Most PR professionals use blogging as part of their internet marketing strategy, according to research conducted by DWPub.
The study found that a massive 98 per cent find them “useful or invaluable”, and 82 per cent are actively working with bloggers to develop an effective online marketing programme.
74 per cent, meanwhile, felt that interaction with bloggers was becoming more commonplace within the PR sector.
The results were collated from a survey of 252 PR professionals, conducted earlier this month.
Daryl Wilcox, chairman and founder of DWPub, called the results “overwhelming positive.”
He added: “Bloggers are here to stay and the PR industry is beginning to embrace them. Bloggers need to be approached in a different way to journalists.”
The results reflect Wilcox’s statement, with more than two thirds of PR professionals stating that they use a dedicated approach when working with bloggers – with three quarters of these saying that they use a more informal tone in comparison to their dealings with journalists.
Importance is measured through the number of comments and followers that a blog has – as well as its presence on social media sites – with nearly half of all respondents stating that they looked at these as a primary indicator.
In contrast, results are primarily measured by looking at the number of views that a post has, while just nine per cent of respondents believe that the best way to measure results is to look at the number of comments on a post.
Around one in five PR professionals have decided not to use bloggers. 54 per cent of this group said that they didn’t use bloggers because they found their usefulness difficult to evaluate.
Overall, however, the results should not cause too much worry for those that write blogs professionally.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – a best practice Internet Marketing Agency.
Procter and Gamble (P&G), the world’s largest consumer packaged goods company, has been discussing Internet marketing initiatives to help cut advertising costs and reach a larger audience.
P&G sells household products from razors to shampoo in 180 countries, represents some huge brands – Fairy, Pantene, Pampers, Braun, Duracell, Olay and Ariel amongst them.
As such, P&G is also responsible for the world’s biggest advertising budget: and now new head of marketing Marc Pritchard is looking to shave $1bn from that annual cost by 2016.
Against a backdrop of company-wide savings totalling around $10bn, such steep changes to marketing – at such a massive firm – are bound to resonate globally too.
Mr Pritchard told the Wall Street Journal that, along with traditional cost-cutting measures such as job reorganisation, spending efficiency changes and reining in pricey TV ads, P&G were now looking at lower-cost digital marketing measures.
The 51-year-old, who has been chief of global marketing at P&G since 2008, said: “I took a small group of people when I first got here to learn everything we can about digital, and get that through the company.”
One of the cost-cutting measures will see combined brand activity around global events: the 2012 Olympics provides the perfect platform to test this.
“You’ll see some very heavy-duty activity for our Olympics program,” Mr Pritchard said. “It’ll be Twitter, Google, YouTube, Yahoo! Those are going to be some pretty essential parts of the whole program.
“We have more than 30 brands doing Olympic activities, 150 athletes, all those brands have Facebook pages, all those athletes have Facebook pages. Then we go out, create an event, talk about it, push it out, through broadcast and digital. Then we have community managers who are amplifying the discussion, engaging on Facebook, on YouTube, things like Twitter. That’s the way it’ll work.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – a best practice Internet Marketing Agency.
As we have mentioned before, many people are incompetent at search, and the search engines and SEO experts (as well as hardware manufacturers) have not been slow in taking this into account.
In a video from the Google stable, we hear about how Google is taking into account the changes that are occurring in user behaviour and needs, as well as the interfaces being used to search for content and the content being created. Daniel Russell, who presents the video, has the rather marvellous job title of Uber Tech Lead for Search Quality and User Happiness.
It is interesting to see how search is changing, particularly with the influx of social media and the ever-increasing need for real time searches which bring up breaking news, for example.
It is worth watching the Google Maps example given from 9mins onwards. This example shows how Google has enriched the results during the period 2005 to 2012, by changing the underlying dataset from an outsourced dataset to Google’s own. Whilst many of us may not have noticed the sometimes subtle changes which each iteration has brought, it is difficult to miss the vast changes that a mere 5-6 years has had on our comprehension of what search is, and therefore how as search marketers we have reacted to those changes.
From ensuring that a client’s address was listed on Google Maps (and then Local before returning the name to Maps), through to ensuring that there were photos of the location or shop, to adding Products into what was Google Base and is now Google Shopping, to encouraging customers to review the products and services, and so on and on….. through to the latest development in search which is ensuring that as Google moves to integrate all products together, we are being actively encouraged to use the rel=author tag to have content by certain individuals showing up in search results.
