Category Archives: Uncategorized

When in doubt, ask questions

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With all these crazy demands for companies to have a website, a Facebook page, a blog and a Twitter profile, I wasn’t exactly surprised when this non-profit organization that I recently volunteered in asked, “What is actually the difference?”

Especially in differing between Facebook and Twitter, questions like “Aren’t they basically the same old same old social network sites?” shouldn’t be a given a raised eye-brow as if it should be common sense, instead those question can be extremely effective in constructing a working marketing strategy.

With this post, I’ll try my best to give my two cents in why various use of social networking site is crucial in marketing. For one, each different medium provide different forum and reach to different markets. In crude words, they’re all different sides of marketing that in the end, should lead customer toward the same goal and that is for the company. While websites and blogs provide thorough detail about the company, it’s usually used by loyal customers and requires some sort of intention from the customer to check these media. Facebook and Twitter, on the other hand, is integrated within the customer’s daily life, thus having the ability to turn curious, potential customers to regular followers of the company. Twitter is especially effective because it’s also updated constantly.

Maybe some of your questions were answered, maybe not. My main point of this post is not exactly to answer all the questions in one post, yet I’d like to say it’s okay to ask questions. In fact, it’s highly crucial that companies ask questions to really dissect their vision and mission for the sake of an effective marketing strategy.

Nowadays, there are many resources that companies can use to really dissect the matter; there are consulting companies and positions have been opened for “Social Media” intern. When in doubt, ask questions.

Put Yourself in My Shoes!

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At the core of it, obviously the essence of public relations and marketing is one thing: building relationships. That’s why Facebook and Twitter are such effective and popular marketing tools.  Both Facebook and Twitter are able to break barriers between the company and the consumer. In other words, both are working to humanize the company’s image. Although relationships are obviously the center of PR and marketing, nowadays, it seems like most companies tend to focus on the quick sale rather than the slow, but sure process of PR and marketing.

Most companies and organizations are asking, “What can the customer give to us?” rather than “What we can bring to the customer?” By stating this, I don’t mean that profits aren’t important. Yes, profits are important, but building a well-received image and a solid target market are even more crucial in the long run. Therefore, one of the good tips so that marketers can tweak their strategies is to think of the brand in the customer’s perspective. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Would you as a customer accept the brand if it is being marketed this way?

Considering that relationship is the center of PR and marketing also means that it’s adopted many similar traits to that of day to day relationships. It requires maintenance and work. It’s ongoing and dynamic. How one communicates in a relationship also differs between the receivers of these relationships. When marketers and public relations people are able to see and treat the relationship between a company and its customers as similar to that of a personal relationship, the marketing strategies that are rooted on the idea may be far more effective in reaching the customers and maintaining contact.

Microsoft’s Biggest Deal to Buy Skype at $8 Billion

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As reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier in May 10th 2011, Microsoft Corp. has been trying to close up a deal to buy Skype, the popularly used Internet phone company. The deal is noted to be Microsoft’s most aggressive move yet as Microsoft was willing to buy between $7 billion to $8 billion.

As a reasoning for the Microsoft biggest acquisition in its 36-year history, Chief Executive of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, sees the Internet to be a crucial element to Microsoft as Microsoft is trying to keep up with the investor’s demand in profits with the pressure from other rival technologies. To add, Ballmer also said that the deal will let Microsoft “be more ambitious, do more things” as reported by the Wall Street Journal in its update article in May 10, 2011. It was also reported on the same article that Microsoft reported to close its deal on Skype that was made last month with the price of $8.5 billion.

Although it was reported that Facebook, Google and Cisco Systems Inc. showed interest in purchasing Skype, people familiar with the issue commented that none were as determined as Microsoft in sealing the deal.

By purchasing Skype, Microsoft hopes to boost an area of technology where Microsoft is currently behind Apple Inc. and Google, with 7.5% of the smart phone market with Microsoft software: mobile phones. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft’s goals seem to be to “integrate Skype into everything from its Xboc videogame console to its Office software suite for businesses.”

Despite the falling off that eBay encountered with Skype when it was bought in 2005 for $3.1 billion then selling a 70% stake to a group of technology investors, Steve Ballmer commented that Microsoft and Skype have far more in common than Sky with eBay as both companies are in the “communications business”.

The former CEO of eBay who acquired Skype commented on Microsoft’s high bidding of Skype, “Is Skype worth $8.5 billion? I don’t know, but it depends on how big the platform grows.”

What do you think of Microsoft’s bid for Skype?

Is Social Media Marketing Killing The Print and Broadcasting Industry?

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A 2009 study by the King Fish Media revealed that over the past two years (2007-2009) 78% of the respondents of the study through the poll have increased the spending on Social Media marketing and 44% decreased their spending on print advertising. Moreover, another more recent study by BIA/Kelsey, a media consultancy, as reported by Mashable.com, also revealed a prediction that social media ad spending will hit $8.3 billion in 2015, most of which will belong to Facebook. With all these numbers rooting for social media, what does it mean for the print and broadcasting industry?

