I’ve written a lot this year about mobile web sites because it really is a big issue in Internet marketing these days. In the time and space allotted, I’ve been focused on the big reasons why its important to have a mobile version of your web site. The fact that mobile devices don’t play Flash and therefore do not play Flash video is a big reason to have a mobile site. Also, the fact that more than 50% of Internet traffic is conducted on mobile devices these days is a major reason to emphasize a mobile design a priority. The fact is that one size does not fit all anymore on the Internet. Mobile browsing is a major player and your standard web site does not fit.
Many people have responded and we have done a lot of mobile web sites this year. However, we are still seeing clients and prospects that need mobile sites delaying adding this important feature. So, I’ve decided to illustrate the benefits a little more clearly.
If you don’t have a mobile site and a mobile visitor comes to your web site...
1) Navigation is difficult.
A standard web site is designed for display on a larger screen. Therefore the navigation buttons are appropriately sized when the web site is on your computer screen, be it a laptop or desktop. At the size it was designed, it should be relatively easy and intuitive
2) Your orientation is wrong and your site does not present well.
Standard web sites are designed in a landscape orientation, meaning the longer aspect is horizontal. On mobile devices, the orientation is portrait, meaning the longer aspect is vertical. So, your mobile device either shrinks the presentation to meet the horizontal orientation or only displays part of the design. Both are bad first impressions. If your site has to be sized or otherwise finangled to be seen on a mobile device, you are really not making your site convenient to use for mobile users. And, if your site is shrunk or only partly displayed for mobile orientation, then certainly the whole navigation is not displayed. All of this results in a less than pleasing first impression. If you can afford to inconvenience web users who are trying to assess you as a cosmetic surgeon or cosmetic dentist, then you can afford to show this bad first impression to mobile visitors. If you really want to be competitive for each visitor, then this is a big reason why you should make the minor investment in a mobile site.
3) You are not addressing the needs of the mobile user.
Search and use patterns on mobile devices are basically the same as desktop users of standard web sites. The only difference is that mobile users expect a new level of convenience. Of course, the Click to Call feature is the hallmark of mobile browsing. A mobile user expects to find what they want and immediately connect, either through voice or the phone’s mapping features. This makes the mobile user a little better of a marketing target because they are using a device on which they are more apt to connect. So, it is important to address their expectations. They expect the same thing a desktop user expects, a presentation made for easy use on the hardware they are using. They want a presentation that fits their device (orientation and size), they want easy to find information (navigation) and they want to be able to act (click to call, map). This is how mobile web sites are designed.
Here is quick test to see if you need a mobile web site to go with your standard site. Look up your site on an iPhone or Blackberry or Android. If you have to scroll, size or adjust in any way, if you have to wait forever for a graphics-heavy presentation to load, if your navigation is not apparent, if your Flash does not load, if your video does not play, you are making a good impression on the mobile browsers at all.
Mobile sites do not require any additional technology. They are inexpensive at only $1000 for a 7-page starter site. And, amending and adding to mobiles sites is easy.
Check out your web site on a mobile device. What you are seeing is what others see... many on a first impression. If you are ready to add a mobile web site to your Internet strategy, please email me today at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
So, The Recession is over. Now what?
Yesterday, the government announced The Recession is over. Now what?
Although this announcement is based on macro-level statistics and you might not be feeling a significant change right now in your local area, it is a sign that things are moving in the right direction. So, in the past few years, you’ve made your adjustments, sharpened your sword to survive the downturn and learned some new tricks. So, when conditions improve, what do you do?
The best suggestion I have is NOT to return to old habits. The biggest change I noticed our clients making was a headlong plunge into measurable marketing purchases. The days of big purchases without tracking ended... finally. There was a big migration toward paid search because it is web-based and fully measurable. And, most importantly, there was a mass adoption of tracking telephone numbers for use in print ads, television ads, web sites and more. This new habit of tracking... it’s a good one that should be maintained no matter where the new economy goes.
Matter of fact, I think it’s irresponsible if you are not using tracking numbers. Why would you not want to know the results of incoming calls? Not only do they measure the volume of responses from a particular placement but the technology behind the numbers offers a massive amount of information. In fact, most of our clients who use tracking numbers record the calls and listen to how their front desk is handling the calls. Now that is a great way to manage that area of communications in your practice or business!