In talking about social and how it will affect search in future, we find ourselves falling into the world of big data (which, in case, you have not heard yet, is one of the buzzwords of 2012). So, for instance, whilst you may think you understand all about social networks, try looking at stackoverflow.com which is a great example of a niche social network, where big data is created, along with answers to complex problems, simply by the members of a community of interest.
As Google gets a handle on more of this type of social activity, and therefore advances Google+ beyond being a Facebook repro, then we will see more and more results in the SERPS which reflect the social activity from authors within our immediate or extended circles. And especially from those who have been canny about including keywords when creating content, as well as using that rel=author tag!
One of the problems with the ever-increasing creation of content is that it is, of course, becoming ever harder to index this and provide the results in a meaningful way using algorithms. After all, the search algorithms do not know whether you are looking up “polar bear hide” for a research project, because you are shopping to make a furry belt, or you actually mean a hide as in somewhere to hide from polar bears.
The examples given include 48 hours of video uploaded to Youtube every minute, or the equivalent of the Library of Congress added in information each day to the Net – and the rate of acquisition of new content is accelerating, fast. This means that, theoretically at least, if you can craft the right search, the amount of time spent finding the data you require is decreasing, day on day, as companies such as Google do the hard work for us. BUT, many people, as we said at the outset, quite simply do not know how to search, and hence find the results they are seeking.
So, for those interested in search, the really interesting part is about critical thinking skills and educating users to develop these skills so that they can more accurately access the information they are searching for (24mins). Which, hopefully, is of course, your website!
How do we, as search marketers, solve the problem of directing the user to a specific client website via a photo of a particular meal that their colleague has recommended at the restaurant if the only info the user has is: “It was ‘beef and rice’”? And how do we convert that search into a booking and a satisfied customer who leaves a tip, a review on our site, checks in on Foursquare, leaves a comment on our blog, signs up to our newsletter and eats in the restaurant on the discount coupon they received as a loyal customer?
After all, isn’t that why we want them to find the website in the first place?!
Being able to take a photo of a real world object and then search for the answer to your query is undoubtedly a goal of all search engines, because it can be so difficult to phrase the question to find the right answer using only words. Adding images to the mix takes us into a whole new realm of optimisation for search marketers. Then there’s Siri and voice, sounds and music, videos….you get the drift? If you thought search engine marketing had got a whole lot more complex over the last few years, with client fees staying fairly static but the workload increasing exponentially……it’s about to get a lot, lot harder!
Where else do you see search changing over the coming years as users become prosumers, hardware becomes more affordable, the disconnecteds get connected, and the volume of information, particularly real time social data, continues to increase by the hour? Do you envisage your task as a search engine /internet marketer becoming harder or more easier as tools for automation become available? As a user, do you see it becoming simpler to find the results you seek or more complex? How can website owners ensure that their sites remain optimised for the correct keywords?
The results of a recent study have shown that many marketers are continuing to question the use of social media as an internet marketing technique to drive sales, according to an article published by Marketing Week.
Conducted by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the study found that just 23 per cent of marketers hold the belief that social channels will help them attract new customers.
Results also displayed that just over a third (34.5 per cent) of the 1,500 marketers participating in the study felt that their company’s social media activity conducted last year (2011) was “not at all effective.”
Just 13.7 per cent responded that they felt it was “extremely effective.”
Head of social media at o2, Alex Pearmain, stated that engagement was the key element of social media success.
He said: “Social media can make money, but businesses need to have a broader view of how it can do this. If someone invests in direct response and wants a return within 10 days, I would query the use of social media.
“However. if it is a longer-term approach to drive customer engagement and customer value, then social media is more appropriate.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – a best practice Internet Marketing Agency.
Google has warned Welsh businesses that they could be missing out on Internet marketing opportunities, as figures have shown that around 40 per cent of small firms based in Wales don’t operate a website, according to an article published by BBC News.
The message has coincided with the announcement that Google will work with the Welsh government as part of a year-long campaign to boost the presence of Welsh businesses on the Internet.
Google’s Laurian Clemence stated: “You are really missing out if you can’t be found online.
“We do believe there are definitely more benefits than not. The key thing is that people who have their business online see their business grow four to eight times faster than those that don’t.
