The Truth?

Recently I was doing some exploratory work at a car dealership and was amazed at how they manage inventory, and their internet presence.

They can tell how many people have visited their website, which vehicles they looked at, what links they clicked on, etc.

I mean, this is one slick technology rich business.

But there was one part that stuck out as a fatal flaw.

The final tracking device.

They hand the customer a piece of paper with several options of how they heard about the dealership and ask them to circle one.

At first I thought using pictures and drawing a circle was clever. It is.

But.

It's not accurate.

It relies on a customer to recall something that they really don't care about.

And this type of tracking is highly unreliable.

If you have the technology to track but then end up with a flawed link, then you better find a better way, or at least realize that you're dealing with bad data.

The words of Scott Howard aka ScLoHo

Not Clear on The Concept...

Before I tear into the marketing folks at Ruby Tuesday, I'll show you what I received in my email yesterday:


You can click on the pic to make it bigger, if you need to.

1st off: Thumbs up to Ruby Tuesday for the clickable links that surround the coupon. They all worked seamlessly.

Next: Read the legal mumbo jumbo.

Why is this offer not available in Hawaii, Manhattan or Airports?
and Why is a Credit Card Payment required to redeem?

But what really got me going was the whole Screen Shot This Coupon On Your Mobile Device And Use All Month Long concept.

Do they mean take a picture with my phone and then show it to my server?

Because there is a much better way to incorporate mobile couponing.

You can use QR codes that I scan and then you can track my visits and the details.

You can use LBS, (Location Based Services) to check in and see if I take advantage of the 15% offer.

You can do so much more, Ruby Tuesday.

(In the name of research, I'm going to have to try this and see what happens when I visit.)


The words of Scott Howard aka ScLoHo

What The Digital Shift Means to Your Business

A few years ago I was doing speaking engagements on the subject of Social Media and inviting people to "Join the Conversation".

Despite the insistence of some of my current co-workers that Social Media is not new, and that they were using electronic bulletin boards back in the 1990's, we are now in a new age of Social Media.

The difference is it has moved from the tech-geek to mainstream.

Just a couple of days ago I read a tweet about 3 generations in one family are all on Twitter, Facebook and now Google+.

The shift from traditional, old school sources of information, entertainment and communication to digital is having an effect on businesses because your customers are shifting to digital.

What is Traditional & Old School? Here's a few examples:

The Daily Hometown Newspaper. This was the way to get all the in-depth information on everything current from the previous 24 hours. The Sunday Classified section was where they made lots and lots of money do to the help wanted sections and full page automotive ads.

The Phone Book. Now we Google it.

The Evening TV News. CNN and the other 24 hour networks made the ABC, NBC & CBS nightly broadcast unnecessary.

Music Radio Stations. I hate to say this but unless a radio station is providing local content that you cannot get elsewhere, there is no need for many of them to exist. And I worked in that business since I was 16.

Some of these Traditional, Old School sources will adapt, reorganize and survive, if they get their business model organized to stay profitable.

And some will stay strong for years to come do to external factors which include:

Generational habits: Face it, some folks prefer not to change. My Mom (who passed away in 2001); preferred to give her credit card number to a stranger over the phone to place an order, than trust the "internet-web-thing". I wonder if she were alive now, if she would have changed.

Technology changes: I wonder if there is some secret pact between car makers and radio broadcasters to always include a radio in every vehicle that is sold. I believe that is a primary reason for the survival of radio broadcasting. However, with the inclusion of web access in newer vehicles, this could signal the end. It will take years however due to the number of older cars that dominate our roads.

How is your business involved in this shift?

By the way, click here for a study with more info.

The words of Scott Howard aka ScLoHo

TOMA

What is TOMA?

Top
Of
Mind
Awareness

I don't care if you believe that Branding is important, or Price is important or Location, or any number of contributing factors you and I could name, what you really want from all of your marketing and advertising efforts is TOMA.

Last month I met with the real estate agent that I used to sell my last house about 4 years ago.

I'm not planning on buying another house for at least 10, maybe 20 years. But each month I get a piece of mail from her, and it's one of the ways she retains TOMA with me.

You cannot advertise only to the people who need you now.

Why?

