"Pretty" Social Media Raises the Bar

In late February, Bloomberg reported that some retailers have abandoned Facebook because ROI isn’t there. While some may argue that making money isn’t the purpose of Facebook, the deeper point here may not be the efficacy of Facebook, but the fact that this $6 billion IPO-ster doesn't quite “own the social space.”

Here are two recent developments that suggest consumers are still looking for their perfect socialscape.

Tumblr
Tumblr is a microblogging platform that lets users post content to a short-form site that’s rich with short posts, videos, links, and photos. Nowhere near Facebook proportions (yet), Tumblr may well be the future. The company isn’t new – it launched in April 2007 – but as of February 13, this little powerhouse had some 44.3 million bloggers. Six days later, on February 19, Tumblr had 45.1 million users and more than 17 billion total posts.

Popular with teens and college-age user segments, 50 percent of Tumblr’s visitor base is under the age of 25. Moreover, teenagers age 12-17 are about twice as likely as the average Internet user to visit Tumblr, while 18-24 year olds are nearly 2.5 times as likely. To stay in touch with Generations Y and Z, in October 2011 the Obama campaign launched a Tumblr experiment for 2012. [Note: Obama link format is how you find folks on tumblr; for example, I set up at nancyscott.tumblr.com].

Top celebrities on Tumblr include Val Kilmer, Lady Gaga, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, along with celebrity rip-offs like this paen to Ryan Gosling. Writing for 360 Digital connections, Matt Wurst suggests that Tumblr may be the answer to excessive options marred by short attention spans. “No one wants to sit through 1,000-word blog posts .. because words alone no longer tell the story.” Wurst calls Tumblr “a cross between a blog, a Twitter feed, and a Facebook profile.” Still not convinced? Well, maybe if it’s good enough for the New Yorker, it’s good enough for you. Check out newyorker.tumblr.com.

Pinterest.
Pinterest went live as an invitation-only website in March 2010. By January 2012, the website was a darling of self-expression for some 12 million enthusiasts who can’t wait to share their idea of visual “cool” with the world. In December 2011, Pinterest made#5 in Hitwise’s list of top ten social networks, beating out Linked and Google+.

Pinterest helps users set up any number of “bulletin boards” to which they can “pin” (that is, embed) photo and film urls from all over the Internet, including their own desktop [Note: To see how it looks, check my Pinterest effort here.] Does Pintereest have a corporate application? Writing in AmEx Open Forum, Marketing Strategist Ivana Taylor called Pinerest a “big mover” in the social media space that offers a powerful branding opportunity. “Think of Pinterest as a virtual corkboard that says something about who you are and what interests you.”

For consumers who want to know something about “who you are” without an attached sales message, Pinterest has appeal. In addition, Taylor suggests Pinterest for inspiration, exposure, e-commerce and market research. Savvy Blogging suggests that Pinterest is an excellent way to promote a blog. “Add the ‘pin it’ button to every post and page on your site," Savvy says. "This will make it simple and easy for readers to pin your posts.”

Finally, check Hubspot for their free e-book, “How to Use Pinterest for Business.” This report notes that any business that relies on driving a high-volume of website traffic to increase sales should consider joining Pinterest. Early research indiciates that Pinterest is more effective at driving traffic that other social media sites, even Facebook.

Welcome to the Reformation of Education and Awe

Are you dumbstruck or numbstruck by programmers -- those "geniuses" down in IT who can do stuff that baffles and bullies? Get over it.

You, too, can code. Moreover you can learn how through practical exercises, for free, online -- and even do it with friends, if you prefer. Codeacademy is your place to learn.

I found out about this very cool enterprise reading the TrendCentral newsletter. I realized that an edulution is afoot.

Learning and training, like everything else, is undergoing an "up-end." That which was arcane, will soon be accessible to the rest of us (if we so choose).

Demystification: Where will it take us?

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Do-It-Yourself Brain Surgery. Yes, You CAN!

Among the many things I didn't know Amazon does, is their forums. Apparently, Amazon is hosting a lot of conversation spots for the diversity of humans (and others) buying their diverse stuff.

Among the forums, I think I've found the best: the forum on do-it-yourself brain surgery. Or as one of the insightful commentators terms it, "cranial correction."