As things improve, I am spending a lot of time encouraging anyone who will listen to keep their eye on the ball when it comes to tracking technologies. When you have a long period of time, like this Recession, where you have had to buckle down, fatigue sets in. When you have a financial threat or downturn, a natural reaction is to bunker down and head for a degree of safety, which tracking technologies provide in the form of details and information. So, when the dust settles and you begin to feel comfortable again, a possible reaction is to relax. I know I am keeping my clients on point during this time, so I am speaking to you readers who are not regular clients here: Don’t quit using measuring technologies like tracking numbers and if you aren’t using them, start now!
Tracking numbers are the least expensive and most valuable marketing tool out there. The cost for one of our tracking numbers works out to $40/month/number. That is a ridiculously low cost to measure hundreds or thousands of dollars of marketing efforts each month. Tracking numbers are unique numbers tied to specific tracking technology to use for measuring marketing results. They are easy to use and can be used anywhere. Place a unique number in a print ad, a television ad, on your web site, on a direct mailer... you will find out exactly who calls from that piece and what happened on that call.
This attention to detail and use of technology should become part of your post-Recession marketing plan. The smart businesses have stepped up to rely on this sort of technology and information for smart decision making. If you would like to try tracking telephone numbers for your marketing, please let me know at donald@dogstarmedia.com. We can get you set up in a matter of days and you can REALLY know what is going on with your marketing.
Although this announcement is based on macro-level statistics and you might not be feeling a significant change right now in your local area, it is a sign that things are moving in the right direction. So, in the past few years, you’ve made your adjustments, sharpened your sword to survive the downturn and learned some new tricks. So, when conditions improve, what do you do?
The best suggestion I have is NOT to return to old habits. The biggest change I noticed our clients making was a headlong plunge into measurable marketing purchases. The days of big purchases without tracking ended... finally. There was a big migration toward paid search because it is web-based and fully measurable. And, most importantly, there was a mass adoption of tracking telephone numbers for use in print ads, television ads, web sites and more. This new habit of tracking... it’s a good one that should be maintained no matter where the new economy goes.
Matter of fact, I think it’s irresponsible if you are not using tracking numbers. Why would you not want to know the results of incoming calls? Not only do they measure the volume of responses from a particular placement but the technology behind the numbers offers a massive amount of information. In fact, most of our clients who use tracking numbers record the calls and listen to how their front desk is handling the calls. Now that is a great way to manage that area of communications in your practice or business!
As things improve, I am spending a lot of time encouraging anyone who will listen to keep their eye on the ball when it comes to tracking technologies. When you have a long period of time, like this Recession, where you have had to buckle down, fatigue sets in. When you have a financial threat or downturn, a natural reaction is to bunker down and head for a degree of safety, which tracking technologies provide in the form of details and information. So, when the dust settles and you begin to feel comfortable again, a possible reaction is to relax. I know I am keeping my clients on point during this time, so I am speaking to you readers who are not regular clients here: Don’t quit using measuring technologies like tracking numbers and if you aren’t using them, start now!
Tracking numbers are the least expensive and most valuable marketing tool out there. The cost for one of our tracking numbers works out to $40/month/number. That is a ridiculously low cost to measure hundreds or thousands of dollars of marketing efforts each month. Tracking numbers are unique numbers tied to specific tracking technology to use for measuring marketing results. They are easy to use and can be used anywhere. Place a unique number in a print ad, a television ad, on your web site, on a direct mailer... you will find out exactly who calls from that piece and what happened on that call.
This attention to detail and use of technology should become part of your post-Recession marketing plan. The smart businesses have stepped up to rely on this sort of technology and information for smart decision making. If you would like to try tracking telephone numbers for your marketing, please let me know at donald@dogstarmedia.com. We can get you set up in a matter of days and you can REALLY know what is going on with your marketing.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Attention: Social Media
Social media has taken a solid foothold in the world of marketing and its not going anywhere. The fact that Facebook and Twitter icons are showing up on television ads for major brands means we are past the tipping point. Social media is here to stay and its more than the mass adoption by Internet users that has caused this to happen.
