Golden Nuggets from Toronto's Mesh 12 Conference

Toronto played host to this year’s mesh 12 conference on May 23 - 24, 2012 and, as
usual, offered a plethora of seminars and networking opportunities. Attending was
representatives from many well-known online brands, including Blurb, ecobee,
Ushahidid, Global Voices and IBM Canada. Featured speakers included noted media
lawyer Michael Geist; NPR Icon Andy Carvin and Clay Johnson, co-founder of
Blue State Digital, responsible for Barack Obama’s successful online campaign in 2008.

While a good deal of material was covered, two areas that were of particular interest
are UNDERSTANDING YOUR WHOLE SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIENCE and
INBOUND: THE FUTURE OF MARKETING. In regard to INBOUND
MARKETING, Brian Halligan, founder of HubSpot, shared that INBOUND
MARKETING is just the opposite of traditional OUTBOUND MARKETING -
advertising, cold calls, etc. Since most of us recognize that INBOUND
MARKETING is the wave of the future, it is most important that we understand how
to master it as soon as possible.  According to Halligan, the key to INBOUND
MARKETING is remarkable content. The reason?  GOOGLE has gotten smart
enough to weed out the lousy stuff! To be successful, you should:

• Create good quality that people want to engage with, publishing frequently

• Have calls to action to get your readers to become leads

• Do lead nurturing to get those leads to become customers

• A/B Test everything to increase conversion rates. By continuously improving, you
  can increase conversions by 200% to 300%

• Remember the Power Laws of Inbound Marketing: Top 20% of your content will
  generate 80% of your traffic and leads

Halligan also said that your content needs to be relevant to your business, and it
needs to not to oversell your product or service. Focus on creating value for you
readers, not on selling, and use targeted calls to action to move people through
your marketing funnel.  Obviously, this is a lot to digest and, if your realm of
expertise is not Internet Marketing, it might even be a little overwhelming. A
solution might be to contact an Internet Marketing Firm, such as PATHMAKER
MARKETING LLC. Headed by founder and CEO Randall Mains, they stand
ready to help you with not only these two issues, but the whole of Internet
Marketing. In discussing “Your WHOLE Social Media Audience” a key term
that was bantered around was “lurkers.” In essence, these individuals are your
“invisible online audience,” people who may visit your site but who are not
tweeting, liking or sharing your content. Lurkers may also use Facebook but
don’t post, like, or share, even though they may log on to FB several times a
week.  A comprehensive survey by Andrew Reid and Alexandra Samuel
explains what is different about lurkers, and what you need to now about
reaching them. And, this information is important, because their study showed
that 68% of Canadian Facebook users are lurkers, and that for Twitter 61%
log but are not posting.  Interestingly enough, lurkers do not behave the same
way, nor want the same things, as sharers. As a result, most of the data
available on social media audiences does not apply to the majority of the
audience.  Insights into this group reveal that:

• Lurkers tend to be less influential in terms of their workplace purchasing
  or hiring decisions.

• Attitudes: Lurkers care less about being fashionable; Lurkers are more reluctant
  to engage in shopping.

Information alone is not enough - it is imperative that we are able to draw some
marketing implications from this data. One of the main suggestions is that you
might want to change the way you structure social media initiatives. For example,
if you are an office supply store you may want to create two different feeds: one
targeting workplace influencers (made for sharing) and another for the silent
majority who might be focused on deals for home use.  Another thought is that
you might also change your key metrics. Rather than shares or likes, you might
want to increase your emphasis on measuring clicks and actual online transactions
that are driven by social media.  In summation, the silent social media audience is
value-oriented rather than being driven by trends or being ahead of the technology
and/or fashion curve. They are more likely to quietly click and buy if the deal is right.

Promoting Your Online Business

Promoting your online business online is crucial because it generates traffic. Without traffic, you have nobody to look at your Web site and therefore you need to be marketing your business online consistently to drive this essential traffic to your site.

The five elements of a complete business marketing online promotion plan are:

• Blogging
• Link Building
• Social & Professional Media Marketing
• Pay Per Click Advertising
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Call 623-322-3334 to schedule a free consultation with Pathmaker Marketing.

Should it be Digital or Analog?

by Floyd Allen

I heard him. And, I understood what he said. I did not, however, have any idea what he was talking about. Unfortunately, this seems to quite often be the case when Jim and I get together. He is a wonderful person, and a true and loyal friend. But sometimes he is just a tad out of step with the rest of the world. I used to think it was just with me, but I have discovered that it’s with everyone. The problem is, I have surmised, that typically Jim only shares half of what he is thinking at any given time. So, while it usually only takes a minute, it is wise to get the whole story from him before responding.

“Jim,” I began slowly, making sure he would stay with me, “should what be digital or analog?’

“Why, the watches!”

We were almost there, but I still wasn’t sure what he was talking about.

“Watches? What Watches?’

“You know. You told me to be sure to add a free watch, and I just want to know which kind to buy.”

A-ha! Now I knew what he was talking about. The day before I explained to him that Randall Mains and I had been talking about the importance of “adding a free watch” when doing an Online Ad. Randall shares this concept with his clients as an excellent Online Marketing Tool. It is but one of the many Internet Marketing Ideas that Pathmaker Marketing advises their clients to incorporate, and since Jim knows that I often work with Randall, he frequently picks my brain in regard to Small Business Marketing Strategies. Jim and I had been discussing Business Marketing Promotion Online, and I had mentioned that it is often wise to give a “free watch.” Read more...