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

Drowning in e-mail? You’re not alone. February 14, 2012 – 7:41 pm				Damjan Arsovski

Another awesome infographic on the topic of e-mail communication, developed by the Boomerang for Gmail tool that helps you schedule an email to be sent later.

The infographic shares insights from 5 million analyzed e-mails and explains that the average e-mail user received 147 messages every day, and spends around 2 hours on e-mail daily. Which is a lot of time!

Many other interesting details worth reading are included in this graphic:

Couple months ago I’ve read an interesting and controversial article in the news about a former French finance minister, now CEO of Atos Origin, one of the largest IT companies in France, who gave it’s employees 18 months to adapt a practice of not communicating via e-mail.

After the deadline, the company will only communicate via phone, IM chat and in person communication.

The decision by the executive Tiery Breton was made after analyzing over 200 company e-mails and concluding that only 10% of the e-mails are valid and useful, while the rest are distraction. They also concluded that employees are spending from 5-20 hrs a week only on e-mails,

What’s your opinion on this topic? It’s certainly an interesting discussion. How do you handle e-mail?

Posted by Damjan Arsovski
Posted in Blog Marketing, Business News, eCommerce, Email Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Online PR | No Comments »
Tags: best time to e-mail, drowning in e-mail, e-mail, e-mail response rate, marketing comm, marketing communication, sending e-mails, when to send e-mail

The Art of Creator’s Block May 18, 2011 – 3:10 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

I woke up this morning and realized that I have no digital marketing topics.  No mobile marketing can be extrapolated for a larger point.  Interactive media has been deactivated.  The tablet marketplace does exist in another universe portal, but not today.  This week, I’ve been fascinated with the web applications of rich media.  The “hump day” firewall has blocked those ions.  As a lover of video content, I can click on my RSS feed to explore the depths of online technology.  My eyes are closing to it. 

Seesmic, TweetDeck, and Hootsuite are fantastic API platforms to monitor the cyberworlds’ endless action.  Today, however, the refresh button is broken.  I am creating this piece on a personal computer with the wizardry of Microsoft Windows’ business platform.  My office wireless network router is disabled through the MacBook Pro.  The office tech specialist is unavailable. Therefore, the transition to a different device was made.

Creative energy runs across forces which limit the expansion of that boom. Since our experience is bounded by finite physical properties, we must step back at times.  Once we do this, then reflection enters our consciousness. We can assess the value of media content in our lives.  We can measure the emotions building in our thoughts. We can appreciate our digital connections to followers seen and unseen.  We process the chips that generate electric streams in our hardware. Who knows? We may untangle the cords blocking our surge protector.

Then we look at our stack of books, newspapers, and magazines. We tap the dry canvases, paintbrushes, and acrylics in the studio. We flick on the desk lamp and turn open our journals and sketchbooks.  We pull out the manual lenses from our old Minolta.  We dust off the lens with a silk cloth.  We tune our guitars, drums, microphones, and speakers. We turn on the mixing dashboard.  Then it’s time to work for art.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Blog Marketing, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, new york interactive marketing agency

Will Etsy Mature? April 11, 2011 – 5:32 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Etsy is an e-commerce website which has generated a strong lineup of investors for a possible IPO. The website holds inventory of antique craft products. These products are furniture, accessories, and other consumer items.  The founder is a young man, Rob Kalin, whose business ethos mirrors the independent spirit of Fugazi. He detests the corporate business structure and promotes the work of featured craftspeople through the community blog. For those unfamiliar with Etsy, the online marketplace site differentiates itself by using little advertising on a management scale.  They rely on sellers and buyers using communication to reach the general public, in secret or by word-of-mouth.  

Doubts are surfacing whether Etsy can sustain itself without a traditional business structure. Online advertising would pay tremendous dividends if Kalin aligns the company with appropriate partners.  Listing fees would enable the site to build a proper set of meta tags to climb the search engine rankings. You would also take care of the vendors that he claims to fight for every day.  Proper SEO methodology would put sellers in front of consumers who want to buy products from more credible sources.  It would also build communities that can collaborate on geolocal advertising campaigns to raise traffic, not to mention revenue.  Keyword lists can be tailored to the needs of vendors to reach premium eyes.  As mobile marketing ventures into tablets that can load pictures with rich pixellation capability, Kalin must investigate for the benefit of his sellers.  Crafts need to been seen, not heard.

Kalin, as the Inc.com article mentions, is a liberal arts guru by education.  He now trades as a businessman.  The goal of any business is to maximize profit for the benefit of your vendors.  Even Fugazi understood this at the end of the day, creating incendiary music to accredit their business model.  Mavericks have come in and out of time to provide goods and services while remaining true to themselves.  The online marketplace is waiting for someone to challenge eBay. Is Kalin ready for it?

