Years ago, the political philosopher Leo Strauss wrote an essay entitled, “Persecution and the Art of Writing,” in which he advocated reading some philosophers “between the lines.” For a host of reasons, the philosopher felt that the truth he had to speak could only be spoken surreptitiously or “by means of brief indication.”

Of course, one can run into a lot of trouble scholastically when arguing that a philosopher meant to say something other than what he explicitly stated. I mean, how are you supposed to prove that?

Strauss insists that a “between the lines” reading is at least plausible if you find cases where the thinker has subtly contradicted orthodox beliefs (or the ruling beliefs of the time) and is absolutely necessary when you find “explicit evidence” (such as correspondence or journal entries) indicating that the philosopher has chosen to express his views in this esoteric manner.

Why am I bringing up Strauss? I was thinking a lot about secret messages when I read The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann, in preparation for Bob’s appearance as a guest on our podcast, Marketing Smarts. (If you’d like to hear my entire interview with Bob, you may do so here.)

The book is a business parable about a young everyman, Joe, who finds himself in a jam at work and seeks the advice of an older gentleman, Pindar, who teaches him “The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.” Joe puts the laws into practice and finds the success he was seeking.

On the surface, the message of the book is fairly straightforward: If you focus on how providing value for others and serving them, then you will ultimately succeed in business and in life. The idea that those lessons are not just business lessons but also life lessons is highlighted towards the end of the book when a character tells Joe, “The point is not what you do. Not what you accomplish. It’s who you are.” [Emphasis in original.]

What made me wonder if there might be something beneath this surface, however, were Pindar’s repeated admonitions that, “Appearances can be deceiving… In fact, they nearly always are.” He tells Joe that in their first meeting, repeats it when they meet the character Ernesto (here replacing “In fact” with “Truth is”), and then towards the end when he says, “Just to keep things interesting, things are always a bit the opposite of what they seem.”

Believing this sentiment to be a strong indication that we should read the book between the lines, I asked Burg about it. He laughed, saying that there was no secret message, just the simple but profound truth of what leads to success.

Not satisfied with that answer (I’m somewhat paranoid by nature—studying German philosophy will do that to you!) I asked Burg if the secret message might have something to do with his political beliefs. His beliefs are not a secret; he states in his bio, “Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve.” (That last part is a paraphrase of The Go-Giver’s “Law of Compensation,” which states, “Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.”) However, his book is not overtly political in any way.

While Burg didn’t go so far as to say that I had uncovered a “secret message,” he did point out the laws of success described by John and himself “would not hold true within a communist system.” We also spent the last segment of the interview discussing the portrayal of the wealthy in the mass media (“Society as it is makes money the enemy,” he said) and the proper role of government in a society distinguished by “free minds and free markets.”

Have you read The Go-Giver? Did you uncover any secret messages?

More importantly, do you think it is effective to create interest in your products or your brand by suggesting that “there’s more to it than meets the eye”?

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Young Man Reading)

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A guest blog post by Geoff Livingston and Gini Dietrich.

A classic marketing strategy mistake is to select tools because they are new or talked about frequently in the media.

Fascinated with the latest tool, marketing rounds (what we like to call your team) forget to select media and methods to achieve an objective.

Measurable objectives, however, often require selecting a primary approach towards the customer, after which tools are selected based on budget, time, and other resources.

There are four common approaches to marketing campaigns today.

Direct Community Interaction With Stakeholders

Whenever possible, marketers and communicators should directly interact with their primary stakeholders. Whether the topic is sales, donations, input on ideas, agreement on civil actions, public resolution of customer issues, customer reviews, or other actions, direct communication is most likely to produce outcomes—and do so quickly.

Top-Down Influence Approaches

The top-down attitude is one in which media—events, PR, some types of advertising campaigns, and well-known influencers—are used to “inform” the marketplace about new products. The message comes to the marketplace from a position of authority, and the source hopes that the positions of media voices, celebrities, and bloggers are enough to persuade customers.

The Groundswell

Not every company has the luxury of an established customer base for its products and services, nor the resources to support advertising and promotional campaigns. The groundswell method of marketing a product or service is fostering word of mouth-marketing to loyal customers by the individual, who shares with dozens, and so forth.

Flanking Techniques

The direct, top-down, and groundswell approaches are common in traditional advertising, social media, public relations, networking, and direct marketing disciplines.

But sometimes, a company has regulations and obstructions, or a lack of a loyal customer base, or no one is talking positively about it, etc. Then that communications effort must employ flanking techniques, such as advertising, content marketing, or search engine optimization (SEO) as primary tools.

All these approaches can be blended; some tools can be used across different approaches. For example, social media can be a lead tool set for groundswell approaches but provide customer support for a direct marketing campaign, or blogger relations for a top-down approach.

Similarly, approaches can support each other in a large multichannel campaign. Top-down approaches can be used to support a direct marketing campaign, much in the way that Apple launches its products with events and publicity—coinciding with strong email marketing campaigns to drive existing customers to buy.

The question becomes how to select the right approach to meet objectives.

Here are four factors your marketing team should use to select the company’s marketing approach.