Despite the numbers, I don’t think that the print and broadcasting industry is going to die out soon. The question of whether social media marketing is killing the print and broadcasting industry is a similar question to the argument  of whether e-books are destroying the print publishing industry. For me, social media, or maybe even the internet in general, is simply a new media that allow companies to reach a target market even bigger and better than before. Both print, broadcast and social media are highly crucial in implementing a successful marketing strategy since each of those as effective marketing tools bring different things to the table.

The goals of each of these marketing tools are different. Through social media marketing, companies can benefit more in maintaining the relationship between company and customers. On the other hand, print and broadcast focus more on the goal of getting the name of the brand out there.

So, my take on the issue is simple. The print and broadcast advertising may be getting less attention than before, but I think that in the future, if not starting right now, these seemingly separate marketing tools will converge together as one form of medium. Therefore, instead of thinking that these marketing tools as separate entities, marketers should strive to view them as interdependent elements that works best when all are combined together, effectively.

What do you think? Are print and broadcast advertising still as effective and beneficial as social media marketing?

Going Back to the Infamous 5Ws and 1H

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Ever since the explosion of social medial networking and blogs, the marketing and PR world have been pushed to keep up with the Internet as a new platform for marketing. While researching about tips and tricks of creating and maintaining a blog, I’m suddenly reminded of one tool that has helped me in many ways from biology lab research to news articles that also can be applied to strategy-making in marketing: the 5 Ws and 1 H.

For most of us, the 5Ws and 1H has been thoroughly drilled into our process of thinking by our formal education system that it almost seems like an innate trait and well, common sense. In the business of blogging, although it may seem common sense, I propose for the need of companies to consult back to the 5Ws and 1H more thoroughly. The thing is that it’s not just about answering the right answer but also asking the right questions. The 5Ws and 1 H are who, what, where, when, why and how.

Before starting a blog, companies should start building a strategy that can be constructed by asking and answering through the 5Ws and 1 H. Some questions that should be asked are maybe:

  • Who is the company trying to reach with the blog?
  • What is the goal of the blog?
  • What are the resources needed to start the blog?
  • What image is the company trying to enforce through the blog?
  • What other social media tools can be used to strengthen the blog?
  • Why is the company starting the blog? What are the benefits?
  • And so on…

By asking these questions, the company should now have a strategy, or in other words, a blueprint of where the blog should go. One of the mistakes that companies tend to make is to ignore the strategy-making of the blog. Although it might seem like something that can be put off later, the failure for a company to establish clear goals of the blog through strategizing will seep through to the blog itself, making the blog seem unorganized and confusing. In a more blunt set of words, if you do not care about the blog, then why should the readers care?

Website Strategies #3: Diversification

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Strategy: “Diversification”

This strategy is oriented towards creation of many sites and working with visitor from different angles. Basically diversification says it all. It can be applied on different niches, products and viewpoints creating different sites to appeal to various visitor needs and capturing the sales from all these niches.

Several products within one niche

The core structure would look like pyramid starting with big generic site down to small product / visitor groups targeting mini sites and can be described like this:

- Main site

– covers all methods and all products

–it could be mini site about everything covering each topic briefly. It also could be a mega site and then many mini-sites around it.

- Category sites

– several sites on each product category, e.g. exercises, devices, surgery, pumps. In some sites showing the greatness of technique and say surgery site showing articles and cases on how bad it is while recommending safe alternatives – exercises, devices, etc.

- Last level

– in-depth review site for each product;

How to diversify within one product?

Let’s see how we could diversify using weight loss niche and create many websites:

– weight loss in general,

– weight loss for men,

– weight loss for women,

– weight loss for older people and how important it is to be in good shape,

– weight loss exercises,

– dieting and weight loss,

– overweight children and their psychological problems in school and society

The list probably could go on and on targeting different aspects like regions, eating habits, countries, nations, races etc.

Visual diversification

It means having great differentiation in terms of websites design, navigation, colors and layouts (e.g. left hand navigation, right hand navigation, complex two side menu navigation, heavy graphical approach, presentation look like site, etc).

Approach diversification

Here are few ideas on how to diversify websites approach to visitor:

- independent user’s website

- independent doctor’s website

- independent research group

- testimonial collection site

- site answering questions (FAQ) site

- forum / community type site

- product store / catalogue

Website Strategies #2: Mega Site

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Strategy#2: “Mega-Site”

Mega site approach is good. Owner concentrates not only on very small niche and small content site like 10-20 page review site but goes after wide variety of topics that includes high competition and volume keywords as well as smaller sub keywords along with related niches / topics.

Core strategy is following:

- select the main keywords and their keyword categories and sometimes even more sub-subcategories;

- select related subjects and their categories;

- develop huge list of keywords of so called long tail (thousands of little keywords) that fits under the main topics;

- develop main topics (quickly) just to fill main categories;

- heavy development of long tail articles – this means creating articles on groups on these small keywords and optimizing them fast with couple good links. Usually this strategy will allow having 10’s of pages optimized within few shorts months and receive first targeted traffic;

- As the long tail is being targeted and developed, the more traffic and more links are achieved which eventually will result in subcategory rankings and later in rankings of all main categories.

This strategy relies on the principle of uncovering different low searched low optimized keywords from different angles that relate to the main topics and then optimizing them for driving thousands and thousands of visitors from search engines and leading them from these long tail pages to your main pages like product reviews and sales pages.