Because despite all the targeting that the internet allows us to do using keywords and location and other Search Optimization techniques, if I have a favorite ___________, then I will use _________, and recommend ___________ to others.

We spend our money with those that we trust will provide us with the right value.

My daughter sent me a Groupon offer for carpet cleaning at 70% off.
We won't use it because we like the carpet cleaner we use.
He provides the right value and we trust him.

I used to spend $75 to get my hair cut. But then I discovered a chain shop that will cut it for $15 including a generous tip and they never screw it up. Which happened a couple times with the $75 cut.

Back to the real estate agent. She asked me who I would recommend to my friends, and I told her, "You, and only you". I know other agents but she is the one that I trust.


Top Of Mind Awareness coupled with a good reputation wins every time.

If you are in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area, I can help you build TOMA. Email Scott at ScLoHo.net

Email Oops

It's Monday night, 8pm November 1st and I get home from a meeting and check my email.

There is an invitation from the local Volkswagen Dealer.

I don't own a VW, but I trust their service department for my 15 year old Mercedes, about 1 or 2 thousand $ a year.

There are several things that they could have done better.

First let's look at the email:

You are invited to Vorderman Volkswagen's 2011 Jetta Unveiling Gala! Saturday, Nov. 6th from 6-8pm. Must RSVP by Nov. 3 either online or in person. RSVP today!

Scott Howard, You are invited to our Jetta Unveiling Gala!

This email was sent by:Vorderman Volkswagen
5811 Cross Creek Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN,46818,USA

Now let's look at the TV commercial that VW has been airing the past few weeks...



Notice the big disconnect?

VW has been pushing the 2011 Jetta for only $15,995.

That is what I have been conditioned to seeing.

So why does the email talk about a 2.9% APR with no mention of the $15,995 price point?

I don't know, but this is a classic example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

But let's dig a little deeper.

One email that I was not expecting is not going to get my attention if I was the typical consumer. (I almost just deleted this, but decided to turn this into a marketing lesson).

Since I was not expecting this email, they should have sent more than one email over a period of a couple of weeks, leading up to the event.

But they didn't.

This was the one and only email I was sent.

Let's examine what they want from me.

They are asking me to decide whether or not I want to visit their showroom to see a new car with a 2.9 APR.

And I have to RSVP in the next 36 hours, or never mind.

So far there is no reason for me to attend.

Look at the date and time for this "event".

Saturday night 6p--8pm.

This has to be one of the absolute worst times of the week to ask me to come out for Appetizers & Beverages.

I mean come on now. In the middle of my weekend, at a time when I'm planning on having dinner with my wife, you want me to visit you for this?!?

Okay, there has to be more to this than the email is telling me.

So I click on the RSVP in the email and go to their website and here's what I get:



That was the last straw. The RSVP Link was a link to their regular, standard website contact form.

Absolutely nothing related to the email, the "event", or the 2011 Jetta. Triple Fail.

So, I am planning on visiting the folks at my local VW Dealership and talk to them about this before their event Saturday, and then again next week.

We'll see if they are successful despite themselves or if they want some help and guidance.

I'm glad their service department works better than their marketing department.

A Quick Start to Using Social Media to Draw People to Your Website

I've been meaning to write this for awhile.

This is the advice I give to my radio clients.

It's the advice I give to nearly anyone that wants to get found online.

It's not a quick process.

It takes discipline.

It requires your time.

1. Start a blog. Update it at least once a week.
2. Set up a twitter account. Use it to promote, interact and share with others.
3. Set up a Facebook page. But be selective with what you do with it.

Let's start with your blog.

Once a week, tell a story about your business. Change the names to protect privacy of the people you are talking about if you want, but be real. Talk about the customer that was looking for something and you were able to help. Share tips on your area of expertise.

But most of all, keep updating it. Weekly is a minimum. Daily if you have the time.

I recommend using Blogger.com It is an easy to use platform and is owned by Google. Google is always looking for fresh content and after awhile you will probably start showing up in Google search results.

One other Blog hint: include a picture with each post.

Twitter is my favorite online method of promoting my blog postings. Most of my new blog postings, I promote with a link on Twitter. Many people don't understand Twitter, don't use Twitter, but they use Facebook, which I'll get to in a moment. Over the weekend, I posted my 10,000th Tweet since I signed up in October 2008.