1. Key performance indicators. What does strategic success for the company/product line look like?
2. The corresponding marketing objectives, whether they be lead generation, branding, or both.
3. Stakeholders and how you can communicate with them. What is your relationship with customers like? Do you have significant customers lists? Do you have a good market reputation? Are barriers in the way? Let your relationships dictate the primary approach.
4. Capacity to market to them, specifically your budget, time for success and your human resources

These components form a framework to determine the marketing round strategy and dictate your possible approaches and tools. When you list them on paper, the right strategic approach(es) become clearer, and ideas about how to use your particular tools to achieve the right result also begin to evolve. You can begin to visualize the path towards the end result.

We realize a blog post is not enough to delve deeply into the four approaches and how to select them. In fact, we dedicated five chapters of our new book Marketing in the Round to this particular aspect of multichannel marketing strategy development.

We know you want to realize objectives in your campaign. You want people to buy your product or service, and to advocate your brand. That allows a company to win a market and defeat its competitors. Independently or sequenced, the primary approaches form a baseline to approaching marketing strategies. We hope you’ll use these general ideas as starting point to think about how to launch your next successful marketing campaign.

Geoff Livingston is an author and marketing strategist, and serves as vice president of Strategic Partnerships for Razoo. A former journalist, Livingston continues to write. Most recently, he co-authored Marketing in the Round and authored the social media primer Welcome to the Fifth Estate.

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communication firm. She also is the founder of the professional development site for PR and marketing pros, Spin Sucks, and co-author of Marketing in the Round.

Their new book Marketing in the Round shows you how to get more value from all your marketing and communications channels integrated together!

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Number Four)

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A guest blog post by Maranda Gibson of AccuConference.

Former St. Louis Cardinals powerhouse first baseman Albert Pujols traded the Midwest for the West Coast when he accepted a record-breaking deal from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

His start for the Angels was highly anticipated, so many people were shocked that Pujols had done more striking out than anything else since the beginning of the season.

That’s right. A lot of money was invested in a man who could hit a home run off any pitcher in either league, but all he had managed to do lately was strike out—until May 6, 2012. That’s when he finally hit a home run for the Angels in a 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

What businesses can learn from Pujols’ experience is that everyone has a slump once in a while. Success brings pressure and the desire to not let down the people who have invested in us. Despite those feelings, we will have a slump sometimes. In fact, our feelings may contribute to our lack of home runs.

So, how do we survive a slump? What did Albert do?

Here are four ideas to help businesses break out of their slumps.

Make adjustments. We all take on new jobs and responsibilities. Our new location could be anything from a new city to a new desk on the other side of the office building. Though a new move may shine bright with promise, we may not be able to harness that power right away. We have to adjust to a new room, a new building, a new city, or even just being moved away from our co-workers. A transition may not be easy, but adaptation is vital to getting out of a slump.

Believe in your abilities and talents. Pujols never said he couldn’t do it. Whether in a slump or not, Albert didn’t doubt that he was the kind of guy that could start slapping home runs again. He knew he was talented, he knew he had the power, and he couldn’t let negative thoughts get into his brain and start eating away at his motivation. That’s part of the power of a slump for anyone in any business out there.

Remember to be patient. When we fail to perform as expected, we often try to force ourselves to that moment where we can hold up our arms in triumph. But our lack of patience isn’t always helpful. Trying to rush things causes mistakes and burns us out. Keep pushing through; don’t rush things. Albert was patient with his performance and never did anything that would get him injured.

Get some breathing room. I find it an interesting coincidence that, on Saturday, Albert was not in the lineup, and on Sunday, he finally broke his home run slump. Maybe those 24 hours of breathing room enabled him to get his head straight. Hitting the refresh button is good for our brains. If you can’t think of a great blog post, stop writing for a couple of days. If you’re stuck in getting people to listen to what you’re saying, step back and listen for a while. You never know—it might just mean you’ll hit a home run the next day.

Even if you’re not a sports fan, you can still find similarities between the world of business and the world of professional sports. We all get in a slump. It’s what we do to get out of it that it really matters. Fortunately, most of us don’t have hundreds of thousands of people waiting to see us fail.

How do you break your slumps?

Maranda Gibson is the regular writer for the AccuConference website and blog. She is passionate about making meetings more bearable and offers advice that can help to change the way your participants see meetings.

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Albert Pujols Hitting Ball)

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A guest post by Irv Shapiro of Ifbyphone.

The term “marketing automation” often conjures up images of people waiting on hold or receiving out-of-office responses. However, smart business owners know that marketing automation equals measured results.

The term “marketing automation” includes lead management, Web analytics, email marketing, voice-based measurement, inbound marketing, and social media. And marketing automation contains a wealth of opportunities for businesses to…

• Measure ROI and lead quality
• Streamline the leads-to-sales process
• Enhance user interaction with brands

How important is marketing automation to business? B2B marketers spent about $325 million on marketing automation in 2011—a 50% increase over 2010.

In the following infographic, voice-based marketing automation leader Ifbyphone offers a look at marketing automation in 2012.

As CEO and CTO of Ifbyphone, Irv Shapiro is responsible for overall business strategy and corporate leadership. His business success has earned him several awards including as inductee status with the “Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame” and as gold winner in the Executive of the Year category for the Best in Biz Awards.

