Dana VanDen Heuvel | The MarketingSavant Group dana
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Dana VanDen Heuvel | The MarketingSavant Group dana
Dana VanDen Heuvel | The MarketingSavant Group dana@danavan.net | www.marketingsavant.com Dana VanDen Heuvel The MarketingSavant Group Dana VanDen Heuvel The MarketingSavant™ Group www.marketingsavant.com dana@danavan.net 920.819.0742 Dana is the founder of The MarketingSavant Group and a widely recognized specialist in emerging marketing technologies such as blogging, social media, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices and speaks regularly on these topics at industry events. Dana is the creator of the American Marketing Association “TechnoMarketing” training series and the author of the AMA Marketech ’08 guide to marketing technology. Marketech ‘08 Marketing has not fundamentally changed since the creation on the marketing concept and our branching out as a child of modern economic theory. What has changed is how we, as marketers, talk with our customers and the tools, techniques and especially the technologies that we employ in those conversations. This guide is meant to serve as an overview of the marketing technologies available to you, the seasoned marketer. We’ve provided you with the most accessible and actionable tools in this guide. TO APPRECIATE NEW MARKETING: FIRST YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT’S BROKEN WITH TRADITIONAL MARKETING. 4 TRADITIONAL MARKETING & ADVERTISING ADVERTISING CLUTTER MEDIA FRAGMENTATION CONSUMERS TUNED OUT DOESN’T SCALE LESS EFFECTIVE MORE EXPENSIVE LESS TRUSTED LOWER ROI 5 18%: Proportion of TV advertising campaigns generating positive ROI 54 cents: Average return in sales for every $1 spent on advertising 256%: The increase in TV advertising costs (CPM) in the past decade 84%: Proportion of B2B marketing campaigns resulting in falling sales 100%: The increase needed in advertising spend to add 1-2% in sales 14%: Proportion of people who trust advertising information 90%: Proportion of people who can skip TV ads who do skip TV ads 80%: Market share of video recorders with ad skipping technology in 2008 95%: The failure rate for new product introductions 117: The number of prime time TV spots in 2002 needed to reach 80% of adult population – up from just 3 in 1965 3000: Number of advertising messages people are exposed to per day 56%: Proportion of people who avoid buying products from companies who they think advertise too much 65%: Proportion of people who believe that they are constantly bombarded with too much advertising 69%: Proportion of people interested in technology or devices that enable them to skip or block advertising 6 Source: Justin Kirby & Paul Marsden (2006). Connected marketing. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann. xix Crisis In Mass Marketing WHAT’S CHANGED? "We can't compete on price. We also can't compete on quality, features or service. Dilbert’s Boss cc 3.0, Megaqwerty That leaves fraud, which I'd like you to call marketing." CONTENT CONTEXT CONNECTIONS COMMUNITY Marketing Into the Future Marketing in the education, corporate, non-profit and small business environments is changing in ways that we’re just beginning to grasp. Technological Social/Behavioral The changes we see are taking shape on three fronts. Economic/Market Forces Technology Changes Marketing Social media Video Widgets & gadgets Mobile Everything Virtual everything Universal search Web 2.0/3.0/4.0 Where Everything Is Headed Today Digital Non-Digital 1996 2006 Source: Google 2050? The Revolution will not be televised ~ Gil Scott Heron Information Proliferation Media Fragmentation - Then, and Now 1960 6 8,400 4,400 None None None Now TV channels/home Magazines Radio stations Internet stations Pages on Google Blogs 130 17,300 13,500 35,000 + 10 B + 150 M + 360 Digital Marketing World Online Media Community sites eNewsletters Email eMail eCards News Syndication Special Interest Blogs Manifestos Blog Search Engines Conversations Search Engine Optimization Photo Blogs Keyword Marketing Listservs Message Boards Social Computing Influencer outreach Blog Aggregators Chat Rooms/Events Portals Real Simple Syndication (RSS) Content Partnerships Search Citizen Action eAlerts Meetups Text-messaging IM Wikis Press Rooms Online Web Sites Viral Games & w/RSS Content Contests Advertising Folksonomy Social Bookmarking Digital Devices Phones DVR (Tivo) PDAs Game Consoles eAdvocacy Digital Radio VBlogs Podcasting Webcasting Microcasting Source: Ogilvy 20 Social Media Starfish Source: Darren Barefoot & Robert Scoble - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbarefoot/1814873464/ Social Behavior Changes Marketing Search Networked Low-fidelity Hierarchy of social needs Social Hierarchy of Needs Physiological Food clothing Shelter, health, System access, retain management of system identity Security and Safety Protection from crimes and war, living in a just society Protection from hacking and trolling, privacy, level playing field Social Ability to give and receive love, belonging to a group Belonging to a community as a whole, and swarms (subgroups) Self-esteem Ability to earn self respect, respect of others and ability to contribute Ability to contribute and be recognized for those contributions Self Actualization Develop skills Take on new roles and new opportunities Adapted by Amy Jo Kim - http://socialarchitect.typepad.com/ Building Blocks of the Social Web Identity A way of uniquely identifying people in the system Presence A way of knowing who is online, available or otherwise nearby Presence Relationships Sharing Conversations A way of talking to other people through the system Identity Conversations Reputation Groups Relationships A way of describing how two users in the system are related Groups A way of forming communities of interest Reputation A way of knowing the status of other people in the system Sharing A way of sharing things that are meaningful to participants (like photos or videos) Gene Smith: http://www.atomiq.com Focus on the “Long Tail” Reach out to the entire web To the edges and not just to the centre, to the long tail and not the just the head Leverage customer-self service e.g. Google, StumbleUpon, orkut Harnessing Collective Intelligence Network effects from user contribution are the key to market dominance in Web 2.0 era Amazon, ebay - User reviews, similar items, most popular, The Wisdom of crowds Wikipedia – content can be added/edited by any web user, Users add value Flickr – tagging images Cloudmark – Spam emails PEOPLE WANT IN… 28 The New Economy of Marketing ROI is within easy grasp (for you, and them!) Can your R&D keep up with your market? Transparency reduces cost In the future, organizations will compete on: Who can create a rich user community where users interact with each other to improve products Internet Business Models – 5Years Out Advertiser-Supported Advertising: Brands are increasingly launching their own content platforms. Some, like Budweiser's BudTV, go it alone. Others partner with online media properties. P&G, for example, embedded Capessa inside Yahoo Health. Advertiser-Subsidized Devices: Content is a commodity. The barriers to entry are obliterated. Still, this means we all need to make choices - human attention doesn't scale. So how do you get consumers to choose your stuff? Simple. Use incentives. Marketers will partner with consumer electronic companies to co-brand white-label gadgets. For example, a Gap-branded set-top box could come with exclusive video podcast subscriptions Just-in-Time Advertising: Digital advertising creative and planning, like any marketing discipline, follows an arc. It's planned, placed, measured and eventually evaluated, tweaked or tossed. However, in the digital world, brands need to be more nimble. With the help of new technology, marketers will rely on "just-in-time" campaigns that adapt to conditions. Ad creative will morph based on certain triggers. This will include sales/ERP data, blog chatter/consumer feedback, weather/external conditions and more. Out With the Old Business Models The next generation of marketing will be a hightouch, low scale, targeted investment of time & human capital rather than a flood of dollars to win hearts and minds Give something of value away for free “Value forward” Brand second (last?) Rapidly emerging opportunities (skunkworks budget) Participation trumps focus group Emerging Economies Lead Future Online Growth Netherlands Online Penetration in 2011 100% World averages in 2011 US Singapore Norway UK Sweden 75% Japan France Israel Canada Germany 50% Italy Czech Republic Australia UAE Bulgaria Russia Saudi Arabia Chile 25% China Philippines Argentina Mexico South Africa Brazil 0% 0% Romania 5% Egypt Indonesia 10% CAGR of Online Population (2006 to 2011) Note: Not all countries are included. Size of bubble indicates relative size of the online population in 2011. Source: JupiterResearch Worldwide Internet Population Model, 5/07 India 15% Web 3.0 for Marketers Open authorship, wiki-base community Nuanced permission All media is rich media Local/GEO IP is perfected Personas are the new target markets Device agnostic marketing experience ‘Search’ behavior is second nature Marketing has always been unplugged Virtual reality has always been available when the real thing failed Brand’s autobiography written in real time Web 4.0 for Marketers The “Emotive Web” Wi-Fi everywhere Transmission infrastructure transparent (think Apple TV) Recognizing needs in stationary/mobile use News only online (mostly) Electrons beat paper, print, hardware, devices… More Buzzwords to Ponder Web as a platform Software above a single device Data as the new “Intel inside” Harnessing collective intelligence Lightweight business models (Saas) Rich Internet applications Leverage the long tail Marketech ‘08 Marketing has not fundamentally changed since the creation on the marketing concept and our branching out as a child of modern economic theory. What has changed is how we, as marketers, talk with our customers and tools, techniques and especially the technologies that we employ in those conversations. This guide is meant to serve as an overview of the marketing technologies available to you, the seasoned marketer. We’ve provided you with the most accessible and actionable tools in this guide. So Much to Learn - Reading! Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers (Robert Scoble) The Medium is the Message (Marshall McLuhan) Complex Responsive Processes in Organizations: Learning and Knowledge Creation (Ralph Stacey) The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Thomas Friedman) Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways That Inspire Innovation and Performance (Jay Cross) Deschooling Society (Ivan Illich) The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth (Clayton Christensen) The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual (Christopher Locke) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide (Henry Jenkins) The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom (Yochai Benkler) Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape (Henry Chesbrough) The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More (Chris Anderson) Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything (Don Tapscott) Seeing What's Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change (Clayton Christensen) Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages (Carlota Perez) The Social Life of Information (John Seely Brown) The Wisdom of Crowds (James Surowiecki) Complexity and Innovation in Organizations (Jose Fonseca) Dana VanDen Heuvel | The MarketingSavant Group dana@danavan.net | www.marketingsavant.com NCMPR – Mobile Marketing Dana VanDen Heuvel The MarketingSavant Group Dana is the founder of The MarketingSavant Group and a widely recognized specialist in emerging marketing technologies such as blogging, social media, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices and speaks regularly on these topics at industry events. Dana is the creator of the American Marketing Association “TechnoMarketing” training series and the author of the AMA Marketech ‟08 guide to marketing technology. Dana VanDen Heuvel The MarketingSavant™ Group www.marketingsavant.com dana@danavan.net 920.819.0742 Marketech „08 Marketing has not fundamentally changed since the creation on the marketing concept and our branching out as a child of modern economic theory. What has changed is how we, as marketers, talk with our customers and the tools, techniques and especially the technologies that we employ in those conversations. This guide is meant to serve as an overview of the marketing technologies available to you, the seasoned marketer. We‟ve provided you with the most accessible and actionable tools in this guide. EXPECTATIONS! What brought you here? What do you need to bring back? How will you know when you have it? What do you expect to DO? How should success LOOK, FEEL and SOUND? MOBILE What Exactly Is “Mobile Marketing”? Marketing through the Mobile Channel, “Mobile Marketing,” …is a child born of the Internet revolution, and it is critical that today‟s marketers grasp its significance. It is one of the first new channels to arise in over 50 years…(MMA) Three main services compromise the core mobile marketing channels (SMS) short/multimedia message service marketing Location-based marketing Mobile broadcast advertising The Mobile Marketing Ecosystem Source: Mobile Marketing Association Technology Advances Changing Landscape for Portable Devices Productivity Entertainment Nokia N95 Pearl • Push Email • MS Apps • Browser • Camera iPhone • Wi-Fi • GPS • Safari browser • Camera • Video Camera • 1GB-8GB • Media player • Maps • Bluetooth • Widgets Mobile Penetration is Beyond Mainstream US Wireless Subscribers 207 Total Number of Wireless Subscribers 233 243 251 258 263 268 273 300 100% 250 80% 200 60% 150 40% 100 20% 50 0 0% 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Existing subscribers Percentage of US population Source: JupiterResearch Wireless Model, 8/07 (US) 2010 2011 New subscribers 2012 Percentage of US Population (in millions) US SMS Revenue $25 (in billions) 100% $20 80% $15 60% $10 40% $5 20% $0 0% 2005 2006 2007 SMS revenue 2008 2009 2010 SMS penetration Note: Penetration reflects monthly use or more frequently Source: JupiterResearch Wireless Model, 8/07 (US) 2011 2012 Percentage of US Mobile Subscribers Flat Rate Pricing on SMS Is Driving Rapid Growth Wildcards Could Change the Industry Dramatically Apple sells ring tones Openness Ubiquitous IP Cloud Starbuck’s offers access Google subsidizes access? Fixed line telephone goes away in all IP world? Google buys spectrum? But Mobile Media Consumption Remains Niche Communication Personalization Teens Entertainment Productivity Communication Personalization Adults Entertainment Productivity 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Percentage of Cell Phone Owners 2005 100% 2006 Question: During the past six months, which of the following activities did you do at least once on a cell phone? (Select all that apply.) Source: JupiterResearch/Ipsos-Insight Teen Survey (11/05), n = 1,438 (online teen cell phone owners/users ages 13 to 17, US only); JupiterResearch/Ipsos-Insight Teen Survey (11/06), n = 1,439 (online teen cell 1. Don‟t bore your consumers to death 13 1. Don‟t bore your consumers to death 14 2. Why should my brand be there? Online Media Community sites eNewsletters Email eMail eCards News Syndication Special Interest Blogs Manifestos Blog Search Engines Conversations Search Engine Optimization Photo Blogs Keyword Marketing Listservs Message Boards Social Computing Influencer outreach Blog Aggregators Chat Rooms/Events Portals Real Simple Syndication (RSS) Content Partnerships Search Citizen Action eAlerts Meetups Text-messaging IM Wikis Press Rooms Online Web Sites Viral Games & w/RSS Content Contests Advertising Folksonomy Social Bookmarking Digital Devices Phones DVR (Tivo) PDAs Game Consoles eAdvocacy Digital Radio VBlogs Podcasting Webcasting Microcasting Source: Ogilvy 15 3. Understand the role of mobile 16 4. Yes - mobile can be creative 17 4. Yes - mobile can be creative 18 4. Yes – mobile can be creative 19 4. Yes – mobile can be creative 20 5. There is always more than mobile 21 5. There is always more than mobile 22 6. Build new contexts for your brand 23 7. Game changer - flash 24 7. Game changer - search 25 7. Game changers - mtv 26 7. Game changer – PC2M 27 Why Is Wireless Critical for My Brand? 