The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing Blog

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

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

Patti Smith On Advertising June 28, 2011 – 3:08 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Rocker Patti Smith of ‘Horses’ fame amongst other vast areas of influence, had a rather common but pointed take on advertising. According to Clickz, this clip took place at the end of a seminar in the Cannes Lion ad festival of last week. Sometimes, less can be more. Even in the hyperactive digital age.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: advertising proverbs, Blueliner Marketing, Content Marketing, digital marketing agency, patti smith horses

Ad Click Of The Day: Walker’s Crisps June 27, 2011 – 4:21 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

The small town of Sandwich, England is described by their citizens as ‘lovely, but boring’. Nestled in the Port of Kent, the town has architecture dating nearly a thousand years in age. The marketers at Walkers, the English snack company under Pepsico, engaged the citizens with a witty cross-promotion of celebrities like Pamela Anderson, an English boy band called JLS, and Formula 1 driver Jenson Button. You can learn more about the vision right here from the marketing director. Creativity Online writes a critique about the Grand Prix Jury ruling this one a winner.

Video content was distributed throughout the cyberspace on social media channels. Traditional ad spots also ran on the radio and television. The brand positioning is rather obvious but still clever. This particular campaign won accolades at the Cannes Grand Prix for its creative effectiveness. I couldn’t have said it better.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Content Marketing, Digital Media, Interactive Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: ad clicks, Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency, digital media, new york interactive marketing agency, online advertising agency

What Software Buyers Want, by Lauren Carlson June 27, 2011 – 3:03 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

It is important for web developers to understand the buyer.  Words cannot begin to substantiate this fact.  The power of our digital era has eliminated the need for immediate engagement with a sales representative.  The buyer will go online, researching through their personal channels. After this is complete, they will contact a representative to set up a conversion (sale). In this sense, the content must be a premiere centerpiece that showcases your product.

This content must also be easily transferable, crossing mobile channels and time zones.  Buyers tend to err on gaining specific details from the outset, while inquiring on a personal level when a service piques their interest.  They would like to know the price points first so that they do not spend a lot of time with a vendor that does not seamlessly fit their needs. Since they have the ability to survey from several websites, a video demonstration can be a powerful form of online advertising.

My industry colleague, Lauren Carlson, does a brilliant job of explaining the demands of a software buyer. She posted a mix of illustrative data charts and actual quotes. She also has offered some links from vendors with toolkits to get you started. Read more here.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Small Business, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency, lauren carlson, marketing automation software guide

Weekly Blueliner Newsminer June 24, 2011 – 5:57 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

We are back with another digital media news wrap up. Let us begin.

1.  Google Confirms Antitrust Inquiry

The Federal Trade Commission has dropped a hammer that has long been expected.  The headline from The New York Times delves into the ramifications.  The content is quite benign, stating that the search and online advertising titan has not been accused of malpractice at this point in time. It merely echoes the showdown between Microsoft and the U.S. government in the 1990s. Buckle your search goggles.

2. Facebook Cashes Virtual Currency

We have more Facebook news. This one is pertinent for web developers.  They will now have to pay 30% of their proceedings from games like Farmville to Facebook.  The article notes, importantly, that Credits will be used to pay for other digital content forms.  As we already know in the tech world, content is the new king. Hardware is loved, but it’s value is fading.

3.  Copious Ties To E-commerce

Copious is looking to enter the e-commerce marketplace of auctions where EBay has long held reign.  They, however, are doing it with the integration of Facebook users.  Online auction vendors should be able to construct interesting strategies for demographics.  Nowadays, items can be critiqued and shared through social networks before a purchase is considered.  This engagement can be quite influential regardless of the flow. The mission is intriguing.

4.  Apple’s Final Cut Pro X: Revealed

PC Magazine gives a positive review on the release of Final Cut Pro X.  They claim that the interface upgraded will make the editing experience smoother once professionals adjust to the changes. Conan O’Brien has already lampooned the changes, and even online communities did the same today. Time will tell. It could portend for digital developers looking enter an online advertising sector which is slowly growing scale.

