Jan 6 2012

Making the Most of Email Marketing

January 6, 2012 – 1:46 pm

By Jason Poulos (@TheSaganaki)
is-email-deadSocial media marketing, search engine marketing, content marketing, there are myriad of different internet marketing strategies but what about email marketing? 43.5 million consumers check their email daily and a well-planned and maintained email campaign can be used for further interaction between a brand and audience. With 95% of U.S. consumers using email and over 3.1 billion email accounts globally, email continues to grow and will remain a viable marketing channel.

Why it really works? Email is Data Driven

Outside of the fact that everybody uses email,  the true beauty of email marketing is that every email sent is monitored. From who opened it, to who clicked on the links, it’s all recorded. Having all this data at your fingertips allows for retargeting and follow up with specific recipients who opened and clicked through. In doing so, recipient lists can be created around demographics and based around what content they like and how they interact with the email. Not only can you retarget and get specific but having all this data allows you to see what email content and subject lines work better than others.

The ROI of Email Marketing

The data driven nature of email marketing can produce a very positive return on investment. The Direct Marketing Association puts email marketing’s ROI for 2011 at $40.56 for every $1 invested and 72% of respondents to an Econsultancy survey in early 2011 described email’s ROI as excellent or good. Only organic SEO scored better.

What type of email should be sent?

Email marketing isn’t for every business category but if your business is in sales, lead generation or consumer areas, the use of email can produce strong results.

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Jan 3 2012

Super Bowl of (Social) Marketing

January 3, 2012 – 12:37 pm

vwdarthvaderkid-02

By Mike Mulvihill

As a marketer and consumer, I eagerly await the bevy advertising’s best spots that launch during the Super Bowl each year. While I don’t always have much interest in the game (alas, I am a Jets fan so it has been a while since I’ve had a dog in this fight), the hype around the new spots appearing in the richest time slot of the year (estimated at $3.5 million for a 30-second spot this year to reach an audience of more than 100 million) never fails to deliver.

Apparently, the Super Bowl delivers for marketers by driving social media activity according to a report by Zeta Interactive. Each year Zeta studies which ad campaigns created the most online buzz as measured by the number of online posts and the tonality. In 2011, eight of the top ten campaigns were launched during the Super Bowl. The list included notable Super Bowl advertisers such as E*Trade, Snickers, Chrysler, Bud Light, Cars.com and Volkswagen.

While Indianapolis is manning-up to manage the throng of fans for the Feb. 5 game (a sporting event local fans well-deserve after enduring the Colts hapless season), marketers have been working for months snatching up time, which has been sold out since before Thanksgiving, and producing new creative. This year’s line-up will be heavily dominated by the usual suspects (six car brands, Coke, Pepsi, Doritos, GoDaddy, etc.) Two first-timers will join the fray, Century 21 and Yogurt giant Dannon, which will be the first yogurt maker to appear during the Super Bowl.

As has been the case for the past few years, all these marketers are increasingly using social media to leverage their ad buy into a more complete campaign that has legs before and after the Super Bowl. For instance, Chevy has been ramping up to the Super bowl by giving consumers a chance to pick the spot that runs during the game and a chance to win $10,000. Called Chevrolet Route 66, it features more than 190 films from filmmakers in 32 countries have been submitted for the chance to have their effort aired during the 2012 Super Bowl.

In some cases, campaigns can be effective, albeit on a less grand scale, with no Super Bowl spots. Last year, our agency produced a Super Bowl campaign for domain name and Web services client Network Solutions that by-passed an ad buy completely and leveraged only viral video and social media, The campaign generated nearly 100,000 video views, 20 million Twitter impressions and 50 million top-tier media impressions resulting in .CO domain sales increasing by more than 500 percent during Super Bowl weekend.

So, regardless of your budget, the Super Bowl is a proven “flash point” to grab consumer attention for products and services. Like the NFL teams that battle on Feb. 5, marketers have been working hard all year to prepare for the ultimate event of the season. Sit back and sip on a beverage, sample the neighbor’s guacamole recipe, and enjoy. Whether or not the game is competitive, the battle of the marketers is sure to entertain.