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Blog Marketing, Business News, eCommerce, green marketing, Interactive Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, e-commerce news, etsy, internet marketing ny, new york e-commerce development agency

Be Young, Find Work, Click on Pepsi Possibilities April 4, 2011 – 2:38 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Large corporations are looking to engage recent graduates on a level which will bring in new talent.  Unemployment numbers are falling, but many have sent resumes and not gotten a break.  How do human resources cut through the deluge to find candidates that fit into the culture?

Mobile technology is one way to do it.  According to this article from Mobile Marketer, PepsiCo has created a new application for the iPhone called Possibilities.  The purpose, like any application, is to inform and entertain with a strong message.  This one has a forum for live conversation between prospective candidates themselves along with direct interface of management.  You could parallel it with a long screening phase on a virtual level.

The social media features include a link to the job Twitter account (@PepsiCoJobs), online video discussions, and blog pieces. The strategy is an excellent method for applicants to get an approximation of culture in their job research.  I found this last part interesting in which a geolocator can automatically find jobs near the user’s location.  Some could worry about a breach of security firewalls, but toggling is available. Readers who happen to test the application, leave feedback on your thoughts. I’m a Blackberry user, so an application is not yet available. I leave you with a clip to the Pepsi Jobs channel. Flip the tab.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Blog Marketing, Mobile Applications, Mobile Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: mobile marketing agency

Weekly Blueliner Newsminer January 14, 2011 – 5:50 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

We are back with another edition of the Weekly Blueliner Newsminer.  Let us begin.

1.  iPhone Arrives on Verizon Network

We have heard the rumors for quite some time now, and they are now fact.  iPhone is coming to the Verizon network on February 10th, meaning that some of the complaints about AT&T’s crowded network feed.  The interesting caveat is that Apple designed their Verizon phones with the CDMA network rather than the new 4G one.  Could this be a bad precedent for a phone which demands a lot of data services due to its endless application menu? We all know about the value it has brought for web developers, but what about the consumer? Time will tell if Verizon can make the call.

2.  Groupon Prepares For IPO

Groupon is looking to go public in the spring time.  Sometimes the opportunity you do not take is the best move.   If the startup is able to follow through, this bodes well for venture capitalism.  It also bodes well for the economic prognostications of a rebound this year.  When venture capitalists gain credibility with investment firms, it is a beautiful thing.  It also shows that interactive marketing is gaining respect as a sector, with local online communities generating quantifiable value for their services.  Stay tuned to this story.  It could be a huge breakthrough.

3.  Tunisian Revolution Is Hashtagged

This short piece on Tech Crunch is an ironic twist of social media’s ability to cover world trends in real time.   Despite the advent of  broken coverage on world epidemics and their maintenance of fundraising campaigns, social media is still far from the last word in journalism. MSNBC and The New York Times offered scant coverage, despite their users having accounts for both social media firms.   Tunisia has a stronger presence in the Mediterranean region due to its long relationship with its colonial father, France, and is an emerging IT ecosystem.  The late coverage screams with bigger irony than ever.  For more details on this emerging tale, click the headline.

4.  IBM’s Watson Beats Jennings At Jeopardy!

This has circulated the blogosphere all day, and was in the morning papers.  Stanley Kubrick was correct over thirty years ago with his opus 2001: A Space Odyssey.  With birds and fish dying all over the place, this is the cherry on top of your ice cream. IBM’s new data system defeated Jeopardy legend Ken Jennings in a practice match. The contest took place in IBM’s research lab in the Hudson Valley.  As the headline from Reuters mentions, IBM looks to remain at the forefront as a brand that pioneers technological development.  It is unclear which marketing direction the venerable firm will use for Watson, but IBM will let you know soon. They’ll take Watson for it all.

5.  PepsiCo Fills Your Super Bowl Cup For Advertising

Pepsi is ready to stock your table during the Super Bowl with food, snacks, and advertising.  The firm plans to release seven spots with a mix of their brands. As the headline article mentions, the list is not yet confirmed.  Lipton’s Brisk Tea, however, looks like a contender.  The brand has generated strong growth in its partnership with Pepsi as consumers tastes’ have gradually shifted from carbonated beverages into alternatives like water, juice, and of course, iced tea.  They started rolling out a new claymation campaign, which harkens back to the ’90s. Click on new claymation to view it, and look out for Ozzy Osbourne, the Ironman, in the near future.

