Cincinnati Internet Marketing Blog

Interview with Lisa Sanger & Donna Eby of Sanger & Eby

Recently I stopped by the offices of Sanger & Eby Design in Cincinnati and spoke with the design firm's co-founders Lisa Sanger & Donna Eby.  Along with graphic design, Sanger & Eby does strategy, high level web development and custom programming work for clients in a variety of industries.  To learn more you can visit their website or call New Business Director Monika Roberts at 513-784-9046.

In this short three and a half minute clip Lisa and Donna told me a bit about their agency and work they have done for clients that include Macy's and Fifth Third Bank.  I've included links to a few of their projects below the video so check those out too.

Sanger & Eby Client Projects:

Macy's Tell Us application

Fifth Third Bank careers portal

All Occasions Event Rental

Flash animation created for Macy's to showcase 150 years of shoes

Interview with Mark Wyatt of Dayton IT Consulting Firm WebSoft Solutions

Last month I sat down with Mark Wyatt of WebSoft Solutions, an IT consulting firm in Dayton specializing in deploying solutions using open source technologies.  In this short interview Mark and I discuss WebSoft's services, advantages of using open source platforms and the types of companies they work with.

 

Interview with Ed Estes of Web Media Tools

I recently interviewed my friend and co-leader of the Cincinnati AMA Interactive SIG Ed Estes of Web Media Tools at their office in Cincinnati to get an overview of their services.  Here is the clip.

Web Media Tools partners with media companies providing them turn-key tools allowing them to engage their online audience while at the same time building revenue. The company offers a suite of e-marketing tools including fantasy games, contests, photo galleries, sweepstakes, newsletters, and database marketing.

For more information, visit www.webmediatools.com or call 513-263-9800.

Kroger Presentation on "Actionable Digital Interaction"

This month's Cincinnati AMA luncheon features a presentation by Darrell Sandefur, Ben Melillo and Michael Stich of Kroger on the topic "Actionable Digital Interaction".  The luncheon is next Friday September 18th from 11:30 - 1:30 at the new location for AMA luncheons, the Cintas Center at Xavier University.

You can register online on this page of the Cincinnati AMA website.

Here is a description of the presentation from the Cincinnati AMA:

The future is now when it comes to integration. It's obvious that there are now more ways to engage consumers than ever.  According to the Kroger Company, who faces every challenge as an opportunity, this gives marketers a chance to truly engage with customers and to build lasting relationships.

Over the last two years, Kroger executed an extremely effective online promotion, "Design a Reusable Bag" sweepstakes. This promotional sweepstakes allowed Kroger to achieve their brand building and marketing objectives. Together, our presenters, Darrell Sandefur, Ben Melillo, and Michael Stich will share the strategic and tactical practices that were used to execute this campaign - from design, to analytics, to measurement and results.

During this lunch you will learn:

1. How to appeal to a mass market on an individual basis by integrating promotions with traditional marketing strategies
2. How you can deliver important brand and marketing messages through online promotions
3. How business intelligence gained through web-based engagement will shape future consumer interaction

Hey Cincinnati: Add Videos to Your Website!

My colleague Ron Harper of VideosOnYourWebsite.com interviewed me a couple of weeks ago about optimizing videos for the Web and the benefits of adding videos to a website.  Here's the clip:

 

If you're interested in how video might work for you, check out Ron's site or call him at 513-477-5175.  His rates are very reasonable and within the reach of most companies and non-profits.

Video Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips:

• Conduct keyword research to determine the best keywords you should target
• Include your keywords in your video's title, for example a pest control company in Cincinnati might title their video "Choosing a Pest Control Company in Cincinnati"
• Create a YouTube channel for your business or website and upload your videos to YouTube (which is owned by Google)
• On YouTube, include a link to your website in the video description and keywords in the "tags" section
• Submit a video sitemap or MRSS feed of your video content to Google so it can be indexed.  Get the details here.
• Try to get links to the video that include keywords on your site from external sites, for example you could link to the video from your Facebook page, blog, Twitter account, etc.

Benefits of Adding Video to Your Site:

• Adding a "face" or personality to your web presence that helps to alleviate the impersonal nature of the web
• More compelling content for your site visitors than plain text, let's face it watching a video is more fun than reading!
• Excellent way to present information that is hard to convey with just words
• Cost-effective way to add some style to your site and make your firm seem more impressive by standing out from the crowd

Do You Respond to Web Leads Quickly?