5.  Righthaven Claims Copyright Ownership

In the world of blog, you may not necessarily be what you post.  Righthaven, a Las Vegas-based copyright litigation company, met with the Las Vegas Review-Journal over some of the publisher’s content.  As a firm in the business of lawsuit protection, these cases have not garnered as much publicity. The democratization of written content by uncredible posters can only spread to other mediums like video and sound.  In fact, content is becoming more than king. It is becoming a tasty hot potato.

That’s the Blue news for now. Enjoy the weekend.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in blog, Business News, Interactive Marketing, Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing nyc, new york interactive marketing agency, weekly blueliner newsminer

Stretch Out The Meaning of SEO June 24, 2011 – 3:35 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

We here at Blueliner Marketing believe in the growth of digital media.  Our ability to communicate on all platforms offer a flexibility in business production which has never been realized in any other era.  Corporations are learning slowly about terms like metadata, page views, and conversion rates. But some executives still aren’t convinced that search engine optimization is a worthy investment, even if consumer traffic begins with a website for everyone. Outspoken Media had some opinions for marketing managers to crack the digital ceiling.

1.  Turn Your Data Into a Story

You relentlessly comb over the site map looking for mistakes in the metadata. The keyword list rankings have shifted a little bit over the quarter, but not too much.  The metrics paint a vivid for you to implement strategy, but what about your supervisors? Use a television show or allegorical reference to spread your data evangelism.

2.  Your Boss Isn’t Educated On the Seemingly Ancillary Benefits

In fact, I have conversations with co-workers all the time about clients who expect a complete brand transfusion in their conversion metrics when starting an SEO campaign. Unfortunately, in this world of button gratification, no mas. It takes a lot of protocol and slow roasting to see the results.  Outspoken brings out several points of value.  You gain increased web, image, and video search.  Your brand authority improves while customer acquisition costs decline.  Over time, you engage more with the customer base, and then the sales flow in.

3.  Rankings Are Up, But Traffic is Down

Again, this harkens to the last paragraph where investors could freak out in the early stages.  After a thorough metadata review and keyword implementation, you are separating the wheat from the chaff.  When this infiltrates a strong website with simple navigation paths, you will attract customers rather than surveyors.

4.  A Relationship of Obscurity

A last point they bring up is that it could be a plain old gap. Whether it be an age or personality gap  is irrelevant.  The forces of nature are not permitting management not understanding the basic value of your daily responsibility.  I bring this into the fray as a conclusion point for one simple reason. It is an indicator of a macroeconomic problem within your firm structure which is a coin flip at best.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, search engine marketing, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, new york interactive marketing, outspoken media, seo news

Blueliner Signs With Visual Lease For The Web June 23, 2011 – 3:08 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Visual Lease is a cutting-edge, easy to use web based system that automates the management of real estate leases system. Tenants and Landlords have a dashboard overview of their leases, receive critical date notification and can build an unlimited number of reports to evaluate all aspects of a real estate portfolio. Accounting has tools at their disposal to track rents, including escalations. For retailers, Visual Lease can manage complex percent rent obligations.

Despite their extensive portfolio of clients, Visual Lease needed to increase their brand visibility in cyberspace. A couple of years back, they enlisted the marketers here at Blueliner to rise on the search index. Our development team started from scratch with a comprehensive SEO initiative. They first built site architecture with relevant keywords in order to generate a spike in conversion rates. Along with strengthening the keyword segment, they built a link campaign to improve brand development inside the real estate community. Sales improved by approximately 60%.
Visual Lease’s future development initiatives involve more mobile, open source applications. Real estate is a nimble industry where data accessibility needs to be shared instantaneously across platforms, including CRM, project management and accounting.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Small Business, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »

A UI Freestyle From RockMelt June 21, 2011 – 5:33 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

I noticed the article in my headlines from Netted, a digital media treasure chest of content which I discovered during Internet Week. Intrigued, I took the browser for a spin.  I am liking the drive thus far. I’m talking about the browser coming from the developers of RockMelt.  RockMelt is a browser that smoothly integrates the UI experience on many levels. The interface can be navigated with simple drags across to your Application Feed, where you can upload your social media accounts. This panel, known as the Feed Edge, updates your content stream similar to an RSS aggregator. One swipe and click leads you into a new tab for page views. The browser application is available for PC or Mac, completing a Beta 3 relaunch today. Users may be reminded of Google Chrome and Firefox in their navigation, but this one is much more streamlined.  

