The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing Blog

EBay’s Purchase of GSI: E-Commerce’s Final Cut March 30, 2011 – 5:30 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

In news that was a surprise for the timing, eBay moves further into their transition into a traditional fixed-price e-commerce merchant.  On Monday, the online auction giant purchased GSI Commerce, Inc. for $2.4 billion in cash and debt.  My initial thoughts on the deal were a Bronx clap.  eBay had been trying too hard to reach into new technologies like VoIP and found it to be a poor fit for their business model (Skype).  The inherent nature of online auction markets looks like a problem to the casual observer.  Lawsuits from merchants over copyright infringement is what hurt their bottom line.  The recession also affected their revenue stream on one level, as customers grew weary of the small fees.  They also grew weary of broken transactions by untrustworthy sellers.  Credibility is job one for consumers still struggling with a tight dollar.

That being said, the move did take a long time. But it’s smart for eBay to solicit more merchants in light of their past legal struggles.  This proposal for GSI advances their model to compete with Amazon in the fixed price e-commerce sector.  PayPal’s emergence as a revenue stream also bodes well for interested merchants.  They have a portal to encrypt secure transactions if independent costs are prohibitive.  Their outreach will also bring in new consumers to eBay who were put off by the notion of bidding.  The deal cannot be completed until the third quarter of this year. An investor hurdle has popped up. Some investors also think that eBay could lose for winning, questioning their capability to invest new capital.  This bid is still on the clock.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, eCommerce, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Mobile Applications, Mobile Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, e-commerce development new york, e-commerce news, ebay, new york interactive marketing agency

Daniel Seddiqui Releases 50 Jobs In 50 States To Bookstores March 28, 2011 – 1:57 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

The story of Daniel Seddiqui has been chronicled in the media over several media sources. He’s been interviewed by the likes of CNN and The Today Show. Why, you ask? Here’s the story.

In a move that reminds you of America’s ability to empower, Seddiqui took rejection and shoveled it out of his way.  He embarked on a long expedition to find a different job in each state for every week.  The ambitious journey recalls classic expeditions from Huckleberry Finn to Lewis and Clarke.  In fact, he had a stint here on Wall Street as a marketing specialist for Blueliner.  I never worked with him personally, but nothing but quality sentiment was shared about my co-workers’ experience with Daniel.

His labor across our country in a cheese factory, border patrol agent, and logger taught us on many levels.  We learn about the colloquialisms and regional minutae statewide. Our conscience also reflects on everlasting themes of drive and persistence.  Here is an interview Daniel conducted with a local Denver affiliate. 50 jobs in 50 states is available at leading e-commerce stores right now. Buy your copy here!

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in blog, Business News, eCommerce, Interactive Marketing, Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: adventure books, Blueliner Marketing, daniel seddiqui, digital marketing agency nyc, e-commerce development agency new york, new york interactive marketing agency, web marketing new york

For Jumio, Cash is Poor March 18, 2011 – 3:00 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Jumio is building steam in Silicon Valley.  Currently, in the startup stage, the firm received a $6 million dollar investment from Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.  Jumio professes to be a company that will render cash irrelevant through a service of online payments for minor transactions.  The website has little to present other than an introductory video about the service and its revolutionary proclamations.  Time will tell if the service catches on in a growing marketplace of online payment systems with multiple channels.  Mobile marketers want to bring a digital wallet to the forefront despite customer concerns about security encryption.  If Jumio gains credibility with prominent investors like Saverin, they could burn cash for good.

Jumio The End of Cash from Jumio Inc. on Vimeo.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, eCommerce, Small Business | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, ecommerce news, facebook news, jumio, web marketing new york

Illinois Enacts A Sale Tax for Digital Retailers March 14, 2011 – 2:24 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Last Friday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed the Main Street Fairness Bill into law on March 11. This is according to a report from Direct Marketing News.  The Texas legislature recently filed a similar bill.  You may wonder the significance of all this legislature. The bills are aimed at e-commerce retailers who have affiliates in Illinois that have been avoiding sales taxes required of brick-and-mortar shops.  Amazon is the elephant in the room, and their portfolio of goods explode by the quarter, with the Seattle-based retailer now venturing hard into digital content.  Amazon, as we know, does not have a singular store presence. They deliver orders through their fulfillment centers and warehouses located North America, Europe, and Asia.  This distribution model enables the business to expedite sale transactions quickly while offering local customer service support.

From this point onward, their business model could be receiving a test from state governments desperate for new revenue streams. Citizens are buying fewer goods in stores and more online.  Interestingly enough, the source article mentions that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a retailer must have a physical presence in state boundaries to collect and remit sales tax.  

