Creative Marketing Channel

Image from NationalGeographic.com

Cell phone service. We take it for granted until there is an emergency and we can’t text or call our loved ones.  This is what happened to me and thousands of others after Tuesday’s earthquake. A Linkedin post by Bill Leachman from the Linked Locals Adams York group aptly describes how many were feeling:

“…my daughter was at home and she was scared to death. With the cell phones being down, she was not able to get in touch with me for about an hour, until she was able to get in touch with me at my office. My father could not get in touch with me, either. He lives in Louisiana and he wanted to know how we were doing. I can understand how difficult and helpless someone must feel because they can not get in contact with a loved one.”

The good news is social media platforms and their smartphone applications provide a much needed safety net.

Facebook assurance
My 13 year old niece lives in VA and as soon as I heard about the 5.8 earthquake I tried to text her. Fail. I tried to call her. Fail.  Then, I started to worry. It took me a few seconds to remember she (like many teenage girls) loves Facebook. I visited her profile and was happy to see her status update which read, “Earthquake!!!!!”  She and her friends were commenting on it,  stream of consciousness style.  It was a relief to know she was  O.K. Consider downloading Facebook’s app for Android or iPhone if you’re connected to loved ones on Facebook.

Google+ gets a win
One half hour after the quake I was scheduled to make a  45 minute drive. I was a little nervous because I’m used to the comfort of  cell phone service when on the road.  Thankfully, my Google+ phone application  saved the day.  One of its best features is speed; messaging through Google+ is practically instantaneous and it was a relief to be able to communicate quickly and easily.  Consider joining Google+ when it’s out of beta. Their smartphone application is amazing.

Social media  for emergencies
With hurricane Irene on the way, I’m grateful  for social media platforms and their accompanying smartphone applications.  Emergencies look less threatening to me when I can stay in contact with family and friends.  Has social media ever helped you in an emergency? If so, please tell your story here so we can all learn from your experience.

About The Creative Marketing Channel
The Creative Marketing Channel belongs to oz 2 designs LLC – a small, flexible, full service digital marketing agency.  Connect with us on Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook. Email us at cl@oz2designs.com.

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The best diplomat I know is a fully-loaded phaser bank – Montgomery “Scotty” Scott
A fully loaded digital marketing plan is a great diplomat too.  So great, actually, that nearly 75% of all businesses are increasing their digital marketing over the next 12 months, according to Adobe Systems (from Mediapost Research Brief, “Digital Marketing Planning”). Their goal – to enhance the customer’s experience. Optimizing websites using analytics data is this year’s most deployed tactic. This optimization comes in the form of geo-targeted site content, content marketing, blogging, and rich media.   Top predicted investments for 2011 include 3D visualization, multi-media product viewing and interactive experiences.  In addition, businesses crave creative design and branded social community pages.  Both Spock and Kirk would be proud.  Why? Because real digital marketing requires strategy, analysis, and creativity.

All she’s got isn’t good enough! - James T. Kirk
If you believe your digital marketing agency isn’t good enough, you’re not alone. The sorry truth is, “only 44% of marketers are truly happy with their primary agency…” and there are two chief reasons why: The agency isn’t creative and/or the agency isn’t strategic (from Mediapost Research Brief, “Primary Agencies in Jeopardy if Reviewed”). Many agencies lack both. Google’s Panda update (or algorithm change) was a big wake up call to businesses who now see anemic, unoriginal content and boilerplate design for what it is – ineffective.   Today, businesses require their agency to be a “strategic partner who can help their business versus just an ‘idea shop.’”

You know, back home we have a saying: “If you wanna ride in the Kentucky Derby, you don’t leave your prized stallion in the stable. - Leonard “Bones”  McCoy
And your prized stallion is your media channel. Businesses no longer need to purchase expensive time and space on someone else’s channel. Instead, your business is media. Your website, mobile website, and blog are your marketing hub from which your agency shares all of your drilled down updates, videos, posts, whitepapers, webinars, enewsletters, coupons, mobile apps, etc. via branded social media.  If you haven’t become media yourself or have yet to fully leverage your media channels then you’re leaving your prized stallion in the stable.

