping it Simple
The secret to creating a great user experience is to keep it simple. Don't put the navigation on the right side, if your audience expects it to be on the left. Don't make links green, when they should be blue. Don't design fairies to cascade down the page as a user reads it.
As a marketer or a business owner, there are plenty of avenues where you can be clever. The architecture and the design of your website really shouldn't be one of them.
Create a simple site by designing a logical page structure that is based on headers, lists, and paragraphs. Use a simple navigational structure.
Don't create Flash-based navigation, have crazy dropdowns, or insert elements that serve no function to the user. Have consistency of design and messaging throughout the site to help visitors understand where they are.
A great user experience is one where the visitor didn't notice there was supposed to be a struggle. It just worked.
2. You Tried to be Pretty, Not Useful
Your website has a single goal: to allow users to quickly and effectively accomplish their mission. If your website does this, it is successful. If it doesn't, it has failed.
It doesn't matter if your site has lots of well-written content, if the videos are engaging, or if you have more resources than your audience could possible read through; if it doesn't solve their problem, it's all for nothing.
Build a site that is useful by understanding your audience and their needs. You may choose to do that through:
- Keyword research
- Analyzing user queries
- Talking to your customer support team
- Tracking movements and behavior patterns
- Organizing focus groups
- Creating user personae
Or maybe you'll do a combination of those things. That's great. Identify your visitor's ultimate goal and then create a site that's sole purpose is to help them achieve that.
3. You Forgot Words (or Spelled Them Wrong)
I know all the experts have told you no one reads on the Internet and that your customers don't care about your content. But those people are wrong.
High-quality content helps to separate a good user experience from a poor one. Great content solves the pain points of your audience, it defines the benefits (not the features) of your product or service, it sparks emotion, and it excites a user to take an action.
High-quality content doesn't contain jargon or misspellings, come from sketchy sources, or make people question whether you're serious about your website.
4. You Give Too Many Options
There is no pain quite like arriving at your local diner when you're already starving. You're handed that menu and suddenly you can order nearly anything. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Soup. Salads. It's all on the table, leaving you feeling completely unable to make a decision.
Too many choices is a problem that paralyzes. Instead of finding what we need, we start wondering if this is the best we can do.
We second guess. We overanalyze. We become anxious and frustrated.
Avoid this by guiding your customers into the correct course of action by limiting the choices offered. Your homepage doesn't have to feature every product in your arsenal, maybe just your three best sellers. If a customer likes those, he or she can look further.
Less is more. Cater to what you're good at and remove distractions.
5. You Didn't Make the Action Obvious
If you want visitors to do something, make it obvious what you want them to do.
- If you want them to click on a link, tell them in the copy and make the link blue.
- If you want them to download a report, title the button "Download" and use bright colors to get their attention.
- If you want them to share a piece of content, ask and make it easy for them to do so.
Make sure you visitors know the purpose of the site and what it is you want them to do, regardless of where they land.
6. There's No Communication
Always give visitors a way to communicate with you and your team. Allow them to report bugs, to share their experience, and to tell you where they got lost.
Be proactive by reminding them to tell you these things and let them know how you want them to communicate. Do you want them to have the conversation on Twitter or via a contact form? Encourage users to support your site by supporting them.
Summary
You'll notice none of the recommendations above are particularly hard to implement. That's because good usability is based on best practices and creating an experience that intuitive and makes sense for a user.
How well is your site doing at covering the basics?
Why You've already missed the hottest marketing opportunity
Tags:
(Posted on Feb 6, 2014 at 11:59AM )
One must always be looking to innovate and try new things. The old saying that the early bird gets the worm holds true in most cases. Always be experimenting and measuring your marketing initiatives and remember some of the most lasting initiatives are right in front of you, you read about them and do nothing.Don’t miss out on opportunities because you want to play it safe and take a wait and see attitude. I am sure this is not what got you started or made you successful.  Some of the most cost effective and lasting initiatives are here now-take action!
Make the commitment this year to experiment and really look for and listen to fresh new ideas and just maybe you will find more success because success will most often not look for you.
William Cosgrove
Related articles:
Know These Must Have Social Media Marketing Tools
Introducing “AutoPhotoâ€
Article:
                Why you've already missed the hottest marketing opportunity
By Eric Wittlake, {grow} Contributing Columnist
Want to take advantage of today’s hot new marketing opportunity? Sorry, you’ve already missed the boat.
The best opportunity goes to the marketers who identify it well before it’s hot, not the ones who join at the frothy peak. You won’t see those initial eye-popping results today.
This trend has played out time and time again.
The first online banner ad, for AT&T, 44% click rate. Today’s average click rate for an ad the same size (468×60) rounds off to a nice even 0.0%! The only 44% you are likely to find in today’s banner discussion is the percentage of people with an ad blocker installed.
In 1978, Gary Thuerk sent the first unsolicited email to a whopping 400 people. The result? He successfully drove attendance to two in-person events and ultimately closed more than $10 million in sales. Today’s unsolicited marketing email to 400 people wouldn’t be expected to get a single webinar attendee!
Over the last 16 months, organic reach of brand posts on Facebook dropped from 26% to just 7.8%. That’s 70% shaved from the results of your Facebook efforts just for getting started 16 months later!
The story is the always the same. Twitter. Online video. Google AdWords. Blogging. Infographics. Native Ads. The marketers who get in early are the ones with the headline-making results.
Find Your OpportunitiesWhat can we learn from these and other early adopters who captured outsized returns?
- Innovate. AT&T took advantage of a brand new type of opportunity on HotWired. More recently, SAP was the first marketer to join the Forbes BrandVoice program and they are continuing to see some of the best results today.