89% of Major Brands Planning to Market via Mobile Phones by 2008; Mobile Marketing to Accelerate with More Than Half of Brands Planning to Spend up to 25% of Marketing Budget (Airwide Solutions) There are over 202 million mobile subscribers in the US today Nearly 75% of mobile phones are text message capable with over 95 million people sending text messages every month In January 2005, mobile phone subscribers sent 1 billion text messages By December 2005, that number grew to 7.3 billion text messages Over 115 million users own color screen, web-enabled phones 68% of the US population owns at least 1 mobile phone 58% of mobile subscribers rely on their phones for a non-voice data service The number of multimedia mobile phones in the US doubled in 2005 as consumers are quickly adopting new services Over 1.2 million mobile users experienced Mobile Video in 2005, with adoption projected to grow rapidly throughout 2006 Sources: 1 – US Census; Carrier supplied data; 2 – M:Metrics Study 2005; 3 – CTIA, 2005; 4 – In-Stat 2006 Sources: 1 – US Census; Carrier supplied data; 2 – M:Metrics Study 2005; 3 – CTIA, 2005; 4 – In-Stat 2006 via: Juice Wireless SMS – The State of Mobile Marketing SMS is a text-based system in which approximately 80 to 100 character messages appear on mobile phones [In 2004] Worldwide there [were] over 1.7 billion mobile subscribers - surpassing the total number of landlines. In 2004 they exchanged nearly 600 billion SMS (Text) messages. -AdWeek SMS - How to Use It Quizzes and Games Speed Quizzes Polls and Voting Free Text Response Loyalty programs Instant Win and Sweepstakes Custom programs Subscription Services mCommerce Supply chain integration Provide real, valuable content Notifications of availability or promotions Answers to questions Alerts that offer loyal customers short-term discounts Why It Benefits You Extend the reach of the brand beyond the desktop Connect with younger demographic Connect with consumers at the right time AND the right place Increase brand awareness and generate direct response Research shows an 8% - 41% lift in brand awareness Average response rate is 2-12% from ad model Position your brand to influencers and forward-thinking mavens who share knowledge about products, services and entertainment Reach loyal, active, involved, paying subscribers Generate buzz and break through clutter in an innovative and personal medium Source: Vindigo Who‟s Using It? Microsoft Adidas Tylenol McDonalds Subway Sprite CNBC AIG eBay Discovery Channel TaylorMade Golf Example: Food Network Local SMS Success Meijer Inc., gas prices, cost conscious consumers Customer skepticism overcome by value 2.5B cell phones, globally 95 million Americans text messaging “Contests and sweepstakes that require consumers to enter via text message are among the most popular campaigns so far.” Source: Houston Chronicle, AP Local SMS Success Meijer Inc., gas prices, cost conscious consumers Customer skepticism overcome by value 2.5B cell phones, globally 95 million Americans text messaging “Contests and sweepstakes that require consumers to enter via text message are among the most popular campaigns so far.” Source: Houston Chronicle, AP Experiment: SMS Google 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Grab your phone Go to “SMS” To: 46645 (googl) Type: “weather 43215” Wait for the Columbus weather report Try movies, directions (especially cool!) and sports Mobile Devices: Target Marketing We’ve all heard of or experienced the multitasking teen doing four things at once on their broadband connected computer and moving between text messaging cell phones, iPods, game machines and video players. The next group up, the 21- to 34-year-olds (I'll call them “Generation B” for the Broadband Generation) have lived with the internet for the past 10 years, had broadband wired dorms with PlayStations and Xboxes, found their dates, jobs and housing online, and now consume most of their news online. Here is how to take advantage of this new category: Think video. Can your product or service be explained and marketed with video instead of text and flash banners? You have a receptive audience out there. Watch the video game and film markets. They are already heavily using video trailers, ads and integrated broadband messages that resonate well with Generation B. Think speed. Check out a game at EB Games or Best Buy. Notice the speed of the action, the tight integration of music, action and imagination. Slowness will bore Generation B. Think fast, witty and entertaining -- especially if yours is a consumer product not usually associated with these traits. Games = Movies = Entertainment. 37 Source: Mark Friedler, CEO and co-founder of Gigex, Inc./GameDAILY / imediaconnection.com Mobile Devices: Games Advertising Game content offers marketers a way to connect with consumers on a deeper, more meaningful level. Audience Targeted and efficient reach into the teen and young adult male buying demographic, an audience that has shifted billions of hours of media attention out of television and into video games. “. . . the mass medium of games is tracking to reach $42 billion by the end of the decade. Often referenced as the most immersive form of media ever invented, the influence of video games inescapable and steals countless hours from millions of gamers across the globe. Analysts are predicting a growth curve for ingame advertising that outpaces the growth of online and follows suit with what has already happened: gamer hours surpassing time spent on the internet.” Engagement Video games by their very nature are the only medium that can command the audience's attention with limited to no multi-tasking. In-Game Branding: Get In While It’s Hot 2007 Relevance Build relationships with game consumers in their world versus interrupting them in yours. The key is to move beyond a skyscraper or 30 seconds between shows and introduce your brand into the entertainment, taking a lead role in the action. Accountability If a brand invests in a 30-second placement, it is guaranteed the ad will be seen on screen for that period of time, a commitment no other medium provides its customers. Mindshare Look at the numbers: 67.8 million gamers have yet to be reached by an in-game ad. Research to date indicates that the combination of storyline engagement and brand signage offers the greatest lifts in awareness and brand affinity. Source: imediaconnection.com Mobile Devices: Games Revenue On-portal mobile game revenue jumped 61 percent year-to-year to $151 million in 4th Qtr’06. Nearly 17.4 million mobile consumers downloaded a mobile game last quarter, up 45 percent from a total of 12 million downloaders a year ago. On-Portal Mobile Game Revenue and Audience Size Trending (U.S.) Q4 05 Q1 06 Q2 06 Q3 06 Q4 06 Number of downloaders 12.0M 12.8M 13.5M 15.7M 17.4M Total Quarterly Revenues $94M $134M $141M $140M $151M 39 Source: Telephia Press Release, 3/5/07 Mobile Devices: Games Advertising Projections for increased revenues could be well justified based on the results from a recently released study conducted by Nielsen Entertainment on behalf of Microsoft-owned in-game advertising specialist Massive Inc.. The research showed that: Average brand familiarity increased by 64% due to in-game ads on Massive‟s network. Average brand rating increased by 37%. Average purchase consideration increased by 41%. Average ad recall increased by 41%. Average ad rating increased by 69%. 40 Source: 10/24/07 Research Brief from MediaPost Mobile Devices: Game Ad Formats Advertising Format Description Advergames Custom-made games specifically designed around a product or service (e.g. Burger King – Sneak King) Dynamic In-game Advertising elements within a connected game itself, that can be dynamically changed depending on location, day of week and time of day. Inter-level Ads Display or digital video ads shown during natural breaks in gameplay, such as between levels or between rounds of play. Game Skinning Includes game sponsorship of display units around the game, and/or custom branding integration into the game. Product Placement Integrated brand messaging, sponsorship and/or products into a game. Sponsorships Advertiser owns 100% share-of-voice in and around an existing game, such as sponsorship of a tournament, zone, or session of gameplay. Static In-game Advertising elements within a game that may not be changed. This type of ad format is also referred to as “Hard-Coded” advertising. Post-Game Ads shown following completion of the game. Pre-Game Display or digital video advertisements shown before gameplay begins as the game is loading. 41 Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau, October 2007 Mobile Devices: Games Advertising Adidas in Power Football Gameplay attributes are assigned to each of the Adidas shoe models that the player chooses from. Corresponding gameplay attributes match the brand attributes of each shoe, delivering product education and virtual sampling. General branding is throughout the game via signage, branded ball, branded apparel and an instant replay sponsorship. An Adidas tournament within the game offers prizing and the opportunity to play in a live soccer game with the Adidas "stars," including David Beckham. Pontiac in College Hoops 2K7 The Pontiac-sponsored NCAA Final 4 tournament in College Hoops 2K7 mirrors the actual NCAA tournament, including all of the brackets with team drafting and online play. The top four gamers in the Pontiac Virtual NCAA Final 4 public tournament will win a trip to Atlanta to play the Final 4 match-ups at a live event. In addition, four Pontiac Game Changing Performances -- plays that turn the tide and change the outcome of the game -- will be selected from games played during each round of the virtual tournament. 42 Source: imediaconnection.com Mobile Devices: Music / Video Ads TiVo‟s „TiVoToGo‟ offers recordings in formats specifically for the Playstation Portable and the video iPod. It allows users to transfer their personal playlist of videos to a handheld device. ‘TiVo Product Watch' offers advertisers a way to reach TiVo subscribers who are actively looking for products ("In Market") with advertising content and information. •TiVo Product Watch will deliver targeted, relevant advertising content, from more than 70 advertisers and 100 leading brands, from up to five different product categories including Automotive, Entertainment, Financial, Lifestyles, and Travel and Leisure. •TiVo subscribers will be able to create searches and select advertising content, ranging from one minute to 60 minutes, from any of the five different product categories of interest and have it delivered directly to their Now Playing section of the TiVo service. •TiVo Product Watch will also offer subscribers the ability to create a search based on their favorite brands and opt-in to receive video content directly from that company on an ongoing basis. 