Trying Something

Like many marketers, 2009 came to me bundled with a mandate to re-think about marketing spend. We want to be extremely pragmatic about where we spend. Think Stevens' Extreme Marketing.

So, I needed to figure out how to reach a very niche audience. People have been banging on my door to sell me lists of 5000-10000 contacts, but those cost thousands of dollars and about 85% of the contacts in those lists are not in our target audience. So, they wouldn't like hearing from us. Other efforts, like magazine or e-zine advertising reach 30000 viewers, most of which are again outside of my target. And they cost a huge portion of this small pragmatic company's desired marketing budget.

So, how do we get feedback from our target audience while putting our brand out there without spending a fortune? Well, we're trying something new. Not that someone else hasn't likely done it before, but it's new for us.

In short, we launched a viral contest. We are offering $1000 to the winner of our simple contest. Real money. No tricks. But those who enter need to encourage their peers (our intended audience) to also participate because we need 1000 entries to validate the contest for pay out.

In the end, everyone wins. We get some highly targeted feedback, which is critical for us. Some additional people learn who we are. And the participants get a real chance to win a decent prize while having a little fun (the contest is to provide the best caption for a cartoon). They also, by the way, should be interested in our solutions since they have matching job responsibilities. And nobody who absolutely shouldn't care will get bothered by unsolicited contact.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Email Marketing Tips

Some useful tips on email marketing from the folks at Pinpointe:

• 10 Best Performing Email Subject Lines
• 10 Worst Performing Email Subject Lines
• 9 Tips for Writing Email Subject Lines That Work
  (includes the 50/50 rule and the 80/20 rule)
• The Ideal Email Subject Line Length

Bottom line: keep subjects short, descriptive, and accurate.

The Right Audience

I got a marketer's email today (SPAM) announcing a new restaurant. I'm always interested in trying new dining experiences, so I opened the message. The first sentence roped me in:

Introducing Chenaab Restaurant which specializes in Indian & Chinese Cuisine.

I love Indian food. And I love what Indian chefs do with Chinese cuisine. So my first thought was, "excellent - a new place to try". Then, of course, I wondered "Where did they get my email address?" How did they know I'd be interested? Am I on some secret list of exotic food connoisseurs? And actually, "Good for them! They managed to deliver the right message to the right person."

Typically, the SPAM I get is for things that I have no interest in or are obvious Phishing or scam attacks. This one actually seemed on-target. The second line put me off a bit, but I figured it was just a language-use issue and I decided to overlook it:

We have been taking care of gastronomy needs of the corporate.

The lesson learned from that line? Have someone proofread your copy. Ideally, someone from the target audience. I know the definition of the word. Ironically, it has to do with culture and in this instance, I think it's clashing with my cultural bias. I know logically that the definition fits its use in this message, but when I see the word gastronomy, I can't help but think of a trip to the doctor's office. ...maybe that's my working class roots?

The rest looked great... watch the food being prepared, air conditioned, free Wi-fi, etc. Sounds great. Then, all the way at the bottom, I read something that told me I'd probably never eat at the new Chenaab restaurant. And I realized that they had, in fact, NOT reached the right audience. If I were them, I'd even ask for my money back from whoever they bought their list.

The restaurant is in Bangalore India.

So, the real lesson: Get the basics right about your target audience. The details (in this case, what kind of food they like) is less important than the basics (do they live within reasonable distance to the restaurant's location).

Smart People are Brand Insensitive

I was listening to an Information Security-related podcast and this came out as an off-topic anecdote, but it struck me as an important thought for marketers. An experienced ad-driven podcaster once asked his team why they were running car ads instead of ads for related (high-tech) products. The answer was that "most companies think smart people are brand insensitive" and that:

Brand is the Refuge of the Ignorant

The implication is that its not worth running brand ads in forums inhabited by smart people. I'd love to see the related research on that. I have seen examples of this in the real world, but brand advertising can be so powerful, its hard to think of it as ineffective just because an audience is smart.

NIN & the iPhone

Trent Reznor lives on the cutting edge of technology, which makes perfect sense when you look at his creative process and the music of Nine Inch Nails. His latest foray - the NIN iPhone app - is one example of how willing he is to experiment with technology while making his music, and more importantly his brand, that much more accessible to fans.

The iPhone application has some great features. The community building via Google Earth is a great idea - showing forum posts, uploaded photos, and concert chatter in real time, whether the poster is at the concert or half-way around the world. Viewable on the iPhone app of course, but also within a web browser for those at home or using some other type of smart phone. But the best part - it's free.