“We realised that Wales was lagging behind in the adoption of web presences for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises),” she said.
Clemence concluded: “There ia lot of opportunity there to help them get a website for the first time or if they do have a website improve it.”
As part of the project Google will be providing one-to-one advice sessions for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as a roadshow featuring tutorials, workshops and advice from experts.
Edwina Hart, business minister, said: “We welcome this initiative to help companies gain maximum benefits from using and exploiting digital technologies to innovate, grow and access new markets, driving business growth.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – a best practice Internet Marketing Agency.
OK, we knew it was kicking in, hence this week’s focus on the ‘new’ Google algorithm. Yesterday, Youtube’s new look was the focus because video is part of the all-important algorithm.
Today’s post should have been about QDF (Query Demands Freshness) in regards to news, blog posts, tweets etc, but there has been a new announcement which demands attention.
Before we get to that announcement, perhaps we should talk about the ‘new’ algorithm. There are those for whom, once upon a time, the acquisition of Goto, or Hotbot’s latest colour scheme, made IRC buzz. SEO was about hiding terms such as “Pamela Anderson” in your metas and making the keyword rich text the same colour as the bgcolor. Oh you may scoff now at such immature antics, but some of us remember when it worked. For a while, in about 1994/5. It is not often you see such tactics proposed these days, but there are many tactics from 1-2 years ago that would seem pointless now to the IM cognoscenti.
So, “new” has become a very subjective term in SEO and Internet Marketing – more “How new are you?” There are apps and techniques and on-page or even offline optimisation strategies which for many SMEs are complete wizardry. Let’s face it, there are still business people who don’t know what Twitter is! So, we are using new this week to mean – climb out of your PPC and basic SEO box, look at some of your options, understand what drives your audience to you in 2011, and then do it. If you don’t know what Google+ is, and you don’t have a Facebook profile, or you have never tweeted, blogged, answered a post in a forum, or set up an RSS feed to track your competitors – this is ALL going to be new. It might be an idea to start there first….and then return to find out what else you are missing.
Google + is suddenly appearing in the SERPs. (You need to be careful not to confuse +1 with G+). What we are talking about is that G+ status updates (stream/what’s news/posts etc) and Add to Circles have been spotted out in the wild. At present, it seems to be only on Direct Connect accounts, but that is a fairly typical Google strategy – target early adopters and reward those who at least give the betas a run for their money.
Now the Google devs are actually approachable on G+, the instant and valuable feedback that these beta tests garner for Google are well worth the pain of getting 153 comments to a throwaway comment about a new album a dev is listening to on Google Music. (Did you know that had also launched this week?! We’ll show you the workaround shortly for UK people).
The point is though that Google is playing a fast catch up to other social networks. It may not be a quick game. In fact, it is looking increasingly like a long one i.e not instant gratification, as many have come to expect of the online world. However, Google is joining up its dots and adding new functionality, removing dead wood (including the decent version of Reader, but we won’t go into that), and listening far harder, or so it would seem, to its users than a) has been the norm previously and b) its competitors.
So, today’s task is to look at your G+ page/profile, discover if you have actually spotted the SEO factors that Google is taking into account for its algo, and making sure that your page has half a chance to join the firehose that will be the re-introduction of real time search, but from G+ primarily and not Twitter, as it used to be.
And if you think that ignoring all those people who added you to circles over the last 10 days is still an option, or that applying for Direct Connect might be a waste of time…..think again. Your G+ status update might bring your company page to a first page position that your traditionally SEOd website has little to no chance reaching in a competitive world. *THAT* is the new algorithm!
In the current Internet marketing climate, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter might be the platforms most popular for marketing.
However it’s important not to ignore the power of YouTube adverts.
Just as with social media marketing, there are a number of rules to follow when creating YouTube content that you want to be worth sharing, according to an article published by Search Engine Watch.
Rather than relying on luck to take your video ‘viral’, the video must ‘provide intrinsic value to your viewers,’ states New York Times bestselling author, Guy Kawasaki.
Kawasaki states that there are four forms that this intrinsic value can take, as he explains:
Inspiration – ‘YouTube has brought to light thousands of inspiring stories of courage and bravery.’
Entertainment – ‘Some videos are plain-and-simple guffawingly funny.’
