Posts in Website/New Media

Eerily accurate predictions from AT&T 1993 television advertising

31 Aug 2010 13:32 No comments

Att

Take a look at this interesting montage of television advertising from AT&T from nearly 20 years ago.

The "You Will" series looked at what you will be able to do in the future. It's amazing how many of the predictions the ads got right – there’s an iPad like device, a GPS navigation system, the ability to purchase concert tickets online, virtual meeting software, and on-demand video at home.

There are several things that were spectacularly inaccurate however such as the continued use of a phone booth and fax. (When was the last time you even saw a phone booth?) But it's remarkable how much was absolutely right. More...

What your Bounce Rate Says About You

19 Aug 2010 10:42 1 comment
le Analytics is a very powerful tool but sometimes its results can be misleading. It is very easy to see a green improvement percent and think that all is well. Even metrics that we have benchmarks for don't always mean what we think they do. A good example of this is Bounce Rate. If you've never heard of Bounce Rate before, check out the Analytics glossary at the bottom of the page.

Bounce Rate benchmark

If a Bounce Rate is over than 40%, I take it as an indication that site visitors are not getting involved with site content. That is to say, more than 40 people in every 100 visits are clicking on the page and clicking off immediately without checking any other content on the site. More...

My browser history is my own, so back off with your unethical social media metrics

2 Aug 2010 11:41 1 comment
Privacy is a personal thing. Some people want to be as “off grid” as they can get. And then there are those who actually bolt a camcorder to their heads and stream their life 24/7. Irrespective, I believe there are some things that everyone expects to be private by default; even Marc Zuckerberg! And one of these is your browser history… the log that lists every webpage you visit.

It’s this list that enables modern browsers to suggest auto-completions for URLs as you enter them in the address bar. It’s this list you might visit when you’re trying to find that something or other you stumbled across the other day. More...

What Should You Consider When Integrating Social Media

30 Jul 2010 08:35 No comments

As we progress into 2010, the rapid growth of social media has allowed more access to information, consumers, communities, and experiences.  This new medium has enabled a new way to communicate and share, from B2C to B2B marketers are all trying to figure out an edge.  Many brands start to focus on the hybrid approach which I believe will be the next phase of digital and web marketing.  The question is what role will it play in the marketing arsenal?

Here are 3 steps to consider when integrating social media to your marketing practices:

Brand Strategy Reassessment

Understand the changing habits of your customers should be the focus of your brand.  Use the 80/20 rule to segment your customers and identify the difference between your old customers and new customers.  The recession has permanently altered the way people think of value and the concept of trust. More...

The Web of data is a Web of influence

29 Jul 2010 15:23 No comments
PR and Web 3.0

I’m a fan of Web 3.0. Perhaps obsessed is a more accurate description.

Web 1.0 is the Web of documents. Web 2.0 is the social and user content Web. Web 3.0 is the point at which the Web itself understands that content and social interaction. Some call it the semantic Web, and some call it the Web of data, but regardless of naming conventions, it’s going to mess up a hell of a lot of business models, and create some fascinating new business and public-benefit opportunities. And it’ll transform reputation management too.

If you think ‘atoms of influence’ trickle far and wide courtesy of human expressions and understanding with social media acting as loyal conduit, just wait until machines understand these contributions too. More...

Growing Confusion about Behavioral Ad Targeting

24 Jul 2010 17:47 No comments
 
eMarketer reports that Internet users have been sending mixed messages about targeted advertising. Sometimes say they appreciate the relevance; sometimes they would provide personal information to facilitate targeting; and yet they also report concerns about advertisers and publishers having too much data.

While this suggests that consumers may be confused about online privacy and what behavioral targeting entails, research from online ad preference management provider PreferenceCentral calls into question whether consumer education is a solution for marketers.

Asked if they would prefer to pay for content, view targeted advertisements in exchange for free content, or receive limited free content supported by untargeted ads, 58 percent of US internet users chose targeted ads. More...

Mazda Australia social media Zoom Zoom

8 Jul 2010 14:48 No comments
Last year, I was in Melbourne, Australia delivering a Social Media Masterclass and participating in a few Tweetups. I met James Duthie and we got to talking about Automaker websites around the world and how most of them are just big TV-like advertising sites.

Mazda

James contacted me to say that Mazda Australia has re-vamped their approach.

We like what we see!

Right on the homepage is a big community section. Live tweets appear – on the homepage! – and there are links to community forums and blogs.

Community

What's fascinating is that many of the links go outside of Mazda to owners club sites, commercial reviews, information from places like Hemmings, and independent blogs. More...

How to Integrate Email Marketing, SEO and Social Media

18 Jun 2010 11:44 -4 comments

Social media is changing how businesses find customers and how customers engage with brands. There are many reasons to believe that it will eventually overtake email marketing, but I’m a firm believer that it’s here to stay.  In fact, I believe email marketing combine with search (SEO) and social media will the best strategy moving forward.

However; let me get a few things straight. First, email is the original social network. Second, you need email to open social network account and get alerts. And third, search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing) will continue to index and aggregate social network data not to mention most social network has their own internal search engine as well. More...

Think Outside of the Inbox

17 Jun 2010 16:48 No comments

With the pervasiveness of social networks and the conversations that take place within each, many had hoped for either the reduction in volume of traditional email or the socialization of the inbox. Instead, email remains as the world’s largest untapped social network, with Gmail and Google Buzz offering a glimpse of the integration that looms on the horizon.

While many are on the verge of filing email bankruptcy, innovation is focused on how to make email productive once again while introducing alternatives for collaboration and communication.

One such company is Threadbox, an emerging startup where I’ve recently joined the board of advisors. More...

Your flash website is iPad out of date

14 Jun 2010 07:27 1 comment
SAN FRANCISCO - JANUARY 27:  (EDITORS NOTE: Re...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Since the Apple announcement about not enabling Flash on the iPad, iPhone and other devices, it is now clear that if your marketing agency website uses Flash – it’s time to change.

There are many problems with flash websites – not least being that SEO won’t work on the flash portion of the site.

I have long hated flash – because when I want to get your agency name and address details, you can’t copy and paste off a flash page.  Darn irritating.  And it seems at last that with the great might of Apple, my wishes will come true – flash websites will become a thing of the past. More...

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