43 Source: TiVo Vendors & Resources Mobile Marketing Association - mmaglobal.com The Hypefactory - thehyperfactory.com Vindigo - vindigo.com Juice Wireless - juicewireless.com Kwead (international) - kwead.com Case studies - each of the vendors + the MMA has several - they‟re all here to help Best Practices The Mobile Marketing Association has the guide on best practices for mobile marketing. http://www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf NO unsolicited messages. Period. Permission based, opt-in Respect privacy, permission and opt-out Make it easy Multiple entry points (web, text) Identify subscription content Offer something unique, exclusive to wireless Mobile marketing works… 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 46 Don‟t bore consumers to death… Why should any brand be there? Understand the role of mobile Yes – mobile can be creative There is always more than mobile Build new contexts for the brand Some game changers Video, Podcasting & “Mobcasting” Dana VanDen Heuvel The MarketingSavant Group Dana VanDen Heuvel The MarketingSavant™ Group www.marketingsavant.com dana@danavan.net 920.819.0742 Dana is the founder of The MarketingSavant Group and a widely recognized specialist in emerging marketing technologies such as blogging, social media, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices and speaks regularly on these topics at industry events. Dana is the creator of the American Marketing Association “TechnoMarketing” training series and the author of the AMA Marketech ‟08 guide to marketing technology. Marketech „08 Marketing has not fundamentally changed since the creation on the marketing concept and our branching out as a child of modern economic theory. What has changed is how we, as marketers, talk with our customers and the tools, techniques and especially the technologies that we employ in those conversations. This guide is meant to serve as an overview of the marketing technologies available to you, the seasoned marketer. We‟ve provided you with the most accessible and actionable tools in this guide. EXPECTATIONS! What brought you here? What do you need to bring back? How will you know when you have it? What do you expect to DO? How should success LOOK, FEEL and SOUND? What is Viral Video? The term viral video refers to video clip content which gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through email or IM messages, blogs and other media sharing websites. Viral videos are often humorous in nature and may range from televised comedy sketches and unintentionally released amateur video clips. Source: Wikipedia 5 Basic Tenants: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Short Edgy Funny Big Finish Topical State of Online Video While online video is not new, the channel has hit a rapid acceleration in the past 18 months Startups like YouTube are becoming more popular than many traditional media sites. Fifty-seven percent of online adults have used the internet to watch or download video, and 19% do so on a typical day. (The Pew Internet & American Life Project) YouTube Nieman Marcus celebrates 100th anniversary with You Tube home page presence and YT videos. YouTube Serves your video Extends reach through easy to use links and codes that even technology challenged me can insert Provides statistics on page views Provides statistics and links on websites that link to your video Comments turn YouTube into social networking Voting and favorites provide the "power of crowd" recommendations Creating a channel allows you to provide information about your organization or the brand. It also creates a Go To Space where you can store all of your videos. Redefining YouTube Vast majority view videos they receive from friends, or search for specific content. But YouTube, at its heart, is a community that is built on video Defined rules Factions Core audience “lives” in YouTube Prevailing Myths Online video is a new channel. Quality of the video is what determines its popularity. Online video marketing is about contests. "Tagging" my video with keywords will get them seen Paying for a well-produced video will increase my brand's ROI. After consumers watch my videos, they'll visit my site and buy. I can post my brand videos on my website to get them seen. We'll never really measure the impact of online video. Online Video Users & Spending Still small part of media mix… But reach & spending on rapid rise Spending on sites like MySpace and Facebook will climb exponentially, rising from $900 million this year to $1.4 billion in 2008 Deborah Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst SEM and Online Video Landscape Social Networking Sites YouTube (MySpace, Facebook) The Google of Online Video Portals With Video Sites: AOL, Google, Yahoo, MSN 2nd-Tier Video Sites: Metacafe, Revver, Break, Veoh, Brightcove Convergence Eventually, television and online-video will converge Already happening (On Demand, AppleTV) My money is on Joost (founders of Skype) For now, it doesn‟t matter It changes advertising mechanism But viral video tenants remain same B2B Discovers Online Videos It is my goal to meaningfully engage my audience and draw them in. Video offers anenhanced ability to do so (especially when compared to static posters/graphics). Rick Short, Indium Multiple Customer Touch Points Multiple Uses Getting Millions of Views Get lucky Create something incredibly viral Be topical Otherwise: Expect low views that build slowly Or “jump start” by leveraging creators with built audiences Ways to Play Market research New channel for existing content Create videos, post and pray Run contest Pay for video ads Partner with creators Participate in community events Losing Control 7 Deadly Marketing Sins 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Make brown and white cow Pretend you‟re not advertising Spend a fortune on production Tell consumers instead of engage Do a video contest because everyone else is Set unrealistic conversion metrics Give up and advertise Mentos Dramatic sales increase when “Diet Soda & Mentos” phenomenon started. EepyBird made $50K on Revver alone. Next phase: partnering with known creators to move past “Geyser.” Contests Contest Ideas & Tips Not every brand is right for a contest. Lose the giant grand prize. Choose your partners wisely and avoid a disposable website. Promotion is where most contests fail. Fish where the fish are. Know that good contestants will evaluate a return on their time investment. Consider identifying some known video creators and asking them to “seed” entries and promote the contest. Be mindful of the fact that people will scan the first posted entries to make their determination about entering. Timing is everything. Partnering with “Weblebrities” Proven entertainment value Reduce risk of over promotion Strong affinity with audience View guarantee Cost efficient Everything You Need to Know Align strategy and tactics Partner carefully Agencies Contest sites Creators Get internal “buy-in” on risks Measure comprehensively Leverage creators with audience What Now? MondayMorning… See What They‟re Already Saying Get involved: Spend time on sites Familiarize yourself with top creators Stay on top of trends Search YouTube for brand name Subscribe to “tags” with your product name Consider Buzzmetrics or other web audit Willvideoforfood.com, TheDailyReel If video makes sense, get buy-in from your senior leadership. Risks, benefits Performance metrics MarketingSherpa - 2007 Viral Awards Five Prevailing Lessons From Award Winning Marketers 1. Viral isn‟t just for commercial marketers. Use Web 2.0 [Video] in communities of any kind. 2. B-to-B viral is gaining steam. Some use fun videos (Space Invaders) and others employ crafty online contests - both got results! 3. Marketers thrive despite shoestring viral budgets. Most campaigns are often created by tiny in-house teams. 4. Track your results as specifically as possible. The more you hone in on what works, the better you will get at lassoing viral audience clusters. 5. Blogs and message boards still appear to be the seeding source of choice. With that said, donユt forget about optimizing press releases. Vlog Tips Complements of Roxanne Darling - http://www.barefeetstudios.com/ It may seem counterintuitive, but people will actually put up with a shaky camera and poor lighting and rough editing because the brain can fill in those details. Bad sound is just nails on a chalkboard and people will not be able to endure it. Video is difficult to set up, shoot, and encode all by yourself and end up with better than amateur presentation. Your chances of success and sustainability increase dramatically when you have at least one person in front and one behind the camera who can share the editing and marketing. Video files are huge compared to text files, so research a hosting solution right up front. Your normal web hosting plan most likely will not accommodate video blogging, at least not for long. Look into space and bandwidth limits. If you are prolific, you will push the space limit. If you are successful, you will push the bandwidth limit. Vlog Tips Complements of Rick Short - http://www.indium.com/rickshort BEGIN AT THE END: In other words, initiate any and all projects with a written goal. With out a written goal, any attempt will likely be illfated. This is true for the overall program as well as for each video. STAY WITHIN YOURSELF: A) Keep the program pure to your corporate personality and capabilities. Otherwise, you'll likely confuse the audience. B) Keep the activities simple (for you and your company) and easy to do. Otherwise, you'll likely quit. MAINTAIN RELEVANCE: Anyone can create a stir; that's just a cheap parlor trick. By keeping the message and activity relevant to your product/service/image, the message will have a true and meaningful ring to it. This is true for the effect you have on your customers as well as on your employees. Using Online Video for Promotion 1. The basis for this approach is centered on YouTube, though it is applicable to other online video sites. Create and Customize Your Own YouTube Channel 1. Arrange your own and others content in a single location, with its own YouTube URL. 2. Opportunity to create a profile for yourself and your content, and link back to your website URL. 3. Start creating playlists from your own and other people's content 4. Lay the foundations of your YouTube presence. Guide Using Online Video for Promotion 2. Choose your niche and focus 1. 3. Create short-form viral content 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. <5 minutes Super informative Funny? Catchy! Useful! Tag and Categorize Create niche playlists 1. 2. 6. Director, Musician, Comedian, Guru More options for searchers to find your video Be helpful - gather others, as well as your own relevant clips Promote Your Video with YouTube Email and Bulletins Using Online Video for Promotion 7. Promote your video in your existing campaigns, or create a campaign for the video itself 1. Must be integrated (somewhat) with the rest of your marketing 2. Must have measurable goals 8. Leave Video Responses 1. Same as in blogging 2. Be relevant, timely, considerate, civil and helpful 9. Join or Create YouTube Groups Video Marketing Resources If you would like to learn more about using YouTube as a marketing and promotional tool, you might want to check out the following links: Small Business SEM offer up six YouTube marketing tips (http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/2007/04/24/youtube-marketing-tips/) Marketing Profs 'How to Market on YouTube' (http://www.marketingprofs.com/login/join.asp?adref=rdblk&source=/7/how-to-market-on-youtube-some-examplesspencer.asp) Viral Marketing Voodoo give you a YouTube Marketing 101(http://www.viralvoodoo.com/2006/07/youtube-marketing-101.html) Michelle Machphearson offers 4 YouTube marketing tops by way of an example(http://blog.michellemacphearson.com/video-youtube-marketing-4-tips-from-a-stellar-example/) USA Today article about why 'Marketers are into YouTube(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-04-17-youtube-marketers_x.htm?POE=TECISVA) Resources Spending increases Demographics and stats http://adage.com/digital/article?article_ id=120616 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?i d=1004105 eMarketer Online video report http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/ Emarketer_2000457.aspx?src=report_he ad_info_sitesearch Wikipedia on Viral Video http://www.kevinnalts.com TheDailyReel http://nalts.wordpress.com/ My videos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_video My blog (willvideoforfood.com): AOL/Yahoo Study http://www.adweek.com/aw/magazine/ article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003 645281 http://www.thedailyreel.com XLNTADS http://www.xlntads.com Discussion Podcasting WHAT IS PODCASTING? Podcast Definition A podcast is a syndicated audio or video communication distributed via the Internet. Podcast = syndication No syndication != podcast Podcast Definition Continued A podcast can be played on any device that plays digital audio files (your computer, your MP3 player, etc.). A podcast DOES NOT require an ipod. Apple did not originate podcasting and does not own “podcasting.” Podcast Definition Continued Podcasting IS NOT webcasting. It doesn’t stream It isn’t live It is personal (one to one), not a performance (one to many) that might be regulated by the FCC Learn more from Doc Searls Benefits On-demand content (no click wait); Consumer is “program director” Serialized content Automated, direct distribution Most subscriptions are free Doesn’t require full attention and permits multi-tasking Detractors Distribution uncontrollable Bandwidth consumption high DRM = Digital Rights Management (prohibitive Brief History of Podcasting Brief History (continued) Why is podcasting important to you? Opportunities for early adopters to gain mind-share in a relatively new space Alternative method for communication and self-promotion Capture student & parent interest in an alternative way WHY? It’s fun. Also… How is this assignment useful to you? Learn about university tech resources Improve your presentation skills Improve your interviewing skills Figure out some things about audio Learn a new way to promote yourself, your ideas, and your work OK, let’s go over a few things: What do you record in your podcast? How do you record your podcast? How do you syndicate your podcast? How do you promote your podcast? WHAT DO YOU RECORD IN YOUR PODCAST? General Format Intro music/ Introduction Sponsor Recognition Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Thank you for listening/ feed plug Exit Music *Typical duration ranges from 3 to 45 minutes Podcast content examples Guest appearances Audience Q&A Media reviews (books, movies, etc.) Music interludes Banter “Soundseeing” from on location Get fancy http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2005/07/how_to_make_enh.html Copyright Most podcasts are talk radio, because record companies haven’t provided an easy, affordable way for podcasters to license songs. Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/ Learn more from Linux Journal http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8510 Copyright Continued Is your music podsafe? When in doubt check with the artist or label before you assume something is podsafe. Podsafe Music Network http://music.podshow.com/ Podsafe Audio http://www.podsafeaudio.com/ Read more on how to find podsafe music http://www.ipodarmy.com/2005/06/how-to-find-podsafe-music/ Sample Podcasts KCRW Good Food/ Morning Becomes Eclectic Chinese Pod Diggnation HOW DO YOU RECORD YOUR PODCAST? (we’ll run through this once, and then get down to details later in the presentation.) Equipment A personal computer, a preamp, and an external drive (flash drive and/or ipod can also be helpful for file transfer/ testing) Audio software Headphones, a mic, and a pop filter An Internet connection Server space & lots of bandwidth Recording Methods 1. 2. 