Posts Tagged ‘Internet Marketing’

New Social Network Tools Offer Potential

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

There are two new social networks, Sonar launched in May and Banjo this morning, which may offer the digital agency a new and inventive way to market for clients. Instead of marking friends and then telling you where those people are, these networks treat locations as the friend and then tell you whom else is nearby. Sonar will also flag the other nearby people by how many FaceBook friends you have in common. Both are available for the iPhone, but only Banjo is currently available for Android.

banjo

AllThingsD.com

The verdict is still out on these location friending networks. Effective mobile application development means increasing the apps base usage, so others join up and continue to check in. The other problem plaguing these apps is their counter-intuitiveness. For a brick-and-mortar storefront to appear it would need to be logged into the app and only then would someone else logged in, who also happened to be nearby, see the storefront. Among early adopters, however, that might be precisely why these apps can drive some traffic. If they do take off in popularity then there might be too many nearby contacts to attract much attention, but in the nascent stages it might work very well, especially since the account is free. Digital agency’s using these networks for advertising and social media marketing should wait until there is some growth.

Read Write Web: New Wave of Social Networks Have You “Friending” Your Location

More FaceBook Music Rumors

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

Since FaceBook reached out to Spotify a few months ago rumors have been circulating about FaceBook Music. Since then Apple and Amazon have launched their own cloud based music players. The industry seems to be in consensus that cloud based music is the future. The digital agency looking for a way into this should be rooting for FaceBook music because both iCloud and Amazon are not in advertising publishing mode, at least, not yet. A FaceBook Music would change that.

Facebook Music

iClarified.com

The f8 Conference, FaceBook’s large conference for developers, is being panelled with online music developers. Many see this as the writing on the wall. FaceBook is now dominant in games, news and retailing and this move is their attempt to target media delivered over the internet. Digital agencies will see their advertising on FaceBook gain more stickiness the more FaceBook becomes a portal for internet activities. If there is a music offering, then users will not even need to leave FB exposing them to more FB published advertising.

Gigaom: Revealed: Facebook’s music plans tap Spotify, others

Google’s Launches Brand Management Application

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Google has launched a new app called “Me On The Web’. It can be found on the Google Dashboard in between Account Information and Analytics. Most of the available tools are available as alerts, which were previously available. Managing the alerts is now easier to set up.

google-logo

Google.com

Most digital agencies now incorporate brand management into their products available for clients. This release will make that management easier to do. Of course, that is a potential problem for the digital agency, as now it might be so simple that businesses will not outsource this task. To counter this potentiality, the digital agency needs to differentiate its brand management portfolio by offering a more sophisticated service.

Mashable: Google Launches Tool for Online Reputation Management

Businesses Need to Better Utilize Twitter

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

Data shows that Twitter users are quite likely to ask questions but not to direct those questions with an @ or a hashtag. Many of these users are asking for input from their followers or from businesses. Six out of ten Twitter users wish businesses would answer questions over Twitter and data also shows business replies are as trustworthy as replies from regular users.

how-to-use-twitter-business

webdevils.biz

This is a high burden for businesses. Monitoring Twitter usage is relatively easy when people use the hashtags or the @ sign. Monitoring Twitter without those tools requires much more time, but the payoff seems entirely worth it. The digital agency needs to incorporate this into its brand monitoring portfolio. It would also be a wise move to incorporate a method of Twitter contact into an advertising campaign. Maybe some users do not use the Twitter tools (hashtag, etc.) because they are not sure about the appropriate use of those tools. The digital agency can incorporate that education as a means of increasing affective communications.

E Marketer: Twitter Users Want Businesses to Answer Them

Don’t bet on the Windows Phone

Monday, June 13th, 2011

IDC recently predicted that by 2015 Windows would control 20% of the smartphone market and the loser would be the iPhone falling to 16%. PCMagazine, however, has a better story about the current state of the Windows Phone. Visiting the major cellular carriers and specifically asking about a WP7 based unit, the writer was discouraged at every turn.

windows-phone-7-series

ToTheTech.com

Sometimes we are too caught up in reading about capabilities and positioning of brands. In the end, the average consumer walks into the store and looks at offerings within a price point. If the representatives in those stores think the market is dominated, and will continue to be dominated, by Android and iOS, then there is little mindshare for the upstarts to gain a foothold. WP7 may make it, but for now it appears to rely mainly on early adopters and other enthusiasts. These are also the people that digital agencies need not market towards because advertisements are highly ineffective with these populations.

Keeping apprised of Windows Phone developments is necessary, but keeping in mind the actual purchasing experience is more important. For now, and the immediate future, it appears marketing on a Windows Phone will not be particularly effective.

PC Mag: Are the Carriers Strangling Windows Phone 7 at Retail?

Children’s Exposure to Digital Advertising Is Increasing

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

The news that 7.5 million children under 13 were on FaceBook reached near scandalous proportions last month. That number, however, is not at all surprising given new data recently released about children’s online behaviors. 30% of children 3 and younger spend some time each week on online. That number increases as the children grow older. 90% of children between 6 and 8 are online at least some.

kidsoncomputers

Photo: MonitoringSoftwareBlog.com

While there are laws making data collection of children more difficult there are ways the digital agency can capitalize on this changing demographic. Advertising which appeals to multiple age groups can be effective and also does not require data collection. While children are increasingly online, the parent is never far away and advertisement that is child friendly and yet appealing to parents is important. Data shows parents are still the main influence of children’s consumptive desire, even though children are increasingly spending more time on social networks.