Free for the taking.

Like the fan-created remixes of his music, submitted by anyone with an internet connection who visits the NIN website and registers to get started. Here, we'll give you the software and the MP3 files of original songs. Go ahead, show us what you've got!

Some artists embrace this kind of openness and sharing with their fan base (see also: Moby), while others struggle to reconcile copyrights and revenue with an internet-fueled market where users continually expect higher levels of access. Rather than strain against the tide of file sharing, remixes, and mash-ups, these creatives have figured out a way to harness that power to become more ingrained in fans' lives. And their brand cache gets a bump in the process.

How Lovely to Be a Woman?

Last night while viewing a rerun of The King of Queens, I caught a glimpse of the new Walmart cosmetics commercial.

Women in various states of beautifying themselves with cosmetic products as "How Lovely to Be a Woman" from Bye Bye Birdie chirps brightly over the action. This continues for much of the commercial until the selling message - Walmart has loads of well-known cosmetic brands at low prices! - is revealed at the conclusion.

What confused me was the ad's tone, which came off - to this viewer - as completely tongue-in-cheek. Poking fun at the level of effort women go through to 'make themselves beautiful.' I'm not sure if it was the video footage itself (a couple women looked to be preparing for clown auditions). Or the soundtrack. Or both.

I'll readily admit I'm not their target audience. My beauty regimen, if we can even call it that, normally consists of face lotion and chapstick. Maybe a tinted lip gloss if I'm feeling particularly sassy that morning. Was I being overly cynical? Too sensitive to the level of pressure already placed on women's physical appearances? Maybe.

But after the ad finished, I turned to my husband and asked what he thought - without leading the witness in any way. His reaction: it's making fun of cosmetics.

I doubt that's what Walmart is hoping for.

New, Easy Open Cap!

Some product improvements are just bad business.

If you've ever opened a jar of Hellman's mayonnaise, you might have had to struggle through the shrink-wrapped tamper-evidence seal. I usually have to grab a knife out of a nearby drawer to slice open the plastic. Some products use a perforated vertical strip to make it easier. Others use a hard plastic tear-strip that pulls right to left. The Hellman's jar I opened today had a better experience.

There was a big sticker on top exclaiming New, Easy Open Cap! ...something I didn't notice as I grabbed it off the shelf. There was no plastic shrink-wrap and no tear-strip. All I had to do was spin the cap open just like I do normally and listen for the snapping sound as it opened for the first time. Better? Sure. But do I really care? No.

Although I regularly felt the inconvenience of the tamper-evidence seal, it NEVER occurred to me that I should switch brands to make it easier to open. Or that I should use less mayo. ...which leads me to the point. Hellman's no doubt went through focus groups, re-engineering, changes to the manufacturing process, and lots of other costs to make this simple change. If it doesn't cause someone to buy who wouldn't have already bought, then all of that cost was unjustified.

I see the same type of moves in technology product sales. Vendors spend time and money building and delivering features that won't influence sales. I know that a group of useless features could be bundled into some category like "innovative" that makes people buy, but that misses the point.

My point is simple. Prioritize the road map based on what will deliver real value to buyers. And don't waste money on improving the tamper-evidence seal – even if the new seal is considered super cool by everyone in the industry. Increased value for customers is the only clear indicator of money well spent.

Strategically speaking

I found this B L Ochman post very educational for anyone considering social media as part of their overall marketing strategy.

Excellent questions to stimulate serious thought and sound planning prior to jumping in the pool. Even more welcomed than her straight-forward tone, it showcases how social media (when done right) is no different than any marketing campaign. Sure, there are a wealth of free to relatively inexpensive resources online to convey your story - as opposed to the often uneconomical path of traditional media buying or print advertising - but companies need to recognize a shotgun approach won't see results. And though the technology may not be costly, there still needs to be effort and resources put behind a campaign so it's not merely an after-thought. It's a marathon not a sprint.

The CMO/agency conversation struck me, as well.

Placing it on the personal level - how many of us want to be friends with someone who withholds information, or scrubs their language so as to never truly feel genuine? As though s/he is interested only in what we are sharing, not vice versa? How many long-lasting, valued relationships happen within weeks or even months of first meeting?

Social media isn't a quick fix; it's simply another way of communicating to consumers and prospective new consumers.

Building relationships takes time.

Inbound Marketing hurts Innovation

I went to the HubSpot blog to read about Inbound Marketing Lessons from Phish. I left a comment there, but wanted to raise the question here too.