3. Audioblogger Portable recorder/ DAT Computer recording: http://www.audioblogger.com/ - Phone it in Low Quality - PC/ Mac (internal mic) Higher Quality - Mac at school (better mic + preamp) Dual location - Mac (can do on PC; slightly different process/ software) Lower Quality Record Lower Quality Record Audacity - built for PC or Mac http://audacity.sourceforge.net LAME - MP3 Encoder http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3 iTunes http://www.apple.com/itunes/ Higher Quality Record Reserve an audio suite on the eighth floor of the KU at least six hours in advance. Check out mics, a DAT, a mini recorder, a pop filter, or other recording equipment from the 9th floor of the KU. Make reservations online two days in advance. See Dave at the DT lab to find out what equipment you can borrow from DT. Higher Quality Record Dual Location Record - Mac What you need: Soundflower + Soundflowerbed http://www.cycling74.com/products/soundflower.html Line-in http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/ Skype http://www.skype.com Sound Studio or Garageband http://www.freeverse.com/soundstudio/ http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/ Other dual location methods Do it on a PC ($40) http://www.skypejournal.com/blog/archives/2004/12/skype_podcast_r.php Do it with ichat http://www.google.com/search?q=engadget+podcast+ichat&sourceid=mozillasearch&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official HOW DO YOU SYNDICATE YOUR PODCAST? Syndication Technology Informal Specifications: RSS 1.0 RDF Site Summary Extensible (outdated) RSS 2.0 Really Simple Syndication (xml based) Easy to code by hand Formal Specifications: Atom - standardized Which should you use? Most aggregators can read all three. iTunes http://www.apple.com/itunes/ iPodder.net http://ipoddernet.sourceforge.net/ Feedreader http://www.feedreader.com/ Odeo http://www.odeo.com/ Okay, but how do I setup the feed? Write the code yourself (generally best) http://audiofeeds.org/tutorial.php Cheat (as long as it works) Feedburner http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/home How do listeners subscribe? Click on subscription link Highlight it in the address bar Paste it into their aggregator HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR PODCAST? Podcast promotion Link to the feed on your site Register your feed with directories Tell your friends Promote on recruiting page Drive to from direct mail Read 12 ways to promote your podcast http://www.jakeludington.com/project_studio/20051028_12_ways_to_promote_your_podcast.html Podcast Directories Indie Podder http://ipodder.org/ Podcast.net http://www.podcast.net/ Podcast Alley http://podcastalley.com/ (There are many more) WHAT IS THE ASSIGNMENT? 1 Podcast for now Duration: 3 minutes Link to syndication feed There should be some description of what your podcast is about on this page (I.e.-- an HTML [web] presence Judging criteria Assignment completion on time + followed the requirements Everything works (syndication, files, etc.) Sound quality (good volume levels, attractive and interesting voices/ sound/ music) Content quality (creative, structured, on topic) So, now we can move on to the nuts and bolts of creating, editing and distributing a podcast There are two main things we need to cover: 1. 2. Recording a sound file Getting the results into proper file format for subscription and distribution First, recording onto a computer The main thing you have to remember is that computers have different types of audio inputs (the Mac and the PC don’t always work the same way!) So, you can’t always just stick a microphone into the computer and expect it to work. You need to check the “levels” and make sure that your mic setup works. A mic input has a built-in amplification, because the volume of the audio collected by a mic is very low. What this means is that if you plug a mic into a standard “audio in” port on most computers, you will get only a very faint signal– too soft to do much with. By far the easiest way to record to a computer is to use the built-in microphone on a laptop (a powerbook or a PC) The next easiest way to record to a computer is to get a microphone made for the computer. This can plug into either the “audio in” port or USB. Fancy fancy recording setup 1. Computer + Audacity + LAME + M-Audio 4. Firewire Cable 5. XLR Cable 6. Mic2. Preamp 3. Power Cord We will use Audacity for today’s demo. It is free, and works on both Macs and PCs: audacity.sourceforge.net You should install Audacity on your laptop, if you have one. Audacity on the Mac (the PC interface looks very similar) One last software thing we need is the “Lame” libraries, which allows us to export the Audacity files as mp3 files Lame for OS X Lame for Windows So, now please go to the computers, get a microphone set up, and try recording a short file You can use your laptop if you have one (you’ll need to install the software) Record Press record and talk into the mic. Access Audacity’s HELP MENU to get fancy. Press stop when finished and export the file as MP3. Record Stop Then export the file as an mp3. You can play the file back from Audacity or from iTunes. As far as the sound editing goes, start with Audacity and try putting some clips together. It’s like video editing. It’s easy. Ok, so now you have an mp3 file. That’s not quite a podcast yet. Why not? Two reasons: 1. 2. You are expected to script and edit your content. Remember the slide about typical podcast structure (music, intro, credits, etc.) The final edited mp3 file must be referenced using a protocol that allows users to “subscribe” to your podcast The code protocol we use for podcasting is called: RSS RSS actually stands for three things: Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91) RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0) Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0.0) (No, this is not a joke) We will use RSS 2.0 RSS is a family of XML file formats for Web syndication used by (among other things) news websites and weblogs [The following RSS defs are from Wikipedia] The technology of RSS allows Internet users to subscribe to websites that have provided RSS feeds; these are typically sites that change or add content regularly. The RSS formats provide web content or summaries of web content together with links to the full versions of the content, and other meta-data. RSS is widely used by the weblog community to share the latest entries' headlines or their full text, and even attached multimedia files. A program known as a feed reader or aggregator can check RSS-enabled web pages on behalf of a user and display any updated articles that it finds. On Web pages, RSS feeds are typically linked with an orange rectangle or optionally with the letters or A podcast is an RSS file that contains a link to downloadable audio files instead of a link to a news story. An RSS file is a lot like HTML. There are tags and content. The file can be named just about anything, as long as the tags and content are correct. You are going to make one RSS file for your feed. You can add many mp3 content files to your single feed. You do not need a new RSS file for each mp3! Code (click here for a good step by step tutorial) <?xml version="1.0" ?> <rss version="2.0"> <channel> INSERT YOUR CODE HERE <channel> </rss> Your Code <title>Your Site Title</title> <description>Description of your sitedescription> <link>http://yoursite.com</link> <item> <title>Title of Your Podcast 1</title> <description>Description of Your Podcast 1!</description> <link>http://yourpodcast.com/podcast1.mp3</link> </item> Repeat for each media Display Save RSS as YourFile.xml Create HTML page to display descriptions of your podcast and a link to the subscription file. Upload your files to your server. Test subscription file in an aggregator such as NetNewsWire http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/ Repeat: you must test your final site! Download an aggregator or a feed reader and use it to make sure your RSS file works. Remember that testing is the most important step in the whole process! Test your microphone input Test your sound levels Test your final mp3 Test your RSS code Test your final site Try adding another mp3 to your site to see if an aggregator updates as it should MarketTech Marketing has not fundamentally changed since the creation of the marketing concept and our branching out as a child of modern economic theory. What has changed is how we, as marketers, talk with our customers and tools, techniques and especially the technologies that we employ in those conversations. 08 MarketTech 08 T his guide is meant to serve as an overview of the marketing technologies available to you, the seasoned marketer, in the upcoming year 2008. While not impossible, it would be difficult to chronicle every single piece of new marketing technology that you can use. We’ve provided you with the most accessible and actionable tools in this guide. Marketech 08 includes a definition for each of the concepts and technologies listed. For the purpose of this booklet, we’ve chosen to source these definitions from Wikipedia, technology pioneers, industry associations, technologyfathering organizations and other resources that move a bit faster than the hard copy dictionary collecting dust in your cubicle. In fact, only__of these definitions exist an__edition of the__that we have here at the office. Times have changed, and marketing technology moves fast! Contents Social Media Mining, Buzz Monitoring, Customer Listening 4 Online Video, Videoblogging, Video Sharing, Viral Video 6 Blogging, Bloggers & Weblogs 8 Widgets & Gadgets 10 Universal Search and the Future of Search 12 Social Networking & Customer Community for Business & Marketing 14 Social Media Optimization (SMO) 16 Really Simple Syndication (RSS) 18 Virtual Events 20 Honorable Mentions in Marketing Technology for 2008 22 Additional Marketing Technology Resources 26 Marketing Technology and Social Media Terms 36 MarketTech 08 FAQ’s As with anything new, such as this guide, there are likely to be a few questions. Here are a few that we’ve anticipated, and I’m sure that there are likely to be more. Let us know what you think! Q: How did you decide which technologies to put into this guide? A: This guide is the compilation of several months of surveying the marketing technology landscape and choosing those technologies that we feel can make an impact for marketers in 2008. Q: You seem to oscillate between general tools such as blogs and specific platforms like Facebook, why is that? A: The primary purpose of this guide is to address marketing technology at the category level, such as blogs, or social networks or widgets. In some cases, the ubiquity of a tool or platform lent itself to a dedicated page as its impact can be almost as profound as the category within which it fits. Q: A: Are the technologies listed in the order of importance? No. Everything is listed alphabetically, if for no other reason than the ease of organization. ©Copyright 2008 VanDen Heuvel Executives, LLC. All rights reserved. 1 Social Media Mining, Buzz Monitoring, Customer Listening This guide is about what leading marketers will be doing with technology in 2008. There are opportunities abound for the savvy marketer, but none is more important than listening to the customer by tuning into their frequency in newsgroups, blogs, podcasts, and social media sites. In fact, as the marketing mix moved from a ‘monologue’ model to one of dialogue and conversation, success with marketing technology will be predicated on a successful buzz monitoring and customer listening strategy. What is Buzz Monitoring? Buzz monitoring is a phrase used in Online Public Relations and social media marketing to track relevant conversations on the Internet. It can be accomplished by paying for the service through a major provider of online conversation monitor methodology, or can be done in house through a variety of free services that are available to all marketers. It All Starts With Social Media Monitoring In order to fully engage in a customer community, develop a widget, or produce a worthwhile video that goes viral, you need to be in touch with the buzz about your business. Consumers want to talk to consumers, they don’t trust marketers; they trust each other. Social media is a linkable, findable conversation medium and your customers are talking about you, right now, and you likely don’t know what they’re saying (Yet!). Social media or buzz monitoring can be done professionally. Firms like Cymphony, Umbria, Factiva, Buzzlogic and dozens of other companies have sprung up to go beyond the blogs. They’re monitoring and tracking ALL mediums that are used by social media enabled consumers. It’s more than just listening; it’s about applying benchmarks, heuristics and intelligence around social media, not just one-dimensional DIY tools. MarketTech 08 Why Social Media Monitoring for 2008? While there are a good number of large organizations engaging one of the aforementioned firms to understand the marketing conversation, there are countless other companies, from small local businesses to Fortune 1000 enterprises that have yet to get a preview of what the buzz is all about. For them, there are a series of tools that are available that will make 2008 the year that they all start listening in. Understanding that you no longer own your brand and that your brand is a conversation is the first step. How Do Marketers Find Out Who’s Talking And What Do They Measure? There are different parts of the conversation—enterprise, mainstream media, and consumer generated content. Unless you’re monitoring the buzz, you won’t know what’s there. In every social media monitoring program, there are a few fairly obvious things that every marketer should track. If you need more reasons to track social media, think of the new product ideas, keyword research for SEO, warnings of possible scandals and customer reactions that you’ll be able to amass. Best Practices For Monitoring The Conversation Getting started monitoring the online conversation can be pretty straightforward, but there are a few guidelines that can help you get a jumpstart, maybe even before 2008. 1. Look for evangelists and help the spread the good word. 2. Engage with ‘middle ground’ consumers to influence them. 3. Look for “incidental detractors” and engage with them to fix problems. 