Boldly go so your business can live long and prosper.
This is your voyage – your mission.  We are in the midst of a digital renaissance filled with new life and new civilizations.  Find a digital marketing agency with both Kirk and Spock in command and you too can break through the noise with relevant, amazing content and design. It’s no longer about perfection – it’s about experimentation.   A real digital marketing agency isn’t afraid to try numerous approaches, styles or tools.   Look for an agency that is flexible, strategic, and creative.  Businesses who do their due diligence experience the amazing ROI only digital marketing can give.

About The Creative Marketing Channel
The Creative Marketing Channel belongs to oz 2 designs LLC – a small, flexible, full service digital marketing agency.  Providing a broad range of interactive marketing services to U.S. businesses, oz 2 designs LLC is known for custom website and blog design, mobile website design, and compelling content (or social media) marketing. oz 2 designs LLC is pleased to feature an award winning animator known for excellence in 3D modeling, visualization, and animation as well as a nationally published content marketer.  To contact us email cl@oz2designs.com.

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Data proves blogging is one of the most effective ways to grow your business. But what about those businesses who don’t intend to blog. What is their digital marketing solution?

The answer
Digital marketing success is still possible for non-blogging businesses. The answer: View your website through a new lens.  The internet’s ever changing landscape craves new information and search engines reward compelling, useful content. Did you know there are over 10.5 billion searches a month? For outstanding results, transform your website from a static online brochure into your very own dynamic information hub.  Here is how my company helps clients increase traffic, publicity, and conversions.

Start with analytics
Your website’s anayltics tell a story. They tell you which pages are most popular, which keywords your customers use to search for you, the number of unique visitors to your website and so much more. Evaluate your analytics to learn what your website visitors want from you.  Then, move forward and create new website content.

How to create new website content
Did you know the search engines treat each web page like an individual website? Search engines look for proper construction, relevant keyword use, title and description tags, alt tags, H1 and H2 tags and useful, relevant content. They also look for relevant and authoritative backlinks.

My company does a lot of website update work.  We start the process with a thorough evaluation of our client’s analytics and current site construction. Next, we interview our client. Here are just a few questions we ask before creating new web pages:

• What is your specialty?
• What is it people ask you about your industry?
• What makes your business or product unique?
• What stories can you tell about your business or product?
• What stories have your customers shared with you about your business or product?

Next, we brainstorm with our client and drill down from general product and service categories to specific phrases or subcategories. We choose one subcategory or phrase to write about and do keyword research. Then, we come up with an angle or an interesting way to present the new content.  Last, we write, design, and load up the new web page.  Each new properly constructed and well written website page is a search engine magnet resulting in more visibility and clicks.

Transform your brochure style website into a dynamic information hub.
As your website becomes a resource, a wealth of useful information to potential customers, you’ll see more visits and more business.   The monthly cost to add a couple new pages to your site every month costs less than newspaper advertising and gives back so much more.  As a marketing tactic, SEO’s ROI for both products and services is an astounding 68% or higher.  If you would like to transform your website  into a dynamic information hub and enjoy ROI of 68%,  contact o2 designs LLC at cl@oz2designs.com.

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The following is a guest post by oz 2 designs LLC Art Director Rick Brady and his snarky alter ego Surly E.

Me love your business long time. That’s what the carnival barkers… I mean the “get rich quick” advertising agencies will tell you about your business or product.  Their goal is to sell you, be it logo, direct mail marketing, brochure, website (more than likely jamming your look and some unoptimized content into a bland template), or email marketing. Whatever ware they’re pushing, you can be sure it’s handled in a silo.

Now let us take a trip in Mr. Peabodys time machine tooooo TODAY!!! That’s right today.  Today, the above mentioned marketing approach best serves the agency rather than you, your product, or your business. Companies cannot approach digital marketing and the internet like it’s 1997 or, for that matter, 2005. Wake up businesses and smell the digital marketing napalm.

I love the smell of digital marketing napalm in the morning!

