The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing Blog

Lee Odden’s “Optimizes” SES NY 2012: Part 2 March 26, 2012 – 11:29 pm				Arman Rousta

[This is Part 2 of 2 in a review of Lee Odden's Search Engine Strategies NY 2012 Session. Part 1 is available here.]

Picking up on my original post last week, here are a few more slides (from Lee) and observations (from me) on Lee Odden’s SES NY presentation.

[SLIDE 5: SOCIAL SEO KPIs & BUSINESS OUTCOMES]

Odden poses an important question to digital marketers and online-focused companies – “What if Google disappeared tomorrow?” followed by a recommendation “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket!  Optimize for consumers, experiences and outcomes.”  The Social SEO KPIs slide brings to light the Business Outcomes in order to take some of the focus off obsession with KPIs, which in and of themselves, fluctuate in importance.  Insightful comment of the day from Odden, in my view was “KPIs are just a stepping stone to get what we really want, which are tangible business outcomes.”

[SLIDE 6: TOP 6 CONTENT MARKETING TACTICS: AND HOW TO OPTIMIZE THEM]

The 2011 Content Marketing Playbook, put out by the Content Marketing Institute, identifies these six tactics [1) Blog, 2) Digital Newsletter, 3) White Paper, 4) Article, 5) eBook and 6) Video] amongst the top ten CM tactics for 2011.  Odden takes us through them, giving some tips on best practices in each area.  There was no one strategy trumps all or correct strategy mix for companies to follow.  eBooks might work well for a particular company or industry, while Videos work better for a different industry.

[SLIDE 7: 30 CONTENT MARKETING TACTICS]

Odden outlines a larger list of 30 Content Marketing Tactics, which are further expanded upon in his blog.  As a marketer who has run campaigns across all of these 30 channels, my personal favorites from this list are – 1) Webinars, 2) Crowdsourcing, 3) Mobile Apps, 4) Videos and 5) Infographics.  We are reminded that regardless of the strategies utilized, keyword strategies and trending social media topics should be at the heart of them.  For example, if you want to get attention for “red widgets”, then interview a bunch of people who are “red widget” experts, and make sure to ask them a lot of questions with the wording “red widgets” as well as related phrases.  Transcribing the interview Q&A will yield a healthy amount of mentions for “red widgets” and related keywords in the text, which provides a major SEO benefit.

[SLIDE 8: CONTENT IDEAS]

Some of the memorable tips in this part of the presentation include:

• Interview Other Bloggers: Ask one question to many bloggers (so you get a high percentage of responses) or many (10 or so questions) to fewer bloggers.
• Aggregate Comments: Pull together the best comments from other blogs, and your own blogs; and put them into a fresh post or widget.
• Use of Hash Tags & Twitter Handles: Put hash tags and twitter @ handles in title tags of blog posts, and watch some cool things happen.

I like #7 as well, and have used that quite successfully for a Blueliner client (Completely Bare, a leading Laser Hair Removal and Spray Tan Spa) who gets a ton of customer inquiries to their blog.  We setup each question to come in as a new blog post, with the question as the title, and answer (from the company) as the body content.  Huge SEO benefits accumulated from this tactic.

CONCLUSION

I like Lee Odden’s presentation style.  He doesn’t mince words or talk a lot of fluff.  It’s straight advice given by a marketing professional who does “walk the talk”.  His own company, like Blueliner, does not spend a penny on advertising – because their inbound marketing strategy is so strong.  I have learned a few things from him over the years, most important of which is the consistency of his efforts in quality, multi-form content creation.  That is a lesson that everyone should take home and meditate deeply on.  Whether it’s Google, Facebook, Pinterest or the next big thing, it will be some type of content aggregator and database, that seeks out high quality content providers.  Will you be one of them?

Posted by Arman Rousta
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, Blog Marketing, Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing | 2 Comments »
Tags: #sesny, @arousta, @leeodden, Content Marketing, Inbound Marketing, odden, Social KPIs

Lee Odden “Optimizes” SES NY March 22, 2012 – 8:01 pm				Arman Rousta

I have always been a fan of Lee Odden – one of the digital marketing industry’s thought leaders – and got the chance to finally meet him today after watching his talk at SES NY.  Odden strength is in his effective communication and knack for weaving that skill into great content strategy, production and distribution.  He recently authored Optimize, which I hope to win a free copy of by live blogging from the conference (I have been taking notes and pictures throughout the session, which have been going up on Twitter – @blueliner while citing @leeodden with the #sesny hashtag throughout).  Win or not, I plan to read the book because I value what Odden has to offer, and encourage other marketers to do the same.  His message is simple, but the work required behind it is not as easy as it looks.  It requires real dedication, of time and resources, to follow through on an effective Content Marketing strategy.  Luckily, Odden gives us some good tools and a framework to approach Content Marketing, while weaving in SEO and Social Media (notice that 3 of our 7 Pillars are covered).