I use Tweetdeck as a way to manage my Twitter account on a daily basis and unless you are compulsive about it, Twitter can be a useful communication tool. Somehow, I've gained over 900 followers and made friends with others in my home town and also around the world in areas that we are both interested in.

Now, Facebook.

Facebook to me is the social media platform that I really don't like but it is too big to ignore. The number of people with Facebook accounts, if they were a country would be one of the top 3 or 4 countries in the world!

What don't I like about Facebook? The games like Mafia Wars and Farmville that friends play and it shows up in my updates. The various other applications that are in my opinion silly. But the biggest problem I have with Facebook is they keep changing the layout and privacy settings.

What I like about Facebook is that because so many people are on it, odds are if you want to connect with old friends, new friends, or family, they are probably on Facebook.

But having a blog, a Twitter and Facebook account will not draw people to your website.

You need to provide links, not copy and paste style, but clickable links that go to your website.

And on your website, you need to provide links to your social media sites.

Click here and you'll go to my website where you'll find clickable links to my blogs, my radio stations, and even links to the most recent blog posts.

It has taken time, work and discipline but it works.

How to Measure your Online Marketing Efforts

Recently I was reading about click-thru rates of webpage ads and it hit me.

The web people are wrong.

The way to measure has not changed in the past 100+ years. (Even though the Internet is only 40 years old.)

The web people say that measuring your online marketing efforts is easy. All the data is available. Real Numbers, not estimates.

Traditional Media can give you estimates of who is seeing your ad with traffic counts for Billboard exposure, Nielsen ratings for Television shows, Arbitron ratings for Radio stations, Circulation numbers for Print, etc.

But all of these measurements are designed to measure who is watching, hearing, seeing, or reading the advertising medium, not the results that each business receives.

The real measure of the effectiveness of your advertising and marketing is results. Is your company doing better than it was last year? Or perhaps the question might be is your company gaining market share compared to your competitors?

Unless there is only ONE way for people to hear about your business, then all advertising analysis are flawed. And when you consider word of mouth along with advertising, you'll see that there is always more than ONE way for people to hear about you.

So, when I first talk to a client, I want to know all of the methods and medias they are using to spread the word about what they are doing. This includes paid advertising, and free efforts.

Next I want to make sure we are presenting a consistent message in all areas.

Can you measure the results of any marketing efforts accurately? Not really. At least not in the manner that the medias are trying to sell to you.

It's Not All About the Fans

Over the past few months, I've had a few people ask me how to set up a Fan page on Facebook.

I've told them to figure it out themselves.

And I ask them why they want a Fan page on Facebook.

I also ask them what are they doing to generate money, to create new customers, to retain current customers, to set themselves apart from their competitors.

Why don't I tell them how to do it? Because if they are going to use Facebook as part of their marketing, they need to learn the basics of Facebook. It's not that hard.

But there is another reason.

A Fan page on Facebook means nothing to the survival of your business. It's too easy to be a fan. I get an invitation and I click yes. I never have to spend any money to be a fan. I, as a consumer have no investment in your Fan page.

If you want to create a Fan page on Facebook, go ahead and do it. But don't fool yourself into thinking that because you have 500 fans, that equals $5000 dollars, or whatever the dollar amount you think you can assign to a fan.

Sunday was Superbowl Sunday and for the 2nd time the Indianapolis Colts were in the big game.

Living in Indiana, everywhere you went, you saw Colts Football Fever. Royal Blue with horseshoes was the official color and logo worn by MILLIONS of Fans. I'm sure the same was true for fans of the New Orleans Saints.

But, no matter how enthused, how passionate, how crazy the fans are, it's up to the players to win or lose. It's how you react to surprises, how quickly you respond to things going wrong, and taking advantage of opportunities when they open up.

That's why both the Colts and Saints made it to the Superbowl in 2010. It wasn't the fans, it was the team. And in the final game between the two, the same was true.

Make sure your team is the best they can be, and then you'll generate fans, the real kind that keep you in business.

And if you want a Facebook Fan page, Click here for a few tips.

Social vs.Traditional Media

Last week I was at a Social Media Influencers lunch in Indianapolis.