It will be interesting to see how Amazon handles this legislation.  They will have to make adjustments on the balance sheet and statement of cash flows. Would they even be open to negotiating a flat sales tax with the federal government since transactions occur from all points of the globe? I think that variable state taxes could prove costly over time, affecting their portfolio of goods. Time will tell.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, eCommerce, Small Business | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, eCommerce, ecommerce news, government legislation, new york ecommerce agency

How Management Can Use Google Analytics March 14, 2011 – 10:44 am				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Web analytics flesh out into traditional corporate strategy every day.  The Google Analytics program develops at light speed, gaining participants.  A short article from a blog called Analytics Talk discusses some tips for executive management to use when integrating the dashboard. I’ll include the answers left by writer Justin Cutroni.

1.  Is Google Analytics really free?

Yes, the product is free for your company, large or small. As Cutroni mentions, it is an investment regardless.  The product has calculated risk and return value.  Similar to CRM databases and social media, your personnel must have sufficient skill to implement stored data for maximal success.  This would come in the form of marketers, IT, and database analysts.

2. We’ve got a BI (business intelligence) team.  What can they do with Google Analytics?

At the moment, Google has an official data export API.  You can take the needed data out of storage and mine for relationships. These relationships then can be measured for more advanced metrics that fit the objective of your mission.

Cutroni goes on to state one big drawback which Google Analytics has yet to cover.  No primary key exists that can link data from Google Analytics to other sources, particularly at customer level.  Therefore, individual viewers cannot be tracked to observe profile habits. Companies cannot push e-mail addresses into a Google Analytics data set.  Retailers clearly would bristle at this, since leading ones are driving traffic to their stores through social media and direct marketing campaigns.  They would not be able to observe metrics for individual searches, page views, and the like.

These are just a couple of questions I pulled from the article. Cutroni also explores topics such as customer service and Google’s ownership of stored data.  Marketing executives should click here to gain more insight.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, CRM, eCommerce, Small Business, Social Media Marketing, Website Analytics | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, crm software, google analytics, web analytics, web analytics agency new york

The Campaign For E-Commerce Legislation February 28, 2011 – 5:38 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Marketers are known to stretch the boundaries if necessary to promote a product.  We do this to optimize our ability to generate sales at the end of the day.  At the same time, marketers are often seen in a negative light because of this hardened principle.  Our sector has a strong collection of data from hordes of research metrics gained through web traffic, data mining, and so forth. A new law was passed in December to assure consumers that marketers are not overstepping their boundaries.

The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act was created to curb the marketers who spoil the bunch.  According to Direct Marketing News, the law regulates the sharing of consumer’s financial information with affiliate marketers after an initial online purchase.  It’s discouraging enough when you are asked to sign up for a daily newsletter that clogs your mailbox.  The law will also limit “free-to-pay conversion” practices.

These practices are deeply apocryphal. You tend to find these with merchants that will offer a trial-service, then automatically renew your service without true consent. I had purchased a discounted subscription for a friend from a famous e-commerce retailer.  To their credit, they alerted me about the need to make a decision by this date before my credit card would be charged.  The consumer must be a little more diligent with their account surveillance.  I would recommend not signing up for rolling services with an unfamiliar retailer.  Sometimes, you just do not have the capability to oversee all of your accounts.  It can save a future of distressed calls to customer service and loss of income.  Lastly, you would not receive the product which served your needs.  

Some marketers believe that the law is fundamentally unnecessary with the access to agreements and services along with online community boards.  Simon Buckingham, founder and CEO of Appitalism.com, says that, “Everything is a considered purchase these days — there’s no more impulse buying.”  Those who see marketing from a vindictive standpoint on an unconscious level would disagree.  No matter.  The Federal Trade Commission is protecting your ability to survey.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, blog, eCommerce, Interactive Marketing, Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Affiliate Marketing, Blueliner Marketing, DM News, e-commerce legislation, new york e-commerce development agency

Instagram Builds Visual Photo Campaigns February 24, 2011 – 3:39 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

The Instagram application has become a hit for the mobile sharing set who are not near their Flickr stream.  Instagram is a mobile application which allows the user to snap pictures and filter them to their various social media networks.  The product differentiation comes from the dashboard.  Not unlike Adobe Photoshop, users can play with the color scheme of their still images. A completely different perspective surfaces, where debate and discussion reign supreme. Hipstamatic is another mobile photo application with similar sharing capabilities and tools to alter images.    

According to this piece from Viralbeat, Levi’s Brazil is tapping into the growing community  of mobile photogs to share the message of their latest campaign.  Many benefits occur with this strategy.  One, you are engaging a new audience at a cost effective level.  Then research and development is done through general feedback and latent market testing.  Sales are not an important factor in the beginning stages.  A few users think that Instagram could improve their base by developing an online website for easy transferral of images.  Security encryption has also been an issue.  These last two statements should be on the mind of any e-commerce retailer. Mobile users want simple navigations, precise click buttons, and tools to reinvent their content.  If you are still not clear, then take a photo, click, and fill in the blanks.