Here is a quick summary of my notes from today’s one-hour session in a kind of slide show (Odden’s slides, not all of them or in the order they were presented) + commentary (my observations) format:

[SLIDE 1: KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE]

Odden reminds us that Content Marketing is not just about adding more content and pages to your website; but rather about strategically devising content for specific audiences.  It’s common sense, but surprisingly, a lot of businesses don’t spend enough time doing their research and segmentation on the types of customers they have.  Odden instructs that this process should be part of the initial discovery stage of a content marketing strategy.

[SLIDE 2: CREATING CUSTOMER PERSONAS]

Once a basic level of research is done on existing CRM and Analytics data, creating Personas – which are essentially profiles of what your target customers look like demographically and behaviorally – is the next step.  These Personas then guide the content, Social and SEO strategies.  Odden got into a lot more detail about this, which I would refer to you to his new Content Marketing book website to learn more about.

[SLIDE 3: HUB & SPOKE MODEL]

Odden utilizes this Hub & Spoke Publishing model to demonstrate all of the various channels through which we can distribute and repurpose our content, as well as that of others.  Some useful tips are recommended, like “Oreo cookie commentary”, where you curate other people’s content with your own twist (kind of like what I’m doing with this blog entry, leveraging Odden’s content – the Oreo filling, but adding my own introduction and perspective around it).  Ultimately, depending on the size of your content team, a realistic checklist and process has to be agreed on, then activated via a manageable Editorial Calendar.

[SLIDE 4: SEO FITS IN EVERYWHERE!]

Odden advises us to “think more holistically about where (and what) you can optimize.”  Most companies have more digital assets (such as PowerPoint presentations, videos, white papers, and images) than they realize.  Identifying those, and building a Digital Assets Management system, so that these nuggets are accessible for various Content Marketing initiatives, is a good step.  This slide also illustrates how pervasive SEO is to the entire life cycle of a customer’s experience with any product or service category.

CONCLUSION

I have a bit more to say on this topic, and more slides from Odden’s workshop to share in Part 2 (published on March 26, 2012).  For now, I just wanted to get something out while still at the conference, while it’s fresh.

Posted by Arman Rousta
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, Blog Marketing, Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing | 4 Comments »
Tags: #sesny, hub & spoke, Lee Odden, personas

Choosing Complimentary Colors January 25, 2012 – 5:59 pm				Aurélien Uster

Choosing complimentary colors is a gift innate in many. The ability to pick various colors and gradients that appeal to a large variety of people is what makes many people great interior designers, fashion designers, and web designers.

Creative collateral serves two purposes. First and foremost, it has to be able to garner the attention of the consumer. A logo for instance, has to rely on its basic shape and color to be noticeable from a distance and at a quick glance. Then it has appeal to the consumer for a long enough time to effectively guide their eyes through its message. In digital marketing, these messages often act as an instantaneous call to action – a precursor to a successful conversion.

The importance of solid creative cannot be underestimated. Color contrasts are chosen at times for particular reasons. There’s an old rumor of a fast food giant that uses alternating colors to promote desired consumer action. Red and yellow were rumored to have been chosen for their abilities to quickly grab the attention of a potential consumer.

The colors were also said to have tested positively for hungry customers (red) and to then successfully turn them off to the point of leaving their facilities upon finishing their meal. This was based on the time spent looking at the unfavorable tint of yellow in contrast to red. While the colors used to pull them in were bright and vibrant, and same colors used indoors carried a slightly duller tint. As the consumer leaves the facilities, they have freed up space for a new customer, improving the restaurant’s turnaround time, allowing them to seat more, serve more, and thus earn more.

Weather this was an implied strategy or not, it’s no secret that something as simple as two colors together can influence the way in which a person views, reads, and interacts with a website, a banner, and more. Colors that promote various actions and deliver conversions require various degrees of market testing. Having a wide range of variations to choose from is where any designer wants to start. For those that have a limited imagination outside their current train of thought, the Color Scheme Designer can help you mix things up.

Here is a quick tutorial to guide you through the website that may be very useful:

You can choose the background color with your mouse (step 1) and then compare the different combinations given when you pick 1, 2, 3 or 4 colors (step 2). As you choose the first color, you will be able to see immediately the complementary colors given by the website (step 3).