I was nominated for one of the awards and thought it would be fun to go, which it was.

However, I see a disconnect between those who are in the internet/social media business and those that are in the traditional media business.

See, I also serve on the Board of Directors for the American Advertising Federation/Fort Wayne; and in that role have gained a reputation as the social media guy.

Which I find a bit interesting since, I am in the radio business and my fellow board members are mostly in the advertising agency business, which should be leading the way into social media for their clients. But it's not that simple.

My interest in social media is because of my personality, my curiosity, and my passion, and that has led me to learn, explore, examine, teach and help others with this social media thing. I also like to look at the big picture from a consumers view point which helps me to provide a unique viewpoint for my clients.

My hope and desire is that the social media folks and the traditional media folks will stop competing or ignoring each other and start working together. And this is happening more and more.

Here's how and why we need both:

Television, Radio, Billboards and even Print are still being watched, listened to, and read more than most social media sites.

The leaders on the web are Facebook and Google. But instead of dumping advertising dollars into these two websites AND abandoning traditional media, you need to do both and fine tune it for the future.

If you are using traditional media, start including social media contacts within the ads. Use social media as a communication tool and customer service tool. If you need guidance or help, contact me at Scott at ScLoHo.net.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Website

I know the title of this has been used by thousands of people, over and over. But what I'm about to say may run counter to what some of my friends in the marketing/media/internet world have been telling you.

Most of the folks that I know that answer the question will tell you, you need S.E.O.

S.E.O. stands for Search Engine Optimization.

And while this may be important, I discovered a couple years ago what I believe is more important.

First, let's explore SEO and why it can be important.

Most people will find your business by clicking on a link on the internet.

And before they find a link, they will perform a Search, using a Search Engine such as Yahoo!, Google, or perhaps MSN. This chart shows the popularity of various Search Engines just three years ago in 2006:



Yet, times have changed. In a report for July 2009, Google now has grown to 64.7%, Yahoo has shrunk to 19.3%, Microsoft has rebranded its search engine and is now know as Bing and has an 8.9% share, Ask is at 3.9% and AOL is down to 3.1%. Click here for the details.

So Google is the king of Search, which means that websites need to be Optimized so Google will find them and send traffic (visitors) to your website. This is why there has been such a boom and push in S.E.O.

Problem is, S.E.O. is not cutting edge, it's just one of those things you probably should do because everyone else does it. However there is a new way to be found....

And it's not really new. I discovered this a few years ago, and it follows the growing trend of how and why people are using the internet.

The trend is current information. We want to know what is going on now, and this search for information will leave many (or most) current websites in the dust.

When I began blogging a few years ago, I was undisciplined, unorganized and not really focused. It took me awhile to develop a purpose and a strategy, but once I put those pieces into place, the rest grew.

The answer to driving traffic to your website that has been working for me the last few years and will continue for the foreseeable future is provide current content that people want.

I believe one of the easiest ways is to write a blog about a subject that you are passionate about and keep it fresh with a new, worthwhile posting at least once a week.

That's what I do on this blog you are reading now, however this is really my 4th blog.

My number one blog is updated 3 to 5 times a day/ 7 days a week and is also about Marketing, Advertising and Sales. It is currently one of the top 240 marketing blogs in the world according to a couple of different ranking services. This number one blog is titled ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom and you can find it be clicking here.

My number 2 blog is a fun, personal blog that I started as a way to post items that were not related to my business.
Last year I featured links to other blogs in my town of Fort Wayne, Indiana, then this year committed to featuring a Fort Wayne Site of the day, every single day which has garnered lots of attention, including requests to be featured. You can visit it by clicking here.

Blog number 3 is simply a collection of random pictures, a few personal, most were found on the web. It gets updated as I see fit.

The last one is a political blog which I use randomly to share some ideas of a political nature.

Here's why I know this works:

1. I have tracking counters that show me how many visitors I am getting. Over 500 per week currently.
   
2. I have received offers for work and projects for me and my company from these blog postings. This includes unsolicited speaking and seminar engagements.
   
3. I have been recognized locally, nationally and internationally by various individuals and organizations that found me online via the blogs.
4. It is paying off for me financially, yes real money.

Finally, Google is changing the rules.