We all see that inbound marketing has become a key part of our marketing lives. And the success stories are analogous to those of real-estate investments. We all hear the stories about people who put nothing into it and get back incredible returns. The flip-side applies as well. For every one who super-succeeds, there are fifty who do mediocre or worse.

But here's my real concern. If buyers shut down cold-calling, email blasts, postal mail, and other more traditional marketing mechanisms, it's going to shape the way that manufacturers design products. #1 priority is going to be ability to create the all-powerful buzz. Because that's going to be the only mechanism to which the buyers are tuned-in.

Will innovators prioritize creation of flashy/cool features over the traditionally more important "solid architecture" and "core functionality" underneath? ...because if they don't, they're going to get buried by companies that do. Even if their product is head-and-shoulders above.

Digital Hack Night

Over the course of 4 hours last night in Ohio, 2 things occurred:

- $100,000 was raised for the charity Feeding America.
- P&G executives learned - hands-on - the influence of social media.

The price-tag? $4,000.

Surely Digital Hack Night's charitable focus helped bolster the engagement and contributions of the marketing professionals' networks and those executives from other companies. But what impressed me most was how a basic training exercise was transformed into a major online event.

In essence, P&G spent $4,000 to help their marketing teams and executives become immersed in social media, while at the same time creating an excellent PR opportunity for the corporation, as well as Google, Facebook, and MySpace. Rather than simply hold internal training sessions on what 'social media' is, they got their hands dirty and let cross-functional teams compete in a widely tracked, online contest. No didactic presentations or PowerPoint slides. Competition and creative thinking. An experience vs. a class.

All of this resulting in a nice chunk of change for Feeding America.

Nice.

Google's Ultimate Power

Recently, I decided to make some adjustments to one of my Google PPC campaigns. ...normal stuff like adjusting bid prices, adding keyword phrases, and adding broad-match or exact-match phrases. Next thing I know, Google dropped my quality scores on just about every keyword in that campaign. ...from around 7-8 to 1-2. That's the difference between life and death in the PPC world. And then the ads weren't showing. Was it something I said?

A few months back, I attended a seminar on SEO that told me to use a domain name that matched my ad copy. So, I did. I bought domains that matched my keywords and ran ads back to landing pages on those domains. It seemed to work. I don't really know if worked better than if I didn't use a matching domain, but I was getting results. Then, Google decided to un-list my site. Why? Because it saw two domains with the same content and determined that to be fraud. I found this out only because I happened to be in the Google Webmaster Tools. Luckily, I removed the alternate content, applied 301 redirects, went through the objection process and they re-listed the site. What a Hassle.

Google has the power to effectively shut down a business if that business is relying on web traffic. And they don't give you a rule-book to play by. So, it's a game of hit-and-miss. And web has become the de-facto mechanism for B2B research. You don't use a phonebook or rely on the physical mailbox to find an enterprise software solution. You use Google. As a marketer, my audience is screaming at me to NOT use email and NOT use (cold) phone calls. So, we are choosing to limit our options to Google. It's dangerous.

Google is essentially limiting your choice to companies who have savvy-enough web marketing to survive. And sometimes simple mistakes or misinformation cause a de-listing. It's bad for sellers and buyers. I think it's time to start advocating a better way. I'm not saying that Google should do anything different. They're good at what they do and provide a fantastic service for navigating the billions of web pages out there. But as a B2B buyer, I can't rely on Google to help me find my best options. And I don't know where else to go.

The Facebook Facelift

My morning routine typically includes Headline News - or "HLN" as they've recently rebranded themselves. Their Morning Express with Robin Meade perfectly compliments my first cup of coffee so it's sort of stuck. I get a little Robin with my caffeine to ease me into the day.

What surprised me this morning was a feature about Facebook's upcoming redesign. Not that it isn't news, don't get me wrong. But that it was shown alongside HLN's regular stream of political pieces, who's who in bail out packages, and sports headlines. I wouldn't call Morning Express cutting edge when it comes to their technology coverage. Facebook's representation in the lineup clearly indicates its impact.

Facebook smartly released a preview of the new layout explaining 'streams' and the ability for enhanced filtering. In the past they've launched changes with little to no notice and dealt with the consequences from a very vocal community of users. Nice to see them evolving their approach towards their consumers.

Recovery.biden

In yet another slip of the Biden tongue, he's apparently reveling in his role of Old Man Capitol to Obama's Internet Savvy Outsider.

see clip on CNN

It's a "web address" Joe - not a "web number." I'd also accept "URL" as a response.