- Know the trend setters and early adopters in your market. Just like Gary’s first email blast, Pinterest delivered astounding results for early adopters. Often the best opportunities are right in front of you—you just need to see them through a marketing lens.
- Be different. Did you already miss the best opportunity? Whatever you do, don’t just follow the masses! The unexpected nature of something completely new breaks through the filters we have all established for marketing. For a bit of inspiration in a stodgy B2B space, look up Maersk on Facebook. Or if you prefer, consider Red Bull’s marketing.
- In social media, marketers that started early had a head start building an engaged audience.
- In content marketing, early adopters learned how to connect with their audience effectively (and got a head start on SEO as well).
- In online advertising, early movers found the hidden gems. Working with a B2B advertising client about 10 years ago, we helped a niche site create their online ad offering. They became one of our best performing advertising partners for years.
By the time something is broadly recognized as the next great opportunity, it’s really just table stakes.
Here are some of the areas I’m watching with a marketing, not just product and marketplace, lens:
- The sharing economy.
- The Internet of things.
- The proliferation of inexpensive sensors.
- The brand new insights, segmentation, personalization and (most importantly) services this information and connectivity enables.
Where do you see potentially uncharted and untapped opportunity for today’s innovative marketers?
PhotoRep, is the first photo app of its kind developed by OneBigBroadcast’s innovative technology that augments reputation management, social awareness, search and solidifies your brand through positive feedback from satisfied customers.You no longer need to let these invaluable marketing opportunities slip by. Capture these happy moments as they happen and share them instantly on your customer satisfaction page and across your social channels.
The happiest time in the buyers experience is the day they take delivery of their new or preowned vehicle, product or service. We have made it easy to capture that moment with a photo and a text statement from the customer as to why they purchased from your business. There are also many times in Service where a customer is more than satisfied with a repair or the prompt and friendly service they received.
These pictures with customer texted statements from your satisfied customers will do more for your reputation and social awareness than anything that is available to you today and will also help with your search rankings. Customer testimonials also have the highest effectiveness rating for content marketing at 89%. Â Your employees will also benefit from sharing these treasured moments on their social channels.
Plus, you can capture those funny or treasured moments that occur during business hours and share them with your current and potential customers to show them that you are people to, transparent and customer centric.
PhotoRep also makes a great contest App.
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William Cosgrove
One Big Broadcast
Below I have outlined some examples of how you can setup and implement an onsite social community to start reaping the multitude of benefits and good will that no other form of marketing or rewards program can offer. The possibilities are only limited to your creative ideas.*The benefits that these communities will bring are the most cost effective way in which to engage, retain, manage and form alliances with your community members that will not only foster retention but promote your business in the most positive ways imaginable.
Onsite Communities brings together the customer's voice with data from enterprise systems such as CRM. In addition to other benefits, engaging customers in community also drives transparency and openness - attributes that modern consumers increasingly expect.
Companies with private social networks can experience better employee relations, customer service, reduced customer complaints and even higher brand loyalty due to brand ambassador programs. Think of having a central place in which to read and understand your customers’ concerns, wants, needs and expectations.
Onsite communities also connect to onsite/online events marketing allowing businesses their customers, employees and event sponsors to manage their own profiles – including creating their own content, updating their company news and social media – which can all be administered with specified permissions tools. This “conglomerateâ€-style online network harnesses the power of multiple which acts like a magnet to attract search back to your site.
Imagine by combining your onsite community with onsite/online events marketing (Social casting) with blog casting,  and mobile applications all working together to engage potential viewers and fans in real time with GPS galleries that comb your area to attract visibility to the event both during and after it’s over.  These can also be used as a multichannel online sales or advertising event tools to enhance your inbound leads.
Socialcasting in its many forms can boost page ranking and drive traffic in ways that no other form of media can. This can positively impact your overall marketing efforts and is something that any business can benefit from. Technology is constantly providing us with new and creative ways of marketing. Socialcasting is a product of all this new technology and is another way of driving social content to get help get your message out, create attention and drive traffic.
It might seem like a foreign concept at first, but implementing these Socialcasting tools and applications that span the digital realm will take your business to a whole new level and right into the heart of the action.
Although your social brand strategy is important, don’t overlook the potential of harnessing and combining  your own community in a niche social community network with your social brand strategy.Â
An onsite social community offers many benefits for you as the business, your employees and the customer that cannot be duplicated elsewhere-providing a win-win situation for all.
*Examples of how to set up an onsite social community. Remember that the possibilities are only limited to your creative ideas.*
Community Members:
Existing members will automatically be made members and sent an e-mail to inform them.
New customers will automatically become members of the community as part of the benefit of doing business with your company.
Site visitors will be invited to join to enjoy member benefits as calls to actions on your web pages.
Member Benefits:
10% discount on service-Link to make an appointment or contact service or free rental etc.
Discount on  purchases- examplean $$$ automatic Discount
Discounts on Extended Warranties, Maintenance Contracts and/or Services
Discounts on financing
Drawing, contests and Special Offers:
Have a monthly drawing for $$$ In Free service that members can entered every month with their e-mail to win to keep members engaged. Take a picture of winners, get testimonial and post to Customer Satisfaction Page and Social Media Sites.
Website would have a link from your website pages or members community profile page for members that is a landing page listing member benefits, news, articles and comments with a link to the entry form for the monthly drawing for services- sales-etc
Take pictures of members when they get discounts etc. get testimonials
Product or detail pages would have an invitation to join free of charge to enjoy members benefits.
William Cosgrove
One Big Broadcast
Not convinced? Here are some related articles that will.
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Make Your Customers Brand Ambassadors [Video]