The article also delves into an important statement about digital strategy.  New technologies reach a tipping point where users typically move on to the next application.  Innovation does not occur to sustain the curiousity. This is an important point for any brand strategists to roll out new creative tools.  If the action is successful, you have secured a customer foundation and can move forward with development, innovation, promotion, and research all in one.  In the case of Instagram and Hipstamatic, you can click, locate, tag, and share.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, eCommerce, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Mobile Applications, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, instagram, internet marketing ny, Mobile Applications, Mobile Marketing, new york interactive marketing agency

Social Media Week Ends Tomorrow In New York! February 10, 2011 – 3:40 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

In case you haven’t heard, Social Media Week has been in New York since Monday.  Ironically, I saw a news feed from a friend on Facebook, but have seen little advertising otherwise in various channels.  Nokia is the leading sponsor, but that could be a telling indictment of the schedule’s haphazard event logistics.  The website suggests interested applicants to follow their tweet feeds for updated news and information.  I have not seen a lot of updates from the organization themselves, but from other registrants at events across town.  A co-worker and I expressed disappointment at the lack of fastidiousness in this operation.  I plan to attend a workshop on global distribution of multilingual videos tomorrow and post a quick review.  In the future, I’d prefer a centralized location not unlike Yahoo’s Internet Week, coming up in June.

Nokia is struggling as telecommunications have shifted to a smartphone market where applications and game interactivity rule the consumer’s digital appetite.  A new CEO with Microsoft looks forward to changing this dynamic, but the forecast is currently not promising.  Meanwhile,  for those interested in tomorrow’s festivities, click on the banner above to register.  Spaces are filling up!

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, eCommerce, green marketing, Interactive Marketing, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, new york social media marketing agency, nokia news, nokia smartphone, social media week, social media week new york, web marketing new york

A Mystery File: Retail Web Analytics February 9, 2011 – 12:36 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Web analytics are still a mystery to many common internet users.  Some are unaware of its functionality in terms of measuring digital behavior.  They view it as yet another tool that is created by tech czars to befuddle.  E-commerce developers are fully aware of their existence, but not always clear of its importance in campaign strategy.  

According to this entry from Adobe’s blog, the online retail industry is a $135 billion business which projects to grow exponentially over the next three years to $234 billion. This level of development makes it critical for retailers to understand the role of web analytics in their digital strategies.  Adam Egbert lists some key points your business should consider when reviewing your cyber commitments.

1.  Know Your Site.

I’m serious.  The statement is so simple that businesses easily confuse it.  Is your website providing video content? Are you selling digital coupons? Are you providing a forum to discuss businesses? Goods and services?  Many people develop websites because the cost is hardly prohibitive.  The website mission, when clarified, will go a long way towards structuring your web analytics.  These tools should be integrated into your digital strategy rather than an appendage.

Are they looking at subdomains (site pages)? If your website displays goods available for purchase, then a PPC budget is necessary for advertising.  Page views and bounce rate are pertinent metrics to see the effectiveness of your campaign. Unique visitors are also a nice start. You can upgrade your user experience according to their profiles. One key is implementing relevant design.   Those metrics grow with a solid list of SEO keywords that rise on the index list.  Your products need to be associated with keywords that will drive traffic to the site.

For more details on building a strong analytics platform, click .

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, eCommerce, Website Analytics | 1 Comment »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, ecommerce development agency nyc, web analytics agency new york, web marketing new york

Facebook Helps Walmart Like Social Media February 3, 2011 – 3:03 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Social media ventures facilitate platforms to engage one another with the cyberspace community.  They are gaining credibility in the investor marketplace as LinkedIn recently filed for an IPO.  Facebook was investigating a plunge into the public sector by speaking with executives from Goldman Sachs.  That has sparked controversy.  

Controversy comes and disappears with new industries.  Business models also need to be solidified for an industry to truly take flight.  E-commerce analysts are drooling to leverage the wealth of social media’s personal database into sales.  Few corporations have come up with a successful model for online merchants.

A former Walmart CMO, Cathy Halligan, has some insight into the methodology for driving successful e-commerce into Facebook.  I’ll list a few of her thoughts.

1.  Deliver On The Fundamentals of Commerce. That’s mandatory, but corporations forget the basics. Don’t think about Facebook if you can’t deliver on the basics, which are:  product, price, in stock, fast checkout, and fast delivery. Speed kills.

2.  Don’t Bother With Facebook Ads. People don’t have purchasing intent on social network, unlike search engines. They look to share content, chat, debate, and gossip.  So Facebook Ads might be great for brand advertising, but not for sales conversion rates.

3.  Integrate Facebook Into Your Site. It’s not just about what goes on your Facebook page.  You should integrate Facebook into your site.  That means Like buttons above the fold on each product.  That means allowing people to connect with Facebook to post reviews — which can be pushed to their friends.

For more insight from Cathy Halligan, SVP, Sales & Marketing at PowerReviews, click here.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, eCommerce, Interactive Marketing, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: 7 pillars of digital strategy, Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency ny, new york social media agency