HAF - Links from Roxanne’s Presentation

This post is a summary of the conversation we had at the Hawaii Advertising Federation Conference. Please feel free to join in. Tip: Lots of links here, so right-click or control-click to open them in a new window.

Advertising online is fraught with challenges. Most web savvy consumers have learned to tune them out, as people are increasingly displeased with advertising in general. A large part is due to ads getting noisier and more ubiquitous. I was on a US Air flight recently and when it came time for drinks, and the tray tops came down covered in ads, I heard three different people complain out loud. People are tired of the intrusiveness and one-way-ness of most ad messaging. They want to have conversations that are two-way. The nice way to put this, is that advertising is due for an upgrade.

Since my expertise in online, the underlying theme today was to convey how the internet is a foreign country. It has it's own practices, many of which are the opposite of their offline counterparts. The pace is faster, the look and feel is less polished in most cases, the interactivity is high, and there is a good chance someone is talking about you whether you know it or not. You may use email, Google, and have your own website. (That's web 1.0). To be a successful traveler, you've got to leave the Holiday Inn in this foreign country and go out to meet the vocal locals. (That's web 2.0.) The social web is filled opportunities and pitfalls for advertisers.

A Few of Our Group Metrics

• Most of the 70 or so people in the room had read a blog before.
• Less than 10 had left a comment on a blog.
• 2 had written in a blog.
• About 10 belonged to LinkedIn.
• 1 person was on Twitter.

Benefits and Buzzwords
Your power comes from joining the conversation. At it's most basic form, by adding a comment, you create a valued in-bound link back to your web site. You also add your point of view. You can in many cases claim thought leadership for your company, for your industry, for your customers, for your vendors. Read my post on how and when to leave blog comments.

Remember relationship marketing? The tools and apps (applications) of web 2.0 are relationship marketing on steroids. People stay longer on sites that allow them to do something other than read some text or look at a some pictures. On blogs and socnets (social networks) people click through to more pages. That translates into longer session times and more page views which are a resource you can sell, or sell ads on. And the relationships you build with your visitors? Priceless.

Accepting comments on your site allows people to tell you what they love, what's not working so you can fixit sooner than later, ideas for new products and services, and most importantly they build trust with you. If you talk back in the comments, it shows you pay more than lip service to the concept of listening. When it comes time to buy, they will come to you first, because you have already established a relationship and possibly market leadership too. All the while you are getting free market research data, if you think of it that way.

And regardless of whether or not you (as the company) are engaged in online conversations, your brand is being discussed, debated, celebrated and parodied online. This brand democratization can be ripe with opportunity as well as fraught with bloopers. Your odds are better the more you are engaged. Here's a "link to the YouTube Mac vs PC" ads, the real ones and the spoofs, some of which Jason Sperling showed to us at lunch today.

Social Networks
Thanks for joining our "analog" social network! Now that you've had practice creating a profile and sharing a few details about yourself with someone you did not previously know, you are ready to go out an join an online social network. Try one under a personal screen name to get some more practice before you start doing this on behalf of your company. And check out Mitch Joel's blog on personal branding to get tips on how to benefit from your participation.

Free Blogging Services: (Set one up and play with it for personal use)
WordPress
Blogger
iWeb - if you're on a Mac (It's part of the iLife software package)

Sites I mentioned:
CNN - Click on "From the Blogs" link below an article to see recent, related blog posts
Honolulu Advertiser - find a news item and look for "Reader Comments"
Technorati - indexes millions of blogs; look for blogs here and claim your blog here once you have one
LifeHacker - popular blog with tips for managing your life
Chris Brogan - Look at the "MyBlogLog": in the orange-bounded box in left column to see recent readers (we left a comment on the Mac Book Air post)
My Sister's Site - pets and kids in southern california
My Mom's Site - Blanche's Art Show

Business Examples:
Mary Schmidt - marketer who grew her service business with a blog
Association for Downloadable Media - Association for Downloadable Media; multi-author association blog
MightyJ Music - local girl band who gets bookings by having a video blog; doubled site traffic after an appearance on Beach Walks with Rox, as compared to zero traffic increase after appearing on local morning television in Honolulu
Legal discussion of Hasbro/Mattel - Scrabble and Scrabulous discussion of Hasbro/Mattel/Scrabulous trademark infringement
Discussion of Ford Black Mustang Fan Club issues

Social Network (SocNet) Sites:
LinkedIn
MySpace.com
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Viddler

Please leave a comment and tell me what you liked, didn't like, and anything I may have missed! I am working on some additional training programs targeted for agencies and business communicators to learn how to use the social web effectively. Let me know if you're interested.

Mahalo nui for inviting me. I had a blast - and hope we can continue learning together.

HAF Members - Let’s Get the Jan 24 Party Started

I've been asked to speak at the Hawaii Advertising Federation annual "university" this coming January, 24, 2008. Since I want to evangelize about new media, I'll be using our blog to start connecting with the members as well as asking for input from others of you who have opinions and recommendations.

For the members of HAF:

• what do you love and hate about the internet and technology?
• how often do you read blogs or consume podcasts?
• do you have an iPod?
• on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a technophobe/luddite and 10 being a geek, where do you rate yourself?

For the rest of you:

• what do you think of the state of advertising?
• what do you want to hear from a company, as a consumer of its products and services?
• are there do's and don'ts for companies who want to converse with their customers and potential customers?
• what's the best way to reach you and influence your buying habits?

SmallBiz America Relaunched

We love it when clients come to us thirsty for making the web work for them. David Wolf clearly has an appetite that puts him way out in front! A successful entrepreneur across industries as diverse as music and bagels, he came to us to help him develop a new business strategy. The result is SmallbizAmerica.com.

Phase One includes a full blog software-based site with separate RSS feeds for David's podcast, The Smallbiz Brain as well as for his text blog. He manages all of his content from a web-based admin. (Duh, need I say that? All of the sites we have built since 2000 have had this feature.) Throughout the course of development we all did a lot of research on numerous platforms, recording tools, and hosting options enabling David to really zero in on just what he wanted to do and how he could do that most efficiently. (Click on the thumbnail graphic to follow through on the numbered items.)

1. Blog software provides so many benefits! Newest articles are always on top, featured on the home page. Visitors can leave comments and be part of the discussion. Articles can be filed in multiple categories. Search engines love blogs.
2. David can select Featured Articles from his content to be highlighted on the home page, with a simple checkbox feature in his admin. They show up regardless of the date originally posted. He can strategize whom to put there, based on various business factors.
3. We have an embedded audio player for first time visitors to get a quick intro via audio while they are perusing the many possibilities on the home page.
4. The Tool Bar gives quick links to david's "evergreen content" (the about us stuff that doesn' change often) as well as the site wide search engine, and the user tools for getting on the email list or subscribing to David's site content. The tool bar is on every page of the site.
5. There is a graphic link to David's Live365 internet radio station providing a 24/7 stream of audio content, some of which is also broadcast on select AM radio stations across the US.
6. David can add new Categories and external links (Blogroll) easily from the site admin. Linking to others is good netiquette and helps your visitors find even more useful information.

Phase Two will be launching shortly, as he brings on additional experts ("RSP's") who will have their own radio show podcast channel and mini-site within Smallbiz America. Plus many more features that will make his site the place to hang out for tips on running a successful small business. Please check it out and leave David a comment that you were there!