The panacea of Facebook and the machine gun distribution of information on Twitter engage so many users that social networking-based media strategies are becoming a staple in most marketing plans. So, what makes a good social media strategy? A quick look at why television, radio, direct mail and other forms of advertising work reveals why.
If you boil down advertising and marketing to its most basic principles it is about one thing: getting a person’s attention. If you do it in a mass broadcast strategy you are trying to do it on a mass scale. If you do it on a one-to-one marketing format, you are using technology to get one person’s attention at a time. Here are a few examples:
Television: Television has been king now since the 60s. TV ads have the built-in strengths of visuals, sound and brevity. When you engage a lot of senses at once and you hit a quick single message, yes, your TV ad is going to work if you sustain your campaign.
Print: The Internet has clobbered print advertising lately because the Recession has everyone wanting to measure their marketing expenses more closely and the Internet does that better. However, there are some undeniable benefits of print related to gaining and keeping attention. It has staying power (keepability and passability), can be very visual and is subject to excellent design. I recently saw a print ad, an insert into Texas Monthly, that was simple black text on white paper folded into a booklet. It was the best insert I have ever seen, so much so I plan to use the concept for a future DSM piece. See, what happens with print? When we like it, we tend to keep it and that extends the shelf life of the benefit. It gets your attention according to its strengths.
Email Marketing: This database marketing method is the new direct mail. Why is it so effective? Sure it’s inexpensive but more importantly, it has two very effective web-based features. Email gets you into someone’s mainstream of communications and it does so without being too intrusive. One properly written subject line and you can get your nugget or offer in front of your targets fairly easily. For its strengths, it has the capability to get a person’s attention while their day is in progress.
So as we look at social media and ask the question how can it be best for marketing. The answer to that question starts with examining how social media best gets and keeps one’s attention. And, so it begins. By isolating the communications benefits of a medium, you can learn how to use it to get and keep attention. On my Dog Star Media Facebook, I have hundreds of followers. I have also friended many clients and prospects on Facebook and I watch what they post. And, only one or two are really using it right because most are forcing it. Using social media and using social media properly to achieve marketing goals are two different things. If you are scattershooting or blatantly promoting a special, you are not really using it properly. If you are building conversations and keeping people’s attention over a long period of time, the groundwork you are laying in social media will pay off both short-term and long term. Social media is like being at a party or a day in school. Lots of little storylines are going on and if you hear one you like (in other words it gets your attention), then you can opt in or stop down for more. By participating in the social element of the medium (which is how it helps people gain and keep attention), you are in position to use the medium to your advantage.
Can we help you figure out a way to use social media to your benefit? Sure. Will you participate properly to make it work for you? Only if you join in and understand how it connects people. And, that is what social media is all about. For more information on social media strategies, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
The panacea of Facebook and the machine gun distribution of information on Twitter engage so many users that social networking-based media strategies are becoming a staple in most marketing plans. So, what makes a good social media strategy? A quick look at why television, radio, direct mail and other forms of advertising work reveals why.
If you boil down advertising and marketing to its most basic principles it is about one thing: getting a person’s attention. If you do it in a mass broadcast strategy you are trying to do it on a mass scale. If you do it on a one-to-one marketing format, you are using technology to get one person’s attention at a time. Here are a few examples:
Television: Television has been king now since the 60s. TV ads have the built-in strengths of visuals, sound and brevity. When you engage a lot of senses at once and you hit a quick single message, yes, your TV ad is going to work if you sustain your campaign.
Print: The Internet has clobbered print advertising lately because the Recession has everyone wanting to measure their marketing expenses more closely and the Internet does that better. However, there are some undeniable benefits of print related to gaining and keeping attention. It has staying power (keepability and passability), can be very visual and is subject to excellent design. I recently saw a print ad, an insert into Texas Monthly, that was simple black text on white paper folded into a booklet. It was the best insert I have ever seen, so much so I plan to use the concept for a future DSM piece. See, what happens with print? When we like it, we tend to keep it and that extends the shelf life of the benefit. It gets your attention according to its strengths.
Email Marketing: This database marketing method is the new direct mail. Why is it so effective? Sure it’s inexpensive but more importantly, it has two very effective web-based features. Email gets you into someone’s mainstream of communications and it does so without being too intrusive. One properly written subject line and you can get your nugget or offer in front of your targets fairly easily. For its strengths, it has the capability to get a person’s attention while their day is in progress.
