Enjoying My Marketing Brain

Lately I have needed to dive into my marketing brain and develop some new strategies. Yes, it's part of my role as the director of marketing and ecommerce sales but a good majority of my time has been on the sales role. As my sales role expands, the percentage of time allotted for marketing activities as dwindled.

Marketing is my first love. Ever changing, always challenging but never dull. Don't get me wrong, I love the deal and closing the sale but it requires marketing to draw the deal to the table.

My brain on marketing.

Michael Newhouse
WCN group
wcngroup@gmail.com

The Number #1 Social Media Fail

Has this happened to you? Your surfing the web or you followed a link to a brand's website interested in finding out more information and to possibly buy something. You get to the site and start scrolling around then you want to check on their social media channels and BAM it happens. The link opens in the same window browser or better yet it's a broken link.

When your link opens in the same window browser the visitor has now entered in to the social media black hole. Once in the black hole the amount of distractions are to enticing for even the most diligent of folks. 

Social Media Black Hole

You had one chance to convert this potential customer and now they're gone. Correct this social media fail immediately.

3 Major Content Marketing Mistakes

Content Marketing is one of the hottest buzz words and trends for 2013. As we know with online marketing trends, everybody from major agencies to novices jump in and most, with no experience or preparation. Content marketing has suddenly become even more important due to the recent announcement from Google stripping all organic data as a result insisting all marketers provide content that is relevant, trustworthy and engaging.

The 3 Major Content Marketing Mistakes:

1. Sales or promotional driven. No gimmicks. No buy right now. No Limited offers.

2. Non-Relevant. If the content does not resonate or engage the target market it will die a quick death online. Nobody will see it and it will be deemed irrelevant. Create content that is useful.

3. More the merrier. Content marketing does not mean push out as much as you can marketing. This is a tactic of Black Hat SEO and Google is on to this with penalizing sites that push duplicate articles.

Keep this in mind as you are developing content and an annual content marketing strategy. The Internet police are cracking down and those that will succeed have valuable, engaging and relevant content to share.

Please add to my list of Major Content Marketing Mistakes in the comments section below.

    

Michael Newhouse

WCNgroup is a Strategic Marketing and Branding agency founded by Michael Newhouse. Services include brand identity, demographic discovery, marketing planning, business plan development, experiential campaign execution, digital marketing and social media.

SEO Is Not DEAD! Just Disfigured

Well, maybe just a little disfigured but in the end, it will always be about content. How it's written, how it engages and how others use it.

To catch you up on the current HUGE SEO NEWS The Day that SEO Died (Sort of)

In sum, Google has encrypted search date which means you will not be able to see what Keywords are driving traffic to your site and be used to convert. 100% percent of search queries from organic traffic is not provided anymore. If you want to see search queries, you will have to pay for Adwords then do paid search where you will receive data but not organic data. And YES, there is a difference.

In support of this move by Google, there objective is to empower people to create relevant content and be rewarded for that in a multitude of ways including engagement of your content via reviews, social conversations, testimonies and purchasing. This opens the door further for social media search to being an invaluable source in the near future.

What does this all come down to? You guessed it, the biggest BUZZ term in Digital Marketing circles of the year, Content Marketing.


Michael Newhouse

WCNGroup is a Strategic Marketing and Branding agency founded by Michael Newhouse. Services include brand identity, demographic discovery, marketing planning, business plan development, experiential campaign execution, digital marketing and social media.

Most Valued Marketing Skills

Brand Strategy and Design Creativity

The influx of brands competing has never been so competitive. Big businesses are competing with small companies and vice a versa. Brands that are successfully managing their industries possess a unique product, brand identity and/or marketing.

Be Strategic

Be Creative

Be a Winning Brand

WCNGroup is a Strategic Marketing and Branding Consulting agency founded by Michael Newhouse. Services include brand identity, demographic discovery, marketing planning, business plan development, experiential campaign execution, digital marketing and social media.

Business Quote

I don't open businesses, I LAUNCH BUSINESSES.
Jon Taffer

Click here for business quotes

Don't Forget the Human Side of Big Data

Big Data is one of the most discussed and written about marketing 2013 strategy topics that will not be going away any time soon. Sorry. The fact of the matter is that we have more data than every before and data that is tracking peoples use of marketing tools.

The Fortune 100's are able to hire data guru's while the rest of us are trying to figure out how to harness then analyze this data in order to put into actionable activities. But one item we all must remember no matter what size of company or what data guru's you have at your disposable is the human side to data. Yes, data can predict in most cases but not all. Humans make decisions based on a variety of factors and the decision is not always predictable. Oops, did I say that out loud.