By now you've probably seen the YouTube video of Englishwoman Susan Boyle singing on the UK show "Britain's Got Talent" but if not, please check it out.

Adam Ostrow has written a great article on Mashable.com "Susan Boyle Video Profits:$0" that details how both YouTube and Britain's ITV, the company that holds the rights to the British TV show have missed a huge opportunity to monetize the millions of views of the video by squabbling over how to serve the ads.  Oops!  You would think they would have worked this out years ago, right?!

There is a lesson here for all online marketers and website owners.

When Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion, a lot of people questioned how Google could expect to make that money back.  Well the Susan Boyle phenomenon is an example of how Google could make the investment worthwhile, but instead they are dropping the ball through not having an effective strategy in place, poor customer service and not following up on sales leads.

I have personally attempted to contact YouTube's advertising department several times on behalf of clients who were interested in advertising and have yet to get a response.   

A colleague of mine who runs a web development firm in New York has had similar results.  After emailing YouTube and getting no response, he called Google directly and pleaded with the rep to have someone call him as he had a client that wanted to create a YouTube Channel.  The Google rep assured my colleague he would make sure someone got back to him...NOTHING.

You might be able to drive a lot of traffic to your website and persuade people to take the action of requesting information, but if you aren't responding to those leads quickly, all of the previous efforts are for nothing.  Bottom line: Make sure you are responding to web inquiries within a business day because you can be sure some of your competitors are.   

PS. I just filled out YouTube's advertising inquiry form again before posting this and will post a comment to let you know if they get back to me.

UPDATE: As of May 14th (16 days later) YouTube still has not responded to my web inquiry.  I guess they don't want my client's ad business.  

 

Blah...Blah...Blah...THE END

I remember being a teenager and watching TV with my grandmother one day when we got to the tail end of the Hitchcock move The Birds.  My grandmother then launched into a short, mild rant in which she complained about how she hated Hitchcock movies because in her opinion they just seemed to end for no apparent reason, without a tidy resolution or conclusion that ended the story.

My grandmother, may she rest in peace, would probably hate most of the business websites I see today.  Much more often than not, I see websites with decent content on the page that extols the virtues of the company or product and then...it just stops.  No link to relevant content on a following page.  No call to action.  No offer.  Nothing.  Just blank space at the bottom of the page.

Don't leave your website visitors hanging.  Direct them where you want them to go or to do what it is you want them to do.  If you want them to a read the next page in your story, put a link to that page.  If you want people to pick up the phone and call you, put your phone number and the name of the person they should ask for at the bottom of the page. 

Take a look at your site and see if it resembles a Hitchcock movie. If it does, add appropriate links and calls to action to every page on the site so people will be more likely to take that next step.

If your website isn't producing the results you're looking for, call me, Rob Bunting at 937-312-1400 so we can talk about how to change that. 

THE END

Is Your Overt Benefit on Your Homepage?

A couple of weeks ago I was one of the over 160 lucky people at the monthly Cincinnati AMA luncheon to hear one of the country's best marketers Doug Hall of the Eureka Ranch give a fantastic presentation on marketing leadership.

During his presentation Doug reviewed the Three Laws of Marketing Physics, which he developed upon working with clients at the Eureka Ranch, and are outlined in his book (which I highly recommend) Jump Start Your Business Brain.  Here is an affiliate link to buy it on Amazon:

 

As detailed in the book, Doug's team found that if businesses have all three of the these laws (An Overt Benefit, Real Reason to Believe & Dramatic Difference) in place, then businesses are much more likely to succeed. 

So in the presentation Doug told everyone to take out of their business cards and place it on the table in front of us.  Then, he instructed us to circle the Overt Benefit of our business on the card.  In my case, I circled "Internet marketing as an investment - not an expense" while most people in the room didn't have anything to circle.  My Overt Benefit could be a little clearer, but at least I had a simple statement that speaks to how businesses who choose to work with me will benefit.