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A guest post by Roland Benedetti of Nuxeo.

Ten years ago, if you asked a group of marketing professionals which content management systems (CMS) they encountered most often, you would probably get a few blank stares. Nowadays, however, everyone knows what a content management system is because marketers use them nearly every day to create content, edit websites, and manage projects.

But is there only one type of CMS? Do they all operate the same? Which type is best for which function? One of the biggest differences in CMS solutions is what is called open source vs. cloud-based solutions. Do you know if the CMS you’re using runs on an open source platform? Is it cloud-based? What’s the difference, anyway? And why should marketers even care?

The difference is that open source is a development model—think how the software developers create an app—and the cloud refers to how a software application is delivered to users. Both open source and cloud-based platforms come with their fair share of benefits and limitations.

Here is a breakdown of what each type of CMS platform offers. I hope this helps answer questions regarding which CMS solution is right for your needs.

Open Source Means Better Software

To better understand what it means for a CMS to be “open source,” let’s consider a platform that just about every digital marketing professional knows well: WordPress.

WordPress is an open source CMS. When a platform is open source, its source code is freely available for developers to modify and improve. Open source gives developers the freedom to:

• Customize the solution to meet the needs of users
• Enable new functionality within an existing platform to solve a business problem
• Deliver scalable solutions that can grow with organizations

Those are the main reasons WordPress is such an effective solution for many organizations’ blogs and even some smaller websites. WordPress isn’t some giant company hiding out in an office park somewhere, overseeing all aspects of the CMS and disallowing outsiders from changing anything.

On the contrary, WordPress is free for anyone to tinker with. For that matter, so are other open source CMS solutions like Drupal and Joomla. That’s why your experience using the CMS won’t be the same as the marketer down the street’s experience. You’re using a version of WordPress that’s highly customized to meet the needs of your organization or your client.

Because the source code is out there for any developer to modify it, WordPress can answer so many questions for marketing professionals, such as…

• How will clients be able to implement useful contact forms?
• How can we be reminded if we didn’t use a keyword in the H2 tag?
• Is there any way to put floating social share icons to the left of the body copy?

WordPress provides solutions to all these issues because developers all over the world collaborate to make it a more effective platform. Simply put, open source applications are better from a development perspective (because everyone is invited to participate) and from an end user’s perspective.

If WordPress is to thank for helping marketers make major breakthroughs in the last several years, it’s thanks to open source that it is such an effective CMS.

Cloud-Based Means Flexibility

Let’s not forget the other thing about WordPress that makes it so useful for marketers: It lives in the cloud.

That WordPress is a cloud app may seem too obvious a fact to ponder very deeply. After all, WordPress is what we use to publish blog posts. Blog posts are read online, so it only makes sense that WordPress would be in the cloud.

Remember, however, that not every CMS deals with blogging. Many a CMS, whether it’s an open source solution or not, exists “in-house” on company-run servers and helps employees of an organization share, modify, and work with content. It’s not always online content, per se, but documents and information that users send through a workflow.

A marketing firm, for instance, might use a proprietary CMS to manage client files. Through the system’s interface, users can easily retrieve, modify, and send documents to other people to complete tasks. This type of CMS has been around for many years, and organizations have traditionally been responsible for hosting their own data.

But with any non-cloud CMS, there are several common problems.

• Updates—The responsibility of keeping software current rests with IT personnel; it doesn’t happen automatically.
• Mobility—Users can’t always access the CMS on the go, at least not very easily.
• Costs—Companies have to maintain their own hosting and storage for the data inside the CMS.
• Security—Storing data in-house may mean lower redundancy than cloud storage, which could put the local data at greater risk.

Sounds archaic? Maybe you’re accustomed to cloud-based content management and all the benefits it offers. (Note: Though we used WordPress as a cloud-based CMS example, it is just one of many such solutions.)

Drupal also lets users store everything in the cloud. Like WordPress, Drupal is known as a blogging platform, but it is also a comprehensive, feature-packed CMS for companies of all sizes. Drupal is easy to access on the go, and many organizations find it secure, modern, and cost-effective. Joomla is a CMS that offers similar functionality. Both of these solutions thrive in a cloud environment and offer all the benefits of off-site data storage.

So, open source is about application development, and the cloud is about content delivery. Whether you’re using a CMS in-house or at a client site, both models provide benefits that make it easier to finish tasks and improve your efficiency. The question is do you need a CMS system that has both or does one’s features outweigh the other?

The answer will be determined by many factors, including your organization’s needs, workflow, technical know-how, budget, and available functional features. Just remember: Before setting out on your journey for a new CMS, know exactly what you need it to do so you can stay focused and find the best solution for your needs.

Roland Benedetti is an IT professional with over 14 years of experience in content management and information management for leading software vendors, integrators, media, and e-business companies. He works at Nuxeo, a software company providing a full enterprise document management platform, open source, for any kind of content-driven application.

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Apple and Heavy Orange)

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“If you believe business is built on relationships, make building them your business,” says Scott Stratten in his best-selling book, UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.

In our digital age, your clients and potential customers are talking, sharing, advising, and even gossiping on social networks. So, how do you join in meaningful conversations with your audience? How do you avoid sounding like you’re lecturing your potential clients or badgering your existing ones?