As we venture down the fast track of big data and develop resources to utilize within our marketing mix do follow the data industry leaders to learn what they are doing while scaling a solution for your company.

Current data articles:

Predictive Analytics: The power behind next-generation marketing 

We're all data scientist now, even you

Data analysis

How Companies like Amazon are using Big Data

Harnessing big data for small businesses




WCNGroup is a Strategic Marketing and Branding agency founded by Michael Newhouse. Services include brand identity, demographic discovery, marketing planning, business plan development, experiential campaign execution, digital marketing and social media.

You'll Pay the Price

What Brands are you "Less Price-Sensitive" towards?

WCNGroup is a full service Brand and Marketing agency deeply rooted in developing successful solutions for brands that match their marketing and sales goals. From brand research, customer discovery, events, creative, digital marketing and social media.

Finish the sentence by commenting below: 

You can lead a client to strategy, but you can't make them ...?

WCNGroup is a full service Brand and Marketing agency deeply rooted in developing successful solutions for brands that match their marketing and sales goals. From brand research, customer discovery, events, creative, digital marketing and social media.

 Don't let Marketing Dinosaurs sour the rEvolution.

*Amazing Video produced by Socialnomics.

WCNGroup is a full service Brand and Marketing agency deeply rooted in developing successful solutions for brands that match their marketing and sales goals. From brand research, customer discovery, events, creative, digital marketing and social media.

Spammers, Scammers, Internet Marketing Experts, Network Marketers...

With the rising popularity of #social #media which opened the door for poaching thousands of unsuspecting individuals, the tactics and strategies used are bolder than ever. Give me your $ money and you will get nothing in return should be their tag line because it is so blatant scamming. In some of my previous post I talked about "Social Media Gurus", "Social Media Experts" etc which promise some of the same returns as the spammers, scammers, internet marketing experts and network marketers.

In a well explored article by Bob Sullivan called, "The Women of Twitter: Behind those sexy tweets" he tried to reach out to these Twitter accounts to interview them but none responded.  Bob explains in the article the scam, "their methods are always the same -- steal clicks, sell ads against them, then try to upsell some other crazy service".  The majority of these scams come from International locations and I have witnessed a quote a few from New Zealand.  

I should also throw in some of the SEO black hatters, Link builders and Directory sites that  continue to fill our in boxes with emails claiming to act now or loose your domain, build thousands of links and enter your business here in our Directory etc. 

Bottom line, be careful, do your Google search, if they do not have a legit presence online stop there and run.  Use your trusted connections off and on line to further your investigation.  If you still have questions, you can send an email and I will investigate. 

Have fun and play safe.

Authenticity is a Must

Social Media is not going away and will be a permanent part of our societal communication infrastructure.  Companies, organizations and individuals must be aware of this trend that has been approaching on two years.  There are many, many examples of this #marketing #social # media #failure currently still taking place daily.  Here is one from today that was shared via @MichaelNewhouse #Twitter:
@LoriMorenoRT @KevinMinott RT @HuffingtonPost: Leaked memos show Fox News boss telling staffers how to spin health care debate http://huff.to/fJEpfo

QUESTION: Who is your first Point of Contact

Please enter your answer below in the comment section.

Thank you for sharing.

The Speed of Business

What has increased the speed of business, the Internet? of course, Social Networks? of course, Global Competition? of course, the Economy? of course, and the list goes on but these are a few key factors that have attributed to the current speed business is moving.

"In this age, the race really is to the swift. You cannot afford to be an hour late or a dollar short," Laura DiDio, principal analyst at ITIC, tells Goldman.

 Will businesses that move slow and steady be left behind by the current business speed?  The opportunity to capitalize an opportunities will go to the one that can not only move quick, but move quickly with precision (or as close to it as possible).  Businesses that have multiple layers of political or bureaucratic approval processes will struggle to act on vast moving surges of businesses opportunities.

Part I: Trade Show survey reveals current exhibitors Strategies

A recent study by Champion Services focused on the impact the economy has on the Trade Show and Events industry. 
***receive complete trade show listings here.

81% of Exhibiting Companies reduced trade show spend

The companies reduced trade show spend by:

• 56% reduced staffing
• 39% reduced the amount of shows 

With uncertainty in the economy still looming, companies, a slight majority (51%) of them, plan on increasing their trade show participation as the economy recovers.  Top tradeshow goals that companies revealed were:

• 79% collect leads
• 75% creating brand awareness or growing market share
• 33% use trade shows to launch new products

When asked how they measure or value investment, exhibiting companies responded with:

• 74% quality of leads collected 
• 59% booth traffic
• 54% quality of leads collected
• 52% sales from leads collected

Leslie Brand, VP of Marketing for Wheelhouse Solutions said that, "The trade show industry is in a period of transition", (duh- my response).  She also went on to say that, “Exhibitors report that participation in trade shows is not just about selling products or services. As stakeholders in their industries, they are looking for ways to leverage a return on the investment throughout the year and stay connected to others in their industry. Social media technologies can play a role in building community facilitated by show organizers allowing event attendees and exhibitors to engage year round.”(again duh and what?- I did not see "want to engage customers via social media as a top tradeshow goal above).

