Transcript Document

Indirect Direct
Marketing on the
Internet
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Direct Marketing (Wikipedia)
. . . focused on driving purchases that can be
attributed to a specific "call-to-action". Direct
marketing is distinguished from other
marketing efforts by its emphasis on trackable,
measurable results (known as "response" in
the industry) regardless of medium.
… asks the prospect to take a specific action
…
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Direct Marketing Examples
•Direct (Postal) Mail
•Email to opt-in list with an offer
•Email spam selling Viagra
•Advertisement in newspaper
with a call to action
•That annoying phone call I got
while writing this slide . . .
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Indirect Marketing Examples
•Joining a country club and its golf
league and other events
•Speaking at a conference
•Joining and participating in
professional organizations and trade
groups
•Networking
•Sponsorships
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Characteristics of Indirect Marketing
•Social
•Any offer is incidental, not
fundamental -- perhaps more of an
“invitation”
•Based on (building) relationships
•Emphasis on providing value
•Build visibility and awareness of
yourself and your organization
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Indirect Marketing on The Internet
•Blogs
•Podcasts
•Social networking sites ( MySpace,
Gather, FaceBook, etc.)
•Viral videos, ebooks, and other
exciting “free stuff”
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Direct? Indirect Marketing on
The Internet
Direct? Where does the “direct” come into
play?
• Directly targeting your market, your
prospects, your customers, the people
you want to influence
(in general, forget about buying lists, think viral)
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Successful Indirect Marketing on
The Internet (1)
Characteristics:
Informal – not marketese or business-speak
but conversational
Provide value (give until it hurts, then give
some more)
Social – two way communications, perhaps by
enabling “comments” or by using preexisting social networks to pass messages
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Successful Indirect Marketing on
The Internet (2)
• Tracking metrics. How else will you
know if you’re successful?
– They WILL be much different than
tracking DM response rates in many ways
(you may need to be creative).
– Some evangelists essentially say,
“Metrics? We don’t need no Stinking
Metrics. It’s just Cool.” Well, I’m not
drinking the Kool-Aid.
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
We’ll look at:
Blogs/Podcasts/Videoblogs
Social Networks specifics (MySpace,
LinkedIn, etc.)
“Viral” content like ebooks and videos
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
What is a Blog?
Communication channel to talk
with your marketplace
Implemented as a simple Web site
or part of a Web site
Over 70 Million blogs today on
any and all topics
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Podcast? Videoblog?
• Podcast – simply a blog where the
majority of the content is audio. A key
characteristic is that you can subscribe
to podcasts.
• Videoblog, a.k.a. vlog – no surprise,
it’s video.
• Since podcasts and videoblogs ARE
blogs we’ll just use the term ‘blog’ on
the following pages
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Blog Characteristics
Written in a personal style
Frequently updated
Most recently added information
shown first
Allows for feedback and interaction
(comments)
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
A Typical Blog
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Why Blogs?
• Communicating with your marketplace
• Adding personality to fairly
impersonal “Company” images
• Establishing yourself as an expert
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Why Blogs (2) ?
• Driving traffic to your Web site (search
engines love blogs)
• Attracting a regular following of
readers as blogs are dynamic and
interactive
• Building familiarity
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Blogs - What Doesn’t Work
• Most traditional marketing techniques
• Writing endlessly about your products
or services
• Sales letter type material
• Any “hard sell” type anything
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Blogs - What Does Work
• Providing valuable information to your
marketplace
• Occasionally weaving your products
and services into the discussion as
appropriate
• Advertising/displaying in the sidebars
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Successful Blogs (1)
• A somewhat experienced blogger –
“look before you leap”
• Planning
• Consistency
• Conversational
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Successful Blogs (2)
• Honesty
• Personal
• Patience
• PASSION – the blogger(s) must be
passionate on the subject and that
passion must show
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Blogs vs. Podcasts vs. Videoblogs
• Text – easy to skim, consume at own rate
• Podcasts – can consume during free “ear
time” e.g. while driving, exercising etc.
• Videoblogs – require eye and ear
attention
Different people have different preferences,
e.g. I love to read and listen but don’t
care for video
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Blogs for non-Bloggers
Over 70 million blogs – some of them
ARE talking about you.
You can listen (and join the conversation
via comments) easily using blog search
engines: Technorati.com, Google Blog
Search, icerocket.com,
blogdigger.com, etc.
Podcasters love to do interviews – maybe
of you?
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Blog Metrics (1)
Not as “hard” or absolute as direct
(e)mail marketing metrics. Some
simple ones:
-Search Engine results – mine
improved in 24 hours!
-Traffic/visitors
-Ask new customers where they came
from. Did they find you through your
blog? Was it a differentiating factor?
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Blog Metrics (2)
Signups to mailing list directly from blog
• % of subscribers that generate revenue.
• Average lifetime value of a new subscriber
Clickthroughs to salespages
• Do they come from Web site or blog or
elsewhere?
• What’s the conversion rate?
• Is it better or worse from Web
site/blog/Google/etc? Maybe you should (or
should not) test and optimize the salespage for
each source?
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Blog Metrics (3)
Lots of things you CAN measure
Most people measure very little
Be creative – what are your blog’s goals
and how can you determine success?
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Social Networks
We’ll include:
Networks like MySpace, Facebook, Gather
and more
-let you create a profile and connect with
“friends”
Forums (aka Bulletin or Message Boards)
-like a blog where any member can start a
discussion
List Serves
-email list that any member can mail to
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Social Network Rules
Similar to Blogs
Explicit marketing usually STRONGLY
discouraged!
Provide value
Be “social”
Be honest
Let your personality show
Look before you leap – they are all slightly
different. Learn the culture first.
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
You can’t join them all!
At least not effectively!
Pick a Social Network that matches your
target audience – e.g. College Students –
Facebook.com
Demographics keep changing – for example
more than 50% of MySpace users are over
35 now.
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Some Examples
MySpace – Oxfam, many rock groups, The
Student Loan Network/Financial Aid
Podcast, Aquafina, many more
Forums – Many wine retailers/importers/etc.
monitor/actively post on the Mark Squires
Bulletin Board on wine
ListServes – I belong to a few related to
blogging and marketing
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Viral Content – eBooks/Videos/etc.
Viral – spreading by word of mouth/mouse
“a marketing phenomenon that facilitates
and encourages people to pass along a
marketing message voluntarily”
-Wikipedia
More art than science – no one can predict a
smash hit
To some extent everything we have been
discussing has a viral component.
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Viral Smash Successes (1)
“The New Rules of PR” ebook, David
Meerman Scott.
• 150,000 downloads (no registration/email
required)
• A dozen plus paid speaking engagements
• Now a commercially available book you
should read
• Soon to be a major motion picture (just
joking!)
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Viral Smash Successes (2)
Mentos/Diet Coke YouTube Videos
-Tens of millions of viewings
-Now thousands of different videos
What would this many advertising
impressions cost?
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Viral Less Than Smash Success
Google “dull person”
• first three hits are me, including two blog
posts and a press release “Google Crowns
Author Ted Demopoulos Dullest Person”
• A few bloggers and other online sources
linked to me
• Maybe 1000 extra visitors
• Book sales slightly up, one new client in
mentor program
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]
Final Thoughts
• Can’t do everything – pick one or more
techniques and concentrate
• Goal is provide value to your marketplace
• Unique content & (strong) opinions valued
• This isn’t direct mail, but you CAN directly
communicate and engage your customers,
your prospects, your market.
• What is the ROI of pants or the telephone?
Not everything is measurable – but many
things are.
Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, [email protected]