To help you learn how to engage in mutually beneficial relationships online, we’re offering you the opportunity to hear Scott Stratten at a free seminar, sponsored by Citrix.

At the free seminar “UnMarketing: Top Tools and Techniques for Engaging Your Audience Online,” Stratten will discuss:

• The right platform for your online business strategy
• Why some companies thrive (and most fail) in social media
• How to generate online buzz about your business

The free one-hour seminar starts at 1 p.m. (Eastern time) on May 16, 2012.

To get the details and registration info, just visit the free seminar page.

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A guest blog post by Jason Ferrara of Ifbyphone.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, so I started making a mental list of all the little (and not-so-little) lessons my mom taught me over the years. In teaching me how to cook and clean, and offering parenting advice, my mom has been a constant source of wisdom and guidance.

Mom also taught me how to be a better marketer (this most likely surprises her). I realized that Mom taught me four key behaviors that I use everyday in my marketing role.

1. Always Call If You’re Going to Be Late
My mom is a stickler about calling if you’re going to be late. Her insistence on a courtesy call speaks to the importance of effective communication in marketing. The more you invest in communicating with customers and prospects, the happier they will be—and the more likely they are to stay connected to you and your company.

2. Learn to Appreciate Others
My mom taught me how to cook and do laundry at an early age. She wanted the help, but she also wanted me to appreciate the work she did around the house. The lesson for marketers is that, although strategy is important, sometimes you need to get your hands dirty and dig into tactics, so you can appreciate the roles other people play in your marketing agenda.

3. Be Prepared by Planning Ahead
When I was growing up, my mom kept a file of my clothing sizes and measurements. She always wanted to be prepared to buy clothes that fit me properly. In marketing, data plays an equally important role. It give you the information you need to make solid decisions at a moment’s notice.

4. Life Is More Fun with a Diverse Group Friends
My mom has taught me that life is simply more fun and more interesting when you share it with a diverse group of friends. In marketing, diverse groups of coworkers bring fresh perspectives to the table and underscore the need to avoid homogeneous hiring routines.

Marketing isn’t easy. But a few common sense tips from my mom (or from your own mother) just may be what you need to maintain meaningful connections with your company’s most important audiences.

Jason Ferrara is responsible for all facets of Ifbyphone’s marketing efforts, including overall marketing strategy, new market segments, and managing communications with the company’s existing customer base.

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Mom and Daughter Having Fun)

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A guest blog post by Jens Lundgaard of Brandworkz.

I have recently been in Silicon Valley and San Francisco meeting with a variety of CMOs and marketing directors, as well as many branding and marketing agencies.

Silicon Valley is incredibly dynamic and forward-thinking when it comes to software and technology across every industry sector. One of our own clients, Varian, is located there. They are at the forefront of life sciences, pioneering breakthrough proton-therapy equipment for cancer patients that enables 3-D targeting of tumors coupled with software-assisted dosage regulation.

All this innovative thinking is rubbing off on some marketers and agencies there. And it has highlighted in my mind what the main drivers of a strong brand strategy and good brand management will be in the coming years.

1. User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX)

Brands need to rethink where and how they interact with their consumers. Digital user experiences are rapidly taking over traditional brand touch points as the most important interfaces for brands with their customers.

Take banking, for example. I interact more often with my bank through its iPhone app and various personal and business Web applications than I do through the bank’s physical or paper-based touch points.

When my bank recently released a new version of its iPhone app with a massively improved UI/UX, which, by the way, is also very on-brand in terms of look and feel, my estimation of the bank went up—by more than it would have through any other brand- or marketing-related activity the bank could have undertaken.

What does this mean if you are a brand owner?

Before embarking on any brand or re-brand exercise, ask your existing customers—and potential ones—what the most important touch points with your organization are likely to be for them. Then rank them in terms of which ones will contribute the most to consumer satisfaction and which will attract potential customers most effectively.

Then decide if…

a.) you should go with a “traditional” branding agency that is strong on general positioning and creative—and then have a separate digital agency interpreting this output for your digital UX and UI
b.) digital user experiences are so important to your customers that this justifies choosing an agency that has UX as a core competency—but also understands and can develop a brand positioning

What does this mean if you are a branding agency?

If you don’t already have a strong digital UX and UI capability or you aren’t in the process of developing it, you need to start—now.

Many brand owners are already putting that capability at the top of the list when choosing a branding agency. These agencies will sooner rather than later become the agencies of record (or in UK terms, lead agency) because they are also picking up the traditional branding work, such as positioning, identity, communications, stationery, signage, brochures, and other marketing materials.

2. Analytics

Analytics is becoming even more integral to good brand management. With an effective digital asset management system, businesses will soon be able to track where and how brand assets are being used online and their effectiveness and relevance.

In the case of material with a limited lifespan, such as specific campaigns, videos, or images, businesses can track where these are, so they can be replaced when appropriate. This is vital in the digital space where the interaction between brand and consumers is two-way.

If you are a brand owner, ask yourself the following questions.