Photo:reddotdiva

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Mike Mulvihill | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)
Jan 2 2012

2012 is Facebook’s Year: Three Key Trends for Advanced Digital Marketers

January 2, 2012 – 1:32 pm

By Priya Ramesh (@newpr)

Happy New Year Buzz Bin readers! Congratulations @crttanaka Buzz Bin for making it to its third year of blogging! Thank you for making us the top-25 PR blogs ranked by PRWeb and #28 on BlogRank. We look forward to another year of providing valuable insight on hot industry trends affecting PR and Communications pros.  redbullLast year same time, I blogged about getting serious with Facebook marketing. Boasting a 800 million user database and reporting close to $1.6B in revenue last year (according to industry speculations), 2011 was definitely the year when Facebook “came of age” as rightly pointed out by Jon Russell of The Next Web. http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2011/12/30/2011-the-year-facebook-came-of-age/. Key developments that marked the growth of Facebook last year include the introduction of the Timeline feature which is now available to all users, the acquisitions of location-based social network, Gowalla and mobile developer Snaptu and more importantly a public apology from founder Mark Zuckerberg on the numerous privacy issues surrounding the network.
 
While Google+ has amassed about 60 million users since its launch last year and is officially the No.1 contender for the King of Social Networks (Facebook), I still stand by Facebook to be THE social network where brand marketers especially B2C will be investing a substantial portion of their 2012 budget. The biggest reason why I say this is because a good majority of brands are still in the fan acquisition mode and less on the engagement mode. As long as brand marketers focus on quarterly increase in fans and following over engagement, Facebook will continue to be the number one channel to attract new “Likes” because that’s where millions of consumers are spending their time online. According to Neilsen, the average U.S. Internet user spends eight hours a month on Facebook which is four times the amount of time spent on Google.
 
So as an advanced digital brand marketer, what are some of the key Facebook trends/changes to watch out for in 2012?
 
1.       Facebook IPO could be both good and bad for users: Even though no official announcement has been made of a possible IPO this year, numerous financial leaks and the Wall Street Journal recently predicted a $10B IPO for Facebook in spring or early summer putting the company at a whopping $100B in valuation. Besides having a huge impact on a global technology scale, the Facebook IPO can mean both good and not so good things for users. TechCrunch and Forrester predict that as a public company, Facebook will have to be more focused on quarterly numbers to keep Wall Street happy and hence shift gears to more advertising than engagement. This could lead to Facebook becoming an advertising channel versus a “social” channel. Marshall Kirkpatrick, formerly with ReadWriteWeb looks at the Facebook IPO for bigger opportunities for acquisitions and investments in enhancing the platform. Either ways, brand marketers must keep a closer eye on what this IPO holds for them in terms of
consumer engagement.

 2. Timeline for brands means more story-telling than mere posting of updates: The timeline feature for brands is not released yet but is in the horizon. What
this means for brands is that they need to act more like story tellers than pushing out daily updates. The timeline feature offers a great opportunity for brands to humanize themselves and connect with its community at a deeper level. Just like personal pages where we show off our journey, accomplishments, milestones using the historical timeline feature, brands will also be able to share their evolution. Think of Coca Cola and Ford, two of America’s reputable and oldest brands sharing their brand evolution on Facebook using the timeline feature. If you have spent significant time and money on creating a brand persona, now it’s time to tell your brand’s story on Facebook. If you are putting together your digital calendar for 2012, wear the hat of a story-teller for your brand and try to think of ways to engage your audience through story-telling
on Facebook. Here’s an excellent post from HubSpot on “How to Master the Art of Story-telling to Increase Social Sharing.”

FB Ads3.      Facebook gears up for Mobile Ads push in 2012: The social network expects its next 1 billion users to come mainly from mobile devices, rather than desktop computers. More than 350 million users already access Facebook through their mobile devices and with a wealth of social data on a person’s interests and associates; it can help advertisers target potential customers more directly than mobile Web browsers or applications. The acquisition of Snaptu last year signals that Facebook will soon let companies reach out to potential customers with discounts based on location. Facebook is considering putting “Sponsored Stories,” or status updates that involve major brands, within the news feed of its mobile apps and sites, according to a Bloomberg report. With “Sponsored Stories,” brands can choose to pay for an update/Like/engagement and make it an advertisement to increase viral buzz and reach a larger distribution.
 