When you like a color combination, you can click “Light page preview” or “Dark page preview” (step 4) to see how those colors would look like on a web page, as it will display a fake web page using the colors you have picked.

If you like those colors, put your mouse over them (step 5) to get the color code and start using them!

Finally, the top menu allows you to choose from various options (such as RGB or Web colors), to randomize a palette to get a complete random range of colors. It also even allows you to export your palette in order to use later (you can export it as a HTML+CSS file, an XML file or even a Photoshop or GIMP palette)

Remember to use these popular color variations to perform AB and multivariate testing on your website. This can be done simply with Google Website Optimizer. While you can test for several things on any page you want, the webpage color scheme that allows for the lowest bounce rate, the highest conversions, and most time spent on your site is probably the winner!

Posted by Aurélien Uster
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Digital Media, Graphic Design, Interactive Marketing, Website Design | No Comments »
Tags: 7 pillars, Blueliner, complimentary colors, digital advertising, digital marketing, Marketing, ux testing

Daily Deals will Die by 2016, says Forrester’s report November 21, 2011 – 7:47 pm				Damjan Arsovski

By 2016, advertisers will be spending $77 billion on interactive marketing, as much as they do on TV nowadays, the interactive marketing components (SEM, display ads, mobile, e-mail marketing and social media) will grow to 35% of all advertising spend as they get highly involved in the marketing mix, and the daily deals will switch from winners to losers… these are some of the interesting predictions in the latest US Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2011 to 2016 published by the Forrester Research Group.

The forecast, free to download, explains that in the upcoming years, advertisers will spend more money on interactive marketing because of the excitement about emerging media, the effectiveness of the interactive marketing and the overall customer obsession with online media and mobile devices.

The report contains many interesting predictions, some of them a bit controversial and very doubtful, but still worth taking them in consideration when working on your next strategies and business spending.

Beside concentrating on the mobile and social media expansions, one part of the report that I really was surprised to see was the prediction that the daily deals would die.

The reason for this statement, Forrester is putting in these words:

“Standing out above the clutter becomes harder for marketers as ad exposures grow. So some marketers unable to differentiate will rely on spontaneous coupons through more and more urgent Groupon-like “daily deals” as one way to drive notice. Consumers will grow so conditioned to micro-impulse offers that they’ll lose practice at considered decisions — in all walks of life, not just when buying spa treatments. Facing a cultural descent into maladroit judgment, employers (and spouses) will blacklist impulse deals to keep people intentional.”

Controversal, but yet very interesting forecast. What do you think?

Posted by Damjan Arsovski
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, Business News, Digital Media, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, web 2.0 | 2 Comments »
Tags: daily deals, forrester, forrester research, Interactive Marketing, marketers, marketing agency, marketing company, moble marketing

Conflicts of an Ethical Marketer September 21, 2011 – 4:45 pm				Arman Rousta

I’m the majority shareholder and CEO of a small but global company. That gives me some degree of authority and influence over roughly 40 people (Blueliner’s staff or as I prefer to call them, “The Blueliner Family”) in three countries. If you work the network effect from there, and assume each of these people has direct influence over at least 5 people (their close family and friends), that circle grows to 200. A couple of degrees out from there, and we’re into the mid-thousands. The point is this – with leadership, comes responsibility and opportunity to influence others. At least I see it as a responsibility; others may not. What we do with that opportunity, to a large part, defines our character. They say that to find out who someone really is, give them power and see what they do with it.

On that note, I’ve been struggling for a long time with the whole setup of free markets and how the concept seems to clash with ethics and the greater good for a society, and the world at large. The free market concept basically presumes – “if people consume it, then there’s a market and suppliers should compete to provide it (whatever IT may be).” A lot of products may be up for debate as to whether they are truly good for people and society. I do believe that most things in moderation are alright for us – but who am I to judge? Where this bothers me the most is in the category called “vices”, which is comprised of cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, military arms and guns, pornography and gambling. I simply have a hard time getting myself motivated to work on behalf of these industries. Does it matter whether I do or not? Obviously, there is good money to be made and someone is going to snag the business; already, the marketing machines behind these industries are vast and well-developed. They could really care less about some small agency’s CEO running around on his high horse. For me, it’s not about them – it’s about me, and the small but significant circle of influence that I do have. If I say “no to vices clients”, then it sends a message to the Blueliner Family and their families, and so on. Plus, I can sleep better at night, knowing that, while we are in a business that plays on consumer psychology attempting to influence people through all kinds of messaging, we’re at least not contributing to the influence of people towards what I consider negative and detrimental products.