4. Seek out and minimize “determined detractors”—the people who just can’t seem to be happy. What to Monitor • • • • • • • Blogs Newsgroups Social networks Podcasts Q&A venues (i.e., Yahoo Answers) Search engine results Wikipedia Buzz Monitoring Tools Google Alerts Technorati • Flickr (photos) • YouTube (videos) • • What to Track? • • • • • • • • • Company name Products/Brands Executives Key Customers Patents Press releases Competitors Stocks Services 2 Online Video, Videoblogging, Video Sharing, Viral Video While it’s often YouTube [www.youtube.com] that gets the majority of attention in the online video space, there is so much more to video that drives its efficacy for marketers. Take, for example, the once small high-end blender company, Blendtec.A 186-employee company in Orem, Utah, that built brand awareness with its “Will it Blend?” [www.willitblend.com] series. Millions of online viewers have watched Chief Executive Tom Dickson blend up dizzying array objects from lumber to the iPhone. For Blendtec, it was not really a question of “Will It Blend?” but “Does It Sell?” The answer is: Yes. According to George Wright, Director of Marketing for Blendtec, consumer sales have increased five-fold since the videos went up on YouTube and Revver [www.revver.com]. Why Video Matters to Marketers in 2008 Well, for starters, you just can’t beat the price! Even large brand marketers like Nike are producing quick, offbeat videos that cost little to produce and return millions of views and thousands of website visitors each month. Secondly, in one UK study online video consumption has nearly doubled in the past year with an ever-growing appetite for online video content. Viral video is simply another way to reach an ever fragmenting group of consumers who have led to a more than 100-fold increase in the number of videos viewed on YouTube since the end of 2005. More to the point, videos are powerful tangible artifacts that are showing up increasingly in Google’s blended search results. Who’s Using Online Video? Hundreds of small companies, ad agencies, large brands and Fortune 500’s. Even Ophah Winfrey now has her own YouTube channel [http://www.youtube.com/user/OPRAH] which she says “will bring unique perspectives to this ever-expanding international online community.” Brands like Nike, Warner Bros., MTV2, Dimension Films, Blendtec, Intuit, Nestle and dozens of others have created online videos or embraced their users creating them for marketing gain. MarketTech 08 What’s the Quickest Path to Success with Online Video? Virility of online video is hard to predict, but not impossible. Here’s a See the Video section on the collection of tips from marketers who have achieved success in the resources page for a full list online video space: of video sharing sites. 1. Focus on something fun or funny. Don’t force your point; it has to be worth watching. 2. Tie branding closely to product attributes. Yes, drive awareness, but for the right reasons. 3. If you’re trying to sell something, demonstrate the product. Show your product performing or resolving a problem. 4. It has to be “real”. Consumers have little patients for hyOnline Video Statistics perbole or smoke and mirrors. comScore [www.comscore.com] 5. Get to the point. Videos should be less than 2 minutes. diligently tracks the online video 6. Tap into celebrities. Bonus if they have a cult following space and has come up with some that matches your brand. staggering numbers on the state of 7. Create a viral launch. Videos can’t stand alone; seed them video. on blogs, the media and your network at launch. • Nearly 75% of US internet users watched an average of three hours of online video in July of ‘07 • The average online video duration was 2.7 minutes • One in three US internet users—36.7%—viewed video on YouTube.com • The average online video viewer consumed 68 videos, or more than two per day. 3 Blogging, Bloggers & Weblogs Blogging has been around arguably since the late 1980’s to early 1990’s, but the official terms weblog, blog and blogging didn’t surface until 1997, and gained popularity a few years later. Blogs are often the foundation for corporate social media and customer community programs. Definition: A blog (a portmanteau of web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. Executives should blog if they have a vision they are trying to communicate, or if they are very visible in the media. Mark Cuban Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) and are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging which consists of blogs with very short posts. (Source: Wikipedia) Why Blogs Matters in 2008 Blogs stand for much more than just the technology they’re comprised of or the vast sea of content that they’ve spawned in the past several years. Blogging is a metaphor for community, conversation, corporate social morals, truth and transparency. MarketTech 08 The Downsides of Blogging The emergence of blogging has brought a range of legal liabilities and other often unforeseen consequences. One area of concern is the issue of bloggers releasing proprietary or confidential information. Another area of concern is blogging and defamation. A third area of concern is employees who write about aspects of their place of employment or their personal lives, and then face loss of employment or other adverse consequences. A number of examples of blogging and its sometimes negative or unforeseen consequences are cited here. Marketer’s Action Plan The truth of the matter is, not every company needs to, or should blog. However, the ubiquity of blogs and their impact on our culture and social conscious mean that marketers need to at least pay attention to what’s being said and engage in the conversation. • Track your brand, product names and other important keywords with Google Alerts [google.com/alerts] (they now track blogs too) and Technorati [www.technorati.com]. • Develop a list of the top bloggers that are having a conversation about your industry, your company or matters that impact you. Get to know them, and let them get to know you. • Develop or co-develop (with your PR firm) a plan for blogger relations and crisis communications. • Start your own corporate blog only after you’ve done the above and have a grasp on the conversation already taking place. Blogging Statistics & Particulars How many blogs? As of September 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 106 million blogs. Why Marketers Blog: Establish authority Converse with customer base • Search related benefits • Instant feedback, reciprocity and commitment • Easy syndication with RSS • • Blog Vendors: ** See the Additional Marketing Technology Resources on page * Fortune 500 Bloggers: Just over 10% of the Fortune 500 are blogging. Here are just a few of those companies with blogs: Microsoft Boeing Dell, Inc. Lockheed Wells Fargo Merril Lynch Disney Motorola FedEx Nike Pepsi Avon Apple Shell 4 Widgets & Gadgets What’s a Widget? According to MarketingSherpa: “Widgets are small applications used to meet computer users’ specific needs by providing quick access to Internet sites; desktop utilities, such as to-do lists, calendars, clocks, weather, games, entertainment; and tools, such as system resource monitors or application launchers. Most widgets look like a tiny window on the user’s desktop or Web page. You might also see widgets referred to as gadgets, badges, capsules, gizmos, minis, modules, plug-ins or snippets.” Widgets (or Gadgets, as Google calls them) are stand-alone min-applications usually tied to a larger data source, such as a widget that showcases updated quotes on your favorite stocks. Widgets were made popular by their availability on Apple computers and the widget creating company, Konfabulator, later purchased by Yahoo! and renamed Yahoo! Widgets. Why Use Widgets in 2008? Widgets work at the intersection of an acute need for specific information and an accessible source of valuable data. Marketers are already jumping on the widget bandwagon, but their ease of creation and perceived high value from consumers make then uniquely positioned to deliver positive ROI in 2008. Widgets are becoming ubiquitous, with nearly 30% penetration in 2007, their poised for rapid growth. Widgets can be developed for Facebook, Google homepage, My Yahoo!, computer desktops and for placement on blogs and websites. Two Ways That Widgets Work For Marketers (via Marketingsherpa) • • 10 Merchants can deliver offers via images, multimedia and coupons so viewers can click through to the product page and complete the transaction. Publishers can stream content to build brand and advertising dollars or increase paid subscriptions. MarketTech 08 Widgets Seem So New, Who’s Already Using Them? In spite of their newness, they hold great possibility for almost any company who has bits of data to share with its customers and wants access to their Yahoo or Google homepages or their computer desktop. UPS offers a widget to customers to track shipments right from the desktop and also provides an integrated RSS reader to keep up on important news. Sunflower Market, used a desktop widget shaped like a potted plant to send coupons and relevant information to consumers who downloaded it for their first store in Indianapolis. The widget helped exceed opening-month sales expectations by 18%. How to Succeed with Widgets: There are a few basics to leveraging widgets in your 2008 marketing plans. Widgets are not, nor should be complicated or too sophisticated. Their value lies in their simplicity and their ability to deliver and acute, highly relevant service of piece of information (think UPS shipment tracking or the Motley Fool stock tracker widget). Keep these things in mind: 1. Type of Widget—Deciding what type of web widget to build is important; not all types of widgets will work on all platforms. For marketing ends, you want the content of your widget to be as “viral” as possible. You’ll also most likely want to build your widget in Flash, as it’s the most accessible technology. 2. Widget Functionality—You can build a widget to support almost any feature you can imagine. Stock trackers, feed readers, games, weather, rate quotes, etc. Make sure that the content of your widget is of the utmost value to your customers and prospects to ensure pass-along and sustained interest and usage. 3. Widget Seeding & Marketing—Offer it on your home page, seed it in widget galleries, build it for multiple platforms (Yahoo Widget Engine, Facebook, desktop) and cross-promote the widget in your existing channels. 11 5 Universal Search & the Future of Search It used to be that Yahoo! And Google were the only games in town worth playing when it came to search engines. Google has certainly left its stamp on the world, but as with most things in marketing technology, search never stands still for very long. While Google vies for supremacy with the ‘one-box’ and the concept of Universal search, our attention remains fragmented and small, vertical and media-specific search engines are gaining traction each and every day. What is Universal Search? Google and the other search engines Ask 3D, Live Search and the new Yahoo! Search are undergoing the most significant transformation in years by altering how search engine results are displayed in that the “Universal Search” system will blend listings from news, video, images, local and book search engines among those it gathers from crawling web pages. Universal search differs from the two most common types of search, regular or horizontal search, and vertical search. • Regular Search—Also known as a “horizontal” search in that you are searching across a wide spectrum of material in Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask or any other general search engine. • Vertical Search—When you slice down vertically through one topic area such as bicycles, or medicine. You search only against the news sites or against the medical information, for example, seeking narrowly focused more relevant results. How Will Universal Search Impact Marketers in 2008? The bottom line is that marketers need to consider every single digital element that they produce to be a potentially searchable and findable asset in a search engine. David Berkowitz said it best: “The moral for search marketers is they need to take a holistic view of search,” Berkowitz said. “For those who get it, this gives them an unprecedented chance to dominate entire search engine results pages and gain sizeable competitive advantages. Marketers need to consider every digital asset of theirs as an opportunity to gain more visibility in Google, whether it’s an image, video, press release, store listing, blog post, or anything else.” 12 MarketTech 08 How Do I Incorporate Universal Search Into My Marketing Plan? Marketers in the upper echelon of search engine marketing players will see few, if any, strategy changes with the advent of Universal Search, as they’re already leveraging their digital assets to the fullest. The most significant opportunity lies in the mid-market and small business sectors. 1. Get Digital Assets in Order—Inventory your digital assets like text, images, audio, video, blogs, email, media & PR, social networking, forums, etc. Each of these has just been given the power to drive traffic independently as well as improve standard search visibility. 2. More Content Formats—Get in the habit of creating content in multiple formats and getting those digital media elements into every nook and cranny on the Internet. If you’re doing a photo shoot, get those photos on site and in Flickr. Oh, and take some video shots too and get those on your website and into YouTube. 3. Tag All Content—Make sure to name and tag all content appropriately to ensure findability and understandability once someone encounters your content, in any form. 13 6 Social Networking & Customer Community for Business & Marketing What’s New About Social Networking? Social Networks have been around since the beginning of the internet. In fact, the Internet is the original online social network dating back to the 1960’s. So, what makes it worthy of being considered a ‘must do’ for 2008? For starters, it’s never been easier to target the right personas in social networks. The openness of Facebook, the launch of OpenSocial, the fact that over 55% of the online population participates in social networks all make the case for getting on board with an existing network, or crafting your own. Even conference organizers are creating temporary social networks for conferences that leverage the power of online and in-person connections to get the most value out of conferences. How Will Social Networking Work For Marketers in 2008? There has been a fair bit of information written on why social networking will never work for marketing or business, or worse yet, why it is a waste of time. That was then, and 2008 is the future. Here’s what’s changed and why it matters now. 1. There’s Lots To Do in Social Networks—It used to be that visiting a social networking sites was like going to a party with all of the cool kids, but there was nothing to do there. Not so any more. With social networks like Facebook quickly becoming the ‘social operating system’ on campus, and within professional groups and other old standbys like Plaxo (remember them?) and LinkedIn becoming more content rich, connected (via OpenSocial) and relevant (more content), there’s never been a better time to get involved in an online social network. 