That’s the Blue news this week. Have a good holiday weekend.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Blog Marketing, Business News, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Small Business | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, internet marketing ny, new york interactive marketing agency, weekly blueliner newsminer

Inception Takes Over Your Dreams With SnapTags December 3, 2010 – 2:57 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Inception was a major force in a weak year for blockbuster films.  The confounding masterpiece by Christopher Nolan will be released on December 7th for DVD and Blu-Ray formats.  Warner Brothers is putting out an interactive campaign that will stimulate your senses once again.  Mashable ran a short story about the campaign.

The studio is working with SpyderLink to produce SnapTags.  SnapTags are composed of corporate logos representing a point for mobile action.  The consumer can take photos of the logo with their smartphone, then e-mail or text it back to the preferred address. As the story mentions, the SnapTags will be applied to every piece, including the Facebook Fan page.   Depending on the campaign’s success, it could represent a model for studios looking to get accurate scale on the effectiveness of virals.

Many executives are perplexed at the moment on how to distribute fresh content and maintain consumer interest in the traditional viewing experience. Inception may let them dream a little dream. Here’s a video featuring the concept of SnapTags.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in blog, Blog Marketing, Business News, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, brandable snaptags, digital marketing agency nyc, inception blu ray, inception dvd, internet marketing ny, snaptags, spyderlynk, warner brothers

Cyber Monday Connects The Channels December 1, 2010 – 5:44 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Consumer junkies and lovers of the bargain can take a breath for now.  You survived the airports and interstate roads.  Your family wasn’t as annoying this Thanksgiving weekend because you were using your new iPad to purchase goods on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.  NFLShop.com had a 25% off coupon on any item this past Sunday only.  I get assaulted with coupon codes for Cyber Monday from all kinds of merchants like Savorique and PEGLEG NYC.  I purchase nothing, but a lot of people bought everything through different portals.

The statistics coming into the press say that e-commerce sales totalled over $1 billion.  Coupling this fact, EBay, Inc. saw a spurt of 146% in mobile commerce sales from this point last year to this past weekend. The majority of transactions were cars and trucks.  The easiest observation is that e-commerce is a diversified strategy whose potential has yet to be explored.  The difficult observation is projecting whether that potential will be maximized.  Mobile commerce continues to circulate traffic between parent e-commerce sites and smartphones with an uptick in spending rates.  Stores, as to be expected, are still the reliable segment of sales transactions. E-commerce sales check in at 8-10% of U.S. retail spending.

The moniker of Black Friday has taken negative connotations over time with assaults and deaths.  You still have those who cannot live without a bargain and camp out in front of Lowe’s overnight. You get enough rest to fend off elbows and rubber from shopping carts.  Some consider this the ultimate shopping experience while others think it’s the ultimate fighting championship and look elsewhere for a strike.

Consumers with limited budgets can find a bargain anywhere. First, they need the tools to put in research.  The global economy recovers slowly, but citizens are still unemployed at high metrics.  Luxuries had to be let go for self-preservation, including your iPhone 4.

Those with access have search engines galore. They are optimized to pull up the rarest gifts for your friends and family’s fickle tastes.  Those savvy shoppers will use their smartphones and tablets while in the store to gage inventory.  Then you can confer with the sales representative to settle your list.  Your elbows are not sore and the skin feels good.  We all know that urban camping is an inherent contradiction. Why shiver when you can click? Target the bullseye for more hits this holiday season.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Blog Marketing, Business News, Digital Media, eCommerce, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Small Business, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, blueliner marketing llc, lowe's home improvement, new york e-commerce development agency, new york mobile applications agency, new york mobile marketing agency, pegleg nyc, savorique

Get The Digital Forecast This Thursday, December 2nd! November 29, 2010 – 2:25 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

The Fall Webinar Series has been well received by friends of Blueliner and interactive marketing professionals across the globe.  This week will give us a special guest host.  Futurist David Houle, a guest contributor on Oprah.com and Chief Business Strategist for Blueliner, will talk with CEO Arman Rousta about the value of forecasting in today’s business world.  The two executives conclude this series with The Digital Forecast this Thursday at 2 p.m. EST.  You can read more in detail about the webinar here. Trends are constantly changing in our societal pillars, from economic to intellect.  Top management will seize the opportunities for growth.  Your business will be in position to do the same after this webinar.   Click the logo underneath to register.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Blog Marketing, Business News, Interactive Marketing, Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: 2010 blueliner digital forecast, 2010 fall webinar series, arman rousta, Blueliner Marketing, David Houle, digital marketing agency nyc, evolution shift, futurist david houle, internet marketing ny, new york seo media agency, Oprah.com, shift age trend report