“Business is business” so they say. “It’s tough out there. You can’t turn away a major category of opportunity.” Well, yes I can. This is one of the reasons that I decided to start my own companies 15+ years back; I don’t care for the politics or bureaucracy of debating such issues that in my mind are very clear cut. There is other business to be won. We’ll turn our attention elsewhere with the confidence in our hearts that we do stand for something.

Do you know anyone who has gotten terminal lung cancer? How about someone who died in a drunken driving accident? Gone to rehab for drug addiction? Lost thousands of hard-earned dollars or gone in to debt gambling? Been killed by guns, missiles, rockets or bombs – on the streets or in the battlefield? I do, all of the above. The thought of promoting any of the products that are directly responsible for preying on human weakness and abetting these tragedies is one that I cannot consciously accept. Even under the financial pressure of growing a global business across several countries, I have decided that Blueliner will stand for something. We will not support the vices category of business.

While I have always held these views, and rejected many lucrative offers to enter the vices business before – predominantly porn and gambling web design and internet marketing offers – I have never issued a formal statement. What prompted this statement was a recent meeting, a few weeks back, that I will recall for you. So I was sitting in a meeting with two of my colleagues at a major tobacco company’s headquarters – name withheld for confidentiality purposes – and left with a splitting headache. The room smelled like smoke. It was like a scene from Devil’s Advocate. “There’s a lot of money to be made here” I thought. As soon as we walked out, I started chuckling and looked over to Arbab while we shook our heads. “No way” I thought, “I don’t want this account.”

Porn is the #1 business on the Internet. Gambling is the #2 business on the web. We’re walking away from both of those “opportunities” because this opportunity – the responsibility that I feel as a leader of a small but important group of people – is one that I don’t want to miss. I strive to be a conscious and ethical business man, and hope to encourage others to be the same. The footprint that we leave in our career path and our lives does matter. The marketplace offers many, many opportunities to earn a good living while also doing what’s right and productive for society. And there are consequences to our actions, whether we like to believe it or not, whether we feel it now or later, whether or not we can connect the karmic dots. This marketer has gone through the internal conflicts and is now drawing a clear line in the sand. Every day, I’ll continue to monitor this line and see what I believe belongs on the right and wrong side of it. From this process, the intention is created which will attract companies that we feel good about, who feel good about us, and that we can put our SEO, Social Media, Web Design and Web Development skills to work for.

Posted by Arman Rousta
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog | 3 Comments »
Tags: 7 pillars, Blueliner Marketing, business ethics, digital marketing, digital strategy, SEO

Virtual Farm Reaps Profit July 4, 2011 – 2:45 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Zynga’s IPO bid last week for a reported $20 billion is not too surprising.  The virtual social gaming application, according to the WSJ, generates a profit margin of more than 30% of prnot including stock compensation expenses.  Unlike most games tied to social media networks, Zynga does little interactive marketing. Their pure product engages users to pay for tokens which are redeemed with one click.  Another interesting point in the Journal article discusses the success of Zynga in the future.

Zynga‘s elevation was tied to their partnership through Facebook, whose wealth of personal data made it a simple driver for revenue growth.  Executives at Zynga now seem to want their application to leave the nest, so to speak.  They have yet to be a factor in Apple’s massive App Store, where users can sync digital content across platforms. Web analytics rank them outside of the top ten in downloads.  Android represents another option should Zynga develop a program using its standards.  Check that. Zynga has struck a partnership with AT&T to carry the mobile application.

In due time, it appears that Zynga will reap more of a digital harvest when the bid is accepted.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Mobile Applications | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, new york interactive marketing agency, social media news, web marketing new york

Weekly Blueliner Newsminer July 1, 2011 – 4:37 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Welcome to a holiday version of the Weekly Blueliner Newsminer.  I wish everyone safe travels during this festive moment in time.  I have a few things to run through, so let’s get started.

1.  Twitter Elevates an Unfinished Book to No. 1

Indiana author John Green hasn’t finished his next manuscript. It won’t be published until early next year. Nevertheless, his social media community is feverishly waiting.  According to the headline from the Journal, Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s e-commerce portals have the writer of Paper Towns as a No. 1 entry due to endless viral connections.  Publishers have long known that social media can be influential in delivering written content. Like any industry, however, the segmentation is affected on a greater basis than other penetration. Green already has his young-adult base entrenched through online lead generation. Publishers, be careful who you tweet.

2.  MySpace Sold For a Note

NewsCorp sold the once seminal MySpace to an online advertising firm for $35 million.  The media giant was seeking offers above $100 million, but nobody took the bait.  MySpace’s descent into digital oblivion is hardly shocking anymore. It lost relevancy once Facebook rose to public conscience in 2008.  Several cases of digital pedophilia also soured the website for users. It’s hackneyed website design also did not help matters.  Specific Media along with entertainer Justin Timberlake look to refurbish the company’s value and open it to public bidding.  It may be too late to replenish the brand, but people are trying.