So by now you should be asking how does all this gel? You need an advertising budget and a plan of ATTACK! A Special Ops Tactical Squad akin to a good digital marketing agency can help you with this and review your goals and then design an approach that will benefit your product and business. Your hired guns (your agency) must have intelligence about today’s dynamic internet marketing strategies.

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” ~ Sun Tzu

One Size Does Not Fit All Soldier

Marketing starts from the top down and is developed holistically.

1. Well defined identity branding < It’s not just for large companies.
2. A website and blog that is not only well designed but also takes advantage of search engine optimization, analytics and offers up quality content.
3. Target Marketing through eNewsletters, On-line Paid Promotional Tactics, Landing Page Development and Social Media connections

“I want to get the point across that branding isn’t just a marketing strategy that big companies can employ. Small businesses can and should surgically use branding campaigns to saturate target channels as part of an overall approach to win their market.” ~ Danny Wong the Brand Manager Blank Label Group

Are those… live rounds?

For this list to work in today’s internet marketing environment, branding campaigns must be employed. The analytics from all of these avenues must be reviewed and approaches refined until your business receives the ROI or Return On Investment that contributes to real sales and business growth. This means a commitment from your business and your digital marketing agency to work together to give you the best approach for your budget.

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Dollars to Death.

I cannot stress enough here that just having a website or the purchasing of SEO for your website or sending out thousands of direct mailers and walking away is advertising and marketing suicide. It’s an old school approach that’s still being peddled by those who don’t have the skills to help your business or product grow in the digital market place. This is why you (business owners) need to find a trusted team who can help your company as well as educate you and your staff through continued development and growth.

And then the Fallout

Remember, one size doesn’t fit all. The 1,2,3 approach outlined above is just the beginning of the war on bad marketing.  The changing landscape of social media requires creativity and flexibility.  Mobile or smartphone options and marketing approaches must part of your battle plan.  If you need advertising guidance and you’re looking for a crack commando marketing team then contact us -  maybe you can hire the Oz2-Team.

“The digital marketing battle field is not here to merely be conquered. It is an amorphous ever evolving space that needs to be nurtured, understood and harnessed to deliver victory.” ~SurlyE

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Sorry bottom feeders, but Google says your time has come. An intense, new algorithmic adjustment arrived the other day and it doesn’t tolerate your kind.  Projected to influence almost 10.5 billion search results every month, this adjustment lowers the rank of scraper sites, link farms, and other useless sites while increasing the rank of quality sites.  What motivated this change? Google’s post,  Finding more high quality sites in search explains,  “Google depends on the high-quality content created by wonderful websites around the world, and we do have a responsibility to encourage a healthy web ecosystem. Therefore, it is important for high-quality sites to be rewarded, and that’s exactly what this change does.”

Quality means increased visibility
If there was ever a justification for content marketing this is it.  From now on, Google rewards websites with “original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis…” with higher search rankings amplifying the strong bond between search, social, and SEO.  Want to boost your brand’s visibility on search? Fill your website and blog with compelling content.  As TopRank’s Lee Odden says, ” If Social Media and SEO fit together like peanut butter and jelly then content is the bread that holds them together.”  Add social engagement from authoritative users into the mix and I predict powerful results. Google says this recent algorithm adjustment is just a beginning and they plan to present us with more changes in the future.

They were warned.
The developers and SEO companies whose sites are being penalized for poor quality have known all along what Google considers the high road.  My guess is they ignored Google’s quality guidelines because their black hat strategies were working for them.  Doesn’t look like they’ll work anymore. Take a look at Google’s quality expectations:

Quality guidelines – basic principles

• Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines. Don’t deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users, which is commonly referred to as “cloaking.”




• Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you’d feel comfortable explaining what you’ve done to a website that competes with you. Another useful test is to ask, “Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?”




• Don’t participate in link schemes designed to increase your site’s ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or “bad neighborhoods” on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.




• Don’t use unauthorized computer programs to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs consume computing resources and violate our Terms of Service. Google does not recommend the use of products such as WebPosition Gold™ that send automatic or programmatic queries to Google.