E Marketer: Young Children Consuming More Digital Media

A New Twitter Competitor

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Sina Weibo is a Twitter-like service that is currently available only in China. In China it is huge and the plan is to move the service into English speaking venues with Sina English. Budweiser is already on board and one of the few differences between Sina and Twitter is geared to marketing. One of those differences is Sina content is also linked to its portal, so links to longer content can still create exposure for advertisements. The main marketing advantage is the layout. Videos and pictures are displayed below the tweet-like message, Sina also operates on 140 characters messages, so viewing the content is easier.

sina-weibo-iphone-app-300x206

Photo: PennOlsen.com

Even though this service will make itself more of a marketing platform, digital agencies should remain cautious. Consumers are notoriously cautious about gumming up their processors with another app that offers a redundant service. To answer the redundancy question, Sina supporters point to the explosive growth Sina has had in China. However, Chinese affords more communicative potential in 140 characters than English does, and the inline display advantage is also mitigated by using apps instead of visiting the web page. The good news Sina does offer the digital agency is competition. Twitter will now have external pressures to develop, especially the in the realm of the pro-marketing differences that Sina offers.

The Wall: Can Twitter still be beaten? Chinese rival to launch in the US

Google Improves Image Searching

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

Google has rolled out, currently only available in English, some improvements to its image searching. The first change will be allowing roll over functionality. When a user puts the cursor over an image it will widen for better viewing. Google is also changing the results when “image” or “photo” is specified in the search query. Images will be displayed in a grid so the viewer will have side-by-side comparison ability instead of requiring scrolling. Google has also said it will now be easier to search for images and throughout image hosting sites. Specifics about those improvements were not announced.

pups
Photo: Google Images

Anytime Google updates its logarithm, already considered by many to be the best, then it is good news for digital agencies. The advertising becomes more potent, and better searching means more searching as well as more time for viewers to spend elsewhere. Google updates also drive updates and changes across the internet.

Mashable: Google Search Becomes More Image Friendly

Google’s +1 Button Now Everywhere

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

FaceBook may have invented the ‘Like’ button and the placement of that button everywhere, but now Google has a similar tool. Google’s ‘+1’ button had existed only on its search results until Wednesday. Now publishers will be able to put the ‘+1’ on their pages allowing Google to obtain more data about other spaces on the internet.

google-plus-1

Photo: thefastertimes.com

Google searches will improve dramatically as a result of this. Until now Google searches would only benefit if people had clicked on +1 on the search page. Now people will see the button on many regular pages. Google also collects, just as FaceBook does, data every time a page with +1 loads on it. Even if a viewer does not click the button Google obtains some data, and even the viewer’s non-selection of ‘+1’ tells Google something. That in itself is a huge amount of data that will help refine Google searches. And increase the power of targeted advertisements.

Mashable: Google’s +1 Button Challenges Facebook’s Like Across the Web

Internet Marketing Michigan

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Internet marketing in Michigan has never been better. Michigan companies are utilizing Internet marketing, digital marketing, SEO and SEM to strengthen their online presence and brand themselves more effectively.

One agency that specializes in “Internet marketing” is Ingenex Digital Marketing located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ingenex is taking Internet marketing to the next level through the use of social media marketing, web site design, digital public relations, pay-per-click advertising, and search engine optimization.

Since it was founded in 2006 Ingenex Digital has helped dozens of clients increase their web site traffic, gain more followers on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and enhance their online presence.

An example of a great digital web site created by Ingenex is the Inforum Michigan web site. Inforum Michigan is one of the largest women’s business organizations in the Midwest. Since the organization is so large they were having trouble connecting with members through their old site and they recognized they needed a new web presence to make themselves more visible and easier to access. Ingenex launched Inforum’s new site in February 2010. The new site is designed to be easily updated, easy to find through the use of search engine optimization, and includes valuable information for anyone who views the site.

inforumsmall1

In addition to increasing companies digital presence and making their websites easy to access, Ingenex also hosts an Internet marketing blog that helps companies learn more about digital marketing. Through this blog companies and professionals will learn to understand social media marketing, online communities, digital marketing, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization. Michigan companies have been using Internet marketing to enhance growth and these blog posts give tips on how to do just that. With focus on how to attain measurable results, increasing audience reach, learning to use new public relations, monitoring and tracking conversation, and engaging audience in conversation, these blog posts teach companies effective ways to use digital marketing.

bussmall

Another way Internet marketing is growing in Michigan is through Lunch Ann Arbor Marketing, a weekly lunch meeting that allows marketing professionals and people interested in marketing topics to exchange ideas and get to know each other in a relaxed environment. Each week a marketing professional will speak on topics ranging from new media, digital marketing, social media, web design, and traditional marketing.

Digital marketing expert and CEO of Ingenex Digital Marketing, Derek Mehraban, states, “Internet marketing strategy is crucial to marketers and business owners. The demand for digital is growing exponentially and this fall LA2M will challenge Ann Arbor to think digitally and utilize the online space to connect with customers.”

The topics discussed are helpful to those interested in digital marketing, social media buffs, and business owners.

Watch Tiffany Risner, Interactive Marketing Coordinator of Ingenex Digital Marketing, discuss how to integrate digital public relations into your marketing mix.