Archive for June, 2012

Accept That Data is Directional

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 by Harry Gold

Every once in a while I get an email from someone asking a question where the resulting answer creates a good blog post.  So recently an attendee to one of my digital marketing seminars asked the following and here is how I responded.

Question:

Thank you very much for your seminar. I found it EXTREMELY helpful and useful.  I’m actually using several of the slides in a Digital Marketing Master Class that I’m conducting for my stakeholders. I feel like I have a good handle on everything, but would like some more elaboration on one topic…with regards to Optimizing and tracking what matters…can you talk a little more about “Accept that the Data is directional”? How can I best explain this to my stakeholders?

Answer:

I am very happy you enjoyed the seminar!  So, in regards to your question no problem – below are some quick bullets.  I hope they help! Call me if you want more information or elaboration.

- Online tracking data is not 100% accurate

- This includes web analytics (Omniture, Google Analytics, etc.) and campaign tracking (Dart, Mediaplex, etc.)

- Also, 2 systems will rarely, if ever, display the same results when tracking the same site or campaign

- But this is totally ok as tracking does not need to be 100% accurate – its purpose is not to act as your account system

- The data is really meant to be directional

- The purpose is to allow marketers to make Fact Based Decisions to optimize their activities in the short, mid and long term

- So for example, typical direction data will tell you:

  1. If your spending money on the right sites or keywords by tracking the resulting traffic and actions from those placements
    1. That way you can pull money from non-performers to redirect into performers
  2. What creative (banners, ad copy, etc.) generates the most clicks and highest click rates
    1. So you can pull the no-performing creative and learn what works
  3. If your landing pages are performing or which ones in an A/B test do better
    1. So you can optimize post click conversion and engagement
  4. How much organic traffic you are getting to your site
    1. So you can see if your offline ads or SEO are creating a lift in non-paid traffic
  5. What paths and online site elements create conversions
    1. So you can make sure those elements and paths are surfaced and optimized
  • So if you data is not 100% accurate, if you have two systems that don’t line up perfectly (under 10% variance) don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure it out.
  1. Focus on using the data to invest your time into identifying what really works according to the data
  2. Then optimize by focusing your time, resources and budgets into those things that work
  3. Escalate your insights into other mediums and opportunities

So, if you have ever dealt with questions or challenges around your campaign reports and web analytics not lining up – don’t sweat it too much.  If the variance is in an acceptable range, accept that data is directional!

Five Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List

Thursday, June 21st, 2012 by Sarah Mitus

One of my favorite summertime traditions is sitting in the sun with my toes in the sand catching up with a good book. I tend to share this tradition with others, trading books, talking about them at length, and ultimately reading books I wouldn’t have picked out in the first place. The following list of suggestions include books I’ve read and ones I’m currently reading all about marketing and growing a business. I would love to hear about what you’re reading in the comments!

Five Marketing Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List

1- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

I’m about halfway through the Power of Habit and I’m finding the whole concept really fascinating. The book is separated into three parts: looking at habits of individuals, habits of successful organizations, and the habits of societies. While it’s a great read if you’re interested in impacting an organization, it’s also a great read to help you impact your life. Trying to eat healthy but always stopping for a snack in the office kitchen in the afternoon? You’d be surprised that you may actually be able to change that by looking at the cue and reward you really want out of that kitchen trip.

2- Mad Women by Jane Maas

We held an event at Overdrive  few months ago for the release of Mad Women by Jane Maas, and I’ve finally gotten around to reading it. It is a wonderful story into the life of a real mad woman, and tells of all the gossip, struggles and successes of advertising in the Mad Men era. A fun summer read for sure.

3- Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki

I read this book in 2011 and still think of its concepts often. Guy focuses on becoming part of the lives of many small people in a very big way, instead of trying to force your concept or company on the high-profile people you may want to reach. It’s a great book to go back to the heart of why people create a business. My favorite quote from Guy, also found on the background of my computer, “When you enchant People, your goal is not to make money from them or to get them to do what you want, but to fill them with great delight.”

