May 30 2008
Wishing everyone a happy Friday, I thought I would post a few humorous pictures of advertising images from around the globe. It’s amazing how clever people in our world actually are from time to time. I hope you enjoy them.
Happy Friday!
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May 29 2008
Email Marketing Tips for B2B
Not sure what to do when it comes to email marketing? Many of us do our email marketing in-house, but many of us don’t. We go through the process of getting our list, segmenting, breaking down by title, perhaps location, do some vetting to make sure we see what our email recipients see, get our in-house designer or vendor’s designer to create a pretty email–don’t forget the call to action!, etc.
And we all know why we use email–it’s cheaper than direct mail, you can track it better than direct mail, and you get the results in a lot faster than you would by using other marketing techniques. You just have to make sure you follow a few musts.
Make sure you segment. Figure out who your prospects are and who your customers are, and don’t email-bomb all of them with the same message–because they aren’t the same audience. You prospects may know who you are, but they don’t know as much as your current customers. Treat them like prospects, and you’re going to drop their opinion of your business fast.
Do some testing if you have a big enough email list. Some audiences respond to flashy, fun emails, while others respond to dry, factual information when it comes to business emails. Test different emails according to tone, and track the results so you can improve the next time around.
Focus on what’s important to customers–not to you! This is all about you providing what the customer and prospect want, not what you have and what you can provide. Get that across in your emails, and you’ll have a better chance of getting that business.
Remember, while the above is primarily about B2B, much of it also applies to B2C.
Level2wo can help answer any B2B email marketing campaign questions you may have, so feel free to drop us a line.
May 22 2008
Tips For Your Google AdWords Campaigns
You’re either in it or you’re not. Google AdWords have been around now for so long that if you’re not aware of what it is or how to use it you probably never will. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say never, but if you’ve been around them for a while, it’s hard to imagine people who haven’t been.
You learn things if you have been around AdWords. You learn how to tweak, and you learn how to improve, and you do so by going through the trials and tribulations, making the mistakes (often costly), so you can best optimize your spend (the end result).
Below are a few tips to help you navigate your way through Google AdWords. The tips are in NO WAY organized in any particular order–even though I, and many of you, will likely view them in your head in a particular order. I just haven’t done so here.
1. Landing pages
Landing pages are the trap in your Google hunting. If you’re going after bear, your bear trap better work. If the spring is flimsy, all you’re going to do is shock the bear a little…but you aren’t going to trap it. What do I mean? Well, it’s simple. The google ad is meant to get the user to click the ad–and the landing page is to get the user to take that action, whatever action you want them to take. If your landing page isn’t any good, say bye-bye to the action, i.e., the sale, the lead, the whatever.
2. Analytics & Conversion Tracking
Without these two tools, you’re just shooting into the sky and seeing what falls down. Google offers them free–so take advantage of them. They help you figure out the performance of your campaigns, keywords, and how much your conversions are costing you.
3. A/B Testing
Comparisons help you improve. Try different A/B tests to optimize your campaigns. Then, when you’ve improved your campaigns, do more A/B testing. And after that, do some A/B testing. Get the hint? It’s all about improving what you’re doing. Test landing pages, keywords, images, positions, etc.
4. Focus
Keywords and keyword phrases that are generic and searched more mean that you’re going to have a lot of competition. The key here is to focus. Focus on certain, specific keywords and keyword phrases for which you want to reel them in–them being your customers or prospects. Google has its own keyword research tool, and there are others out there that you can find pretty easily.
5. Use Google’s Tools
Google is Google for a reason. They also have tools that will help you improve your campaigns–and the trick here, my friends, is to actually use them. What are those tools?
There’s plenty of resources for Google AdWords if you take the time to read up on them. They’re helpful, and if you learn better over a certain format, Google has likely got it for you–video, text, interactive, etc. Search Engine Marketing is a quick way to compete with the big boys. You just need to know how to play the game.
May 22 2008
Creating Buzz
Everyone wants to be in the headlines. Like the old adage goes, There’s no such thing as bad press. And it seems that right here, in little old Seattle, that’s exactly the case for drive-thru coffee shops with scantily-clad women.
I drove by one today–and left. Not because I was offended in any way, but because the line was long and the customers didn’t seem to be in any hurry. Good for the scantily-clad baristas, but not so good for the driver who just wants to get in and out of the drive-thru with their 16oz Americano.
But for as many coffee lovers out there that don’t mind a little flesh with their Moccacinno, there are plenty of people out there who would prefer that there be more covering the women in those little drive-thru booths.
Without naming names, I did a quick little poll to see what a few people thought. While most of the men I asked didn’t care either way (yes, one or two did enjoy it more than the others), some of the women seemed more concerned about the children who would be exposed to the bikinis, and at one coffee shop, the pasties that covered the baristas’ breasts.
“I understand why they’re doing it…and it makes sense financially. They’re bringing them in. The lines are longer, and people are talking. But I don’t want my son to see a woman’s breasts in his face, pasties or bikini or whatever.”
From a business perspective, it makes sense. It’s capitalism, as another woman pointed out, and women have some assets that will make the money come in more if they use those assets. Right or wrong, it’s all about the bottom line. And the bottom line here is this:
Want to make more money, you must differentiate. Create a buzz. Some people will be positive about what you’re doing, others will be negative. It’s your choice–is the money worth it? For some, the answer is a resounding YES!
Check out the msnbc article on Seattle’s bikini clad baristas.