Cincinnati Internet Marketing Blog

Great New Digital Branding Book

Greetings everyone.  I'm reading a really good book right now on digital branding and you might want to pick up a copy of for yourself.

Brand Digital by Allen Adamson of Landor has the subtitle "Simple ways top brands succeed in the digital world" and that's a great summary of what the book is all about.  It's a how-to that includes lots of case studies on how various consumer brands are applying branding principles to the digital space.  Good stuff!

There is also a very cool companion website for the book that features more information about the book and author, as well as conversations with some leading branding experts, so check out that site too.

Is Your Overt Benefit on Your Homepage?

A couple of weeks ago I was one of the over 160 lucky people at the monthly Cincinnati AMA luncheon to hear one of the country's best marketers Doug Hall of the Eureka Ranch give a fantastic presentation on marketing leadership.

During his presentation Doug reviewed the Three Laws of Marketing Physics, which he developed upon working with clients at the Eureka Ranch, and are outlined in his book (which I highly recommend) Jump Start Your Business Brain.  Here is an affiliate link to buy it on Amazon:

 

As detailed in the book, Doug's team found that if businesses have all three of the these laws (An Overt Benefit, Real Reason to Believe & Dramatic Difference) in place, then businesses are much more likely to succeed. 

So in the presentation Doug told everyone to take out of their business cards and place it on the table in front of us.  Then, he instructed us to circle the Overt Benefit of our business on the card.  In my case, I circled "Internet marketing as an investment - not an expense" while most people in the room didn't have anything to circle.  My Overt Benefit could be a little clearer, but at least I had a simple statement that speaks to how businesses who choose to work with me will benefit.

My advice here is to think of your business website's homepage as your "online business card" with an overt benefit to circle and make sure you clearly convey to site visitors how working with you will benefit them.  Once you have told the customer "what's in it for them" on the homepage, you can build your case so that the customer believes you can deliver on your overt benefit ("Real Reason to Believe") and what uniquely sets you apart from your competitors ("Dramatic Difference") in the rest of your website.

So, is your overt benefit on your homepage?        

Blogging Seminar in Cincinnati November 18th

My good friend award-winning blogger Michelle Lentz of Write Technology is holding a 4-hour seminar on blogging next month at the Hamilton County Business Center.  Whether you have just started a blog, are considering starting a business or corporate blog, or are just getting started in learning what blogging is all about this is the seminar for you!

Here's the scoop:   

The Art of Blogging

Tues, Nov 18, 8 am - noon
HCBC, 1776 Mentor Ave
Suite 160
Cincinnati, OH 45212

Write Technology is proud to offer a 4-hour session: The Art of Blogging. This class focuses not on the technology behind blogging, but the writing. The Art of Blogging includes defining an audience, understanding your goals, finding your voice, exploring blog etiquette, and more:

1.    What is a blog?
2.    Blogging Goals
3.    Blogging Voice and Audience
4.    Content
5.    Blogging Etiquette
6.    Tips for Growing Your Blog with New Media

You can download a course outline and register at http://www.write-tech.com/index.html
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Who should attend?
The course is designed for bloggers in a corporate environment, whether large or small. However, the principles taught apply to anyone who wants to effectively write a blog.

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Cost & Payment:
The course, regularly $199, is being offered at the introductory rate of $179 through November 1. The rate returns to $199 on November 2, so sign up soon!

Credit card accepted via Paypal. To pay with a check by mail or at the door, please contact [email protected].
Credit cards will not be accepted day-of.

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Questions:
Contact Michelle via email or call 859.426.9748.

Internet Marketing Lessons from the Obama Campaign

This morning I found this very interesting & informative Clickz article: Google Grabs Most of Obama's $5 Million in Online Ad Spending

The article details how the Obama campaign has spent over $5 million on online advertising this year with dollar figures for specific publishers.  Where has the campaign chosen to spend the majority of its' money?  Most of all, SEARCH!!  Over three million dollars (about 60%) has been spent with Google, with Yahoo a distant second followed by Centro (which buys ads on TV station, radio station & newspaper websites), CNN.com, MSN & Facebook.

The fact that the Obama campaign has chosen to spend the most money on search makes a lot of sense as this enables them to reach people who are actively seeking to learn more about or read editorials, blogs or news about candidates & issues AT THAT MOMENT!  Talk about reaching your target audience!   

Some of the key advantages of Internet advertising are very applicable to political campaigns.  Here are just a few examples:

• Online advertising tends to be much cheaper and produce a better ROI (Return on Investment) than traditional advertising so campaigns can get more bang for their buck
• Online advertising is more effective at directing people to a website (all people have to do is click on an online ad vs. having to go to the web after being exposed to an ad in another medium).  Thus, folks are more likely to view a candidate or organization's content, donate online or forward it to a friend.
• The geographic targeting can be much more precise online, so that fewer ad dollars are wasted communicating with voters outside of a candidate's district.  This is a real problem in Cincinnati, as we border Indiana & Kentucky.  Whenever I hear a radio ad or see a TV ad on a Cincinnati station for a Kentucky candidate I feel bad for them as I know a huge percentage of the people who just heard or saw the ad won't be voting in their district. 
• The demographic and psychographic (values, beliefs, interests, lifestyle) targeting opportunities online are huge, particularly on social profile sites where members have provided that info in their profiles, such as age, marital status, political leanings, favorite candidates, etc.   
• Better tracking of results.  A campaign can track: exactly how many saw the ad, how many people clicked on the ad, what those people did on the website (donated, emailed a friend, etc.) and how much money they donated.  So a campaign can compute exact ROI figures and the cost of acquiring a new supporter.

Other campaigns, organizations and businesses can learn from this example.  If you'd like to put some of these advantages to work for you, Call me!  937-312-1400.

(I'm Rob Bunting the I-marketing Czar and I approved this message)

      

Cincinnati SEO Presentation September 19th

Steve Phillips of Purple Trout & Kelly Berkemeier of ISOCNET are presenting "SEO & Beyond" as part of The Circuit's Regional Entrepreneur Forum series on September 19th from 8:00 - 9:00 AM at the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati on Edwards Road.

This should be good presentation for folks looking to get an overview of search engine optimization and how to implement SEO tactics.

You can register for the event, which is only $10 for Circuit members and non-members, on The Circuit website.

Andy Beal's Free Online Reputation Management Beginner's Guide

I'm often been asked how to deal with negative listings in search results and how to monitor what's being said about a person, company or brand and how best to deal with what's out there on the web.   

The field of "online reputation management" is pretty hot right now and I expect it will continue to grow as social media (blogs, customer review or feedback sites, profile sites, etc.) proliferate and consumers post their personal thoughts a variety of places and start getting even more top positions in search engines.  Of course I help companies get top placement for their content via SEO or PPC (Pay Per Click) search advertising, and there are even more involved steps one could take. 

Andy Beal is pretty well-known in the industry and moderates one of the most popular online marketing blogs, Marketing Pilgram.  His great post back in 2006 Free Online Reputation Management Beginner’s Guide has been updated and is also available as a downloadable PDF.  It lists a lot of helpful links and tips on CGM (Consumer Generated Media), including Do's and Dont's for various situations in which you may find yourself at some point.

Good stuff!