Yes, the worlds leading Search Engine is preparing to revamp itself and make it harder for static websites to get noticed, even with S.E.O. in place. Click here for details and a preview.

And this also falls into my ongoing push to build your business through relationship based marketing. By engaging in current conversational practices online, you are providing what people are looking (searching) for.

It works. Now, and even more in the months ahead.

The Problem and the Solutions Re: Your OnLine Presence

A few years ago, the radio station that I was managing used an outside vendor that rewarded people to go from our radio station website, to a clients website. It was a great concept, but there is an even bigger problem:

Besides the internet itself, how do we get people to visit us online?

It could be your blog, your website, your forum, your picture or video site, anyplace on the web...

Here's a few options.

Include your web address in EVERY piece of printed material:

• Business Cards
• Letterhead
• Brochures
• Signage
• Uniforms
• Promotional Products (pens, coffee mugs, etc.)

Basically the way you used to promote your phone number or street address, do the same with your internet address.

Also, make it easy to read and memorize.
Use Capital Letters within the web name.

For example, instead of:
bethelink.com
try:
BeTheLink.com

Now your site name is memorable instead of a random string of letters.

And do not include the "www" in front of your web address. It isn't necessary anymore.

You can also use traditional media such as radio, tv, billboards, direct mail, newspapers to reach the masses, but before you do, be sure your site is worthy of visiting.

American Idol Marketing Lessons: Bikini Girl

I needed to interrupt my series on advertising to share with you some lessons from Tuesday's American Idol.

Now in their 8th season, the question that remains is what do you have to do to...

no, not win.

what do you have to do to get on TV and create a name for yourself.

There are hundreds who will audition for the show, and some are just plain awful, and if you get on TV because you suck, then you have done the 2009 version of crapping your pants in front of the world.

Those that know you will make fun of you, and eventually you will forgotten except as one of the losers on the Idol Blooper reel. You can't make any money that way.

So, take the opposite approach like Katrina Darrell did and create a positive impression. She created a niche as the Bikini Girl and she did a fair job of singing. She was rewarded with a ticket to Hollywood to compete in the first round.

And here's what has happened overnight.
As I was driving to work, I scanned three radio stations, including the news/talk station and all three made mention of her and even played an audio clip of her.
She is all over the web on both blogs and traditional media websites.
She needs an agent and she needs to get signed up for some endorsement deals this week as the American Idol Bikini Girl.

She will not win the crown, she's not that good of a singer, but she has her niche and she needs to focus on that as long as possible.

Quite frankly if Billy Mays can create a niche by yelling at people and make millions, Katrina should be able to rake in a few dollars while she is riding her 15 minutes of fame.

What is Social Media? Part 1

Up until now, the majority of the folks I know personally in the advertising business are clueless about how social media works, and how to use it. So let's do a quick, basic primer on the beast.

Social Media is also know as Web 2.0.

We have come a long way since AOL was giving away discs to get us to sign up for the America OnLine version of the Internet. Accessing the internet at home meant tying up your phone line for hours and waiting for a connection, and what are now considered incredibly slow upload and download speeds. This was less than 20 years ago!

Social Media has been made possible due to the technology advances in computer hardware, software, and what I'll call netware. Netware is the stuff that is the programs that are not stored on your computer, but are out there somewhere on the internet. Like this website for example.

As the speed of the internet has increased, it has allowed us as individuals to do more, and do more faster.

Let's look at the root of Social Media by looking at the two words:

Social. We are by nature social beings. We interact with each other, in person, over the phone, and now by using technology like text messaging and the variety of internet resources that allow for two way communication.

Media. Despite some beliefs, most old media did and does allow for a two way conversation, just not at the speed of the internet. Newspapers usually featured letters to the editor. Radio and Television have had talk shows that allow viewers and listeners to call in and interact with the person live on the air. But the internet has leveled the field.

In order to have a voice on the internet, you need access to a computer and time. You do not need a printing press, you do not need a licence and broadcasting equipment. There are plenty of resources online that allow and encourage you to use them at absolutely no cost to you.

So how does this work? So far the advantage is in the favor of the individual. We have been willing to trade the free social media for a few advertising messages. Like the radio stations I work for that anyone can listen to at no cost, we make our money selling advertising.