So as we look at social media and ask the question how can it be best for marketing. The answer to that question starts with examining how social media best gets and keeps one’s attention. And, so it begins. By isolating the communications benefits of a medium, you can learn how to use it to get and keep attention. On my Dog Star Media Facebook, I have hundreds of followers. I have also friended many clients and prospects on Facebook and I watch what they post. And, only one or two are really using it right because most are forcing it. Using social media and using social media properly to achieve marketing goals are two different things. If you are scattershooting or blatantly promoting a special, you are not really using it properly. If you are building conversations and keeping people’s attention over a long period of time, the groundwork you are laying in social media will pay off both short-term and long term. Social media is like being at a party or a day in school. Lots of little storylines are going on and if you hear one you like (in other words it gets your attention), then you can opt in or stop down for more. By participating in the social element of the medium (which is how it helps people gain and keep attention), you are in position to use the medium to your advantage.
Can we help you figure out a way to use social media to your benefit? Sure. Will you participate properly to make it work for you? Only if you join in and understand how it connects people. And, that is what social media is all about. For more information on social media strategies, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Back to Business: Mobile sites are necessary
I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. Now, it time to get back to business for the last big push of 2010. Typically, it is this time of year that we see a lot of strategy changes and additions of new strategies. At the same time, we are seeing a steady rise in mobile web site traffic. So, if this is not on your radar right now, you need to check out how your site looks on an Iphone or any other mobile device.
Here are three great reasons to make a mobile web site part of your September push.
1) Make the best first impression on everybody. Flash and Flash video do not play on mobile devices and that is never going to happen. If you rely on Flash to make a certain aesthetic impression on your web site, rest assured that it is only causing a bad first impression on a mobile device because it is not loading. Same for video. When we remaster your site into a mobile site, we account for this, including reprogramming your video to play.
2) Cost-effective solution. Making a mobile site is inexpensive and has no ongoing maintenance costs or additional costs whatsoever. The cost to get a starter mobile site is $1000 and it immediately solves the issue on all mobile devices.
3) Mobile traffic is increasing. The first stat that caught everyone’s attention late last year was that more than 50% of web traffic occurs on mobile devices now. The next stat that seemed to help everyone make sense of their mobile traffic is when we stated that at 5% mobile traffic, you should have at least a basic mobile site. Now, we are seeing most of our clients reaching up into the 5-10% mobile traffic range. Clearly this trend is taking hold and it is showing up all over on our cosmetic dentist and cosmetic surgeon clients.
So, are you ready to bring your Internet strategy up to speed with a mobile web site? When you have this, you can rest assured that no matter the device being used, your web presence will be making the best possible impression. And, right now, it is likely that 5-10% of your traffic might be seeing your site a lot better on their mobile devices.
If you are interested in a starter mobile web site, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com
Here are three great reasons to make a mobile web site part of your September push.
1) Make the best first impression on everybody. Flash and Flash video do not play on mobile devices and that is never going to happen. If you rely on Flash to make a certain aesthetic impression on your web site, rest assured that it is only causing a bad first impression on a mobile device because it is not loading. Same for video. When we remaster your site into a mobile site, we account for this, including reprogramming your video to play.
2) Cost-effective solution. Making a mobile site is inexpensive and has no ongoing maintenance costs or additional costs whatsoever. The cost to get a starter mobile site is $1000 and it immediately solves the issue on all mobile devices.
3) Mobile traffic is increasing. The first stat that caught everyone’s attention late last year was that more than 50% of web traffic occurs on mobile devices now. The next stat that seemed to help everyone make sense of their mobile traffic is when we stated that at 5% mobile traffic, you should have at least a basic mobile site. Now, we are seeing most of our clients reaching up into the 5-10% mobile traffic range. Clearly this trend is taking hold and it is showing up all over on our cosmetic dentist and cosmetic surgeon clients.
So, are you ready to bring your Internet strategy up to speed with a mobile web site? When you have this, you can rest assured that no matter the device being used, your web presence will be making the best possible impression. And, right now, it is likely that 5-10% of your traffic might be seeing your site a lot better on their mobile devices.
If you are interested in a starter mobile web site, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com
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