Breaking News 2/28/11:

The data is in and the story is huge. According to search engine land, associated content is taking a big hit. Here is a brief look.  Top losers:  ezinearticles.com, associatedcontent.com, suite101.com, hubpages.com and buzzle.com.  Top winners: youtube.com, ebay.com, facebook.com, and instructables.com.   Biggest surprise to me -  slideshare.com and tehnorati.com are on the losers list.  “Number Crunchers: Who Lost in Google’s ‘Farmer’ Algorithm Change” by Danny Sullivan is a MUST READ. Take a moment and review Sullivan’s compelling data and share your thoughts here.

If you would like to hire oz 2 designs LLC to handle your digital marketing and design, email cl@oz2designs.com or call 717-586-8386.

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“Facebook took something that even a novice could understand and have turned it into something that even to someone who has programming experience, is a confusing mess all for the sake of more ad space. Way to alienate your users Facebook! Social media is impatient and fickle, best get things simplified or people are going to split! P.S. It shouldn’t be all about the money. You either want businesses to use FB or you don’t.” – Heaven Graphics

Facebook’s recent pages upgrade has left a lot of small business owners reeling. For those businesses who rely solely on Facebook instead of their own brand, the fallout from FB’s upgrade has just begun and it’s looking uglier with each passing day.

The Problem: Customers and friends no longer see business page comments, links, photos, and status updates. Why? Because along with the new Facebook came an automatic new default setting placed on everyone’s newsfeed.  The new newsfeed default setting shows you comments, links, and status posts ONLY from those people you interact with most.  This means, if you’re a business, people who normally don’t interact with you will not see you anymore. Feeling invisible on FB lately? It gets worse.  Facebook has decided relevancy is what matters. Therefore, even if you change your newsfeed settings,  your newsfeed will never ever be the same as it has now become part of The Borg – I mean Facebook’s new relevancy algorithm.

The Partial Solution: You can change your newsfeed settings and see more filtered, relevant posts.  This will make more people visible to you but will not make you more visible to them. Will all 600 million people on FB make the effort to do this? I think not.  But, here’s how you can do it:

Step One: Go to your home page and click the little blue triangle next to “Most Recent.”

Step Two:  Choose “Edit Options.”

Step Three: Click the little blue triangle next to Show posts from …  and choose  “All of your friends and pages.” Click Save.

To all  businesses suffering under Facebook’s upgrade it’s imperative you understand the following distinction: Facebook is not your brand. Facebook is Facebook’s brand.  Your blog and your website are your brand. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are places where you can share your brand. If you put all of your marketing eggs in Facebook’s basket then you’re in trouble.

It’s easy to wonder whether Facebook knew all along small businesses may not like their upgrade.  If they did, then they’re willing to take the hit and nothing will change.  If they didn’t,  then perhaps these pages will matter: Bring Back Chronological Posts,   You Are Invisible, and  New Facebook Settings Affecting You.  How do you predict Facebook’s new default newsfeed settings and  relevancy algorithm will impact brands? How do you predict they will impact Facebook?

To contact oz 2 designs LLC to handle your digital marketing and design email Catherine Lockey at cl@oz2designs.com.

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Is there a best time to send email? How many people check email on a mobile device? Is there a strategy to reduce unsubscribes and increase click throughs? Make way for Hubspot’s marketing scientist Dan Zarrella who lets the data answer these questions and more in “The Science of Email Marketing” webinar.   Below is my summation of Zarella’s fascinating email marketing insights.

Data used: Over 9.5 billion email sends and accompanying analytics compliments of MailChimp, 3 focus groups, and survey data.

Email habits: Opening email is equivalent to completing homework and almost everyone has integrated it into their daily work ritual. 70% of people read most of their email because they hate to see unread mail in their inbox and 88% of people have only one inbox.  Over 60% of all email readers use a junk folder.