What is the challanging part is to come up with a business model for social media that attracts both advertisiers and consumers and effectively links them together so that the advertisier sees a positive return on their advertising investment.

Many traditional media outlets, (radio, tv, print) have added websites with advertising, but the jury is still out on the success of these websites. It will continue to evolve, just as the technology that makes the internet possible evolves.

One thing is certain. The internet and social media will continue to grow and those that ignore it are doomed to extinsion. Don't know when that will occur, it could be years, decades, or generations.

Now is the best time to hop on board and be a part of it.

One of the Worst Forms of Advertising

Simply put, the Phone Book.

The church I belong to has 2400 members. Plus a school. And they were completely left out of the phone book a couple of years ago. Two years in a row. Not a single listing in the white pages, yellow pages, any pages.

It's not a new church, it's over 40 years old. We did not move, change phone numbers, nothing. But according to the publisher of our local phone book, we did not exist.

Since it is published once every 12 months, we were stuck.

The phone book people are trying to get us to try their online service. Is it any better? One of the features of the internet is that it is easy to update and keep current.

So today I tried it. I put in Radio Stations. The results are a joke. Except it isn't funny. It's stupid. The information is so outdated and incorrect. It's worthless. It cannot be trusted.

Here's what ended up with when I entered Radio Stations in the search box on YellowPages.com for Fort Wayne, Indiana (Click here):

• 45 listings
• Page 1: Listing for WHWD. Station has been gone for 10 years.
• Page 2: Listing for Sunny 106. Station has been gone for over 4 years.
• Page 3: 2 listings for WFCV, one with the wrong street address.
• Page 3: Listing for WFJZ. Station has been gone for at least 3 years.
• Page 3: Listing for WJFX. Wrong Address.
• Page 4: 2 Listings for WSHI. Station has been gone for over 4 years.
• Page 4: Listing for Allen County Public Library?
• Page 4: Listing for Comcast Spotlight?
• Page 4: Listing for WANE-TV
• Page 4: 2 listings for WFFT-TV
• Page 4: Listing for WFWA-PBS 39 (Another Television Station)
• Page 5: All 5 listings are for WISE-TV, WPTA-TV.

That's 17 incorrect out of 45.

Also important is what is missing: No listing for WGL, WKJG, WBTU, WNUY, WLYV, WNHT, WVBB. These missing stations have nearly 40% of the audience according to the Arbitron Audience Survey for Spring 2008.

I do not trust the phone book and now you know why.

Getting Discovered

50 years ago, before I was born, there were fewer advertising options and I suppose that made it easier for new businesses to find customers, or for customers to find them.

30 years ago when I started full time in the radio business, the advertising options were growing as consumers had many more media choices.

Fast forward another 20 years. The birth of Google. The internet was still in its infancy and home computers used AOL to connect to the internet over a dial up connection that tied up your home phone line.

Now let's look at 2008 with an eye on 2009 and beyond. The challenge for businesses remain the same. Getting Discovered by your customers. But the options continue to expand. Or have they?

Earlier this month I met with two separate entrepreneurs that are involved in online start ups.

I asked each of them, how are people going to find you, how are you going to get discovered?

They said, I have a website. So what? According to the research I did recently, there are estimates ranging between 87 million and 4 billion web pages on line as you read this. So how are you going to help people discover you web page?

Currently the best answers are:

• Use Mass Media to promote your website.
• Use Mass Media's websites to draw people to your site.
• Define your Niche and focus on Niche Media and Niche websites to draw people to your site.

One at a time.
Use Mass Media to promote your website. Television, Radio, Newspapers, Billboards, Direct Mail and even Phone Book advertising are still getting lots of eyes, ears, and bodies paying attention to them. These are also Local, so if you have a Local business, you can target the local community. Mass Media is also the most expensive, if you do it right. The rewards and R.O.I. are also the best if you do it right.

Use Mass Media's websites to draw people to your website. Newspapers and Broadcast Media in your town should have websites. There are ways to discover how much traffic local websites are getting by going to Compete.com or Google Website Trends.

Use Niche Media and Niche Websites. This is good if you are able to do business worldwide. It can also help you to narrow your focus within your local community.

