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This is a great article and here is some meat. I highly recommend visiting the link and reading the full text. My two sons are Millennials and they have cell phones and tablets. They are all over mobile commerce.
5 Things That Work Marketing to Millennials
Clearly, reaching Millennials requires a revamped marketing approach. “You have to learn new tricks,” Yarrow said. “It’s the future of your business. If you don’t, you’re going to expire when the older generations expire.”
These five principles can get you started:
1. Use innovative technology in effective ways. Matthews points to a Nucleus campaign that used interactive videos to support the launch of a new luxury hotel in London. The technology, from Los Angeles-based ClikThrough, allows companies to tag videos so viewers can get more information by clicking or hovering over objects and places in the video.
“Using this ClikThrough video, we were able to not just show the location, but show what you could do within five minutes of the hotel on foot,” Matthews said. “Every restaurant, every shop is actually tagged within the video so you can hover over the video and get more information.”
2. Be interactive. That means more than letting users click on videos. It means listening to customers and involving them in everything from product design to marketing. It’s especially effective in building recommendation generators that turn consumers into marketers so companies don’t have to churn out one-way messages. Yarrow points to a Kleenex promotion that allowed consumers to go to a website and Facebook page to request a free sample of tissue to be delivered to someone else. “That’s brilliant,” she said.
3. Move fast and hit hard. Millennials want their information now and their products just as soon, and they want to be intensely entertained and engaged. One way to grab attention and create an impression of speed and urgency, Yarrow said, is to promote limited-time offers, such as discount coupons that must be redeemed that day.
4. Find and engage influencers. Even the smallest company can recruit Millennial ambassadors, Wells said. “If you’re a pizza place, figure out who’s important in the community and give them free coupons to bring in their friends,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be a huge, over-the-top campaign. And it’s never been easier or cheaper to do than now.”
5. Make cause-related marketing mean something. Millennials are unimpressed with superficial support of causes, Winograd said. They want commitment to the cause to permeate your entire company. One good example is TOMS Shoes, a 5-year-old Santa Monica, Calif., company that has sold more than a million pairs of shoes on the premise that for every pair a customer buys, it will donate a pair to a child in need.
via Marketing to Millennials: You’d Better Learn to Keep Up – Yahoo! Small Business Advisor.
Social Commerce Psychology of Shoppers is a very cool Infographic from TabJuice and Stephania Andrade.
I am sure most of you are like me when making a large purchase. Customer reviews from Amazon and recommendations form friends are very important in the decision process along with expert trusted advice like Consumer Report reviews or like media.
I do find it amazing that many of my customers do not heed the customer reviews as much as I wished them too. I feel that many believe the Internet is still a new fangled gizmo. That may have been true in 2000 but not anymore.
If you need any help with your current Internet Marketing Strategy, please give me a shout.
Thanks
Steve Parker
Internet Marketing Contultant
Dallas / Ft Worth Texas / Keller TX
I’ve been talking about Pinterest and affiliate marketing for awhile. This is a great article about collaborative commerce and the potential for an amazing opportunity for Amazon to turn customers into sellers. Or why wait for Amazon to do it? This could be a great way for Pinterest or potential investor to develop a Direct Manufacturer program and supplied by UPS logistics customers. Who knows, just think of the possibilities.
If the massive Seattle company could turn millions of users into “affiliate marketers’ overnight, don’t you think they would? Pinterest is a bridge to that, and social sharing could turn into some nice pocket change for its users. Amazon could even give out its own currency that could be spent on items on its site as an incentive to focus on sharing items you find on its site.
via Heres Why Amazon Should Buy Pinterest.
This is great info for local search on Google Places! Don’t forget Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics too!
How to Optimize Your Google Places Listing We recommend following these steps to create a highly optimized Google Places listing. These suggestions may seem fairly technical, but they present an effective way to set up your listing.
- Find 8 photos of your business and save them on your computer.
- Make a video with your photos using tools available at animoto.com.
- Upload the video to YouTube.
- Pick 5 key services that you offer and use these terms as keywords.
- Rename your pictures with a keyword + city EX: Los Angeles Plumber.
- Determine your NAP name, address, phone number and use this NAP consistently in everything you do from here on out. EX: Joes Plumbing 123 Third St. Los Angeles, CA 90800 310 555-5555
- Add business details to Google Places Web address, hours of operation, service area, payment type accepted, additional services.
- Add 5 categories based on 5 services you offer. One category must be a Google Approved category. The rest can be keywords. We do not recommend putting the city in the categories section.
- Write a nice, easy-to-read description with light use of keywords. Never mention keywords more than once in a description. Be sure to use the name of your city in the description.
- Upload 8 photos to Google Places.
- Go to panaramio.com and search for 2 photos that have your city name in the title. Then, upload these to your listing. These photos are typically geotagged.
- Add the YouTube video to your Google Places listing.Submit and verify your listing.
- Add 2 or 3 coupons to your listing.Now go back and “Share” an update within your listing. Use keywords in your post.
- Get at least 5 people to post real reviews to your listing.
via Local Ranking Tips-Business Directory Listings-Local Search Results.
Steve Parker
SEO Consulting / Local Search
Ft Worth TX , Dallas, DFW, Texas
The cell phone will become the new PC for this demographic of future users. We need to start making the switch from PCs to Tablets to Smartphone / Cell Phones.
By Middle School, 90 percent to 91 percent of children say that they can use their cell phones to text message and access the Internet.
Approximately 35 percent to 40 percent of elementary school children report being targets of bullying, while 50 percent to 53 percent of middle and high school students say they’ve been targets.
