The Five Biggest Digital Marketing Cliches

Once upon a time -- say, 2002 -- digital spending was a negligible portion of total marketing budgets and we lived in a world where few marketers would dare go "beyond the banner." Fast-forward to 2008, and in some cases we have the opposite problem. Digital spending is still too low, but in the spirit of wanting to appear current, some marketers have rushed to embrace any and every new digital tactic.

This has resulted in a scenario where some digital tactics are dangerously close to "jumping the shark." Everyone is doing them, so they're not original anymore. They generally are not done well (i.e., in a way that builds brand equity, awareness or sales), and they may be so commonplace that rather than making a brand seem current or hip, they have the opposite effect.

Here are my top five:

The Social Network Page
The offense: In 2006 every brand had to have a MySpace page; now they have an equally urgent need for a Facebook page. The result is usually the equivalent of an online ad hidden within the vast reaches of a social network, adding little value to consumers or the brand.

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Why you can't afford to stay dumb about SEO

Entrepreneur Anita Campbell, who launched a media and information service, says her business success depends on customers finding her Web site, so she has had to become an expert in search-engine optimization. Even if you hire SEO consultants it pays to learn the basics, she says. At the same time, don't be afraid to spend money on Web professionals to improve your marketing and sales. She wishes she had.

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How Much Do Top Bloggers Make?

The media world is changing and its jobs are changing too. The rise of the blogger is an often-told story, but are the lucky few bloggers who do it for a living well paid? We did a survey to find out.

We asked 20 top-tier tech bloggers and social media consultants to tell us how much they get paid, by the post, by the hour or by the month - however their rates are set. Half of them told us, on the condition that we wouldn't disclose who they were or where they worked.

The end result is an anecdotal overview of what some of the top tech bloggers and social media consultants are making. These aren't the founders of big blogs, these are their employees and people who get work writing, doing trainings or consulting for tech companies.

There are a handful of people in tech blogging that make even more than this but the vast majority of people who get paid to blog get paid far less. To be honest we have no idea what it's like outside the Web 2.0 world. (Honestly, is it raining?) We hope that no one will be too angry with us if these numbers lead their employees to feel newly shortchanged and protest. These folks are at the top of their field.

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Corporate Blogging for Self Defense

I have recently been discussing with clients and the blogosphere why it is important for companies to author blogs.

This evening, in lieu of the last week of economic turmoil on Wall Street, I did a quick search on Google for the term, "CEO".

The top articles returned were very negative in nature. What can a company do to counter the onslaught of negative press and foster an image of customer service and relations?

Step one: set aside a tiny amount of your marketing or public relations budget to start and maintain a blog.

Step two: discuss relevant corporate issues and bring your customers and concerned interests one step closer to the board room.

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Windows 7: Microsoft's secret weapon against Google

October 27, 2008 (Computerworld) With the first public alpha release of Windows 7 due today at the Microsoft PDC2008 conference, the outline of the new operating system is taking shape. What you won't see when that alpha comes out is the way that Microsoft will try to use Windows 7 as a Trojan horse in its war against Google.

Google's domination of the search market continues unabated, but Microsoft hasn't given up on it. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently said that his company is willing to lose "5% to 10% of total operating income for several years" to fund its ongoing attempt to make inroads into the search market. Much more than search is at stake. Google wants to replace Microsoft's desktop-based applications, such as Office, with its cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs.

So where does Windows 7 come in? What new features can Microsoft possibly introduce that will help it overtake Google in search and retain its domination of productivity software such as Office?

Microsoft's secret weapon in Windows 7 is not what features the operating system has, but instead what features it doesn't have. Microsoft is stripping Windows 7 of some of Windows' best built-in applications, and it's making them available only as downloads on its Windows Live site.

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Avalon Dental

Found in the bustling centre of the Avalon Mall, local dentistry office Avalon Dental (www.avalondental.ca) wanted to increase their online presence by developing a welcoming, informative website. The challenge lay in creating a website that matched their state-of-the-art facilities, which included designing their logo, as well as developing an appointment request system, a functional Q&A and a comprehensive list of services. The result was an intuitive, streamlined interface that was easy to navigate and put the focus on what mattered: their business.

Have a look at what came out of our collaboration.

Ever wonder if your website is what is considered “user-friendly”?

Ever wonder if your website is what is considered "user-friendly"?

Well, this simple checklist should be right up your alley. Tackling key points like website navigation, content, branding, and testing, it’ll give you great insight into how to make sure your online home has a lasting impact on its users.

