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.