It’s link shortener is better than Bre.ad as well, who now has my scorn for poor account integration.  I’ve had trouble loggin in using a Facebook account and using my email account. Their smart brand strategy is being wasted right now. Hopefully they can make adjustments.

My one caveat with RockMelt is the close integration with Facebook could annoy users who use other content distributors.  The Developers vouch for Facebook because of its endless personal data reservoir. Fair enough.  I also thought the search query box was a little cumbersome as you have to open a new tab to enter Google and see content clearly.

Those quibbles aside, RockMelt is a social media browser perfect for those who push endless content around the web.  Click on the image for a download and test drive. Over here, CEO Eric Vishria talks with Bloomberg Radio about the experience.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing nyc, ui experience, web development

Saturday Blueliner Newsminer June 18, 2011 – 12:13 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Hello everyone. I had a couple work items yesterday afternoon which prevented me from posting the weekly digital media wrapup. Thus, I present to you a special Saturday edition. Let us begin with the who, what, when, why, and how.   

1.  The Webby Awards

I didn’t have a chance to watch them, but I heard this year was one of the better editions.  It took place here in New York at the Hammerstein Ballroom. They also continued the tradition of acceptance speeches with five words.  Here is a good synopsis of the event. The headline link is a portal to complete video coverage presented by YouTube.

2.  RIM Not Producing Spring Blackberries

Investors came down on the Canadian firm this week after sluggish data on earnings for the last quarter.  They also worry about RIM’s ability to maintain standing in the mobile marketplace.  Android phones and the new iPhone are scheduled to launch in September with upgraded OS servers while RIM plans to continue pushing older devices which have struggled to gain sales traction.  RIM executives feel that their products will produce juice for developers. The cup dryeth for others.

3.  Apple Trying To Shut Down Venue Recording

Many of you know that in the blogosphere, the video of a live concert experience is the new cassette recording. It can be shared in real-time as opposed to being found through tertiary sources like a music vendor or shop.  Apple is looking to earn a patent to stop all that.  According to the headline from Mashable, the motivation lies in avoiding copyright infringement with major content distributors.  The article makes an interesting suggestion that Apple could charge users a fee for recording in a public concert space.  If scaled, it could change the video sharing experience for everyone involved.

4.  The History of Email

This morning, Mashable had an infographic depicting the history of email as a communication tool.  You can view it above in the piece. According to the release, email networks existed in the public sector for a decade before the term was coded.  Some people today wonder about the future of email with the continued development of video content and social media outreach.  Quality marketers believe that email remains an effective measurement of customer preferences and tastes.  It also offers the widest platform to debate and discuss objectives of the day. Viva email!

5.  Senate Reviews Digital Privacy Mandate

From cnet.com, the Senate is looking to revise a 1986 law for modern times to protect the personal data of the public. This law, named the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, has a clause where Internet users have more protection when data is stored locally.  The article also touches on law enforcement obtaining a search warrant before obtaining data records for a criminal investigation.  Other Acts are being debated in Congress now between Republicans who refuse to budge an ounce, forcing Democrats to seriously weaken mandates before submission. Corporations, as we know, need to step up their security encryption policies before the government does it. And fast. I’m talking to you, Sony.

That’s the Blue news on this Saturday at midpoint. Enjoy.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Email Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Mobile Applications, Mobile Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, digital news wrapup, email infographic, weekly blueliner newsminer