Oh, c'mon. You did look for a writer and a video maker on CraigsList, didn't you? Exactly! So, grab your drill and get crazy!

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p.s. Kudos to T. Johnson who notes, "Might I recommend watching Fox News. It may not fix the problem at hand, but it will suck your brains right out."

What's A Trend Got To Do With It?

I’ve been a fan of trendwatching.com for a long time. For example, check out their “12 Crucial consumer trends for 2012” here.

Of all the information trendwatching came up with here, I was most struck by the last paragraph of the landing page, which told readers – and marketers – four ways to apply these consumer trends.

That’s what I’ve always wondered: How does a marketer or fundraiser look at a consumer trend and translate it into action?

Here’s the answer: View trends as a way to:

1. Influence or shape your company's vision.
2. As inspiration for a new business concept, an entirely new venture, a new brand.
3. Add a new product, service or experience for a certain customer segment.
4. Speak the language of those consumers already 'living' a trend.


To boost the application even further, trendwatching offers “15 Trend Tips” that offer practical, contextual, specific ways to use trends data to shape your own marketing program.

My favorite? “Don’t worry about timing or life cycles or regional suitability or … “In short, look at trends as opportunities, not threats.

Every predicted or identified“trend” makes a good conversation starter and a tremendous seed for brainstorming. I love #6 on the 2012 list “bottom of the urban pyramid” which points to the growth of the “hundreds of millions of lower-income CITYSUMERS” that offer a whole new market.

Hmmm.. now what can I do with THAT?

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Why RADICAL Redesign Should Be the FIRST Step In Web Page Optimization

Yesterday afternoon, I tuned into a webinar sponsored by Marketing Experiments. Tagged Rapidly Maximizing Conversion: How one company quickly achieved a 53.9% lift with a radical redesign, the webinar was hosted by MECLABS Managing Director Flint McGlaughlin.

The basic message was this: When attempting to achieve a web page response lift, do not test individual components of the landing page. Rather, go for a radical redesign of the whole web page.

Why? Because testing one variable at a time is very very slow. For example, an average web page redesign experiment might test the headline, color, call to action, three dimensionality, video, copy, etc.

Instead, begin with a radical redesign and work backwards to achieve the necessary fast conversion improvement that marketers are looking for.

How do you know whether or not you need a radical redesign?

First, Evaluate your results to date to identify any of the following failures:

1. Your website is significantly under-performing.
2. You are experiencing unimpressive test results.
3. You have trouble getting a valid test.
4. The market you are appealing to has shifted in macro or micro directions.

Second, review your conversion index and customer profile analyses to determine specific structural [categorical] problems. [More about "categorical problems" in item #2, below].


The Six Key Principles

Based on a variety of independent theories -- decision theory and game theory, for example -- radical redesign urges marketers and web page designers to adopt six key principles.

1. Understand how to utilize radical redesigns to determine your optimum page "category."

a. A radical redesign is one in which the experimental approach is "categorically" different from the control.

b. Various perceived problems in the page design -- for example, weak headline, jumbled layout, ineffective call-to-action, a value proposition buried in links, poor thought sequence, poorly performing form field, too many or too few graphics, questionable perceived value, multiple steps to get to the buy process, etc. -- will all be changed and tested in one move.

c. From the point of radical improvement, then you can go back and look at individual variables.

2. Radical Redesign is aimed at determining our "best page" category. This is accomplished by taking into account structural elements inherent in a given communication archetype (for example, long copy vs. short copy, graphics heavy versus copy heavy, etc.)

Through radical redesign, you learn as soon as possible everything about how to get a lift. You are able to test such structural website attributes as image-heavy structure v. text heavy design; sales tone emphasis v. to academic tone; a 3-column layout v. a 1-column layout; structure that shifts from process value to product value, etc..

3. Use Radical Redesign to get to single-factor testing.

First, figure the structural communication categories [see#2 above], then move to such single-factor testing as an a/b split.

3. Hypothesize solutions.

• How might it work to simplify the multiple steps in the buy process?
• Suppose you eliminated as many cart steps as possible?
• What would be the effect of replacing a single call-to-action with radio buttons aimed at product selection?
• How might change copy to clarify and highlight the underlying value proposition.

4. Design alternative treatments.

Test as many treatments as your traffic will allow, then test the differential between the control and the treatments.