What encourages opens and click throughs?
1. Time of receipt: Most people open and click through email on weekends.
2. Time of day: Most people report reading email in the morning. 6:00 a.m. -  7:00 a.m garners highest click throughs.
3.  Sender: If the recipient recognizes the sender, especially if it’s a celebrity sender, there is a good chance the email will be opened.
4.  Subject line: People prefer to see the following words in the subject line – newsletter, this week’s, digest, bulletin, and edition – because they indicate the mail is a serialized piece of content.
5.  Mobile compatibility: 81% of all people read their email on a mobile device. Make sure your email looks good on mobile.
6.  Links: The more links in an email the higher the click through rate. More links equal more opportunities to persuade the reader.
7.  It’s referential: People tend to use their inbox as an archive. Readers archive and refer back to useful, interesting email.
8.  It’s exclusive: People love to feel part of a special club where they receive early access and special deals.
9.  It’s consistent: Click through rates are about the same whether you send 5 emails a month or 30. If your audience has opted in to your list, they want to hear from you.
10. Expectations: Readers who expect your email appreciate it the most. Why? Opening your email has become part of their “homework ritual.”
11. Subscription time: New subscribers are the best clickers.

Other interesting facts: Unsubscribes are highest from people who are new to your list. Unidentifiable sender names as well as spammy subject lines using words like magic, raffle, reward, requested, follow up, savings, offer, confirm, and upgrade spur unsubscribes. In most cases, readers will not forward your email nor will they Tweet it. “Follow me” social media links tend to have better results.  Email sent only once or twice a month has a higher unsubscribe rate than email sent 30 times a month.

All information above was gathered from the Hubspot webinar,  “The Science of Email Marketing.”

If you would like oz 2 designs LLC to handle your email marketing campaign, contact Catherine Lockey at cl@oz2designs.com.

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Small businesses know “… the current shift in geotargeting, mobile marketing, and online reputation management require small businesses to modify their plans and surpass competitors.”  – Susan Gunelius, Reuters. Companies on the losing side of digital are under great pressure to claim some online territory.  Yet, catching up to one’s competition takes months of time, precious budget dollars, and real skill.  Last month I published a two parts of a three part Digital Marketing Study Primer for C.E.O.s.  Part I explains the fundamentals of social media marketing and Part II teaches C.E.O.s how to vet a social media marketing agency. The bottom line, C.E.O.s cannot make smart digital marketing decisions if they don’t grasp the basics.

Part III:  What should you expect to pay for social media marketing? Here I defer to longtime social media expert Mac Collier who researched and wrote, “How much does Social Media cost companies in 2011?” Collier explains, “These figures come from rates shared with me by fellow consultants and agencies that specialize in social media marketing, in addition to my own research, as well as what I charge for similar services. ”

Here’s the prices:

Blog:

Launch a blog from the ground-up, outsource all content creation (including customer interaction, handling responses to comments, etc) – $1,000-$12,000 a month

Most Charge – $3,000 – $5,000 a month

Launch a blog from the ground-up, outsource some content creation – $1,000-$8,000 a month

Most Charge – $2,000-$3,500 a month

Restructure an existing blog to improve your efforts – $1,000-$5,000 a month for 3-6 months

Most Charge – $2,000-$4,000 a month for 3-6 months

Ghostwriting blog posts – $50-$500 per

Most Charge – $100-$250 per

Twitter:

Launch a new presence on Twitter and outsource all content creation and customer interaction – $1,000-$7,500 a month

Most Charge – $2,000-$4,000 a month

Launch a new presence on Twitter and then provide ongoing training for company – $1,000-$6,000 a month

Most Charge – $1,000-$3,000 a month

Restructure an existing Twitter presence to improve your efforts – $1,000-$4,000 a month for 3-6 months

Most Charge – $1,000-$2,500 a month

Limited coaching to improve your existing efforts on Twitter – $1,000-$4,000 a month

Most Charge – $1,000-$2,500 a month

Facebook:

Launch a Facebook Page from the ground-up, outsourcing all content creation and customer interactions – $2,000-$9,000 a month

Most Charge – $2,500-$5,000 a month

Launch a Facebook Page from the ground-up, with limited ongoing training – $1,500-$7,500 a month for 3-6 months

Most Charge – $2,000-$4,000 a month

Social Media Strategy:

Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Creation, assuming outsourcing of all content creation through all channels(minimum 2) – $3,000-$20,000 a month