Interact with us if you’re ready to take the next step in maximizing your user experience and virtual relationship!

Attention Internet shoppers: Retailers are sharpening their hooks

Shoppers, start your search engines! You are about to be presented with a whole range of new websites, products and systems designed to get you shopping online.

E-commerce is growing by leaps and bounds, in Canada and internationally, which is one of the reasons why next week, world leaders in e-commerce will gather in Amsterdam for the first Global e-commerce Summit. In fact, in a tightening economy, e-commerce is seen by many as a way to keep people shopping by offering convenience and, ideally, lower prices.

With a decade or so of experience under their belts, retailers are now working to improve the online shopping experience in at least four ways -- product, price, service and payment -- and in so doing entice more Canadians to spend their money at online stores.

Online shopping, for Canadians, has often meant cross-border shopping. Many of the bigshopping websites were American, and we had to deal not only with shipping issues but also customs formalities.

U.S. retailers have begun to respond by setting up shop here. One example is Newegg.com, an online retailer of electronics and household appliances. Their all-Canadian website, Newegg.ca, went live this month.

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Google Earth brings virtual tourism to iPhone

SAN FRANCISCO--Google already has customized some of its Web sites for display on the iPhone, but now the company also dived headlong onto Apple's highly regarded mobile phone with a full-fledge application, a handheld version of its Google Earth geographical software.

Google Earth lets people virtually fly around a 3D view of the world made from satellite and aerial imagery mapped onto the planet's mountains and valleys. The iPhone version reproduces this core experience, downloading imagery from Google's servers as the perspective shifts and dotting the map with landmarks, photos, and other information.

"The idea of having Earth on a mobile device is something people dreamed of back to the Keyhole days and before," said Peter Birch, Google Earth's product manager, referring to the satellite imagery company Google acquired in 2004. "This is the first opportunity we've had to be able to deliver a great experience."

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Google for Webmasters Tutorial: Ranking

Ten Common Objections to Social Media Adoption and How You Can Respond

Steve Outing wrote a very good article at Editor and Publisher on Friday about the need for cultural change inside the newpapers around the US (found via the wonderful CyberJournalist.net). That article got me thinking that people in many different industries probably hear many of the same objections to new, social media and online tools. ("It takes too much time, conversations online are insipid" etc.)

I decided to make a list of the Top 10 Objections to New Online Tools and What You Can Say in Response. I surveyed my nearly 1300 friends on Twitter and got all kinds of thoughtful replies.

Below is that list; I hope you'll find it useful and leave comments helping to extend the conversation further. In my mind I'm thinking of everything from RSS and wikis to Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Online tools that leverage social connections.

Last month we wrote about an initiative called The Working Group where people trying to bring about innovation in big companies. Many readers probably know about Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang's fantastic blog, where he explains social media in a business context, often in a format you can take directly to the boss. There are lots of different resources available online to help the intrepid early adopter and I hope this list will be one of them.

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A Guide to Business Development 2.0

At least once each day I get a call from someone trying to sell me outsourced development services. It's difficult to not be frustrated with these calls and it is increasingly hard to be polite, because they come so frequently. Yet, more than frustrated, I am just puzzled. Does this tactic still work? Who in this day and age would give business based on a cold call? These companies could definitely use a dose of business development 2.0.

Because of these calls, for a while I have been thinking about the impact of the modern age on business development. In the good old days, it all boiled down to the salesmen with the big rolodexes who could close the deal. But clearly, the rules have changed. How does business development work this days? What makes sense and what does not? In this post we take a look.

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Is Your Snazzy New Site Cloaked in Invisibility?

Imagine spending millions of dollars to come up with an amazing product, then cloaking it for invisibility. Perhaps the U.S. military can find good reason to do that, but for any company hoping to capture major market share, invisibility is tantamount to business suicide.

So why is it then that so many bleeding-edge, ultra-cool websites -- products in and of themselves -- are designed to be invisible to search engines and ultimately potential customers? Why is it that companies spend oodles of money to end up with a site that can only be found by employees, friends and family?

I'm a believer that "findability" is a usability issue. If your site can't be found by a motivated user in search of your product or service, it is a WOI (Waste of Investment), the opposite of ROI (you should know what that stands for). If a potential customer can't find it, it's useless to him or her. And if it's useless to a customer, well, you get the picture.

So why are many sites cloaked? The only reasons I can think of is a lack of knowledge about best practices for search or negligence on the part of creatives who believe designing for visibility somehow restricts doing great work. I know the latter is exactly opposite of the truth. Designing for visibility doesn't restrict creative excellence, it enhances it.