I wish you a metrics-driven year of social engagement in 2012. Please be advised that 2012 is the year when social media moves on from the honeymoon phase to a more data driven engagement model. Plan your social media engagement wisely and start with a well thought out strategy before jumping blindly on tools. If you are a consumer brand or involved in cause marketing, Facebook is THE social channel for you. Don’t be carried away with new tools, take your message to digital platforms where your audience is already spending considerable amount of time and kick butt this year! Remember to subscribe to the CRT/tanaka Buzz Bin, top-25 PR blogs ranked by PRWeb.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Image courtesy: Mashable http://6.mshcdn.com/wp-content/gallery/fb-brand-pages/redbull.jpg and Master the New Net
http://masterthenewnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/facebook_ads.jpeg 

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Priya Ramesh | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Dec 21 2011

How to Break Through the Holiday Haze – 3 Smart Approaches to Holiday Beverage Branding

December 21, 2011 – 9:00 am

THE BOOZE BIN

By Emily Valentine (@ebvalentine)

The month of December always brings back warm and fuzzy memories for me – making eggnog, wrapping presents and boozing … I mean … feasting with dozens of aunts, uncles and cousins.

But, for many, holiday activities are fraught with emotion. Entertaining, gift-giving and spending time with family can be comforting, exhilarating and rewarding … or laden with guilt and stress. From a booze brander’s perspective, this time of year is a promotional heyday. What better time to forge a lasting connection with consumers than when they are hurtling along an emotional roller coaster, searching frantically for something soothing to glom onto?

Consumer brands can make the most of holiday marketing by 1) understanding the seasonal sentiments of their target customer, and 2) tailoring messages to appeal to their needs and aspirations. At the end of the day, whether or not someone tosses your product into her holiday shopping cart depends entirely on what it can help her achieve.

Here are a few examples of beverage brands that have tapped into their customers’ emotional needs and are responding to them this holiday season:banana_republic_wine

  1. Clos du Bois apparently has found that its target customer wants to feel and/or appear effortlessly sophisticated when hosting a holiday party or giving holiday gifts. This fall, the California winery partnered with Banana Republic on limited edition wine bottles that appeal to the yuppie lifestyle aspirations of its target audience. Associating with an influential fashion brand builds Clos du Bois’ credibility among an image-conscious crowd, and bringing a limited number of the “designer wines” to market adds an air of exclusivity so buyers feel privileged and in-the-know.
  2. Whether they have a large network of family and friends or are more reclusive by nature, many people find comfort and satisfaction in connecting with others during the holiday season. Heineken is hitching onto this phenomenon of social psychology to enhance the link between its brand and “what’s truly important in our lives this season – our friendships.” HeinekenTreeThe Dutch beer brand’s new Facebook application lets consumers use photos of their friends to make and share a Social Christmas Tree, spreading plenty of green cheer and buzz about the Heineken installation in the process.
  3. Okay, so Coca Cola isn’t exactly booze, but it is the preferred mixer for many rum and bourbon drinkers around the world … and, as the world’s most valuable brand, it’s redwhitecansalways one we can learn from. This year, Coca Cola is piggybacking on the fact that many consumers want to feel like they’re doing good and giving back to the community during the holidays. In November, the megabrand transformed its iconic red can to arctic white in order to raise awareness and funds to protect the natural habitat of its brand mascot, the polar bear. I see this campaign as a win-win for all parties involved. Coke fans get to support the World Wildlife Fund while sipping their favorite beverage, and Coke marketers get to drive holiday sales while embedding their responsible citizen image into the minds of consumers. A number of die-hard Coke drinkers didn’t see it the same way as I did, however, and the brand has since tweaked its strategy in response.

These are just a few instances of smart holiday beverage branding. What others have you noticed?