• When your images and videos are used on third-party sites, should these be available from your brand-management site, so you can track their popularity and use, and change them if they become out of date?
• If you allow consumers or third parties to download your brand images and videos, can you track where they are used?

3. Differentiated Positioning and Visual Style

What I have also learned is that, while advances in technology are changing the face of brand management, a differentiated positioning and supporting visual style remain as important as ever—if not more so.

Most product categories are immensely crowded. Competition is now not just from your own country but from the whole world; consumers are switching their spending to the Internet.

To build a successful brand and business, you must have a product or service that is highly relevant to your target market and that you can differentiate from your competitors’ products or services. In addition, you must communicate this clearly and consistently, both visually and through your messaging in every communications channel you use.

Jens Lundgaard is founder and CEO of Brandworkz. He has been developing cloud-based brand and digital asset management technology since the 1990s for such companies as Eurostar, Bupa, and Sony Ericsson.

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Future)

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How do you differentiate yourself in a marketplace so intensely regulated that everyone has to charge the same amount for services rendered? Likewise, how do you differentiate yourself when the service you offer is free and people see little difference between you and your competitors?

Those questions became the theme of the most recent episode of Marketing Smarts, which we recorded live in Los Angeles on April 25. Our guests were Eric Granof of AIA, the nation’s largest underwriter of bail bonds, and Brad Abare, founder of the Center for Church Communication and communications director for the evangelical Foursquare denomination. And though you might not think bail bond marketing and church marketing have much in common, they do share this problem: differentiation.

During our conversation, Eric pointed out, “Bail’s a regulated insurance product. Everyone has to charge the same. You file rates [so] it’s all marketing; it’s all branding.”

To help AIA’s agents address this issue, they created a site, ExpertBail, that does three things: It provides a lot of content to educate people on the bail industry; it profiles agents to put a human face on the industry (a face that doesn’t resemble Dog); and, finally, it recommends agents that have been vetted according to the site’s standards. This “certification” can make a real difference, according to Eric, “when you go down that bail bond row.”

Why? Because after seeing bail agent after bail agent, you suddenly see “ExpertBail—Trusted” and think, “I”m going to trust that guy.”

In other words, when you can’t differentiate on price, and the product is essentially the same, you need to differentiate on things like character and trust. With ExpertBail, AIA provides a platform that allows their agents to do just that.

Turning to the world of Christian churches, we run into a strikingly similar problem. To the extent that they preach the same Gospel and are based on a common set of values, churches can’t really “compete” on message. For all intents and purposes, they all have the same message. And because church services tend to follow the same template (music, prayer, sermon, etc.), you can’t really compete on, well, service. So, how do you entice people to visit your church instead of the one down the street?

“What brings people in to a local church community,” Brad told me, “whether it’s a church or a parish or whatever the denomination is, is something unique about that church.”

Because all churches are offering the same basic product/service, they need to pay special attention to the question, “What makes you you?”

It can take a lot of work and soul-searching to come up with a satisfying—and differentiating—answer to that question. Some churches focus on the pastor or minister, and his or her teaching as the community’s unique selling point. The problem with doing that, Brad points out, is that if something happens to that person—they leave or, worse, become involved in some sort of scandal, as happens from time to time—then attendance inevitably goes down.

Rather than building a “cult of personality,” Brad recommends that churches focus on defining the “personality of the church.” Why was it founded? What is the goal of its ministry? How does it seek to serve the greater community? Churches then should work on bringing that to the surface. “That,” he says, “is how you connect with community.”

The bottom line is this: If there is nothing that truly differentiates you from your competition, you’ve already lost. Fortunately, there probably is something unique and special about your organization, be it a church or a business. Find and articulate that, and you’ve already won!

So how have you created differentiation when you can’t do so on product or price?

If you’d like to listen to my conversations with Eric and Brad, you may do so here. If you’d like to make sure that you never miss an episode of Marketing Smarts, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Standing Out)

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A guest post by Ann Ehnert.

Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns in Google provide great opportunities for businesses to appear in search results for targeted keywords and to direct visitors to landing pages. But the optimization fun doesn’t (and shouldn’t) stop there.

After your team optimizes ad titles, URLs, and copy, consider the following three ideas for encouraging even more clicks on your ads.

1. Incorporate sitelink ads extension. Sitelinks ads are URLs that appear with your paid search campaign but are separate from the title, URL, and ad copy. The sitelinks live right under your PPC ad, and they provide additional suggestions to your target audience. The titles can be customized to include specific keywords or calls to action to further engage your potential customers.

2. Aim for the seller ratings extension. Seller ratings appended to a PPC ad are positive reviews of online stores that are aggregated by Google Product Review from several online review sites. Not every PPC ad will be eligible for this opportunity right away. (Google has a set of criteria that your business must meet to have your reviews appear along with your ad.)

Here’s the scoop: Once your online business achieves 30 reviews with a four-star rating on Google Product Search, it is eligible to have the seller ratings extension. There is no work on your end to start showing the seller ratings.

3. Include social extensions. Consider joining the forces of Google+ with your AdWords account. This will allow those users who have +1’d your page to appear below the ad copy. That not only highlights your presence on the social network but also lets your visitors know that other users have noticed or recognized your services and continue to follow you, thus increasing your organization’s online reputation.