The survey then stated 57% that value promotion of their event-related activities on social media such as Facebook (34%), Twitter (28%), and LinkedIn (19%). In addition, 45% value year-round online communities populated by event attendee.  In addition, 62% of respondents report that trade show expenditures represent more than a quarter of their marketing budget, including 28% of exhibitors who indicate trade shows represent more than half their marketing budget. While a majority of trade show related budgets will remain the same in 2010 and 2011, a quarter of the companies predict increased spending on future trade shows compared to 2009. 

After reading these statistics and comments, I can clearly understand why companies leave trade shows disappointed, frustrated and wondering what they can do to increase their tradeshow marketing investment.  A good majority of trade show companies just want to sell you equipment and NOT integrated solutions and will never have the ability to move on past this point.  If your trade show budget is 25-50% of your annual marketing budget, you better make sure that you have winning solutions for your trade show investment.  And if you have NO social media strategy in place today, get one NOW!

Part II will focus on down and dirty Trade Show marketing solutions that you should Crave!

Centenarians using Mobile Devices

According to a recent study, 

8% 

of Centenarians texted in the past year 

out of 84,000 living in the US.

Just hope they were not driving.

Experiential Marketing creating awareness of sustainable living and green technology

Dartmouth students and recent graduates are spending the summer living on a bus in an effort to increase awareness of sustainable living and green technology described as a “science fair on wheels.”

Described as a “science fair on wheels” it’s the fifth year that students have taken part in the project.  The bus itself — a 1989 MCI coach that we swear we’ve taken to the airport — has been converted by the students to run on waste vegetable oil (WVO). Creature comforts (including air conditioning) are provided by ten 12-volt deep-cycle AGM batteries connected to a 4000 watt inverter and tied in with four solar panels. To complete the sustainable theme, cabinets and flooring are made from bamboo.

The bus tour departed from Hanover, NH on June 18th and has already made over 45 stops to educate visitors about sustainable living and refuel with WVO at greasy spoon diners across the country. Its last scheduled stop is in Cleveland, OH on August 29th.

Social Media marketing for the tour can be found at Twitter, Facebook and the team’s blog.

Help make a List of Businesses/Industries that Social Media would not work!

Sage Lewis from Sagerock agency always makes me sit back and smile because of his entertaining style with solid tips and points.  His newest entertaining video is titled, "Social Media for Farmers, huh!?"  After watching the video think about what businesses/industries that Social Media would not work or be effective for them and post in the comment section below.  I will compile the list and re-post.




Thank you for helping build our list of Businesses/Industries that Social Media is not effective.

"Ship or get off the Pot", Inspired by Seth Godin

Yes, it's true, Seth Godin has finally inspired me.  I profess to not being a huge fan like others of Seth, but don't get me wrong, he does deliver moments of brilliance in marketing and business but not just all the time.  Today though, one of my Facebook friends posted this video and for some reason it just connected in the right spots for me.



Key points:

• Knowing the deep soul-feeling of being responsible for the business to succeed.  Unless you have owned a company there is no other feeling like this other than being a parent (not sleeping well, signs of sickness, wanting to buy every new gadget...)
• Discipline needs Strategy, period!  You can have all the discipline in the world but if your not performing the right task it becomes a mute activity.  This is why I am a Strategist, because after years of doing task from shipping, unloading trucks at 2am (UPS job in college), writing press releases to creating marketing plans - you have to think strategically in order to have the discipline to perform successfully.
• Live authentically by writing a blog or even daily Facebook post.  Marketing has changed and as a marketer you must know how to write including tone, when, why... because no matter what business, its all social (media) now.
• Content online is invaluable for many reasons - Real time results (SEO), link building, SERP, customer segmentation...

What keeps you Shipping?

Best Quote: "What is the Retail Climate Like"

"The best way to put it is that retail has a hangover right now. It’s awake (but not fully) and is hurting from the past 12 months of weak sales and low margin business. Dealers are beginning to see sales pick up, but they are still having a tough time paying for past purchases, making it tough to freshen up inventory."  Darren Hawrish, Founder and President No Limits Distribution from interview with Shop-Eat-Surf.com