Whether it’s the Star Wars Kid, Leave Brittany Alone, or any other number of videos online, almost everyone has come in contact with a viral video. As soon as these videos hit the Internet, they amass millions of views in a very short time. While most of these videos are meant to simply make you laugh, marketers are trying to figure out how to use viral videos as a way to boost business. With sites such as YouTube, businesses have access to millions of viewers; but what is it about viral videos that make them different than all the other videos out there, and how can you make sure your video stands out?

An article by Mirna Bard offers 5 suggestions as to why some videos go viral and others don’t. She believes the key to a successful video is making sure your video is funny, uses some type of gimmick, has useful content, has an exciting title, and is no longer than 30-60 seconds.

Now these 5 elements will not guarantee that your video will go viral, but knowing what makes a video spread will help you create better content that will be shared across the Internet. Read the full article to see how video marketing might work for you.

So you’ve decided to take your small business into the online market. You know who you are targeting, know what you want to say, built your website, and are ready to sit back and watch the numbers come in. Only one problem: no one’s coming to your site. You ask yourself, what did I do wrong?

Surprisingly enough, you are not the only person asking this question. In his latest book, “Local Online Advertising for Dummies,” Court Cunningham discusses 10 of the most common mistakes small businesses make when starting their online market. Most mistakes, it turns out, are not in the execution, but with the thinking or perceptions behind it. Luckily, Cunningham points out that many of these mistakes can be easily avoided or corrected. So if you are having trouble with your online market, make sure you aren’t falling victim to these common errors.

Read the full article

Many companies these days are using online marketing techniques, such as banner ads and SEO, to generate business, but are they really getting their money’s worth? According to an article by Rebecca Daneault, probably not. A mere 2% of visitors that click an ad actually purchase something, but with a relatively unknown technique called retargeting, this number can go up drastically. Retargeting doesn’t just record how many visitors your site receives, but rather keeps track of products they show interest in, and strategically displays ads while they search the web.  Case studies have indicated that with retargeting, click-thru rates (CTR) can increase up to 375% with substantial gains in ROI. With these numbers, why wouldn’t you want to use retargeting?

So don’t just keep track of how many visitors your site is generating.  Add retargeting to your online marketing strategy and see what it can you do for you.

Back in April, Google announced they were changing their Local Business Center to Google Places. The tool enables business owners to manage their presence on Google. Google is making the push to become the de facto directory for local businesses on the web. The launch introduced a whole bunch of new features including local search and map listings, real-time updates, custom quick response (QR) codes and coupons, and even photo shoots for businesses. While Geo startup Foursquare (and even Twitter) is taking a social approach to local business listings, coupons, and offers, Google is approaching this from the search side. It is powerful as a search tool a far as that goes, but it is clear the location war is just beginning.

Thanks to everyone who attended the UCSD Extension’s Tech America online marketing seminar last week. I hope the presentation inspired to learn more about social media and how you can apply it to your business.

You can download a copy of my presentation here, check it out on Slide Share, or contact me via my LinkedIn profile if you have any additional questions.
Cheers,
Steve

Banner ads really do work – as long as they are well executed. So what causes a visitor to actually break the initial line of action – focus on the banner ad – and perhaps click through? There are some surprisingly consistent design elements that create successful banner ads. Of course, different banner ads, within different environments have diverse outcomes. Nonetheless, an early article by Jakob Nielsen, Banner Blindness: Old and New Findings, cites discoveries from eye-tracking research which show that there are some consistent principles at work in banner ads. This a very interesting article with good tips.

Heatmaps from eyetracking studies: The areas where users looked the most are colored red; the yellow areas indicate fewer views, followed by the least-viewed blue areas. Gray areas didn’t attract any fixations. Green boxes were drawn on top of the images after the study to highlight the advertisements.

Email marketing is a simple, cost-effective tool which helps build ongoing, interactive dialogues with your customers. Social media marketing is quickly becoming the easiest way to reach a large audience including your customers. What happens if the two are combined? Microsoft, Google and even possibly Facebook have plans to integrate email and social media. If they are successful, the consumer’s view of email and social media will become vastly integrated. As email marketers, it is important to prepare for this shift by developing an integrated strategy for both channels now. In his article, Integrating E-mail and Social Marketing: Do’s and Don’ts, Simms Jenkins, highlights four points to consider when merging these email and social media:

• Don’t Be the Cut-and-Paste Social Marketer
• Do Share Content and Value
• Do Open a New Door if Another One Closes
• Do Build Lists Strategically

Get ready for your viral marketing programs to become significantly more influential.

A landing page is any page on a website where traffic is sent specifically to respond to a call to action or prompt a result. When you send your audience to a landing page, you get direct response, you’re in control, and you get information. The landing page is one of the least understood practices of internet marketing. Many businesses do not realize the power that lies behind a thoughtfully crafted landing page.  Inside the Mind of a Landing Page gives you some useful insight into the value of creating a well-designed landing page.

It’s no secret…We depend on voices of authority for guidance before buying practically anything, and today’s consumers have a wealth of information and choices available at their fingertips. To help buyers make the leap from curious browsers to loyal customers, here’s what they want to know:

• You represent a trusted brand
• You are a knowledgeable advisor and a go-to source of information
• You have your customers best interests at heart

Case Study:

Bell Rock Growers is the pet industry’s pioneer grower and supplier of green nutrition products. The company was the first to distribute live wheat grass to pet stores nationally. Along the way, they realized there was a serious information gap with pet owners.  Many considered wheat grass to be a fun novelty item, but didn’t fully understand the health benefits of including it in their pets’ diets.

To help educate retailers and customers and support sales, Bell Rock Growers worked with Parallel Interactive to develop and market an eBook on the benefits of wheat grass for pets. Key messages from the eBook on the power of green nutrition are also included in their website, ads, press releases, media interviews, trade show booth, store displays, product catalogs, and packaging.   To date, the eBook has received over eleven thousand downloads from Bell Rock Growers’ website, coverage in national trade and consumer magazines and is used as a selling tool with online dealers.

Bell Rock Growers’ marquee product, Live Pet Grass®, has become a leading cat SKU (stock-keeping unit) with major retailers.  They’ve since extended the Pet Greens® products to include a popular line of dog and cat treats and an earth-friendly therapeutic grooming line, all made with nutrient-rich wheat grass.

Want to learn more about the value of thought leadership? Check out the following articles: Why Thought Leadership is Your Most Valuable Asset and Do’s and Don’ts of Thought Leadership Building

Imagine a PC that is always on, travels with you anywhere, contains all your data – personal and professional – and is customizable for your needs.

Now imagine that it only weighs about 5 oz and is probably in your purse or pocket right now.

Smartphones will outnumber PCs approximately two to one within the next few years, according to a December 2009 report from Morgan Stanley. Smartphone sales are expected to grow by year-over-year to overtaking laptop sales.

So what does this mean to traditional marketing companies? A lot. There is an entire new audience out there – one that never visits a website or sits in front of the TV. And there are new technologies for doing things you can only do (or want to do) from a mobile device.

So how do you market for this device? Not by using the traditional dotcom approach.

Mobile users want things fast. They want relevant information – not the whole enchilada (or PDF). They want location-aware services that know they are on the move. They want apps that realize they aren’t using a mouse, can’t usually print anything out, may have limited bandwidth and are using a keyboard the size of a credit card. A different approach is needed designing for this medium. Read more