My advice here is to think of your business website's homepage as your "online business card" with an overt benefit to circle and make sure you clearly convey to site visitors how working with you will benefit them.  Once you have told the customer "what's in it for them" on the homepage, you can build your case so that the customer believes you can deliver on your overt benefit ("Real Reason to Believe") and what uniquely sets you apart from your competitors ("Dramatic Difference") in the rest of your website.

So, is your overt benefit on your homepage?        

Blogging Seminar in Cincinnati November 18th

My good friend award-winning blogger Michelle Lentz of Write Technology is holding a 4-hour seminar on blogging next month at the Hamilton County Business Center.  Whether you have just started a blog, are considering starting a business or corporate blog, or are just getting started in learning what blogging is all about this is the seminar for you!

Here's the scoop:   

The Art of Blogging

Tues, Nov 18, 8 am - noon
HCBC, 1776 Mentor Ave
Suite 160
Cincinnati, OH 45212

Write Technology is proud to offer a 4-hour session: The Art of Blogging. This class focuses not on the technology behind blogging, but the writing. The Art of Blogging includes defining an audience, understanding your goals, finding your voice, exploring blog etiquette, and more:

1.    What is a blog?
2.    Blogging Goals
3.    Blogging Voice and Audience
4.    Content
5.    Blogging Etiquette
6.    Tips for Growing Your Blog with New Media

You can download a course outline and register at http://www.write-tech.com/index.html
____
Who should attend?
The course is designed for bloggers in a corporate environment, whether large or small. However, the principles taught apply to anyone who wants to effectively write a blog.

____
Cost & Payment:
The course, regularly $199, is being offered at the introductory rate of $179 through November 1. The rate returns to $199 on November 2, so sign up soon!

Credit card accepted via Paypal. To pay with a check by mail or at the door, please contact events@write-tech.com.
Credit cards will not be accepted day-of.

____
Questions:
Contact Michelle via email or call 859.426.9748.

Website Audio Issues & Trends

Hey there Cincinnati I-marketing Group blog readers!

As companies work on making their sites more compelling, podcasting and incorporating audio elements are hot topics these days, so I asked my friend Grant Cambridge (AKA "GrantBob") of Sound Images and ScreamingBob.com to describe for us some of the issues in adding audio to sites and here is Grant's summary:

One of the biggest obstacles, yet most promising trends in working with custom sound design, music, voices, etc, for websites these days is the available analytics and case studies of the effectiveness of such a tool. Because the world of Web 2.0 is very new and constantly evolving, few precedents exist that stretch far back in the past. In fact, just a mere two years ago, P&G came out with a study that showed the majority of the visits to their brand's websites were around 8:00-8:30am and 12:00pm, proving that people were visiting these sites while at work, during a break from the regular work day. As a result, anything perceived as "intrusive" during this time was shunned upon - sound being no exception.

However, as Web 2.0 continues to develop and as brands begin using their traditional broadcast advertising to direct people to their website for more custom, interactive experiences with the brand (think of any major car manufacturer), more and more emphasis and dollars are being invested in that online experience.

A major goal now is in trying to create an aura around a certain product that develops evangelists and communities related to the product. (Mentos being a perfect local case study!) Anyway, with this comes the development of interactive Flash games, movies, banner ads, videos, animation - all with the opportunity of being more dynamic with custom created sound. That is where ScreamingBob.com comes in.

Recently, a couple studies have been reported that are demonstrating the benefits of utilizing such a tool with one’s websites. Such studies include:

• A study by Martin Lindstrom and Millward Brown that demonstrates that the use of sound can influence the perception of a brand (whether good or bad) by up to 41% than without it. 
• Participating advertisers in a study performed by BabyCenter, LLC experienced a 15%-168% increase in ad awareness when incorporating audio into their message.   
• Ecommerce sites who integrate sound have experienced a boost in sales by as much as 33%.                                                                                                                                        
• 80% of all internet users have speakers hooked up to their computer while 96% of internet users have the Macromedia Flash plugin installed on their computers, creating a common deliverable format for rich media files. 

Those are a few examples of the studies that are emerging, demonstrating the direction and the opportunities that people can take advantage of in developing engaging, dynamic sites. It certainly is an exciting time to be in on what we feel is the “ground level” of this evolution and we’re excited that ScreamingBob.com is available and able to be a part of it.

GrantBob

grant@soundimages.com

513-241-7475