To Twitter or Not To Twitter? That is the 68,700,000 question…

March 19, 2009 – 2:54 pm

So you are asking about Twitter too?!  Well if you do a search on Google for “To Twitter or Not To Twitter” you will see that a lot of people are talking about this very thing because there were 68,700,000 results…

 

After taking a look at the results, I found that the top two articles (ranked at the top of the search results) pretty much summed it up: http://smallbizbee.com/index/2009/03/11/to-twitter-or-not-to-twitter-that-is-the-question/ and http://www.collegecandy.com/buzz/17380

 

The first author describes twittering as: “It’s like hosting a huge party. You wouldn’t invite someone to your party and immediately try and sell them the second you opened the door. Instead, you’d greet them, invite them in, have a conversation and potentially engage in business if the opportunity presents itself. This is exactly how Twitter seems to work as well.” (source: smallbizbee.com link above)

 

In any case, when I answer this question for my clients, I tell them that twitter is ‘just one more tool in the tool kit’. The first thing is to determine what the business goals, budgets and priorities are and then develop the strategy. In my mind, there are many other more, directly measurable, more immediate, positive ROI methods to generating business online (website optimization, search marketing, email, banner advertising for example) but once those items are in place then, and if the brand / client fits, go ahead - test out twittering, just remember to wrap into a overall PR strategy.

 

As a freelance marketing consultant in the Seattle area, I spend most of my time helping clients with optimizing their websites, developing a solid search marketing strategy, implementing an ongoing loyalty / email marketing program and expanding reach and awareness for their brand through online banner advertising, PR or traditional offline media. 

 

Once the foundation has been laid with these primary vehciles then yes, lets have fun developing a Facebook, YouTube or Twittering campaign. As for me personally, I’ve decided to have a little fun and give the twittering thing a go. You can check out my conversations at www.twitter.com/waanda. Speak soon!

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The Importance of Optimizing Web Landing Pages

August 1, 2008 – 3:31 pm

As a freelance marketing consultant here in Seattle, I am often asked to set up and manage SEM campaigns in Google, Yahoo and MSN and in doing so for my clients I see the same issue regarding landing page optimization time and again. 

One can spend much time tweaking the keywords and ad copy in the campaign to improve click through to the website but ultimately the game is about getting customers to convert (buy, ask for more information etc). The key to conversion is having an optimized web page where customers land after clicking the ad. Based on research I have created the following list for you to consider when creating your landing pages.

• Clear and Obvious Call to Action
• Focused, Benefit Driven Copy
• Well Placed Visuals (consider using video if appropriate)
• Appropriate Use of Font Types & Sizes
• Big, Powerful Header Images
• Useful Footer Design
• SEO Considerations (Meta Tags, Keywords, Content & Integration Into Adverts)

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Writing my Blog

July 1, 2008 – 7:25 pm

Well it’s official, when it comes to blog marketing techniques I have not been drinking the Koolaid when it comes to keeping my blog writing up to date. As a freelance marketing consultant I am asked by my clients who either have a blog, want a blog or are now starting to think about having a blog just how often they need to update a blog or write a blog and I always tell them, ”as often as possible”.  

Once a day is awesome, every couple of days would be great, once a week good too but once a month or less really doesn’t cut it anymore if you want to get good SEO marketing results (search engine listings) from your blog which is likely to be the main reason you are blogging.

Writing a blog or posting a blog entry is one of the easiest ways to add content to your website and content is king when it comes to SEO rankings. It’s simple really, based on search keyword research you identify keywords that would be optimal for your brand (based on keywords that are relevant to your particular company, brand or product, keywords that get high search volume but have low advertiser competition) and then you write blog entries that talk to these keywords.

I have highlighted the keywords (in bold) that I am writing about in this blog entry so you can see how easy it is. And hey, if you are having a hard time finding time to write in your blog and think you might like some help finding copywriter resources for your blog or other marketing program, give me a call. Not only do I have a network of freelance marketing specialists including copywriters who specialize in blog writing, but I can also help you in developing an effective SEO strategy and plan that bests suits your needs.