Photos courtesy of Banana Republic, Heineken and Coca Cola.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Emily Valentine | Posted in Digital Marketing, The Booze Bin | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)
Dec 16 2011

5 Web Trends for 2012

December 16, 2011 – 10:41 am

Mobile, Search, Social and Beyond

By Jason Poulos (@TheSaganaki)

  1. Mobile Continues to Grow

    In previous posts I’ve mentioned where the mobile market is headed and the importance of the emerging mobile market. With over 5 billion mobile devices expected to be in use by 2012, I don’t see this area losing any steam next year. Marketing in the mobile world will continue to grow and according to the Direct Marketing Association, mobile spending is predicted to grow 39 percent and should come close to the $1.2 billion mark. With only 33% of US businesses having mobile friendly websites, the time is now to “go mobile” while the opportunity still exists.

  2. Quality Matters

    Google’s Panda/Farmer update earlier this year affected a lot of websites and brought to light that a “quality” website is favored by the search giant. Post Panda, design, branding, user engagement and social signals all seem to have more weight to a site’s rank. No one really knows how much weight these factors have but a poorly designed, ad heavy site with thin content that was ranking well will not rank as strongly after this update. You’d think that quality would be a given but this relatively major update has really tried to weed out the content farms and low quality websites.

    The design, brand, user engagement and social footprint all need to be thought out, planned and integrated to really create a well rounded digital footprint that plays well with Google. As Google figures out how to work these factors further into their algorithm, the need to adhere to these factors will become more and more important in order to obtain those first page search results.

  3. Pin It!

    pinterest.com_uv_1yCheck out that graph! With vists up 10,000 percent from last year and up 50 percent from last month, I’d say that the scrap booking inspired social network Pinterest, is gaining popularity.  Is it just a fad or will this social network really take hold? Compared to other  networks, Pinterest is the biggest mover. It might be too early to tell but I think 2012 will be a big year for the pin boarding site.

    Think of the site as a blend between Google Images and Twitter. Users can create “boards” based around specific interests and “pin” images to them. Users can follow others with similar interests and can share, comment, interact with others boards.

    The visual nature of the site is pretty cool and really sets the site apart from other networks. Having all of your interests and your friends interests at your fingertips can offer up tons of inspirational ideas and recommendations that are accurate and credible to your tastes.

  4. Google Dethroned

    Google dominates the search world with a 65% market share but the need for the most accurate and relative search results might push users away from algorithm based search engines. Search results maintained by humans present a socialized search experience that might gain popularity in 2012. At the moment, I don’t think any of these have the potential to dethrone Google but at one point no one knew about Google either.

    • Blekko’s goal is to use human editors and not algorithms in order to personalize and socialize the search experience. With users maintaining topic tags, search results can be more relative and accurate to the query. Blekko averages 1 million searches a day.
    • DuckDuckGo has partnered with Blekko and shares some of the same information and technology to improve search results. DuckDuckGo’s main feature provides zero-click info, similar to Google Instant Search, DuckDuckGo tries to provide the most relevant information without clicking. DuckDuckGo averages about 5 million searches/month.
    • Greplin, Wajam and Quora are three other alternatives that are socially and human driven search engines.

  5. Filter Bubbles Burst

    Eli Pariser offers up some very insightful thoughts based around how we find information and how that information is filtered to us. We experience these filter bubbles on a daily basis and may not even know that certain content is hidden from us. Google forms user profiles and engineers the info sent to your results page based on past searches and web activity. If I like Obama, Google determines that and sends me pro Obama links when searched, if I do not like Obama, I mainly get negative links when I search for Obama. As Google tries to serve up what it thinks I want, my view of the world is misshapen by the search engine.

    So how do we break these filter bubbles? The social web seems to be a partial solution but even then the social web won’t fully solve filter bubble issues. 2012 might see the rise of human based search engines and the human element of Pinterest might help you find that perfect recipe.

    It’s pretty apparent that fully relying on algorithms to serve us the “right” content isn’t the answer. Even algorithm based Google is starting to take human interaction and social signals into consideration when ranking pages. No matter where the filter exists, whether it’s Facebook, Netflix or Google, the need for the human touch is the future.

