Posts Tagged Interactive
Intentional Online Advertising
Posted by Patrick Woods in Interactive on
A fatal mistake many small business owners make when trying their hand at online advertising is that they don’t invest in creative designed specifically for that medium. Banner ads are often smaller versions of a print campaign without any regard to the behavior of online audiences.
But would you use a newspaper ad for your outdoor display? Would you air your radio spot as a TV commercial?
Interactive advertising provides a near limitless set of choices for a small business that’s advertising online. This article offers a few examples of how companies are already thinking intentionally about their online advertising campaigns. Small businesses owners would benefit from this kind of approach.
A Complex Web: 50 Social Networks for Marketing Your Small Business
Posted by Patrick Woods in Social Media Marketing on
“Social Media” as a term typically conjures the Big Three of Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but social media marketing has grown far beyond the reach of these majors sites.
Your social media marketing strategy should invovle networks that fall into these broad categories:
- Social bookmarking
- Professional networking
- Niche social media
- Job sites
Take some time to familiarize yourself with these 50 social networking sites and explore ways to integreate them into your online marketing strategy.
Small Business Website Planning: Site or Strategy?
Posted by Patrick Woods in Interactive on
Photo by James Cridland
Increasing numbers of shoppers begin the research stage of the buying process by searching the web for info on the product a service that will meet their needs. In and effort to stay current, many small business owners I’ve worked with will post an unattractive, poorly planned website so they’ll have a URL to put on their business card. The end result, though, often poorly represents the small business’ brand and actually does more harm than god.
Now, the title of this post assumes your small business does, in fact, have a website. If you don’t have a website for your small business, this is a great place to start thinking about one. If your site is already live, use these points to diagnose what you already have.
What is the purpose of your small business’ website?
- How does it fit into your overall marketing strategy?
- Is it for lead generation?
- Is it used for direct selling?
- Is it used to raise brand awareness?
- Is it used for interacting with customers?
What do you want the website visitor to do?
- Download your white paper or request a demo (lead generation)?
- Buy a product (direct selling)?
- Join your mailing list, visit your social media property, or watch a video (brand awareness)?
- Comment in your forum or on your blog post (interacting with customers)?
Who will visit your website?
- What do you know about your target audience?
- Are they experienced web surfers (e.g. teens; young adults)?
- Or are they new to the web (e.g. senior citizens)?
- Are they new to the site or are they repeat visitors?
What are your technical requirements?
- Will you need a shopping cart?
- Database interactivity (i.e. forums, blogs, mailing lists)?
- Will you need video or Flash support?
- Is your content in a single languages, or multiple languages?
This website planning checklist for your small business is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a good starting point to help you begin thinking strategically about your website.
Finding Stunning Imagery for Your Small Business Blog
Posted by Patrick Woods in Advertising and Design, Interactive on
Interesting and relevant image can be used to increase the visual appeal of your small business blog while making it seem more readable by breaking-up the text.
Flickr is a fantastic source for usable images. Here is a great article on how to use Flickr images on your blog.
Understanding Interactive Marketing’s ROI
Posted by Patrick Woods in Interactive on
AdAge has posted a thorough article written by Eric Karofsky, principal consultant in the strategy group at interactive agency Molecular, about the difficulty in justifying spending on digital and interactive media.
He frames his thoughts in the form of a conversation between a CFO, who demands proof of ROI before spending a dime, and a CMO, who insists interactive media isn’t always about tangible ROI.
Despite the theoretical framework of this discussion, small businesses will benefit from considering ways in which interactive media can support their marketing objectives. For many small businesses, the owner is both the CFO and the CMO, so the discussion may be internal, but important nonetheless.
Traditional small business owners may apply dated paradigms when considering how to allocate their media buys, but this article offers a balanced approached to understanding the various metrics involved in measuring the effectiveness of interactive marketing.