This single word faux pas has the internet lampooning Biden in much the same way Bush was skewered throughout his tenure for not *quite* getting that whole World Wide Web thing. Biden also pointed any number of people to the wrong site when he quoted the domain as Recovery.com vs. the actual Recovery.gov during a press conference. Sure it's an easy mistake to make, but when you've got an audience like the White House press corps at your feet, you want to nail that home run. Let's increase some web traffic, Joe!

Careful, everyone. Particularly those of us (I'm looking at you, politicians of a certain age) who aren't completely comfortable with the lingo or maybe even the entire concept of the internet. Whether or not you like it, you should respect its omnipresent impact on our lives. Especially its uncanny ability for sharing a verbal slip like this one!

Marketing via the Social Web

This week, eWeek posted an article discussing a study done on social technologies and marketing by Forrester Research. Something struck me as a bit off. Consider this excerpt:

But when it comes to being swayed to spend their dollars on business technology, 84 of the surveyed decision makers were more likely to rely on word of mouth from peers and colleagues, while 45 percent said they were swayed by forums, online communities and social networks.

I get that buyers are most motivated by word-of-mouth and people they trust. But isn't that the exact point of social technologies. The social web is a mechanism of communication – not a source of information. The buyers' peers and colleagues are still the source.

Maybe what they're saying is that they don't trust social web sites to paint a true picture of the people they're communicating with? Maybe they think it's a conspiracy amongst software vendors? I don't like the way that the data was presented here. Peers and Social Media are not alternative sources of information.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

When I was a programmer, everything was trial-and-error. I would come up with a set of functions and techniques to get a desired result and then it was: [try it > troubleshoot > scrap it > start-over] in cycles until the code worked.

It's similar in marketing, but on a much bigger scale. Instead of a few lines of code, it's an entire campaign. [Identify an audience > pick a medium > create a message > implement] No results? There goes a nice chunk of change. Embrace failure and try it again. ...or if you're not comfortable embracing failure, apply a different success metric.

But it's not just a problem for us small fries. Pepsi is dumping the new packaging for it's Tropicana line of Orange Juice. That's a failed campaign that must be worth millions. But, that's the nature of the game -- you have to try new things to see what works. Marketing is a Wash, Rinse, Repeat type of process.

Pay-Per-Click Success: Improve PPC Results

It's actually pretty easy to get good results with Google's Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising if you do things the right way. Google's top priority - they're mantra - is Relevancy, Relevancy, Relevancy (so I've heard). That's why they're #1 to the point that they're almost a monopoly. Early on, they realized that people will use the engine that returns relevant results most often. And that is certainly the case.

So, even if advertiser A is willing to pay more per click than advertiser B for a given keyword, B will still be at the top of the results list if it's page is more relevant. So, the question is, how does Google's PPC engine determine relevancy? Well, three ways primarily:

- Good SEO: All the things you do to get your site to show up in Google's natural search results should also be a part of your PPC campaign pages as well. Think page titles, heading tags, good coding techniques, content, absence of cheat techniques, etc.

- Common Thread: There needs to be a common thread between the keyword searched, the ad copy, the campaign keywords, and the landing page. This may create a lot of work, but it's effective.

- Inbound Links: Google does its own analysis of whether your content is relevant for a given search term, but it also relies on other people's viewpoint. If they link to your page, your page's relevancy goes up. If their link contains a keyword, your relevancy for that keyword goes up even higher. The power of inbound links is why people are tempted to cheat and create their own inbound links. But, don't get caught or your relevancy scores could be wiped out for good. The best way to get good inbound links is to provide valuable content. When publishers find content of value, they will share it with their audience. And ultimately, that's the kind of traffic you want.

Apps-Only Advertising

Interesting article (& brief media piece) about the explosion of applications as an advertising medium.

All of those "fun" apps on social networking sites are now sought after real estate since users are spending more and more time online than with the more traditional media outlets. Seriously, how many of us sit through the ads during a first-run television show from the major networks?

The fractioning of audiences has some brands scrambling to make their presence felt. It's likely those burgeoning 'apps only' agencies will find themselves with a wealth of out-of-work ad talent to choose from!

Give Something to Get Something

I already mentioned this on my other blog, but Verisign is now giving away free secure storage. It's another great example of giving something away to generate demand for the core product. In this case, Verisign is giving away OpenID and secure storage services in hopes of (I assume) driving sales of their strong authentication tokens.

