Thanks to Chris Brogan for writing a post titled “Grow Bigger Ears in 10 Minutes“. In the post, Chris talks about quick and simple ways to begin the process of brand monitoring without the need for fee based solutions like Radian6, Techrigy or BuzzGain. Free online tools, starting with Google as a source are readily available, yet many individuals and organizations have yet to take advantage.
As I have mentioned in previous posts I use Twitter. What people are wondering is how Twitter is going to monetize itself. Recently, they announced the hiring of executives focused on revenue and monetizing strategies. Monetizing Twitter is one of the hottest topics around, and a question that has more than one expert (and pundit) guessing away. Enter adCause, a new advertising service that offers its own take on the dilemma.
Essentially, adCause connects Twitter users with those businesses looking
In 2009 content companies will need to deal with the long-lasting effects of a recession-induced ad slowdown. As well, with the cost of being online limited only to an internet connection, more and more consumers should find their way to the desk instead of the movies and more expensive entertainment venues, thereby increasing the supply of online impressions. Together, these factors are driving down internet ad prices and making it even harder to monetize media.
Having worked for an agency managing Hyundai’s (Canada) corporate website I still have interest in the automotive industry. Online, there are some basics that all manufacturers need to offer. From build and price, to request a test drive, the automotive industry has become a model for standardized web functionality. That said, every year, J.D. Power & Associates conducts semiannual ratings of them. This year, they say the best site is Honda’s, taking top honors for usefulness in new-vehicle shopping.
The “Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study” measures automakers’ sites to determine how useful they are to people who are either shopping for vehicles or about to begin.
Last summer, Yahoo took the liberty of updating its standard terms of service to allow itself to modify paid search accounts as it sees fit, leaving the advertiser to accept full responsibility for Yahoo’s keyword updates, copy updates, and other campaign modifications.
As a good search marketing practice, Yahoo shouldn’t be touching these campaigns at all without the advertiser’s desire for assistance (in effect, the only choice under these terms is to accept the terms or lose your account access), and search advertisers running on the Yahoo master service terms should pay close attention.
I love my Apple MacBook Pro. I took the plunge in November 2008 when the new models came out, the units with the unibody aluminum case, the dual graphics cards, etc. It is a nice computer. Reviews started showing up online with comments about the screen hinge being loose. Of course I had to get one that when using it on my lap or in bed, the screen would fall over. So I decided to finally take care of the problem and booked myself an appointment for support at the Apple Store.
I haven’t written about a startup in a while, mainly because there have been so few startups that have been of interest to me. Having just started a new full time role at Rogers Media in Toronto, I am much more interested in the art and science of SEO and SEM. As such, I have found a new startup that really intrigues me. The company is Concentrate.
In their own words, Concentrate is the innovative search analytics tool designed for SEO and paid search professionals who want to make sense of search keyword data and make the most of search investments.
AdAge.com recently published an article trying to shed some light into the crystal ball we all seek answers from. What we are looking for is a way to be optimistic, to say there is a silver lining, and there are bright spots out there somewhere. So below, republished from AdAge are some areas that might provide opportunities for the marketing and media industries to not only survive, but even thrive in 2009.
WASHINGTON
In case you hadn’t heard, there are some new faces in the nation’s capital, and they will fuel growth for lobbying, public affairs and policy advertising in ’09.
Everyone in the business knows that the economy is hammering ad spending, almost across the media board. There is one exception.
Search.
“Search ad spending may not be recession-proof,” says David Hallerman, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Search Ad Spending: Reactions to a Recession, “but it is proving to be recession-resistant.” eMarketer estimates that while the rate of search ad spending growth was down in 2008, search still grew 21% over 2007.
My office recently held our Secret Santa party for the holidays. My contribution, a Tweety Bird Chia Pet. Why, because my daughter wanted me to buy it. In the end, the rest of the gifts were just not up to par, so in a bold move, I stole back the gift I gave and brought it home for the almost 6 year old to play with. It is kind of a creepy thing, growing what essentially looks like alfalfa sprouts from the heaf of a ceramic Looney Tunes character. While doing some digging, I came across one really interesting stat about the sales of Chia Pets;
A full 90% of Chia sales occur during the holidays
That seemingly omnipresent “Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia” refrain hits the airwaves every year around Thanksgiving
Articles of Interest