Jan
8th

2010: The Year Of Fun For B-to-B Marketers

Posted by Carly Wujcik on January 8, 2010 at 10:45 am

That’s my prediction. This is the year that business-to-business marketers will decide that they’re tired of standing on the uninspiring, tried-and-true sidelines while watching the consumer brands have all of the fun. They want in on some of the cutting-edge action. And they’re tired of taking themselves so seriously. As they should be—it can be taxing.

Personally, I’ve never been able to understand what the fear of new marketing initiatives is all about (hence my line of work, I suppose). None the less, 2009 brought about many of the same arguments from our b-to-b prospects and clients, some of the most common being:

“Social media looks great. But we’re marketing to businesses; we’re not a consumer brand. It’s just not for us.”
“Sure, iPhone apps are intriguing—but we’re not selling deodorant—we’re selling medical supplies.”
“Augmented Reality—looks great, but our steel manufacturing technologies really don’t lend themselves to that kind of interaction.”
“We’d like to wait.”

Wait for what? For your competition to do it first?

Don’t get me wrong, I can see some of the reasoning behind the concern, especially with the restricted and closely monitored budgets of last year. And truth be told, it’s still hard to show a business-to-business company concrete case studies of their peers embarking on trailblazing marketing strategies and reaping enormous rewards. But only because most b-to-b companies are still hesitant to make the leap.

So here’s my rebuttal—my case for trying out new marketing initiatives in 2010, if you will. You’re marketing your products and solutions to organizations. Not to be confused with moms, avid golfers or movie fanatics. You’re marketing to businesses.

Who is it within those businesses that ultimately decides to purchase your product, or hire your company?

I know, when you type it out, it sounds ludicrous and a touch patronizing—but listen up, Business-to-Business Marketers (and I can call you that because I am one): you’re targeting decision makers. Decision makers are people (at least for now). People are the reason why technology continues to advance and evolve. It’s because people are using it and demanding more of it. People, like you and I. The moms, avid golfers and movie fanatics of the world.

So let this be your year. Embrace the utility an iPhone application can bring to your prospects. Jump into Facebook. Go mobile. Launch a YouTube channel. Get crazy and test out a widget! Sure, your message will be different than that of consumer brands—but the medium is there. Ready and waiting.

You’re marketing to people. So Be Relentless™ in 2010. Make it fun, make it useful and make it personal. And the case study will write itself.

As always, if you need help getting started, contact Oneupweb.

GD Star Rating
loading...

Socialize This Post

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you leave a comment.

Dec
21st

Paid Advertising in Social Media: YouTube Promoted Videos

Posted by Steven on December 21, 2009 at 3:55 pm

A while back, I wrote about a new PPC (pay-per-click) model that was starting to appear in social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. Because of the positive response, I thought I would continue that theme with a look at YouTube Promoted Videos.

You may have noticed that the once advertising-free YouTube is now flushed with ads. Google continues to monetize the site and since visits reached over 85 million last month, don’t expect these ads to go away. There are many ways to start advertising on YouTube, but let’s focus on Promoted Videos.

What are they?

YouTube Promoted Videos are pay-per-click ads that are displayed after a search is performed. These ads look similar to the typical results you would see, except they are displayed on the right-hand side of the page under “Promoted Videos”, or at the top of the page, depending on the keyword bid.

How do I get started?

To get started advertising with YouTube Promoted Videos, you will first need a video to promote. You also need an AdWords account since Promoted Videos uses the Google AdWords platform. The next step is to choose the keywords that will trigger your ad to display and how much you are willing to pay for each click. For more information, visit the YouTube Promoted Videos page.

Why YouTube, why now?

Video advertising provides the ability to highly engage your audience, and with YouTube Insight, you can gather statistics to get a better understanding of how your campaign is performing. But mostly, YouTube is one of the biggest and fastest growing sites on the internet, so chances are good that your target audience is there—and the video format allows you to engage your target audience like never before.

The Big Picture

When examining various advertising options available across the web, it is important to have a well planned campaign structure with all components tightly integrated. It might not make sense to run a display campaign without a paid search campaign, for instance. By having advertising diversity across the web you will not only be able to reach new audiences, but also improve the results of your core online marketing channels. This is because running a display campaign will increase your brand awareness and recognition, which in turn increases searches on your brand name and keywords surrounding the ad’s message—which can then be capitalized on through a paid search campaign.

As internet marketing options continue to grow, it is important that your marketing campaign includes a diverse array of marketing channels and the campaign is crafted with a specific objective in mind. So start with your goal and then work your way back to determine where you’ll need to be to achieve success.

If you are ready to get serious about achieving your online marketing objectives in 2010, YouTube Promoted Videos could just be a piece in the greater marketing puzzle. Ready to take your brand to the next level? We can help.

GD Star Rating
loading...

Socialize This Post

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you leave a comment.

Dec
4th

The Evolution of Advertising

Posted by Denise on December 4, 2009 at 9:57 am

It seems that the time for TV spots and print ads in the Yellow Pages is becoming obsolete in comparison to the new premier form of advertising—the internet. It’s quite obvious that people are using the internet more and more every day. And why not? People can watch their favorite TV shows at their own leisure on their laptop or their iPod, free of commercials. And when someone is looking to find tips on granite countertop installation, they now turn to the internet instead of the phone book. The internet provides you with a name, an interactive map, and more than likely, a homepage full of photos and customer testimonials.