Bonus Trend: Catvertising

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Jason Poulos | Posted in Digital Marketing, Search Marketing | Tagged , , , , | Comments (5)
Dec 13 2011

Rome Burns While Politicians Fiddle

December 13, 2011 – 7:00 am

You, Nero

by Mike Mulvihill

Back in November, my Buzz Bin post warned that as campaigning for the next presidential election heats up, green energy would become a football tossed back and forth for political gain with little concern for whether these actions foster or retard the creation of needed alternative energy generation and a foundation for achieving green energy affordability. Well, the first long bomb just got thrown

Republican-leaning Crossroad Grassroots Political Strategies (GPS), formed by Karl Rove (yes, Dubya’s former deputy chief of staff), will spend $500,000 on three cable network ads that hit President Barack Obama for “crony” government spending citing his administration’s half-billion-dollar loan guarantee to Solyndra. The first renewable-energy company to receive a loan under a DOE stimulus program to encourage green energy, solar-panel maker Solyndra filed for bankruptcy in September..

As reported in the Huffington Post, the “nationwide ad by Crossroads GPS is aimed at exposing this ugly underbelly of Obama’s vision,” according to a memo from Crossroads president Steven Law. It calls the Solyndra case “a powerful cautionary tale about big-government hubris and the cronyism it invariably invites.”

The ad hits the Obama administration for making a “risky investment” in Solyndra. In reality, it would be hard to find any technology start-up, especially a green technology one, that should not be considered risky – which is why a combination of government seed money and private sector commercialization funding is needed to jump start this industry.

Meanwhile, as the U.S. gets sidetracked with politics, China continues to bring its green energy technology strategy to life. Already the world’s leading manufacturer of solar panels, China is also the globe’s number-one wind-energy superpower. China expanded its capacity by 30 percent from 2009 to 2010. Currently producing more than 40 gigawatts (GW) of wind power, it expects to reach a capacity of 150 GW by 2020 — as much as all the power, fossil-fuel-based and renewable, currently installed in Germany.

And speaking of Germany, Teutonic electronics and electrical engineering global superpower Siemens just announced a deal with Shanghai Electric

to form two new joint ventures: one focused on wind turbine research, development and production, the other to specialize in sales, marketing, project management and other services.

So while China lights more fires in the race to green tech leadership, our national leadership fiddles away oblivious to the fact that we need action and we need it fast. You can smell the smoke and see the glow in the distance, but apparently not from Washington.

Photo: Danny Scheie as Nero in “You, Nero.” Credit: Scott Suchman

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Mike Mulvihill | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Dec 12 2011

Skillsets Every PR Pro Needs

December 12, 2011 – 10:50 am

Guest post by Gini Dietrich (@ginidietrich)

Gini Pro Photo

If you missed it a few weeks ago, the New York Times wrote a piece about redefining public relations.

You see, the last time PR was defined was in 1982. Yes, 30 years ago. And, in the last five years, our industry has completely been turned on its head.

All of the journalists we spent our entire careers building relationships with were suddenly unemployed. Companies began to rush to figure out how to make money with the newest and shiniest penny. Paid and earned media had a new sibling: Owned media. And marketing, public relations and advertising began the “who owns this” fight.

But we’re entering a new year – a year where all of these things are meeting their mid-level experience. So it’s time to think about the key skills you need to have going into 2012 and beyond.