Most Charge – $4,000-$7,000 a month

Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Creation, assuming limited outsourcing of content creation and/or ongoing training –$3,000-$15,000 a month for 4-12 months

Most Charge – $3,000-$6,000 a month

Audit of existing Social Media Strategy Including Recommendations for Improvement – $2,000-$10,000

Most Charge – $2,000-$5,000

Social Media Consulting:

Hourly rates – $50-$500/Hr

Most Charge – $75-$200/Hr

Note: These prices are based on buying just one hour of a consultant’s time.  Many consultants also offer their consulting time in blocks of time.  These hours are usually offered at a discounted rate.  For example, a consultant might charge $100 for one hour of her time, but if you buy 5 hours of her time, she’ll give you a 25% discount to $375 for 5 hours.  Progressive discounts are sometimes offered as the volume of hours bought increases, with final discounts being as high as 33-50% off hourly rates.

On-Site Training/Workshops (All fees excluding travel expenses)

1-2 Hours – $500-$5,000

Most Charge – $500-$2,000

Half-Day (4 hours) - $1,000 – $10,000

Most Charge – $1,000 – $4,000

Full-Day (6-8 hours) – $2,000 – $50,000

Most Charge – $2,500-$5,000

Note: Keep in mind that consultants (at least the ones worth hiring) will invest several hours of prep time in assembling and customizing their training materials for you.  So while you might buy a full-day workshop, the total time investment for the consultant (including the workshop) could easily be 20-40 hours.  Plus they will likely lose at least a full day in travel to and from your company.

As with volume discounts on hourly consulting rates, many consultants will charge more at an hourly rate for workshops shorter than a full day.  For example, one consultant might charge $2,000 for a 2-hour workshop, and $5,000 for an 8-hour workshop.

A final word about prices: Don’t be afraid to negotiate.  If the quoted price is past your budget, ask for a break, especially if the project will be longer than 3 months.  A consultant might not be willing to give you a 15% discount on a 2-month project, but they might for a 6-month project.

To contact oz 2 designs LLC to handle your social media marketing email Catherine Lockey at cl@oz2designs.com.

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Last week I published A Digital Marketing Primer for C.E.O.s Part I because C.E.O.s themselves must grasp the fundamentals of digital before they’re able to make wise digital marketing choices.  Companies on the losing side of digital who’ve recently assigned budget dollars to social media are under great pressure to claim some online territory.  C.E.O.s want to see their companies build both quality connections and brand advocates.  Yet, catching up to one’s competition takes months of time, precious budget dollars, and real skill.  Referrals from old media friends (who have no real digital presence of their own) are no longer useful.  With dollars, time, and even jobs at stake the answer to the burning question, “How do I vet a digital marketing agency?” is explored here.  Special Note:  Social media, content creation, design and SEO are inexorably linked and part of a good pull marketing strategy. All are under the digital marketing umbrella.

How do I vet a social media or digital marketing agency?

1. Search for them (online) using industry and geographic specific keywords. If they don’t show up on free search (unpaid search links) then your product/company won’t show up either.

2. Read their blog which should be filled with comments and replies.  Blogging is the heart and soul of social media. Run their blog through Blog Grader to check their grade and traffic score.  No blog?? No traffic?  No comments? No responses? No community? Blog not found in search? Move on.

3. Don’t assume they participate appropriately in social media. Instead, find out which social media platforms they participate in and evaluate what they’re doing.  Ask, are they building a community? Are they interacting with others? Do they understand reputation management? Are they responsive? Remember, social media marketing is about creating a community and inspiring that community to share your brand. Look for concrete evidence.

4.  Do a creativity check. Read their content and ask: “Is it creative?” “Is it educational?” “Is it inspiring?” “Does it show up in search?”

5.  Do a construction check. Do they use RSS? Is it easy for others to comment and share their posts on other social platforms?

6.  Find out how they use analytics and ask which analytics tools they prefer. Do they use them to evaluate and refine your campaign?  How often? Do they share your analytics with you? In what format? How often?

7.  Ask to see an SEO success story. They should have at least one client who ranks very well in Google’s natural search. Then, do a little legwork and search for this company on Google yourself.