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A list of companies that were blind-sided by social media

CNN falls for rumor –sinking Apple stock
A rumor created by community created news site iReport that falsified CEO Steve Jobs having a heart attack spread to mainstream media website CNN, and caused a dip in stock price. User generated content will always have the risk of falsified content.

Exxon Mobil Brandjacked in Twitter
The twitter community (myself included) was eager to embrace “Janet” a no holds barred up front in your face corporate representative that was ready to tackle the hard issues –sometimes without grace. Unfortunately, to the Twittersphere’s surprise and Exxon, Janet, is not an official company representative she claimed to be. Read the story to unravel the multiple angles to this unique case.

JC Penney brandjacked by fake “sex” Ad
We’re seeing more ads being created. In this case a ‘third party vendor’ (agency, I think) created this and submitted it to Cannes. JC Penney wasn’t happy and had it removed from YouTube. Unfortunately, blogs picked it up and it will never go away, video is here, I know you want to click.

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Applecore Interactive participates in the 2008 Run for a Cure

Applecore Interactive participated in the 2008 Run for a Cure contributing to a total of $28 million raised nationwide.

An amazing stats based video on the information age

http://release.theplatform.com/content.select?pid=x7aVOMrlfkkijQwcLllwk6WjB5JE0zrF

Social Media Numbers

Did you know?
Revenue in the social networking sector has grown 191 percent in the past year. *

Did you know?
Facebook is the 4th most-trafficked Website in the world with more than 100 million active users. **

Did you know?
Two-thirds of companies see improved customer satisfaction from the adoption of social media and 64 percent report an improved reputation in the marketplace.***

Did you know?
Eighty-four percent of companies headquartered in North America believe as we enter a possible economic downturn we need to focus on new ways of communicating with customers which add real value and 80 percent agree that social media will allow us to add value to our customer interaction.***

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* This information was found on www.destinationcrm.com

** This information was found on www.facebook.com

*** This information is from a study conducted by Coleman Parkes Research in May 2008 on behalf of Avanade which included 541 phone interviews with top executives at the top 500 companies in Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Canada, United States, Australia, Japan, and Singapore.

Linking out: Often it's just appying common sense

Creating outbound links on your site, or "linking out", is our topic for Day 3 of Links Week. Linking out happens naturally, and for most webmasters, it's not something you have to worry about. Nonetheless, in case you're interested about an otherwise simple topic that's fundamental to the web, here's the good, the bad, and answers to more advanced questions asked by our fellow webmasters. First, let's start with the good...

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Importance of link architecture

In Day 2 of links week, we'd like to discuss the importance of link architecture and answer more advanced questions on the topic. Link architecture—the method of internal linking on your site—is a crucial step in site design if you want your site indexed by search engines. It plays a critical role in Googlebot's ability to find your site's pages and ensures that your visitors can navigate and enjoy your site.

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Links information straight from the source

We hope that you're able to focus on helping users (and improving the web) by creating great content or providing a great service on your site. In between creating content and working on your site, you may have read some of the (often conflicting) link discussions circling the web. If you're asking, "What's going on -- what do I need to know about links?" then welcome to the first day of links week!

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Supercharge Your Web Site with Video

All smart entrepreneurs know that in order to compete today you need a robust Web presence. But not everyone has yet embraced online video, which (according to many Web gurus) can increase your site's traffic and boost your sales. To learn more, I talked to Benjamin Wayne, president and CEO of Fliqz.com, a company that helps small and mid-sized businesses integrate video on their Web sites.

Rieva Lesonsky: It's quickly becoming a YouTube world. How can adding video to their sites better help entrepreneurs compete and grow?

Benjamin Wayne: Video can help businesses in three ways: drive increased traffic, drive more interactivity and page views, and drive increased [sales] conversion.

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5 People and Things That Will Recession-Proof Your Small Business

1) The people you know now.

What professional communities, networks, and social groups are you part of?

2) The people you knew in the past.

Dredge up old clients, leads, colleagues, schoolmates, and other contacts you haven’t talked to in a while. Send them a brief hello and blurb about .

3) The strangers you don’t know yet.

Do you blog, Twitter, podcast, or use any other form of media to broadcast the contents of your brain into the vast world of the Web?

4) The things you need.

Are you connected in any way to products that people need, no matter what?

5) The things that hurt.

What is your client’s “pain,” and how do you address it?

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