  1. Search Engine Optimization. It makes sense that a lot of the content that is being produced comes out of PR. We’ve always been writers and readers. Now we have to take that skill and learn how to optimize our content so it’s being crawled by the search engines, while also being highly valuable and engaging.
  2. Search Engine Marketing. This doesn’t typically fall into a PR pro’s toolbox because it’s pay-per-click and ads. But if you don’t have an understanding of how it works, how to do A/B testing and what to do with the results, you won’t be #winning.
  3. Content Marketing. Content goes beyond the white papers and advertorials we’re accustomed to doing. It’s videos and podcasts and blogs and emails and eBooks and more. The thing about content marketing is, if you don’t do it yourself, you’ll never truly understand it. Start yourself a personal Tumblr blog, get on WordPress, or even try out Blogger (though it’s not as good as the others). When you are developing content for something personal, you begin to understand the applications it has for clients, as well as how to build community.
  4. Inbound Marketing. This goes hand-in-hand with content marketing because it’s all about the engaging and valuable content you’re creating. But it’s driving leads. So you’re going to write content that drives people to your site and encourages them to buy. Content that has headlines around what people search. For instance, one of our highest read blog posts is PR vs. marketing. That’s because people search that term and we have content to fulfill their need (plus a webinar they can buy on it).
  5. Integration. 2012 is going to be the year of integration. PR is going to work with sales. Marketing is going to work with advertising. Customer service is going to work with product development. Instead of the silos we’re all accustomed to having, we’ll become a hub where information is shared and the left and right hands know what the other is doing. No longer will we have the “who owns this” fight.
  6. Results. Gone are the days of media impressions and advertising equivalencies. You need to gain yourself some business knowledge (how the company makes money) and some marketing expertise (how to target audiences to buy, using owned media). This is the only way you’ll understand how the work you’re doing is not just generating sales, but creating profit.

It’s a great time to be in this industry. We get to learn, expand our horizons and get out of our comfort boxes. So go do it!

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, the author of Spin Sucks, the founder of the soon-to-be-launched Spin Sucks Pro and a co-author of the forthcoming Marketing In the Round.

 
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Dec 7 2011

Why Marketers Should Pop the Bubbly Year-Round

December 7, 2011 – 11:02 am

THE BOOZE BIN

By Cassandra Bianco (@cnbianco)

debutart_peter-crowther-assocs

Champagne. Cava. Prosecco… these are the leading region sparkling wines from France, Spain and Italy. But for most, the bubbly sales just jingle this time of year.

Beverage Media’s current December issue features an excellent state of the market sparkling wine round-up. Key takeaways:

  • Champagne remains classic, and in true fashion, classically high priced
  • Cava slices its share as the value region
  • Prosecco stands as the most innovative, quickly rising to the top in sales. (Also entertained by Lady Gaga, who recently paired Mionetto Prosecco with turkey and waffles for Thanksgiving.)

So I checked in with a couple of wine journalists on their industry thoughts. Kristen Bieler, Senior Editor at Beverage Media, noted Prosecco has managed to break the seasonal curve.

“One interesting thing to me is that while sparkling wines in the U.S. market still really struggle to break out of the October, November, December sales (OND confines,) Prosecco has managed to become a year-round beverage with heavy summer consumption.”

Specifically, the Mionetto brands have proven impressive, which this year alone enjoyed 33 percent rise in sales. Prosecco’s $10-$19 price point positions the region competitively with Champagne, which starts at $30. Women and Millennials are the audience who have most embraced Prosecco’s fruit-driven flavor profile.

champagne cocktailI also asked Restaurant Business Magazine’s Tom Strenk, who noted the rise of the Italians, too. He said that virtually every wine region in the world produces a sparkler, and each has its fans. Tom said, “anecdotally, Spanish Cava and Prosecco from the Veneto are both enjoying increasing popularity these days, especially on-premise.” Both of these wines are a good price-value compared to other sparkling wines. He said, “they are perceived by consumers as less of a celebratory sipper and more of fun-occasion quaff.”

By quaffs, he was referring to how Cava and Prosecco are often featured in “Champagne” cocktails. Some restaurants are serving Prosecco on tap, like Graffiato, the Italian-inspired restaurant recently opened in Washington, DC.

Prince Harry Veuve ClicquotWhen you think of sparkling wine, what comes to mind? For me, the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic. Prince Harry played in the polo match in 2010. For a brand to align themselves with royalty downright rules.

And so Marketers, while planning your 2012 campaigns, keep in mind this very promising business opportunity. For inspiration, have a look HOLSTEE’S manifesto. Life should be celebrated often, and not just during special occasions. Cheers.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Cassandra Bianco | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , | Comments (0)
Dec 6 2011

Renewable Energy: Santa or Scrooge?