Until tomorrow, ‘er next week - write on!

 

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Review of SEM (Paid Search Marketing) Agencies in Seattle

June 3, 2008 – 2:04 pm

Hi there again!

As an unbiased freelance marketing consultant here in Seattle I am often called upon by clients to help them select a new agency or marketing specialty vendor and such was the case for Door To Door Storage recently where, on behalf of the client, I conducted a search for a new SEM (paid search marketing) agency.

Although I do help smaller clients with managing paid search programs in Google, Yahoo and MSN, larger clients like DTD who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on paid search a full-service, multi-employee agency is required to manage such an account.

What we thought was going to be an ‘apples to apples’ comparison turned out to be more like apples to oranges so my main task was to determine how to level the playing field so that we could look closely at each agency, their strengths and weaknesses and how each could benefit us in our SEM program efforts.

What I ended up doing is assigning a “type of car” comparison to each agency and then looked at the ROI / breakeven of spending more for their services to look at what agency to choose. Below is a grid showing this comparison.

 

 

 

	Web1 Marketing	Point It	iProspect	Avenue A / Razor Fish
Car	Neon	Honda	BMW	Porche
One Liner	Affordable	Customer Service	Integrated Experience	Innovation
Get Started	Already going	Next Week	30 days	30 days ?
Opportunity	Save money and put elsewhere	Significantly and very quickly improve results with little extra cost, big fish in little pond	Possible that the extra technology, services and expertise in search would generate much more return	Avenue A leading the way with innovation and technology
Threat	Will it cost DTD more by way of lost opportunity etc. to stay with the cheap alternative?	Will DTD outgrow PI in a year or two?	Can they get up and running quickly enough and will the extra bells & whistles really return? Who will be on the account? Will we get lost as a client?	Is the transition with MS resulting in disruption for clients? Will be get lost in the shuffle? Will they really be able to return that much more to account for the increase in fees?
Breakeven	Loss of opportunity for increased performance	Guaranteed to provide a return on our investment / breakeven	Need to increase number of clicks by 5% to 13% or reduce cost per click by 5% to 30% to breakeven	Need to increase number of clicks by 5% to 13% or reduce cost per click by 5% to 30% to breakeven

In addition to the above summary comparison I provided a detailed breakeven & ROI comparison as well as a detailed product / services features and benefits, strengths & weaknesses, pros and cons comparison in order to faciliate the lively discussion about what agency to go with and then to ultimately make our decision.

If you would like more information about what agency we went with or for help with conducting an SEM agency review for your brand, feel free to contact Carmen@waanda.com (206) 612 - 2723.

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Direct Response Video Ads for Everyone

May 6, 2008 – 2:14 pm

As a freelance marketing consultant working in Seattle, WA I use my blog to jot down notes of what is happening in the industry and what I learn from my client experiences and market research. For the week of May 5th, here are my notes:

I am sure you have heard this before but the Internet changes every 90 days and I have another example evidence of this from www.mixpo.com, a local Seattle company who has created a video platform for mid-sized to smaller advertisers who can import an existing video or even create a decent ad-hoc video in less than a 1/2 hour. When done the advertiser can submit the video to various online video search engines or banner networks and then monitor how it performs, adjust the creative on the fly to optimize click through and conversion results, test different creative etc.

Here is my own video that I created with simple illustrations, stock audio and graphic / text overlays. It’s kind of cool and offers another way for clients to break through the clutter and stand out among the increasing competition found online.

http://www.mixpo.com/videoad/Carmen-Arnevik-Test-Vide/wAWLJzmQR92kngfatC-V1g

Need help cutting through the clutter? Give Carmen a call today (206) 612 - 2723.

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Welcome to my Blog

April 29, 2008 – 11:14 pm

As a freelance marketing consultant working in Seattle, WA I use my blog to jot down notes of what is happening in the industry and what I learn from my client experiences and market research.

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