Setting up is easy as pie. Once you have created and verified a Google+ Business Page, go to your AdWords account, and click on the “Ad Extensions.” Once there, you will see an option for “social extensions,” which will allow you to paste in the verified Google+ Business page URL. And that’s all there is to it!

And this is just the beginning. Once your PPC ads are up and running, continue to be proactive in the management of the campaign and seek ways of improving.

What other optimization tools are you using to boost your ROI?

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Winning Money)

Ann Ehnert is the marketing coordinator at SteadyRain, a digital agency based in St. Louis, MO. Share and Enjoy:

Four years ago, my husband and I moved from a big city in northern California to a tiny town in central Arizona. I went through a tough adjustment period. I missed my family, friends, and my familiar routine. But more than anything, I missed Trader Joe’s.

But last month, everything changed. A big, shiny, colorful, brand-spanking-new Trader Joe’s opened!

My husband, who only goes to the grocery store under the threat of starvation, was completely baffled by my excitement at the prospect of a new place to buy food. As I tried to rationalize my unfettered glee, I started thinking about the “4 P’s of Marketing” and why, even after a four-year drought, I’m still loyal to Trader Joe’s.

Product

First, I love Trader Joe’s products because they are simple. I can pronounce each ingredient in each item I buy, and the list of ingredients doesn’t take up half of each package. Don’t get me wrong; simple does not mean boring. Which brings me to the second reason I love Trader Joe’s products: variety. Whether I’m in the mood for something Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, French, or Mediterranean, I know I can find something to please my palate.

Best of all, if I try something and I don’t like it, I can take it back for a full refund. No questions asked—even if the container is empty. I rarely dislike anything because Trader Joe’s products are consistently good.

Marketing Takeaway: The root of great marketing is a great product. Which sounds obvious, maybe. But you have to nail product before anything else. Are you creating a product that your customers will love? That they’ll go out of their way to access? That they value?

Price

I spend less money on grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s than I do at “regular” grocery stores, period. I’ve done the comparison-shopping. But even better than that, I know the pricing at Trader Joe’s is consistent. I don’t need coupons. I don’t need a club card. I don’t need to shop on the first Wednesday of each month to get my orange juice for $1.99. It’s always $1.99. And, because Trader Joe’s private labels the majority of what it sells, Trader Joe’s doesn’t have to push the cost of name brands to consumers. No middlemen. Ever.

Marketing Takeaway: Don’t rely on gimmicks and discounts to sell your product or service. Decide what it’s worth (do your research), and most importantly, be consistent.

Promotion

Trader Joe’s doesn’t do print or TV ads. Trader Joe’s doesn’t use an advertising agency. Because they don’t have to. Spending money on advertising means they’d have to jack up prices, so they don’t. Occasionally, you’ll hear a radio ad, but those announcements are read by a company employee, not a voice-over actor. All the artwork in the stores is made in-store, by hand, by a team of artists. Yep, artists. Not computers. Each shelf tag, chalkboard, and mural was created with markers, paint, and chalk. What’s not to love about that?

Marketing Takeaway: Don’t spend money promoting your product if your product will suffer because of it. You can build buzz around your product without spending a fortune; it happens all the time. Take advantage of brand loyalists to tell your story for you. When in doubt remember: Authenticity rules.

Place

There’s more to place than location. Yes, Trader Joe’s did the research and determined that a new store would thrive where I live, but the spot on the map is only one part of the equation. For the place to be the right place, there has to be the right atmosphere—one that’s inviting (flowers at the front door) and friendly (crew members in cute t-shirts). That’s what Trader Joe’s does so well. My excitement walking into the new store wasn’t just about buying food. It wasn’t even about price, product, or promotion. It was about the place. A place where I felt… at home.

Marketing Takeaway: Humans are emotional, and we want to connect. Are you creating an environment where your customers feel welcome? Websites are environments, too, and every click offers a chance to connect. Don’t squander a single opportunity to demonstrate that you value those connections.

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Imagine doing business with Iron Man*, Captain America, Thor, or the Hulk. What business lessons would they share?

Inspired by the recent premiere of The Avengers movie, I drew a downloadable infodoodle of  powerful business lessons from four classic Marvel superheroes.

Here are the business lessons from Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk.

Iron Man

• Know your weaknesses… and work on overcoming them.
• Use technology to enhance your innate gifts and intelligence.

Captain America

• Use your popularity for good. Remember that fame enhances who you already are.
• Stay human, stay compassionate. Don’t forget the little guys.

Thor

• Fill yourself up with what strengthens you… like the Golden Apples of Idunn.
• Stay focused on the work at hand, even if it means fighting the Frost Giant Army without a break for nine months.

The Hulk

• Keep your cool at all times. Or destruction will follow in your path.
• Think and THEN react. Knee-jerk reactions often just make you a jerk. What happens online remains online forever.

Download a bigger, brighter PDF of this infodoodle, if you like.

* I know, I know. Tony Stark is a businessperson, but just go with it…

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A sparkling résumé used to be all you needed to navigate a career path. The right names and places on paper answered the basic questions about you and your professional experience. Nowadays, however, a résumé isn’t enough to tell your story.