December 6, 2011 – 7:00 am

scrooge

By Mike Mulvihill

If you asked Santa for more renewable energy in the U.S. portfolio this Christmas, you may hope that Scrooge intercedes with your request. Otherwise, your well-intended wish will bring with it a substantial increase in your utility bill for at least the next 10 years.

Perhaps the best example of this is in California, which passed legislation in 2002 requiring utilities to buy 20 percent of total retail sales of electricity from eligible renewable energy resources by December 31, 2017. Then in 2011, the California Legislature ramped the RPS requirement to 33 by December 31, 2020 – the highest requirement in the nation.

As Aaron Johnson, director of renewable energy policy at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, said in a recent San Francisco Chronicle story , “You’re going to see significant price increases over time from renewables, as you add it to the system, it is going to result in higher costs for consumers.”

Just how much will California’s vision cost? A Bloomberg Energy estimate of California investor owned utility rates predicts an increase of up to 7 percent per year for each of the next ten years, which includes the costs associated with upgrading an aging utility infrastructure to smart grid technology capable of integrating renewable energy production. A report from the California Public Utilities Commission estimated a comparable cost increase.

What this means is higher costs for California’s consumer, an uncompetitive business environment for California businesses and a decreased ability to generate new tax revenues from business expansion, where energy costs are a major decision criteria. While I fully support a national energy policy that integrates more renewable generation on an increasing scale each year, but under a more realistic timeline, I can’t help but think every Californian is getting coal in their stocking this Christmas courtesy of their legislature. Merry Ho Ho!

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Mike Mulvihill | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Dec 2 2011

Why Create Video Content for your Brand

December 2, 2011 – 2:17 pm

By Jason Poulos (@TheSaganaki)

  • Video is social: Ever hear of a viral video? I’m not saying that every video created needs have this aspect to it but overall video content is easily shared (especially emotional content, funny, insightful, etc).
  • Video is engaging: Compared to text sites, websites with video have a lower bounce rate (59% compared to 87%) and a higher average time on site (5 minutes compared to 42 seconds).
  • Videos are getting viewed: 83% of executives say they are watching more online video today than they were a year ago.
  • Video content is growing: 48 hrs of video content uploaded every minute to YouTube in 2011 compared to 35hrs/minute in 2010 or 8hrs/minute in 2007.
  • Video is accessible: With HTML 5 video can easily be viewed across all devices including iPad’s and iPhone’s.
  • Video will generate better rankings: Forrester research has identified that web pages with video stand a 50 percent better chance than text pages alone of showing up on the first page of Google search results.

What type of videos to create?

It really depends on what type of business you are in and what type of content you are generating but here are a couple of basic ideas.

  • Slideshows
  • Demonstrations & Screencasts
  • Services & Offerings
  • Tutorials & How to’s
  • Case Studies

Where to place video content?

YouTube: YouTube is the biggest search engine outside of Google, with over 3 billion daily views and approximately 48 hours of video content uploaded every minute YouTube is truly a heavy hitter with staggering traffic. The numbers don’t lie, video content is growing and getting consumed. Getting your videos on YouTube is key.

Your Website: Outside of having videos on YouTube, videos should be posted on your website. Not only will this help rankings but video can also aide in conversion. A simple how-to or demonstration of a product can greatly enhance a user’s experience and entice them to purchase.

Make your video findable on YouTube

So, simply posting a video on YouTube and having it “findable” might seem a little overwhelming with the amount of content getting posted. However, optimizing a few key areas of your video will help in making it more search friendly.

YouTube looks heavily into these areas when ranking videos:

  1. Text in your titles, tags and descriptions. These should be keyword rich and content specific. YouTube offers a keyword discovery tool to help with keyword development.
  2. Number of views and recent trending. YouTube considers a video “viewed” after 8 seconds of runtime, so make sure your video has enough pull to get past that mark. To look at how videos are trending, click the graph to the right of the views. Also keep in mind that a YouTube video viewed on a website will add to the view count.
 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Jason Poulos | Posted in Digital Marketing, Search Marketing | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)