2. Low time investment—they integrate into your life—Social networks used to be siloed sinkholes of time, but with their increased interactivity, RSS feeds and rise in relevance, they are actually time savers, especially for well-connected professionals, who can use one or two ‘social dashboards’ (the front page of Facebook or LinkedIn) to catch up on updates from across a vast network. 14 MarketTech 08 3. 4. 5. Relevant and targeted traffic—MySpace has become one of the largest music advertising platforms, LinkedIn in increasingly used to find qualified professionals for hard-to-fill roles, Facebook is a must for any campus entity hoping to reach its students and technology conferences feel so ‘old school’ when they aren’t using an online pre-conference and post-conference social networking site to connect attendees. FOAFs are friends you just haven’t met yet—In 1973, Mark Granovetter published an oft-quoted work called the “Strength of Weak Ties” that illustrated how most jobs are actually found through acquaintances or friends of friends (FOAF). No where in history his the FOAF connection model worked at scale like it does in online social networks. This is one of the basic tenants upon which viral marketing and word of mouth marketing is built. The Internet is Not Enough—Sure, we have the Internet, but that’s like saying the only community we need as US citizens is the United States itself. The Internet has grown too vast and fragmented for effective networking outside of clustered environments where likeminded community members can join up and change the world. There Are So Many Social Networks, Which Ones Matter? Which networks matter depends greatly on the objectives that you’re trying to achieve with your social networking and online community building endeavors. Often times, the best networks and communities are those which are built from scratch by a company. See the list of the top 10 most trafficked networks to the right, and visit the resources section for links to a more complete listing. 15 7 Social Media Optimization SMO What is SMO? Simple SMO The idea of increasing linkability and making tagging easy is often defeated by marketers offering an “icon soup” of different social media sites. Social media optimization (SMO) is a set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites. Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, adding a “Digg This” button, blogging and incorporating third party community functionalities like Flickr photo slides and galleries or YouTube videos. Social media optimization is a form of search engine marketing. Social media optimization is in many ways connected as a technique to viral marketing where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. In a similar way the engagement with blogs achieves the same by sharing content through the use of RSS in the blogsphere and special blog search engines such as Technorati. Offering a single link to bookmark or subscribe, like this one from AddThis [addthis. com] is an elegant way to achieve the same goal, without confusing readers. Why does SMO matter in 2008? The rollout of “Universal Search” across the major search means that a much wider variety of content, often of the user generated nature, is finding its way into main stream search results. Factor in the mission of most search engines to bring the most relevant items to searchers, and you’ve got a perfect storm of viability for Social Media and the optimization of Social Media for search ranking and discoverability. Social Media Optimization Best Practices 1. Increase your linkability 2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy 3. Reward inbound links 4. Help your content travel 5. Encourage the mashup 6. Don’t Spam social media sites 7. Reward Helpful and Valuable Users 8. Participate 9. Know and Engage Your Audience 10. Create Worthwhile Content in All Forms of Media 16 Are There Any SMO Best Practices Yet? Rohit Bhargava was credited with inventing the term SMO. His original five rules for conducting Social Media Optimization have been added on to and adapted, in true social media style, to develop top-ten list of social media best practices. MarketTech 08 Who’s had success with SMO? According to Internet Retailer, the “Cyber Monday” rush has brought out a raft of SMO sightings on the major retailers sites. • Patagonia.com adds social tools to build brand and sales: Patagonia.com started a blog earlier this year, called The Cleanest Line. The unedited blog is accessible on the site’s home page and provides a forum for discussion • Wine.com builds on social shopping with new community site: Based on the premise that better educated wine consumers buy more wine, Wine.com has launched a community site designed to generate traffic as wine enthusiasts share information on their personal preferences. • Wal-Mart ads reviews to web site: Reviews are lifting conversion on highly rated products and giving customers another reason to visit, the e-retailer says. While a one-star review depresses sales, negative reviews prevent a sale that may lead to a bad Wal-Mart experience, thus reducing product returns. Wal-Mart said that shoppers add about 1,000 reviews every day. • CircuitCity.com unveils social networking destination: CircuitCity.com has launched CityCenter Community, a social networking online gathering place for shoppers and sales associates. Alexa.com Top 10 Social Sites 1. Digg.com 2. Technorati.com 3. Stumbleupon.com 4. Esnips.com 5. Squidoo.com 6. Reddit.com 7. Gather.com 8. Rollyo.com 9. Blinklist.com 10. Newsvine.com 17 8 Really Simple Syndication RSS Really Simply Syndication or Rich Site Summary has been around for a decade, but had not received much fanfare as a marketer’s tool until the last few years. With the rise of companies like Pheedo and FeedBurner and the evolution of RSS from an obscure syndication technology to a powerful information delivery, search optimization and advertising channel, RSS can no longer stand on the sidelines in the game of marketing. What is RSS? According to the Wikipedia definition: “RSS (formally “RDF Site Summary”, known colloquially as “Really Simple Syndication”) is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a “feed”, “web feed”, or “channel”, contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that’s easier than checking them manually. RSS content can be read using software called an “RSS reader”, “feed reader” or an “aggregator”. The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed’s link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.” Why is RSS Important in 2008? I believe that Phil Gomes writing in iMedia Connection put it best: “Marketers and media folks who haven’t woken up to web content syndication (through RSS or some other format) are, frankly, fighting the attention wars with stone knives and bearskins.” All the way back in 2005, a Forrester Research report indicated that “57% of marketers said that they were interested in using Really Simple Syndication (RSS) as a marketing channel.” That number has only gone up, and consumers have gone from wondering what RSS is, to demanding RSS as an available communication channel. In order to ‘meet customers in the medium’, RSS is an imperative on every corporate and media website. 18 MarketTech 08 How Do Marketers Use RSS? RSS has many benefits for marketers ranging from communication to time savings to penetrating the SPAM filtered inbox. 1. Website Traffic—RSS can help you generate additional traffic and reach new audiences. Considering the low cost of RSS implementation, this is reason enough to get started with RSS today. (Rok Hrastnik) 2. Syndicate Content Through Widgets—RSS enable content is easy to embed in widgets that can be placed on other websites (including your own) or through tools like FeedDigest, RSS feeds can be turned into HTML pages in and of themselves thus helping to attract visitors. 3. Advertising & Promotion— RSS is a highly targeted advertising channel that has been used successfully to reach audiences in technology, automotive and other vertical markets. 4. Distribute Rich Media Across Devices—Use podcasting, videocasting, and RSS ‘enclosures’ to create broader reach for your marketing assets and tap into mobile RSS readership. Popular Web-Based RSS Readers: • • • • • Bloglines [www.bloglines.com] Google Reader [reader.google.com] My Yahoo [my.yahoo.com] Newsgator Online [www.newsgator.com] Rojo [www.rojo.com] 19 9 Virtual Events A technology that some have called “SecondLife meets WebEx”, virtual events were once considered futuristic and incapable of holding the attention of an audience in a ‘virtual environment’, however, virtual events have grown from small-scale events to enterprise class trade shows that seriously rival their offline terrestrial counterparts. As the number of vendor choices increase and the cost per event comes down, 2008 may be the year to dip your town into the virtual event waters. Why Virtual Events Matter in 2008 While virtual events may never take the place of faceto-face trade shows, their cost effectiveness (complete shows average $15K to $50K), measurement ability and ease of tracking leads (think: no more business card fishbowls!) and prospectus for vast reach to both those who would have and those who’d never think of travelling to walk the trade show floor. With a growing number of vendors in this space, we are sure to see the cost of these events continue to drop, the capabilities of the platforms continue to rise and an increasing acceptance of virtual events as legitimate venues for doing real business. Virtual Events Aren’t Just Online Trade Shows The efficacy of virtual events hinges on more than just being online gather place, they have several other advantages which make them ideal for marketers seeking to reach their target audience. • Highly scalable—Invite as many prospects as you want without fear of running out of space, or food. • Robust lead collection & reporting—The ability to leverage the registration database at the click of a mouse is one of the most powerful attributes. • Professional networking—Automatic attendee connections and other networking features help both the host and the attendees achieve the most from the event. • Web 2.0 integration—Much of the content from virtual events can be ported into blogs, podcasts and post-event communities • E-commerce—Transact business right through the event platform. 20 MarketTech 08 Best Practices and Potential Pitfalls The most important thing to remember in virtual events is to make it easy for attendees and to make everything as accessible as possible. If an attendee has to download an application, create and dress up an avatar, and learn new commands—your registration-to-attendee ratio will suffer miserably. • Adjust promotion timing for the web—begin promoting 45-60 days out. • Bring out the best content—attendees are only one click from leaving. • Promote interactivity & personal connection. There are also a few drawbacks to online events. • Opportunity for personal interaction with presenters can be limited, so be sure to leave room for lots of audience Q&A. • For online events that are available only on-demand, including speaker contact information is recommended. • Facial feedback is unavailable in online events which chat and polling tools can help supplant. Who’s Who in Online Events • • • • Unisfair [unisfair.com] is used by Tibco and RIM (BlackBerry) and costs $40-50K per event. InXpo [inxpo.com] has worked with Nielsen and Supervalu and has packages ranging from $30-50K. iCogno [icognoevents.com] boasts HP and Intel as clients and its packages start at $15K. Expo3D [expo3d.com] customizes each event for no out of pocket fees. Pricing is based on event performance. They’ve worked with Pentadyne and Penton Media. 21 10 Honorable Mentions in Marketing Technology for 2008 As we illustrated in the Marketech ’08 Marketing Technology Guide, there is no shortage of marketing technology for marketers to pursue in 2008. In fact, there are many more technologies that we can discuss, but as much as we would like to believe that the long tail of marketing technology will lead to riches, there is only so much budget and bandwidth available to the modern marketer and we all need to focus our limited resources on those tactics and techniques which are likely to net us the greatest gain. All that said, there are a series of remaining marketing technologies which may be just the ticket for certain marketers trying to reach specific demographics, but which fall outside the realm of ‘mainstream’ for the purpose of most of you reading this document. If you’re the type that’s looking for ever more ideas to reach your increasingly attention starved customer base, read on. What we’d like to leave you with are a host of definitions and a few ideas on what’s next in marketing technology. IPTV (INTERNET PROTOCOL TELEVISION) IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered by using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. A general definition of IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks. For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services such as Web access and VoIP. The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is referred to as “Triple Play” service (adding mobility is called “Quadruple Play”). IPTV is typically supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure. This closed network approach is in competition with the delivery of TV content over the public Internet, called Internet Television. In businesses, IPTV may be used to deliver television content over corporate LANs. Certainly IPTV has arrived, as has movie delivery over IP. However, the promise of ‘more interactive television’ remains elusive. 22 MarketTech 08 IN GAME MARKETING/ADVERTISING (IGA) In-game advertising (IGA) refers to the use of computer and video games as a medium in which to deliver advertising. 