We’ve reached a time where you don’t just take someone’s word for it anymore. Instead, you look it up online. And this really caters to advertising. People can watch twenty commercials on TV that tell them about the best vacuum in the world, and each claims that it can outperform all of the others with ease. But can it? This is when people start probing. Go on Amazon.com and look at the reviews. Go on YouTube and watch as your everyday person demonstrates his new vacuum and gives you his unbiased take on it.

People like the internet because it doesn’t always shove things right in your face—it takes a more indirect route. You get to select who the information is coming from and make your own decision on what you really desire.

The other remarkable quality of internet advertising is that it can reach the entire globe and not cost you a fortune. If you truly have a good product and you put it online, you will eventually succeed. The trick is getting people to find it and stay interested in it. Now that people have the power to select the advertisements, you have to seize the power to be a blinding beacon in a sea of substandard products.

The good news is that you don’t have to be rich to get rich. You just need a good product paired with some creative advertising to put online for the world to see. Personally, I see this as a win-win situation. The consumer can do enough research to really get the best product and the mom who made her own laundry detergent actually has a fighting chance to run with the big dogs—the “Tides” and the “Alls” who were once untouchable.

Remember, Balloon Boy caught the attention of three hundred million people. And if you’re creative enough, so can you. Hopefully you don’t get prosecuted in a federal court, though.

GD Star Rating
loading...

Socialize This Post

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you leave a comment.

Oct
16th

Candy Is Getting Social This Halloween

Posted by Adam D on October 16, 2009 at 10:23 am

October signals the time to pick out your Halloween costumes and dream of candy! I mean, who doesn’t love candy and trick or treating? Yes, I may be 28-years-old, but I still go trick or treating with my nieces and nephew. One of my all time favorite candies are Skittles, and they have really surprised me this month.

Check out Skittles.com. After you enter your birth date you are taken to the Skittles “Homepage”. You will never guess what it is—Twitter is the new Skittles homepage!

However, on each page of the website there is the widget you see below. It is located on the upper left of the Skittles website, and provides the navigation for the site.

Click “Friends” and you’re taken to the Skittles Facebook page. Click “Chatter” and you guessed it—back to Twitter. Under “Media” the video tab goes to YouTube and the pics tab will take you to Flickr.

What a concept! What a risk! Is this the first time anyone has ever done this? And if it’s successful, what does this mean for other home pages? Why not just use all the popular social networking sites? One argument for this could be that most of the work is already done for you, and chances are these sites are more successful/interactive than yours.

So could this be something that we will see more of in the future? Let me know your thoughts.

*Editor’s Note: Skittles actually started using their social media profiles, such as Twitter and Wikipedia, as their homepage several months ago. While they did run into a few snafus in the beginning, they’ve continued to introduce themselves to new customers and re-introduce themselves to recurring customers by rotating their various social media channels on their homepage.

If you like the information in this post, check out Oneupweb’s blog that is dedicated to social media at StraightUpSocial.com.

GD Star Rating
loading...

Socialize This Post

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you leave a comment.

Sep
1st

Monitoring the Health of Your Online Presence

Posted by admin on September 1, 2009 at 8:29 am

When I first moved up to the Traverse City area roughly 2 years ago, I managed to land myself in the hospital.

That statement probably deserves some context. I am a diabetic, and as a diabetic I am required to constantly monitor many aspects of my health such as my blood sugar, A1C levels, fat intake, carb intake, and more. Back in November of 2007, when my wife and I decided to move to Traverse City, things got very chaotic very quickly. Between arranging travel plans for my 7-months-pregnant wife, working out how to get our cars up here, packing up the house and other considerations, life got hectic and my routine became less…routine. Because of this, I stopped checking my blood sugars for some time and my health quickly – and silently – deteriorated to the point where I had to be hospitalized to recover.

The same thing can easily happen to your online presence. Without routine, periodic review of your online presence, it can deteriorate like…well, like something that deteriorates very quickly. A common misconception about social media is that just having a Twitter/Facebook/Youtube account is enough.

If only it were that easy!

Every social media channel requires constant vigilance, attention, and tweaking to ensure that your brand is being properly represented, to see which keywords and phrases are driving the most traffic to your site, and to make sure that visibility for your company stays at the forefront of your industry. And in addition to needing constant attention, each social media outlet requires its own special kind of attention:

Do you have the right quantity AND quality of Twitter followers?
Is your Facebook fan page engaging your fans and stimulating conversation?
Does your LinkedIn profile accurately portray your company’s intentions, accomplishments, and achievements?

All of this constant, specialized attention (and we haven’t even brought Google into the mix yet!) is enough to make most peoples’ heads spin. But in today’s market, social media isn’t just a flash-in-the-pan gimmick. No, it’s here to stay and if your business doesn’t have a well-established online marketing strategy, then the chances of being left behind are right up there with “Rock Of Love” getting another season – a guaranteed certainty. Luckily, there are people at Oneupweb who understand all the ins and outs of digital marketing, who keep up with the ebb and flow of social media so you don’t have to.

Is your company doing all it can to ensure that it remains on top of the social media scene?

GD Star Rating
loading...

Socialize This Post

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you leave a comment.