4- The Method Method by Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry

I love reading books about successful businesses who worked hard, and The Method Method is certainly one of those. Written by the creators of Method, primarily known for its soap in fun water-droplet shaped bottles, this book openly talks about all of the struggles they had when they first began, and how sticking to their core principles has really helped them grow. This business book reads more like a novel, hearing the story of two young hopefuls trying to find a place with the big consumer goods brands.

5- Onward by Howard Schultz

There’s nothing like sitting down with your grande passion iced tea lemonade and reading a book about the king of Starbucks himself. I loved reading about the ups and downs of Starbucks, mostly because all I had ever really remembered was the successful Starbucks, and Schultz’ decision making process as his company progressed. This is a great story about company branding and keeping to your principles.

What marketing books are on your Summer Reading List?

How Bonobos Breaks Through the Clutter on Facebook

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 by Shaun Campos

I follow a lot of brand updates on Facebook. I “Like” 471 pages to be exact. One of them always finds a way to break through the clutter.

Bonobos. They’re a growing force in the now massively popular menswear category. They claim to sell exceptionally well fitting mens pants. Thanks to what they’re doing on social lately, I’ve felt compelled to order a pair for myself.

Let’s dig into things a little bit and explore why Bonobos, a Page with only 96,784 Likes, has a higher engagement rate compared to larger brands with many more fans. The metrics speak for themselves.

First things first. It starts with content. More importantly, it starts with telling a story through your content while mixing in other things like Facebook Offers, fan involvement, and weekly live Q&A’s that feature their interns, employees, and style pros.

Content

If you manage a page on Facebook, remember why someone “Liked” you in the first place. We know that people like brands to get exclusive deals and offers. But, when you boil it down to basics, they liked you because they’re passionate about whatever you’re talking about. Don’t forget that. If you like Bonobos, you like style and menswear. So, you want good content around that.

In the photo above, all they shared was a picture of some boots with a punchy comment, and people liked it a lot! It’s about style, plain and simple. In this one, a photo of some crazy pants is shared.

A quick look at their Timeline shows that Bonobos is all about one thing and one thing only: style and substance.

Facebook Offers

In addition to quality content that tells a story, Bonobos gives fans a reason to keep coming back with Facebook exclusive offers and deals.

38% off chinos? I’ll take it.

20% of seersucker for the summer? I’ll take that too, and as a fan I’ll keep coming back to your page for more.

Fan Involvement

This might be my favorite part about what Bonobos is doing. They do a great job at highlighting their community and because they are – other people are getting excited and want to share their experiences too.

A few fans sporting their orange chinos at an OkC Thunder game earlier this month.

An application that utilizes Instagram for fan photo sharing encourages fans to share their own Bonobos experiences.

Company Culture

These guys really show a face to their company. Bonobos hosts weekly live Q&A sessions featuring their employees that give Fans the chance to talk style, new products, or in the case of this post below – fantasy baseball.

Good stuff, right? Take a look at their page, https://www.facebook.com/bonobos, and just observe how diverse the content is. I think that as social media marketers we can take away a few tips summarized below, based on what’s analyzed above.

Questions for page managers to keep in mind

  1. Have I boiled down my content strategy to focus on the most simple reason why people like my page? You can minimize the call-to-actions and sales copy to focus on on what people love and be more human.
  2. Is my content telling a story? A brand page should really have a brand of its own!
  3. Am I getting Fans to return back, and more importantly, encourage purchases or purchase intent through offers, deals, and promotions? Don’t overdo it, because if you bombard Fans with sales and discounts you could risk attracting a huge amount of people who are just in it for a freebie. The key is to focus on building a tight community with quality offers. The numbers will come.
  4. Am I involving my fans? Try to show how customers use your product in their daily experiences. Focus on visuals.
  5. Am I showing a real face of my company? We know that it doesn’t hurt to show a little personality in your content, but take it a step further and give Fans an insider view into what goes on at the company. Better yet, give them the opportunity to directly engage with your employees. This isn’t easy, and requires your entire organization to understand and be trained on the value of social.