The Bottom Line is you need to Get Discovered. You need to get the word out. Too many times, I have seen businesses set themselves up for business, but they do not have an effective advertising plan to bring in customers. It's like planning a party and not sending out invitations.
No amount of planning will bring people to the party unless you invite them.

The other lesson about getting discovered is that all media is not created equal. You need to match your business with the right media to get the word out. Click here for more on matching.

And click here for a few more tips on how to promote your local website.

Email Marketing Update

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you my experience with email marketing.

Click here to read those lessons learned for Email and Websites.

This time I have another inside look at an email campaign that I designed for the Advertising Federation of Fort Wayne, of which I serve as the Vice-President of Communications.

September 18th is our next monthly meeting and the purpose of this email campaign is to get RSVP's by next Monday, so we can have an accurate count for lunch, etc....

Today I sent an email to a list of 300 and the picture you see is the response after 3 hours. (Click on the picture to make it bigger.)

Actually the response is not much different than it was after 90 minutes.

Here's the numbers:

300 sent, 3 bounced. (I worked hard at having a clean list.)

120 were opened in the first 90 minutes, out of that number, 20 clicked through to the website and registered.

The email was sent at 10am local time, one of the best times to send an email to local business people.

We now have nearly 50% of the list viewing the email.

Now what else did I do to enhance this campaign?

On August 21st, about 50 people that attended that month's meeting recieved a small Save The Date card at the meeting.

Also on August 21st, the website was updated to people could register online from the home page.

A few days later, the Save The Date postcard was sent as a direct mail piece.

All of this I call "seeding".

Yesterday we sent out the official direct mail invite, a big post card, it should arrive today and tomorrow.

Also yesterday, I updated the front page of the website with the same artwork and design as the direct mail piece and the email blast.

I will be sending one more email blast Monday morning.

Here's the lessons to learn:

Multiple messages to the same person will increase the response rate. If someone attended our August meeting, they would have received a Save The Date card, followed by a Save The Date direct mail piece, and two emails, plus a visit to the website adds up to 5 opportunities to invite them to this months meeting.

E-mail Marketing & Website Tips

At my Collective Wisdom Blog I have featured tips on websites and email from other experts.

Recently I learned a few lessons first hand.

This summer I became the Vice-President of Communications for the Advertising Federation of Fort Wayne.

Among the duties that I have assumed were the website and email blasts that we send to members and guests for upcoming events.

Email:

We use a professional service that allows me to create, customize and track the response rate. When I took over as V-P, there were 125 names and email addresses. About 30 were old, I discovered. I asked for some additional contacts from my fellow board members and added a few of my own and ended up with a list of 300 email addresses that we will be adding to in the months ahead.

That's 300 good email addresses that didn't bounce or unsubscribe. It took a number of hours to scrub the old database, and compare one list with another, but it payed off.

First email blast was sent at 6:15pm on a Monday night. I discovered this was not the best time as I was able to track if the recipients even opened the email and so I changed my strategy for the next one a week later.

The second email was similar to the first but had an update of an extra guest speaker, so there was a relevant reason for people to open the second email, even if they opened the first.

The second email was sent at 10am on a Monday. Response was triple compared to the one sent after business hours. One last email was sent the following day at 3pm. Again, the open rate was very good.

Here's the email sending tips that I learned.

1. Middle of the morning or Middle of the afternoon during a business day works best for business related emails because the recipient has cleared out all the emails that received overnight or during lunch.
   
2. Also, you have to give them a compelling reason to open the email, the curiosity factor.
   
3. And if you are sending the same basic email more than once, you better have a good reason to do so. Better yet, make some adjustments to the content.

These are some of the same strategies I use in building a radio campaign that's focused on an upcoming event. And it works.

Now for the Website tips.
Make sure your site loads correctly in all the popular web browsers. Internet Explorer still is number one. However many people like myself prefer to use an alternative such as Firefox, or Opera. Apple users are most likely to view your website on Safari.

I spent a few hours trying to figure out why a page on our membership list did not load correctly in Internet Explorer and finally after trying to decipher the HTML code, found the answer and now it loads properly.

The last website tip is make sure everything is current and working. You wouldn't run an ad campaign that featured an old disconnected phone number or address, so clean up your website too.