To help you learn the best way to share your professional story, seize the personal branding trends this year, and boost your career, we’re offering our free Marketing Kit: Career.

The kit is packed with career advice for smart marketers.

You’ll learn about the personal branding trends for 2012, such as the personalization of work, crowdsourcing for professionals, and personal publishing. And you’ll receive suggestions that take your professional bio from great to outstanding.

If you need to retool your marketing team (or want to be on one), you can check out information about skills that are in demand.

Plus, MarketingProfs own chief content officer Ann Handley shares 11 key traits for companies wanting to hire chief content officers. (And if you want to become one, check out her list. Do you have all the vital traits of a chief content officer?)

Get all the details at the free Marketing Kit: Career page and download the free PDF.

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How many times have you visited a website and ended up sorely disappointed? Or worse, annoyed as all get out? For me, the answer is an easy one: a lot!

So, I put together a list of the 12 things that annoy me the most about websites. Maybe you’ll agree; maybe you won’t.

Let’s see…

12. Music

Music blares the minute I visit your site. That is unexpected, disruptive, and downright rude, from a customer experience standpoint. And, in case you weren’t sure, it ticks me (and most people) off more than just about anything. Wake up and smell the coffee! That is so 2001. Frankly, it wasn’t cool even back then—but today, music on your website can mean the kiss of death.

11. Flash

Your “awesome” Flash website takes forever to load and then blasts me with all these neat-o visuals that require me to twiddle my thumbs and waste precious time. I need information, not entertainment. Get over yourselves. Quit listening to your creative team (and if they’re recommending Flash, hire a new team), and maximize the three seconds of attention I’m willing to give you by telling me something I want or need to know.

10. Pop-ups

Pop-up ads (and that’s what they are) make me want to kill you. Yeah, I know they’re effective at boosting click-through rates. I still hate ‘em. Stop it. Using pop-up ads tells me you don’t care about my experience—you just want to sell me crap. It’s like going on a first date, and having the date say, “Let’s fool around” before dinner hits the table. It’s too much. Too soon. I don’t care what the experts say. Pop-up ads make me want to leave.

9. Walking Ads

[Cue scream here.] Speaking of pop-ups, walking ads stink even more. They are annoying, disruptive, and inconsiderate. I came to your site for information. You only have one chance to make a good first impression, and walking ads are not the way to do it. I don’t care who sold you on it. It’s a bad idea.

8. Contact Info

Sure, I have a lot of patience and free time. I really WANT to have to dig through your bleepin’ site to find your contact information. That makes my life super-easy. Go ahead, hide it! Or better yet, don’t put contact info on there at all. That’s one way to ensure we don’t ever work together.

7. Mystery

Websites that don’t tell me what you do, why I need what you do, and what it’s gonna cost me are downright ineffective. I don’t want to dig for pricing. I want the information, and I want it now. Being coy might work when you’re dating, but when it comes to business, I’m like Sergeant Friday on Dragnet. Just the facts, ma’am. You’ve got about three seconds of my time and attention—use it wisely. And copy that’s “mysterious” is not.

6. Down the Rabbit Hole

Contact pages that make us feel like Alice in Wonderland? Not prudent. And when your contact form leads us to default email programs that we can’t stand, they cause us to immediately leave your site. For instance, I don’t use Mail; I don’t want to use Mail. And when your contact form automatically loads Mail for me, it makes curse words flow out of my mouth that are very unladylike. WHAT are you thinking? Stop it. Please.

5. Black Backgrounds

Black backgrounds and white or grey type are nearly IMPOSSIBLE to read. With very few exceptions (there are some sites done very well by people who know what they’re doing, but they are rare), cut it out. Black backgrounds stink. And if your Web-design team thinks those backgrounds are cool, do your homework. Ask people who know about converting the leads that come to your website to sales about the performance of sites with dark backgrounds. After all, isn’t that what you’re really interested in—leads that you can convert to sales?

4. Miniscule Text

Fonts that are too small can be remedied by a surfer; I’ll give you that. But it annoys me when I have to manually bump up the type. And I’m thinking that if you really think about what you want from a site visitor in terms of actions, it’s not making them do something to learn more. Tell your Web developers with young eyes that it’s often old folks like me who are making the buying decisions. The “default” font most Web developers use is almost ALWAYS too small. Bump it up a notch. Or three. You’ll be amazed at how much happier your Web surfers will be. Know who your customers and prospects are; serve them information that is easy for them to consume—without the need for modifications.

3. An Undesired Delivery

I consume a lot of content. And when I find yours—and I like it—I want to read more. And I want it delivered to my email inbox, not my Reader, which I use for different things. When your blog doesn’t take that into consideration, I know you’re not paying attention. And I know you don’t care about me as a consumer, you’re only thinking about how you like information delivered. Newsflash: It’s not about you. A vast majority of content consumers are just like me. They want content delivered to their email inbox rather than subscribing via an RSS feed. When you overlook that and when you don’t offer me an option that suits my consumption preferences, it tells me you’re not paying attention.

2. Searching for Search

What are you doing to make it easy for people to search your site? You’d be amazed how many sites don’t have an easy-to-find search function—or that don’t have a search function at all. That’s just plain dumb. Make sure your website has an easy-to-locate, easy-to-use search button.