2005 spending on in-game advertising was USD$56 million, and this figure is estimated to grow to $1.8 billion by 2010 according to Massive Incorporated, although Yankee Group gives a lower estimate at $732 million. In-game advertising is seen by some in the games industry as offering a new revenue stream, allowing developers to offset growing development costs and to take more risks in game play. When consumers think of the technology advances that they have witnessed in the past decade, it’s hard to argue that video games, game consoles and online games have come a long way. The advances for marketers, however, have yet to arrive. Major universities have applied time and resources to developing models for determining the most effective in-game marketing models, but at the end of the day, the results amount to little more than understanding the most effective virtual billboard placement for novice vs. advanced players. The application for mainstream marketers here is still quite limited. MASHUPS In technology, a mashup is a web application that combines data from more than one source into a single integrated tool; an example is the use of cartographic data from Google Maps to add location information to real-estate data from Craigslist, thereby creating a new and distinct web service that was not originally provided by either source. Mashup originally referred to the practice in pop music (notably hip-hop) of producing a new song by mixing two or more existing pieces. A mashup isn’t so much something that a marketer would produce as much as your fans and customers would product on your behalf. The key to allowing your customers to create mashups on your behalf is to open up data such as a directory or something similar of worthwhile information that can be combine with something else to create a valuable web based tool (like a widget) 23 10 Honorable Mentions in Marketing Technology for 2008 MOBILE MARKETING Mobile Marketing is meant to describe marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a mobile phone. Marketing on a mobile phone has become increasingly popular ever since the rise of SMS (Short Message Service) in the early 2000s in Europe and some parts of Asia when businesses started to collect mobile phone numbers and send off wanted (or unwanted) content. The major problem that mobile marketing faces is one of acceptance. 75% of adults surveyed have no interest in receiving marketing messages on the mobile phones. Mobile marketing is almost always combined with another promotion or integrated marketing vehicle, such as an in-store contest, television or radio ad, pass along viral MMS video or something that requires an SMS message interaction to engage in the marketing message. Mobile marketing or marketing with SMS is popular, and is poised for growth in 2008, but it has not yet reached critical mass in the US where mobile is the ‘killer marketing app’ for reaching all but a teenage demographic. Look for more about mobile marketing in the resources section. VIRTUAL WORLDS, SECOND LIFE, AVATARS Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely created by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe. You’ll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow Residents. Because Residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other Residents. The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world unit-of-trade, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden Dollar exchanges. In this case, the fiction has predicted a major new paradigm where interactive marketing is concerned.Businesses and individuals are looking towards Second Life as a new medium to grab attention and promote their products and themselves. Wells Fargo Bank, Sun Microsystems, Coca-Cola, and Toyota have all started building stuff and doing stuff in Second Life as a method for marketing themselves online. In August, Susanne Vega became the first musician to perform a “live” concert in SL space, through her avatar. 24 MarketTech 08 PODCASTING A podcast is a digital media file, or a related collection of such files, which is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers. The term, like “radio”, can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster. Though podcasters’ web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added, using an aggregator or feed reader capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or Atom. While podcasting is a high profile marketing technology, it is very much like blogs, and the metaphors of blogging, mixed with the metaphors from radio apply to the medium. Look for more from this medium as we reach ubiquity with mobile phones that thoroughly integrate music and data storage into them, and as radio stations around the country, still stuck in a 1960’s model, get with the program and start offering more of their content in podcast mode. 25 Resources ADDITIONAL MARKETING TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES: WEBSITES, LINKS, BOOKS, BLOGS AND EVERYTHING ELSE The purpose of this section of the guide is to give you a wealth of resources that can further the learning process on any of the technologies that we’ve discussed herein and help you put your marketing technology plans into action General Resources, Publications and Websites for Marketing Technology Information American Marketing Association >> www.marketingpower.com eMarketing and Commerce >> http://www.emarketingandcommerce.com/ MarketingSherpa >> www.marketingsherpa.com ClickZ >> www.clickz.com Register for updates to this guide at: www.mtg08.com MarketingProfs >> www.marketingprofs.com Marketing Charts >> www.marketingvox.com Marketing Vox >> www.marketingvox.com TechCrunch >> www.techcrunch.com The Top 50 Marketing Blogs To Watch In 2008 >> http://www.evancarmichael. com/Tools/Top-50-Marketing-Blogs-To-Watch-In-2008.htm BLOGS & BUSINESS BLOGGING SixApart: Guide to Business Blogging >> http://www.movabletype.com/SixApartGuidetoBusinessBlogging.pdf] Ogilvy PR: Welcome to Blogosphere: An Executive Blogger’s Guide >> http://www.ogilvypr.com/pdf/bloggers-guide.pdf Cerado: The Business Blogging Field Guide >> http://www.cerado.com/download/CeradoBusinessBloggingFieldGuide.pdf ProBlogger: A - Z of Professional Blogging Tools >> http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/06/27/a-z-of-professional-blogging Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki >> http://www.socialtext.net/bizblogs/index.cgi iMedia Connection: 10 blogging tips from 10 bloggers >> http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/17490.asp 26 MarketTech 08 BLOG PLATFORMS (THERE ARE HUNDREDS, THESE ARE THE MOST POPULAR) Blog software comparision chart from USC >> http://www.ojr.org/ojr/images/blog_software_comparison.cfm Blogger >> http://www.blogger.com TypePad >> http://www.typepad.com WordPress >> http://www.wordpress.org and http://www.wordpress.com MovableType >> http://www.movabletype.com Squarespace >> http://www.squarespace.com/ Awareness (formerly iupload) >> http://www.awarenessnetworks.com BUZZ MONITORING Marketing Pilgrim: Buzz Monitoring: 26 Free Tools You Must Have >> http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/08/26-free-tools-for-buzz-monitoring.html Small Business SEM: SES Session Recap: Buzz Monitoring >> http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/ses-session-recap-buzz-monitoring/872/ How to put the B in Buzz Monitoring >> http://www.wiliam.com.au/wiliam-blog/buzz-monitoring Search Engine Roundtable: Buzz Monitoring >> http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/014609.html Web Strategy: Companies that Measure Social Media, Influence, and Brand >> http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2006/11/25/companies-that-measuresocial-media-influence-brand/ Center Networks: Firestorm 2.0 - Using Social Media Services to Track The California Fires >> http://www.centernetworks.com/california-fires-social-media Media Guerrilla: More on Social Media Monitoring >> http://www.mguerilla.com/media_guerrilla/2006/07/more_on_social_.html 27 Resources ADDITIONAL MARKETING TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES: WEBSITES, LINKS, BOOKS, BLOGS AND EVERYTHING ELSE EVENTS & CONFERENCES Technology For Marketing & Advertising 2008 >> http://www.t-f-m.co.uk/page.cfm/link=151 New Marketing Summit >> http://pages.newmarketingsummit.com/WebSite/ Index.aspx?C=70000047&S=50000081 IN GAME MARKETING/ADVERTISING (IGA) Wikipedia: Definition >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-game_advertising Engage Advertising >> http://www.engageadvertising.com/ Massive Incorporated >> http://www.massiveincorporated.com/ iMedia Connection: In-Game Advertising Dos and Don’ts >> http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/8489.asp cnet: In-game ads work, study says >> http://www.news.com/In-game-adswork,-study-says/2100-1043_3-5887880.html IPTV ArsTechnica: An introduction to IPTV >> http://arstechnica.com/guides/other/iptv.ars DailyIPTV >> http://www.dailyiptv.com/ Wikipedia: IPTV definition >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPTV MASHUPS iMedia Connection: Marketing Mashup Tools >> http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/10217.asp Web 2.0 Mashup ecosystem >> http://www.ipods-and-onlinevideo-reviews.com/web_2_0_news_page_11.htm MOBILE MARKETING Wikipedia: Mobile marketing definition >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Marketing Mobile Marketing Association >> http://www.mmaglobal.com/ 28 MarketTech 08 Retail Wire: Overall receptiveness to mobile marketing >> http://www.retailwire.com/SmartReply/Images/Cht_Tip7-1.gif NOC: Mobile marketing in the U.S. vs. Europe >> http://newsweaver.co.uk/noc/e_article000554240.cfm?x=b11,0,w Mobivity >> http://www.mobilemarketing.net/ Cellit Mobile Marketing >> http://www.cellitmarketing.com/ PODCASTING Wikipedia: Podcast definition >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting Business Podcast Marketing Case Study Proves Results >> http://ezinearticles. com/?Business-Podcast-Marketing-Case-Study-Proves-Results&id=69230 MarketingSherpa’s Practical Podcasting Guide for Marketers >> https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?ident=29679 Podcast Design: Step-by-Step to a Plan >> http://podcastingscout.com/ RSS – REALLY SIMPLY SYNDICATION Definition of: Wikipedia >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format) NYTimes RSS Feed page >> http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/ Stephan Spencer: RSS and SEO: Implications for Search Marketers >> http://www.stephanspencer.com/archives/2005/03/02/rss-and-seo-implications-for-search-marketers/ MarketingStudies.net: Do Marketers Really Need RSS? >> http://rssdiary.marketingstudies.net/content/do_marketers_really_need_rss.php MarketingSherpa: MarketingSherpa’s RSS Help Page >> http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?ident=27189 iMedia Connection: Start Using RSS Today! >> http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/9606.asp ClickZ: 10 Ways for E-Marketers to Use RSS >> http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3623776 29 Resources ADDITIONAL MARKETING TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES: WEBSITES, LINKS, BOOKS, BLOGS AND EVERYTHING ELSE RSS Service Vendors Pheedo: RSS Advertising >> http://www.pheedo.com FeedBurner (Google) RSS Analytics >> www.feedburner.com About.com: Top 10 Windows RSS Feed Readers and News Aggregators >> http://email.about.com/od/rssreaderswin/tp/top_rss_windows.htm RSS Compendium - RSS Readers - Web-Based >> http://allrss.com/rssreaderswebbased.html SEARCH & UNIVERSAL SEARCH Search Engine Land: Google 2.0: Google Universal Search >> http://searchengineland.com/070516-143312.php Search Engine Watch: What Does Universal Search Mean for SEM? >> http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3625951 HP Blog: Universal Search and Ask3D – What Blended Search Models Mean to Marketers >> http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/webexperience/achive/2007/09/14/4426.html Online Marketing Blog: Small Business Guide to Optimizing Universal Search >> http://www.toprankblog.com/2007/10/optimizing-universal-search/ SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIMIZATION Search Engine Watch: Social Media Optimization: It’s Like SEO, For Social Sites >> http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060829-150053 eBizMBA: 30 Largest Social Bookmarking Sites | October 2007 >> http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social30.html Rohit Bhargava: 5 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO) >> http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2006/08/5_rules_of_soci.html Search Engine Guide: The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media Optimization >> http://www.searchengineguide.com/lisa-barone/the-beginners-guide-to-social.php GrayWolf’s SEO Blog: The Dark Side of Social Media Optimization >> http://www.wolf-howl.com/seo/the-dark-side-of-social-media-organization/ Social Media Optimization - SMO – SMOmashup >> http://www.smomashup.com/ Pronet Advertising: Introduction to Social Media Optimization >> http://www. 30 MarketTech 08 pronetadvertising.com/articles/introduction-to-social-media-optimization.html Social Bookmark Creator >> http://www.toprankblog.com/tools/social-bookmarks/ Social Media Optimization Blog >> http://social-media-optimization.com/ SOCIAL NETWORKING TechCrunch: Details Revealed: Google OpenSocial To Launch Thursday >> http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/10/30/details-revealed-google-opensocialto-be-common-apis-for-building-social-apps/ Mark Granovetter: The Strength of Weak Ties >> http://www.si.umich.edu/ ~rfrost/courses/SI110/readings/In_Out_and_Beyond/Granovetter.pdf Cnet: Five reasons social networking doesn’t work >> http://www.cnet.com/4520-6033_1-6240543-1.html CNNMoney: The Missing Link >> http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/ business2_archive/2006/12/01/8394967/index.htm Social Customer Manifesto: Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Social Networks >> http://www.socialcustomer.com/2007/01/why_you_shouldn.html JasonKolb.com: Cisco’s Social Networking for Business >> http://www.jasonkolb.com/weblog/2007/03/ciscos_social_n.html Information Today: Online Social Networking for Business: An Interview with Konstantin Guericke, Marketing VP, LinkedIn >> http://www.infotoday.com/online/nov04/bardon.shtml Wikipedia.org: List of social networking websites >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites Rev2.org: 33 Places to Hangout in the Social Networking Era >> http://www. rev2.org/2006/07/11/33-places-to-hangout-in-the-social-networking-era/ Top Ten Reviews: Social Networking Sites >> http://social-networking-websites-review.toptenreviews.com/ Neighborhood America: Enterprise Social Networks >> http://www.neighborhoodamerica.com/ 31 Resources ADDITIONAL MARKETING TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES: WEBSITES, LINKS, BOOKS, BLOGS AND EVERYTHING ELSE SOCIAL SHOPPING The New York Times: Like Shopping? Social Networking? Try Social Shopping >> http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/11/technology/11ecom.html?