Advertising on the Internet

The internet is a wonderful thing. And it is still in its infancy.

Think about the advent of radio or television broadcasting.

A nice invention, but how do you make money with it was a question someone must have asked a long, long time ago.

Eventually advertising was used to support this "free medium". I say free, because after buying a radio or television, you were not obligated to spend anymore money except for the electricity to power the radio or t.v.

Later people started paying a subscription fee to get extra channels via a cable t.v. service. Those in the Television Broadcasting business locally tell me that penetration for cable, FIOS, or satellite services is 80% in our Metro.

Wow, 4 out of 5 people pay extra money each month to watch television.
Next thing, people will pay extra for bottles of water that is no different than the water they can get out of their tap.

See how we become conditioned to accept things through marketing?

Another piece of technology that changed our viewing habits was the wireless remote control. With dozens, no, make that hundreds of channels piped into our homes, can you imagine having to stand in front of your television to change the channel until you find what you want?!

The remote also made it easy for us to flip the channel when a commercial came on. But studies show, that the number of people that flip during a commercial break is directly related to the quality of the commercial as judged by the viewer.

So what about this internet thing? Can anyone make money with it? Yes, but it will take more than setting up a website and waiting for the money to come rolling in. Quite frankly, methods of advertising online that worked 5 years ago, such as banner ads, are not as effective, generally speaking as they used to be.

Consumers have learned to tune out advertising, so it will take a marriage of advertising methods and creativity, coupled with the understanding of basic human emotions and behavior, to make an internet ad campaign successful. And odds are that within a few years, you will need to use different methods to reach your online audience, which is okay.

The Message vs. the Messenger

Last week I was brainstorming with other members of a marketing committee for the local Boy Scouts and as we were talking about how to achieve growth over the next 5 years, the following concept came to mind...

If your organization has a good strong attractive message, then be very cautious about changing the message.

However, you are going to have to adapt the means of communicating that message (i.e. the Messenger).

Let's put it another way. You have a good strong, attractive brand. Burger King's brand is flame-broiled Whoppers. Boy Scouts have their Values wrapped up in the Scout Law and Scout Oath. This is the message that needs to be communicated to the people. The Message/Brand is a reflection of the organization/company.

The messenger is based on the people you need to get the message to. Traditional Media, Word of Mouth, Promotional activities, Internet and Social Media, etc.

Make sure you do not abandon a good message/brand, just because you have to change the messenger.

The Secret to Networking

Recently I was talking to a couple of local business owners that were "dropping out of networking".

As we talked, I wanted to learn why they were soured on the local networking scene and I learned some very valuable information that confirms what I have witnessed too.

In Fort Wayne, Indiana, there was at one time a list of over 100 different networking groups of various sorts. They ranged from weekly meetings with no formal agenda, to monthly meetings where you stand up and give a 1 minute talk about yourself, to service clubs, and social clubs.

When I was looking for a fast start when I returned to the radio business, I ended up joining a B.N.I. group due to the organization and the people.

It is by far, one of the best business networking groups around because they follow a principal that many other groups have not figured out yet.

That principle is "Givers Gain".

If you try and sell your goods and services to the people in the room at the networking group you are attending, then, for the most part, you are doing things backwards. Instead of being a Giver, you come off as a Taker.

Stop trying to sell the other members that are in your midst and instead, listen to what they have to offer and think about who might benefit from getting to know this person. This is referral based networking and this is what has worked for generations.

Referral Based Networking is simply a form of Word of Mouth. For example, if I ask you who you would recommend as a dentist, and you liked your dentist, then you would give me his/her name.

B.N.I. is a referral based networking system that offers members exclusivity and requires regular attendance. They also have a system for passing and keeping track of referrals.

Unfortunately, most of the other business networking groups fall short of being a referral network, and this is why I sometimes hear negative comments on the concept of networking.

There are differences in each B.N.I. group, and I believe that the one I was a member of for three years is one of the best around.

There are other ways to network, including using the web and free services such as LinkedIn.com to stay in touch and meet others.

Remember that networking is about building relationships and that you want to be a giver, not a taker. Help enough other people and you'll be helped in return if you are honest, trustworthy and "referable".

That is the Secret to Networking.