3.  Marketers Using More Psychographic Data

Jamie Beckland discusses the fragmentation of today’s generation. He argues that due to all the new digital measurement tools which graph human behavior in more sophisticated contexts, we have psychographic profiles instead of demographic. Demographic profiles were targeted by mass-marketed producers.  I highly recommend reading the article by clicking on the headline. Fascinating.

4.  Google In the News

Techland has more of the details on Google’s system wide website redesign.  Executives want the interface to represent a cleaner, minimal aesthetic.  These were segmented into “Preview” and “Preview” (Dense).

Google is still trying to gain market share from Facebook and released Google + this week. The search engine has thrown the kitchen sink at the social media sector, to only come up short.  I think history repeats itself. Wired has a sobering take on the whole ordeal.

5.  I’m The Tax Man

Today in California, a new state law levies a tax on affiliate advertising. The law was intended to break up a huge business revenue stream from e-commerce giants like Amazon.  CEO Jeff Bezos made clear that the U.S. Constitution protects interstate merchants from state legislation.  I’ve spoken here a few times about the impact of e-commerce on state coffers. They feel it by customers avoiding brick-and-mortar shops and saving fuel by navigating with a point and closing with a click. The debate will only grow larger once venerable institutions are stuck with declining property mortgages.

That’s the Blue news for now. Keep it clean.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Digital Media, Interactive Marketing | 1 Comment »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, new york interactive marketing, weekly blueliner newsminer

Crack One Open With Untappd and Pintley July 1, 2011 – 1:14 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

The Fourth of July weekend is here, and I want to wish everyone safe travels to their destination. While you are enjoying food and spirits with your friends, a couple of new websites look to engage with your friends. Untappd is a social media application where beer connoisseurs can post their beverage of choice. Similar to hyperlocal applications, Untapped creates a virtual pub for participants to debate and discuss topics relating to the brewing sector.  The mobile interface allows you to tag your friends, posting comments on entries.  Businesses also have an opportunity to develop brand positioning strategies while offering awards for active customers.  I think microbreweries will have a strong opportunity for awareness through this segmentation.  They can engage with coupons for select drafts, inform of tasting events, and seek sponsorship for local events.  According to the report from Netted, users also have an archive tab to glance over their discoveries.

Those discoveries can be fleshed out on Pintley.  Pintley is another social media website where a user makes choices based on their individual palette. Pintley will use their algorithm to list recommendations and offer communities to talk about them.  You could say that Pintley is the graduate level of the brewing industry. Users have lauded the streamlined interface.  Take a virtual tour of Pintley here.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency, new york interactive marketing agency, online communities, Social Media Marketing, social media news

Digital Tool of The Day: Social Plug-in Tracking June 30, 2011 – 4:40 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Google Analytics offer a new tool which allows a data report that shows how people share your content online.  It could fall in line with influencer websites such as Klout and Peer Index.  This plug-in has unique differentiations.  They use the social media buttons already located in your dashboard.  You can look at the activity through three phases, analyzing these categories:  Engagement, Activities, and Management.  This link goes further in depth on the execution.  The video below will help agencies leverage the updated dashboard.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, google analytics news, Social Media Marketing, social plug-in tracking

An MBA in 30 Seconds or Less June 29, 2011 – 4:35 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

The economic downturn has forced many to make transcendent sacrifices in their lives.  Some people have had to relocate with family due to lack of resources. Others have returned to school.  What if you are not capable of either direction?  Or a mobile phone without a QWERTY keyboard?  What if you have a desktop with no Internet connection, heaven forbid?

For those who seek to learn about business and don’t have neither the finances nor time, look no further.  The people at Fast Company have developed a microsite titled, “The 30 Second MBA”.  The website design has a warm interface mixed with a tangerine color palette. Photo profiles of the participants, dubbed professors, are on the right side panel. A Twitter feed rolls on in the bottom right corner.  The contributors come from all ranks of business.

But this portal is not about the quality of the user experience.  Instead the program is delivering a concept in viral content which is gathering steam.  Society is processing information a little quicker with less patience.  The questions are fairly standard, but the answers delivered by the executives are insightful. They are sharp bullet points in a world of haphazard dots, like this program.  Kimberly Grant, the Planning Supervisor for Zenith Media, has some visual notes for you.  Class is in session.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Content Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: 30 second mba, Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency, fast company, online video advertising, Video Sharing, video sharing news