In-school bullying decreases as children age, however cyberbullying increases as children get older
via One-fifth of third-graders own cell phones | Internet & Media – CNET News.
Steve Parker
Internet Marketing / Social Strategy Planning
Keller, Texas, Ft Worth, DFW Dallas TX
This is why I love Pinterest. This is a nest of potential buyers looking at great images and ready to buy. This social site is the most like shopping and looking at catalogs than any of the other social sites like Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, etc. Take a look at the special detailed in this article. Brilliant.
Niraj Shah, Wayfair CEO, says that “shoppers referred by Pinterest are more 10% more likely to make a purchase than visitors who arrive from other social networks, including Facebook and Twitter. They’ll also spend 10% more on average,” according to Mashable. And, thanks to the use of the Pinteret “Pin It” button being adding to thousands of sites, this behavior is likely to increase.
via Pinterest Becoming ‘Goto’ Site for Brands; Future of Social Commerce? | Social Commerce Today.
Thanks
Steve Parker
Ft Worth Texas, Keller, DFW
SEO, Ecommerce, Social Strategy, Internet Marketing
I think the rise of Direct Selling is coming, not sure if its going to take off like the direct selling of old like Avon and Tupperware or even the new Scentsy. I think it maybe more integrated into affiliate programs via Facebook and Twitter were our recommendations of products that you own make your a percentage of the sale so thus everyone becomes a salesperson if they want to participate. The problem will become that eventually people will smell out the selling process like they did with Amway, Herbalife and others. The revolution in social commerce will be led by the monetization of customer reviews ans referrals. Possibly a LinkediN for your asset inventory instead of a resume to share with your friends with ratings on the products you own or have owned and a Wiki like system for product research of future purchases.
the birth of social media. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and even email help all of us maintain our weak social ties as well as our strong ones. According to the Washington Post:The average Facebook user has 245 friends. But the average friend on Facebook has 359 friends. …One thing to note ahead of the Timeline switch: Users can reach an average of 150,000 other people through friends of friends,When you add Twitter and Facebook, that is a tremendous reach for an average person. Direct selling is all about selling through your network – friends and friends of friends. The social networks make this whole network far more visible, and accessible, than ever before.
via Is Direct Selling The Next Driver Of Startup Commerce Companies? | TechCrunch.
I absolutely love working with WordPress blogging software to build websites. I started using WordPress in 2008 when I launched CoachParker.org; my Youth Football Tips and Talk site. I am not a “true” software developer so I have always been drawn to software development tools like Frontpage and Dreamweaver for their WYSIWYG html coding tools. I was also very familiar with Yahoo Store, AbleCommerce, Marketlive and Volusion ecommerce content management systems to build product database ecommerce websites. WordPress is essentially a combination of a WYSIWYG html editor and a content (product) database. So if you have any technical inclinations then WordPress is very easy. If you are a complete beginner but know how to use MS Word, well WordPress will be easy too once you become familiar with the CMS or software text entry screens in the backend of the software that power the front of your website.
Why is WordPress a great choice to power your next website?
- Ease of Use
- 10 Minute Site Build for quick start site
- Easy to set up multiple Test sites to test designs and builds
- Cost Effective, great RIO – Software is FREE
- Reduced Development time thus lowering Developer Costs
- Open Source and Community Driven Software
- Large Installed Base
- Thousands of pre-built design templates
- Thousands of Plug-ins to add customization
- Google loves WordPress and ranks them high
If you are thinking about building a new website or upgrading your current site, give me call. I would love to assist you in your efforts.
Thanks
Steve Parker
817-965-1982
Keller, Texas / DFW / Dallas, TX
What are your marketing goals and how can the Internet help you accomplish those goals. Just posting on Facebook and Twitter is not a plan and probably will not help you reach your goals or ROI. Like they say, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” The Internet Marketing channel works. Its no longer magic. There are good people in the marketplace that can help you plan out your social media strategy so its effective. Banging on the door in the dark doesn’t work anymore, because smart companies like your competitors are hiring people like me to take your market share away.
Social media strategies will vary for each business and for each industry. However, one thing is clear: social media needs to have “all hands on deck” in order to be successfully integrated into your company’s goals and objectives.
In general, I view social media as a strategy, not a tactic. I consider the social media platforms like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc., as tactics that tie into the social media strategy. In other words, outline your social media strategy and support your strategy with tactics. Without a carefully thought-out plan, you’ll eventually be overwhelmed with social media and even worse, get burnt out by it. Use this guide as a stepping-stone to your social media success. Cheers!
via How to Create a Social Media Strategy for Your Business | Social Media Examiner.
Since 1995, I’ve been doing SEO as part of an integrated Internet marketing business, not sure why everyone else in the SEO industry feels like other marketing channels were verboden. I think because the “industry” commoditized SEO and tried to over specialize Search Engine Marketing to benefit themselves and maybe not the customer. SEO is a large part of Internet Marketing but should be used in combination with email, PPC, social, traditional etc.
There is a big gap between traditional marketing thinking and the way search marketers typically think. For our industry to reach full maturity, that gap needs to close, and there needs to be movement on both sides. Yes, were in the business of harvesting demand, but search should have a large seat at the table for the following reasons:
- As our culture becomes increasingly digital, search represents one of the largest channels for harvesting demand created by traditional marketing.
- Search can harvest demand that traditional marketing didnt even try to create.This may the single most important benefit of search.
- SEO deserves a large seat at the table because it may provide the most profit in the long run, which creates cash flow to fuel future programs and growth.
- Ranking in top positions on generic search terms has a large brand impact.
via Integrated Marketing: Why Search Needs a Large Seat at the Table – Search Engine Watch #SEW.
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