5. Analyze and interpret test results.
Look for enough actions and enough variants to allow for statistical significance and be sure to run tests full cycle. Don't assume anything too early in the testing cycle.

At this point, the learning begins. Now you must convert how much and how many into why and what can I learn about my customer? for example:
a. Is my customer's motivation sufficient to maintain momentum through longer cart processes?
b. Is the customer confused by multiple calls to action?
c. Is the customer ready to click the call-to-action button only when they have read and understood the value of the product?

6. Plan iterative tests.
a. Once you've tested into the correct category you can challenge the control enough to generate a significant difference. The objective now is to test the highest performing variables and increase channel specificity.

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Why Use ONE Video When 22 Will Do?

My December 12 blog post was titled "2012 Is [Definitely] the Year of Video. If a promotion I recieved from Borrell Associates on Wednesday is any indication, I may have underestimated video's impact this year.

Borrell Associates took video marketing to a new level in promoting a line-up of 22 conference speakers via video!

On March 21-22, the Local Online Advertising Conference in New York City will feature a host of industry stars. The promotional landing page for this event gives us a few minutes with all of them.

Check it out here.

Nice!

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The Marketers' Best of 2011

Allow me to throw my “Best” hat into the ring. Here is a list of marketing developments that hit top grade in 2011.

1. Best marketing ebook: Newsjacking. This little gem by David Meerman Scott underscores what savvy PR folks have always known: for expansive media interest, tie your own stories to major news events. Scott tells us how.

2. Best marketing concept: content marketing. The wisdom of using information to influence consumer attitudes and purchasing came on strong in 2011. This not-new practice got a catchy new name -- content marketing -- and attracted conferences, seminars, books, and other how-to paraphenalia. Best advice? Get a writer.

3. Best emerging communications tool: the infographic. USAToday popularized the modern-day information graphic when it featured small, color-rich, quick-look graphics on its front page. Click-hungry marketers took the option to a new level in 2011, scrambling to develop content-rich infographics that could go viral and drive consumers to websites.

4. Best marketing channel: video. Video is nothing new, obviously, but in 2011 the masses jumped in to create millions of simple little videos that sell everything from “how-to” to “why not?” In 2012, no smart marketer will leave a website without video.

5. Best direct marketing innovation: pURLs. Personalized landing pages came on strong in 2011. Associated with the massive increase in digital marketing of all kinds (email, in particular), well-designed, content-specific, response-targeted pURLs became the must-have element in every sophisticated marketing campaign.

6. Best prediction: the rise of mobile. All the experts said 2011 would be the “year of mobile.” They were right. “App” became a common term and mobile devices – from smart phones to smart tablets – now rule consumer and B2B communications alike.

7. Best direct marketing innovation that didn’t catch on (yet): QR codes. Marketers love "quick response" [QR] codes, but as AdAgeDigital recently observed, so far consumers aren’t much interested. The codes are too confusing, too many apps have spoiled the broth, and irrelevant code spamming has turned off would-be users. Expect better response in 2012.

8. Best unpredicted marketing powerhouse: coupons. Who knew that 2011 would be the year of coupons? Direct mail couponing flourished when online mega coupon pushers like Groupon and Specialicious made coupons awesome all over again.

9. Best potential technology: location based marketing. This technology may hold the most promise for retailers, but marketers' ability to grab people where they stand is certain to grow in 2012. Consider the 13 possibilities in this article from Mashable.

10. Best “the time has come” technology: cloud computing. With booming sales of low-storage-capacity, but easy-to-cart mobile devices, the demand for creating and storing information “in the cloud” will explode in 2012. Millions of new consumers armed with more affordable smart tablets [see #11 below] will get familiar – and comfortable – with cloud computing.

11. Best new product: Kindle Fire. And, yes, this does belong on a “best of marketing” list because – at $199 – this little tablet is on fire. Some people are calling it the iPad killer. That’s not precisely true, since there will always be snob-appeal marketing for the expensive version of anything. In terms of mass use, though, the Kindle Fire does everything needed. Meanwhile, Forbes has an interesting take on where tablet explosions might take marketing. In “Advertising as an App,” contributor Roland Deal writes,” What if you approached the development of your marketing/advertising campaigns as you would in developing an app?”

What if, indeed …

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