Enlightenment – ‘These are documentaries similar to what you’d see on PBS or the Discovery Channel.’
Education – ‘Educational videos show how to do things and use products.’
Ideally the ad needs to generate a buzz, talk and referrals – views alone aren’t enough.
These types of adverts can be hugely successful, as proved by a recent educational YouTube advert.
‘The Google+ project: A quick look’ advert, explaining the ins and outs of Google’s latest social networking venture, has been shared 147,262 times according to the Mashable Global Ads Chart.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
It is too soon for any business to migrate to Google+ because it is still very much in beta. Besides, business accounts are not yet permitted, apart from the odd test account. However, it is unlikely that Google + will go away so it is not a bad idea to start considering how and where it will fit into your digital marketing strategies in the future.
Discussions in the office about whether as a business you will need Google+ have ranged from “Yes, definitely” to “It’s just another place to post” to “Not until you have your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn strategies right.”
It’s interesting that it is only a few years since many companies banned their staff from even accessing Facebook during working hours, and now it is an almost essential arena for many businesses. This pattern has occurred so many times, from “Do you need a website?” through “Should you be doing SEO/PPC?” to “Does your business need a Twitter account?” etc. It is likely to be never ending…..which application or service do you need and which simply cannot be ignored?
The reality is that everyone in the office is right. Yes, you will need to be on Google+. Yes, it will be another place to post, engage, follow, interact, share and so on. And yes, you do need to ensure that every social media marketing strategy that you use works for you.
One interesting point that came out of the discussions is the need to occupy as much social media and online real estate as possible in order to find and target your customers. In ye olde days, it was far easier to find your audience because there were a limited number of channels – TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, conferences. Now there are seemingly an infinite number of channels where your potential customers may be found, and the workload which goes with this ‘search and capture’ must be repaid with a return on that investment.
You need to find the right tool for the job FOR YOU, which may will be different to the business next door, a competitive brand, or the industry leader in your sector. Finding the right tools for your desired outcomes is where an experienced internet marketing agency and your in-house knowledge of your business and target market really comes to the fore.
We will look next at how Google+ could contribute to and complement your internet marketing actions in the future …………
An article published on entrepreneur.com has criticised the attitude taken towards social media marketing. With it, a lack of a fundamental understanding of ‘public relations, marketing, corporate communications and sales’ is also lamented.
Entrepreneur has pointed out a number of misconceptions when it comes to utilising social media marketing:
Size matters: Although levels of success may be measured by some small businesses via the number of ‘likes’ their page gains. – What they don’t realise is that the quality of those actually ‘liking’ the page matters greatly. Just because people ‘like’ a page and see the business message it doesn’t necessarily mean they are buying – which is ultimately the main aim.
Medium is the message: The message is and always has been the most important factor – not the technology or the platform used to promote it. A solid message carries more weight with people than the medium it’s being broadcast on.
Social media is ‘new’ media: Social media may be relatively new but media is media, at some point television and the internet were once considered new, now they’re thought of as ‘traditional’. Social media isn’t to be feared as something only the young can operate successfully. But without foundation knowledge of basic marketing, combined with the considered business goals of ‘traditional’ marketing, success just isn’t possible.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in SEO, PPC, Multilingual Search Marketing and Website Conversion Enhancement services.
The power of viral marketing has increased because of social media, according to an article published by marketingweek.co.uk.
Providing an additional alternative in the world of Internet marketing, viral campaigns can be extremely successful if understood and created well.
Social network growth in the last five years has increased the potential to spread viral marketing campaigns greatly.
Whereas the previous method of getting a campaign to go ‘viral’ would have consisted of a person sending an email to 10 or 20 friends, social networks, like Facebook, now mean that the content can be accessed by anyone that person knows – giving the content much more value and potential.
Nokia are one of the highest-profile companies utilising the method to earn extra attention – with a recent Tron Legacy themed viral mystery game – spread across various social media sites – attracting the involvement of 80,000 people in just over a day.
Recent figures also back up the growth trend, with Nielsen reporting that, on average, 68 per cent of people are more likely to remember seeing an advert recommended or endorsed by someone they know than one without that element of social validation.
However, Michael Melazzo, global marketing activation for Nokia, commented that the process of creating a viral campaign needed to be handled with care. He said: “It’s about building for the longer term and avoiding the quick win.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
