INTERNET MARKETING
What’s with the buzz on widgets?
George Popstefanov, senior account manager at Range Online Media, says that widgets are ideal for branding. “When utilized properly, they are a great way to keep your name in front of consumers’ eyes.”
He names cost effectiveness as an attractive feature of widgets. “Beyond the initial cost of creating the actual widgets, they are relatively cheap. All of the interaction and traffic is free,” he explains. “If your widget becomes viral it will extend your brand at no additional cost.” He adds, “One of my favorite parts about widgets is that you can track them. You can take this feedback and apply it not only to your future widget design, but to your brand positioning as well.”
Lastly, Popstefanov says, “Widgets have the ability to display dynamic content, so why not use the widgets as another marketing channel? You can display recent news about your brand, new product launches, promotions and updates associated with your brand.”
SEARCH
How do news events drive SEM?
“Trends in the news and popular culture are primary drivers of SESEM,” says Michael Sprouse, CMO at AzoogleAds. “What users crave most at that moment — and therefore search upon most at that moment — represents a clear-cut opportunity for marketers.”
In politics, a local group, campaign committee, blogger with a specific agenda or rally planner can deploy search marketing to kick off a larger campaign. Sprouse suggests “optimizing or buying search terms that include candidate’s names, key campaign buzzwords, important local names, or other key phrases likely to pop up repeatedly in the news or candidate’s political speeches.” He adds, “In popular culture, do you think TMZ.com doesn’t capitalize on the news? Pop culture underscores a major area of the search landscape — the ubiquity of entertainment, gossip, self-publishing — and represents a powerful, relatively new way for marketers to reach interested users via search.”
What is the right amount of e-mail volume a retailer should send to an individual on a monthly basis?
Elie Ashery, president of Gold Lasso, answers, “If you send too much e-mail, you risk list attrition, and you if you don’t send enough you risk missed opportunity.
In the age where permission trumps everything, the correct answer to the volume question is, ‘whatever volume the individual gives permission to send.’”
Your e-mail service provider should allow you to let your subscribers control the amount of volume they receive from you on a monthly basis.
“You need to remind existing subscribers of this capability — especially during the opt-out process — and place this option in front of their noses,” Ashery asserts. “Getting new subscribers to give you this threshold is easier, since you can ask them during the opt-in process, either in the sign-up form or on the confirmation page.”