We've seen a good amount of this in the software business too - companies give away a free less-feature-rich version – or sometimes a small utility – with hopes that you'll want to upgrade to the full version. When I was at MaXware (now SAP), we had a free LDAP browser utility. I think it got us some name recognition amongst the right audience, but I don't know if it led to any real sales. Of course, the utility was years old and all but decommissioned by the time I joined the company.

I'd love to find some data on this approach to see what works and what doesn't.

This Sucks. Let's Play.

It does suck, doesn't it?

Advertising Age is hosting a different kind of networking event in March at MJ Armstrong's in NYC. It's a great concept positioned with humor which we all sorely need right now, don't we? Excerpting the content of their email campaign for it, which I received today:

When the going gets grisly, real players get busy. As the industry leader we believe it's our duty to amply supply you with whatever you need - and what you need right now is a much needed break.

So come circulate. Fraternize. Work it. Mingle. This Sucks. Let's Play.

A networking event featuring original games and a brand/advertising quiz hosted by Ad Age editor, Jonah Bloom. Plus, for $35 there's food AND an open bar. These Ad Age types really are industry leaders!

You can register online here.

Yes they did

Whether or not you agree with Obama's politics - or what he's done so far in office (the clock's ticking on the ole "First 100 Days"...), his online presence is impressive.

His adept use of the internet to bolster and veritably redefine grassroots campaigning has been touted throughout the press. The whitehouse.gov redesign going live exactly at noon on Inauguration Day? Nice. Not only symbolizing the distinct change from one administration to another but providing a much cleaner and streamlined information resource to anyone in the US with an internet connection. Just this morning, 2 blog posts about what the President and First Lady are up to (follow Obama on his first foreign trip - to Canada!)

Some might argue this level of transparency is a security risk, but his embrace of technology and social media is to be applauded. There is a wide swath of the country that's felt removed from government and kept in the dark, and no - not solely due to the past administration's actions. One's comments submitted via the 'contact us' page may not be directly addressed - I can only imagine the volume - but isn't it refreshing to feel that you can contact the White House so easily?

It will be interesting to see how this continues, particularly once the shine has dulled a bit on the Obama brand.

Say Hi to Kate

I'm excited to announce that the Sing It blog is now a collaborative effort. And I'm happy to welcome Kate Moore as a contributor! Kate is an excellent writer with extensive marketing experience. She has spent the last decade creating B2B marketing solutions in both the online and offline worlds. I'm confident that having her on the team will mean better content and more real-world experience. Welcome Kate!

Keyword Research Tools

I've been wondering about keyword research solutions like SpyFu and KeywordSpy. SEOCorner recently provided a nice head-to-head comparison of the two. I also read this explanation of how SpyFu works and where/why the data might be wrong. For, now, I think I'll stick to my current process. I don't see these tools really helping me out all that much. I'd love to hear real-world stories about how these solutions actually helped someone.

Matt Flynn - Marketing?

If you're here, it's probably because you know me from the identity management world. And you might be thinking, "Matt Flynn... Marketing?"

Well, over the past few years as I've worked for software companies, I've gotten increasingly more involved with marketing. Think whitepapers, tradeshows, content, etc. In my current role at NetVision, in addition to helping with strategy, I handle most of the marketing effort – everything from product data sheets and whitepapers to web SEO and PPC campaigns (my background in web development and search engine marketing has come in quite handy even if I was a bit rusty at first).

Now, that I'm managing a particular function, I'm on the receiving end as well – engaging with vendors who are marketing to me. So, on any given day, I get to be on both sides of the conversation.

In my day-to-day routine, I often want to write about marketing-related topics, but it doesn't seem appropriate on my identity management blog, so I started this one. I'll talk about writing content, PR, web and email marketing, use of the social web, trade shows, and the like. ...at least, that's the idea.

Why 'Sing It'?

At least once, you've walked out of a vendor pitch meeting feeling like you don't remember anything that went on in that room for the past hour.

That's the opposite of what happens when you hear a good song on your way to work. When I hear a good song in the morning, I often find myself singing it all day (see earworm). Songs don't only get stuck in your head, they evoke feeling. Songs have the power to make you feel like you did ten years when you heard that song. That's powerful.

And that's the idea behind Sing It. In vendor marketing, you need to do more than say something. You need to Sing It. You need your audience to leave the room with an idea in their head and a feeling associated to your brand. So, the next time they see your name, they'll have a feeling and a thought to go with it. Then you'll know the pitch was effective.