8.  Listen to the questions they ask you. One size doesn’t fit all so they should be asking you what a successful social media campaign looks like to YOU.  They should ask you about your goals and be able to show you how success is determined and measured throughout your campaign. Expect to hear questions about your customers and your current social resources.

9.  If you’re considering a big agency, then vet the junior level staff person who will do your work. Ask this person to share his/her personal brand.  Check out her/his blog, social media accounts, and community.  Go through steps 1 – 8 above.

Many of my esteemed readers are competent digital marketers and I invite each of them to add to my list in the comments area below.  To contact oz 2 designs LLC about digital marketing for your company, email cl@oz2designs.com. Keep an eye out for upcoming post, ” A Digital Marketing Primer for C.E.O.s part III (Sherryl you were right – LOL !) which answers the question, “What should I expect to pay a social media agency?”

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“As the global economy struggles to correct itself, and social media marketing becomes a strategic imperative, companies will have exciting opportunities to expand in new directions this year…the current shift in geotargeting, mobile marketing, and online reputation management require that small businesses modify their plans to surpass competitors.” – Susan Gunelius, Reuters.

“Still Waiting to Commit to a Strategy…You’re Going to Lose” – Adam Singer
Gunelius is correct; current trends point businesses toward a holistic digital marketing strategy but, the fact is, if your business hasn’t made a commitment to digital yet, surpassing your competitors (even with a gigantic budget) probably won’t happen. Those who’ve already implemented a smart digital marketing strategy are so far ahead of their competition it’s disturbing.  Renowned digital marketing blogger and PR expert Adam Singer exemplifies the seriousness of this type of loss with a simple runner’s graphic.  In it, the newcomer to digital is running uphill struggling to make it to the top while his competition has already crested the hill and is enjoying the benefits of his win.  Stop looking for an easy way out – there isn’t one. Singer writes, “Figure out how the digital channels can best serve your brand. The net result should be a focused strategy that is based on your overall business objectives, economic value to the organization, and a tactical plan.” If you’re in the C-Suite, do your homework and understand digital marketing now, because it’s already too late.

Figure it out!
Here are some social media marketing fundamentals.  Social media starts with content and compelling content is predominantly found on blogs and websites with blogs.  Compelling content is a viable marketing tool. Gunelius on Reuters explains, “Amazing content is essential to break through the noise.” Yes, social media includes Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Delicious, Buzz etc. but before we go there it’s imperative you see the following key distinction: Your blog and your website are YOUR brand. Facebook and Twitter are not your brand – they are Facebook and Twitter’s brands. The goal is to get your friends and followers to link back to your brand.  Have social media accounts but no blog? You’re losing.  Fill your blog with compelling, keyword optimized content which inspires others to share what you write on Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Buzz, and more. This is how you boost your brand’s visibility on search.  Are you posting weekly on your blog?  Is your content interesting enough to share? Do you regularly add fresh content to your website? Your answers to all should be YES.

Search engine attention and author authority
Compelling blog content combined with the creative use of Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and other social media channels is a good start.  Specifically, you build communities on various social media platforms, share valuable information with your communities in an interesting way, then maybe they’ll share your information with their communities.  Sounds simple, right? It isn’t. Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz writes, ” We now know that those link sharing activities on Twitter and Facebook are evaluated based on the person/entity sharing them through a score Google calls ‘Author Authority,’ and Bing calls ‘Social Authority.’” Recently both Google and Bing confessed they give more search engine attention to links tweeted and retweeted by authoritative Twitter users. Know how to leverage social and search.

Time is not on your side.
You won’t get instant gratification from a newly implemented digital marketing plan. It doesn’t matter how much money you throw at it, the fact remains, a good digital marketing plan needs to be up and running at least six months before you’ll see any benefits.  At least.  A year is a much more realistic time frame.  If you study up you’ll understand the daily commitment,  knowledge base, and creativity required to make it work.  Ready to learn more?  Keep an eye out for “A Digital Marketing Study Primer for C.E.O.’s – Part II” and find out how to vet a social media marketing agency and discover how much you should pay them.

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