_r=1&partner =rssnyt&emc=rss TRENDS IBM: IBM Consumer Survey Shows Decline of TV as Primary Media Device >> http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/22206.wss TV & Online Video Convergence http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/54425.html VIDEO Blendtec interview on Forrester Groundswell: willitblend.com: Speaking through YouTube >> http://blogs.forrester.com/charleneli/2007/07/willitblendcom-.html Blendtec “Will it Blend” viral video site >> http://www.willitblend.com/ YouTube >> www.youtube.com MarketingProfs (Stephan Spencer): How to Market on YouTube >> http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/how-to-market-on-youtube-some-examples-spencer.asp MarketingSherpa: Video + Humor + Viral = Lead-Gen Success for Data Backup Firm >> http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?ident=29883 USA Today: Marketers are into YouTube >> http://www.usatoday.com/tech/ news/2006-04-17-youtube-marketers_x.htm?POE=TECISVA 8 tips to make your YouTube video go viral >> http://www.webinknow.com/2007/08/8-tips-to-make-.html MarketingCharts: Google Video Sites Capture Lion’s Share of Viewers, Videos Viewed in July >> http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/google-videosites-capture-lions-share-of-viewers-videos-viewed-in-july-1617/ Contentinople (CMP Media): List of video sharing sites >> http://www.contentinople.com/proddir/dir_list.asp?dir_id=7 Light Reading: List of 45 video sharing websites >> http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=112147 32 MarketTech 08 Complete list of video sharing websites from Light Reading. Enter video site name into a search engine to locate the current URL 5min Addicting Clips Aggrega AniBoom ApnaTube Atom Films Blinkx Blip.tv Bolt Break.com Brightcove Buzznet Castpost Clesh Clickcaster Clipshack College Humor Cozmo.tv Current.tv Cuts Dailymotion Dave.tv DivX Stage6 Dovetail.tv DropShots.com eSnips Expert Village Eyespot Famster Flixya Free IQ Funny or Die GodTube GoFish Google Video Grouper Helpful Video iFilm JibJab Jumpcut Kwego Liberated Films LiveDigital LiveVideo Lulu.tv ManiaTV Mediabum Meevee MeraVideo Metacafe Middio Motionbox Multiply.com MyHeavy MySpace MyVideo OneWorldTV Ourmedia Panjea Pawky Phanfare Photobucket Podcast Spot Podshow Pooxi Porkolt.com PureVideo Putfile Revver Rooftop Comedy Scenemaker Sclipo Sharkle Soapbox Stashspace Stupid Videos Sumo.tv Super Deluxe SuTree TeacherTube Treemo Twango Uncut Video uVouch UVU Veoh Viddler Video Webtown VideoJug VidiLife Vidipedia Vidmax ViewDo Vimeo vMix Vodpod vSocial VuMe Yahoo Video Youare.tv YourKindaTV YouTube ZippyVideos Source: LightReading.com VIRTUAL EVENTS BtoB Magazine: Virtual events’ success grows >> http://www.btobonline.com/ apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071008/ FREE/71008034/ Biznology: Virtual Events Return Real Value >> http://www.mikemoran.com/biznology/ archives/2007/09/virtual_events.html Virtual Event Best Practices with Unisfair >> http://www.virtualworldsnews. com/2007/09/virtual-event-b.html A Virtual Events Snapshot: (All data provided by Unisfair) • Average live duration: 1.5 days • Average archived days: 90 • Average registration: 3,102 • Average attendance: 1,587 • Show Up Rate: 52% • Sponsor/Exhibitor Booths: 15 • Leads Generated per Sponsor: 348 • Conference Sessions: 5 per day • Average attendee time at event: 2 hours 31 minutes • Average Locations Visited: 16 • Average Attendee Interactions:13 • Average Downloads per attendee: 5 • U.S. Attendees: 58% • International Attendees: 42% 33 Resources ADDITIONAL MARKETING TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES: WEBSITES, LINKS, BOOKS, BLOGS AND EVERYTHING ELSE VIRTUAL WORLD (SECOND LIFE) MARKETING Naturlasearchblog: Brave New Future of SEO & SEM? Marketing thru Second Life >> http://www.naturalsearchblog.com/archives/2006/10/24/brave-newfuture-of-seo-sem-marketing-thru-second-life/ Webpronews: The Marketing Potential of Second Life >> http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2006/06/26/the-marketing-potential-of-second-life Second Life: Marketing Section >> http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Marketing openPR: First customer satisfaction survey in Second Life >> http://openpr.com/pdf/17221/First-customer-satisfaction-survey-in-SecondLife-insufficient-customer-care-and-opportunities-for-interaction-betweenSecond-Life-users-and-companies-identified-as-the-main-weakness.pdf Second Life Grid: How Organizations Use The Platform >> http://secondlifegrid.net/how WEB 2.0 All things Web 2.0 directory >> http://www.allthingsweb2.com PEW Internet: Riding the Waves of Web 2.0 >> http://static.scribd.com/docs/aoi8swiquwc99.swf?INITIAL_VIEW=width Web 3.0 http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles. showArticleHomePage&art_aid=57532 http://www.personalizemedia.com/index.php/2006/08/27/virtual-worlds-web30-and-portable-profiles/ http://civicminded.corante.com/archives/2006/08/second_life_targets_existing_b.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/eric_schmidt_defines_web_30.php http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/business/12web.html http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/23/business/web.php 34 MarketTech 08 WIDGETS UPS Widget >> http://www.widget.ups.com/widget/en-gb/index.html MarketingSherpa: Special Report: Marketing With Widgets - Usage Data, Tactics & Test Results >> http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?ident=30137 Widget Best Practices: Clearspring >> http://www.clearspring.com/docs/tech/widget-dev/best-practices TechCrunch: Desktop Widgets 101 >> http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/01/29/desktop-widgets-101/ Sexy Widget: Reviews and analysis of widgets, toolbars, and distributed businesses of all flavors. >> http://www.sexywidget.com/ Makeuseof.com: 6 Cool FREE Widget Platforms for your PC >> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/widgets-and-widget-platforms/ Popular Widget Platforms & Providers: • Yahoo Widget Engine • Facebook • Google Gadgets • Clearspring • Widgetbox • Musestorm • Snipperoo • MySpace WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING WOMMA >> www.womma.org MarketingCharts: Word-of-Mouth Marketing Spending to Top $1 Billion in 2007 >> http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/word-of-mouth-marketing-spending-to-top-1-billion-in-2007-2424/ 35 Terms Marketing Technology and Social Media Terms Before you pack your marketing bags and embark on a journey into the world of social media, you’ll need to know the language. Listed below are 25 basic conversation starters, partially excerpted from OneUpWeb’s recent Pocket Guide to Social Media. For the purpose of consistency and timeliness, most other definitions herein are sourced from Wikipedia [www.wikipedia.org] or Webopedia [www.webopedia.com] Avatars Graphical images used in virtual worlds to represent people. Users can create Avatar visual personalities selecting a gender, body type, clothing, behaviors and name. Blogs Register for updates to this guide at: www.mtg08.com Shortened from the original term “Weblogs,” these self-published websites containing dated material, are usually written in a journal format. Content such as text, pictures, video and/or audio have URLs plus other ways of identifying them by keywords (tags). This allows visitors to pull items to their desktop through subscriptions or aggregators without having to visit the actual website. Blogs often have links to other relevant online content, plus invite feedback through “posts” which are comments from readers. Buzz Monitoring Buzz monitoring is a phrase used in Online Public Relations and social media marketing to track relevant conversations on the Internet. Chat Real time interaction on a web site, with a number of people adding comments via text entries. Consumer-generated media (CGM) First-person commentary posted or shared across a host of expression venues, including message boards, forums, rating and review sites, groups, social networking sites, blogs, video-sharing sites, etc.. Crowdsourcing This refers to harnessing the skills and enthusiasm of those outside an organization who are prepared to volunteer their time contributing content and solving problems. Feeds The means by which you can read, view or listen to items from blogs, podcasts and other RSS-enabled sites without visiting the site, by subscribing to a directory or aggregator such as iTunes or Bloglines. Folksonomy A term for the collaborative, but unstructured, way in which information is categorized on the web. Instead of using one, centralized form of classification, users are encouraged to assign freely chosen keywords (called tags) to pieces of information or data. 36 MarketTech 08 Link Baiting The process by which websites, blogs, etc. encourage links from other sites to improve popularity and raise positions on search engines. The enticement may include content, online tools, free downloads, or anything else that another site owner might find worthy of a link. Lurkers People who read but don’t contribute or add comments to forums. Mashups An online service or software tool that skilled “techies” develop by combining two or more tools to create an entirely new service. Meme A unit of cultural information such as a popular tune, catch-phrases, beliefs or fashions that can virally propagate from one mind to another. Online, it may be shared among bloggers or participants of social sites as a game, activity or quiz (e.g., name 50 favorite authors, the 100 worst songs, 10 favorite movies). Mobile Marketing Mobile Marketing is meant to describe marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a mobile phone. Marketing on a mobile phone has become increasingly popular ever since the rise of SMS (Short Message Service) in the early 2000s in Europe and some parts of Asia when businesses started to collect mobile phone numbers and send off wanted (or unwanted) content. Narrowcasting A term used in opposition to “broadcasting” to describe a podcast’s ability to reach a narrowly focused, highly interested audience. Ping An acronym standing for “packet Internet grouper” or “packed Internet gopher,” this is an automatic notification sent when a blog has been updated. It also describes the automatic communication between networked computers/servers. Podcast A digital broadcast made available on the internet. Currently the majority of these broadcasts are audio files sent to directories through XML feeds and RSS—or Really Simple Syndication—formatted XML files. The word “podcast” is derived from “pod” as in Apple’s iPod, the popular portable audio player, and “cast” from “broadcast,” meaning “to transmit for general or public use.” Podcatcher A term for programs used to automatically subscribe to and download podcasts; also called an aggregator. Podcatchers typically seek out new podcast episodes or items as soon as the program is opened. 37 Terms Marketing Technology and Social Media Terms RSS Standing for Really Simple Syndication, RSS is the XML format that allows you to subscribe to content on blogs, podcasts and other social media, and have it delivered to you through a feed. Social bookmarking The collaborative equivalent of storing favorites or bookmarks within a web browser. Social bookmarking services such as del.icio.us or Furl allow people to store their favorite websites online and share them with others who have similar interests. Social media The term used to describe the tools and platforms people use to publish, converse and share content online. These include blogs, wikis, podcasts, and the sites dedicated to share information, stories, photos, audio and video files, and bookmarks. Social media optimization Social media optimization (SMO) is a set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites. Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, adding a “Digg This” button, blogging and incorporating third party community functionalities like Flickr photo slides and galleries or YouTube videos. Social media optimization is a form of search engine marketing. Social media optimization is in many ways connected as a technique to viral marketing where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. In a similar way the engagement with blogs achieves the same by sharing content through the use of RSS in the blogsphere and special blog search engines such as Technorati. Social networking Sites developed to help people discover new friends or colleagues with shared interests, related skills, or a common geographic location. Leading examples include Friendster, LinkedIn and MySpace. Tagging A way of categorizing online content using keywords that describe what can be found at a website, bookmark, photo or blog post. Video Podcast A podcast with enclosures containing video files rather than audio ones. Unlike audio podcasts which may only contain MP3 files, various file types can be used when podcasting video. 38 MarketTech 08 Viral marketing The planned promotion of a product, brand or service through a process of interesting actual or potential customers to pass along marketing information to friends, family, and colleagues. This word-of-mouth advertising is usually accomplished by a creative use of social media and other non-traditional marketing channels. Viral Video The term viral video refers to video clip content which gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through email or IM messages, blogs and other media sharing websites. Viral videos are often humorous in nature and may range from televised comedy sketches to unintentionally released amateur video clips. Virtual worlds Sites such as Second Life, where individuals can create profiles and representations of themselves (avatars) to interact with others in an imaginary world. Marketers have taken up real estate on Second Life in an attempt to extend their brand to potential new customers. Wiki An online, collaborative work space for multiple users of a web page—or set of pages—that can be edited collaboratively. The best known example is wikipedia, an encyclopedia created by thousands of contributors across the world. Once people have appropriate permissions—set by the wiki owner—they can create pages and/or add to and alter existing pages YouTube YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. YouTube was created in mid-February 2005 and uses Adobe Flash technology to display a wide variety of video content, including movie clips, TV clips and music videos, as well as amateur content such as videoblogging and short original videos. In November 2006, Google Inc. acquired YouTube. Source: OneUpWeb,Wikipedia, Webopedia and the American Marketing Association 39