1. Anti-Social

Where are the buttons displaying where to find you on the Web? I keep running across websites that have social sharing buttons on them, but when you click on the buttons, instead of taking you to say, for instance, someone’s Facebook page, it allows me to share your page of content on Facebook. Seriously? As if I want to share your “About” page on Facebook? No, dummy. What I’m looking for is your brand presence on Facebook (or Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)—maybe because I want to “like” you there and pay attention to what you’re doing. Not having social sharing buttons shows me that you’re not participating in the social media space (whether that’s really the case). And it also shows me that you have no idea that I’m judging you—and your level of savviness about the digital space and the importance of social networks—based on their absence. Is that what you want? Really?

The Bottom Line

Don’t be egocentric when it comes to Web design. Know who your audience is and what people come to your site looking for. Or what you want them to come to your site looking for. Let your Web analytics play a huge rule in this process. Focus on creating a user experience that respects users’ needs and makes it easy for them to find the information they seek. Make sure your site has a navigation system that makes sense. And when you’re developing it, step outside the group of people working on the nav design and ask for feedback from others. Test your theories before implementing them. You’ll be surprised how often you’ve made assumptions that aren’t quite right. Sometimes, we’re so close to our own businesses and our own designs that we can’t be objective.

Great design is cool. And cool is nice. But that isn’t enough when it comes to effective online marketing. A beautifully designed website that has a crappy user experience serves up zero results. Great design paired with navigation that’s well-thought out and content that does the job it’s supposed to do? Those make a website work. Creating an effective Web experience that actually turns site visitors into leads and allows you the opportunity to convert those leads into sales—that’s what effective online marketing is all about.

And if you really want to strengthen your Web presence, consider attending the MarketingProfs University course Websites That Work (now on demand), an 11-class course that will help you plan, redesign, measure, optimize and track all your landing page and website activities. I’m slightly biased because I taught one of the classes, but I can promise you that I also sat through all the other sessions. And learned a lot. You will, too. So, register now.

Oh, and thanks to the Punks for their feedback. It’s always nice to know the very things that drive me crazy drive other people I respect and admire crazy, too. Now, what have I missed?

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Angry Woman)

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Social media is all about brand engagement. So, how can sports organizations use it to improve fan experience and not detract from it?

As a recent Media Post article stated, “The challenge of social media for major league sports is how to engage fans without disengaging them from the game by interrupting those all-important moments of play.”

The piece discussed how pro sports organizations have been trying to figure out “the social media puzzle.” How can they walk the line between wiring modern stadiums, so fans can access immediate information, send tweets to friends, and catch an important replay if they missed it in real time—without disruption during a game? How can sports organizations offer interactive social media programs that don’t distract from but heighten the fan experience?

One line in the article summed up sports fans very well: “Fan groups are by nature social.” That means they enjoy attending sports events together and sharing the experience to the hilt. Using social media before the game, during time outs and intermissions, and when it’s over is terrific. Reliving “the great play” or “the play that swung the momentum” is a big part of the sports experience for all fans. And those moments are meant to be shared and savored.

When I go to a sports event, I’m there to see the game. Sure, I want to share the experience with my son and friends, both at the game or not. I’ll send photos and comments out via my iPhone… but not during the action.

For teams that want to engage fans via social media, photo ops, invites to Q&A sessions, and contests are great ideas. But can they come before and after games? How about during the pre- and post-seasons to keep fans engaged consistently without interrupting games?

Let’s leave it up to the fans to decide when and how they want to engage with friends during sporting events. That enables us all to optimize and customize our experiences.

• What’s the role of social media where pro sports are concerned?
• Do you think sports teams should engage fans during games?
• When and how should pro sports organizations use social media? How about local sports groups?

Let’s hear from marketers, social media experts, and fans!

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Baseball Crowd)

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Paul Castain is a former sales director for the famed training company, Dale Carnegie & Associates. Like many successful sales professionals, he spent years grooming relationships with his personal network. So, when he went solo, he started with 15 corporate clients. Now, he has relationships with 29,000 people inside his LinkedIn group, Sales Playbook!, which is one of the largest LinkedIn groups for sales professionals.

Being at a company that helps sales and marketing teams collaborate, I’m always on the look out for smarty-pants in the sales and marketing industry. Paul is one of them, and he’s got some experiences to share with folks who shepherd online communities as part of their day-to-day marketing responsibilities.

How to Pitch

In his book, Social Networking Playbook, Paul explains how we need to be delicate when pitching our communities. People who are smarter than I am know that they shouldn’t ask someone to marry them on their first date. That’s also the case with community management. Just because we’re in front of tens of thousands of potential customers doesn’t mean we need to pitch them right away.

Paul invites us to approach our online community like we would approach a dating relationship. With dating, we want to demonstrate how much we care for the other person. If done enough times, the other person might reciprocate and like you back. And then you can both dance into the horizon framed by the sunset and a bevy of rainbows and butterflies.

It’s about reciprocity. Karma. The idea that I scratch your back, and you’ll scratch mine.

One blogger I met years ago explained a mantra she had developed for herself: For every time she makes a request of her community, she makes sure to give away nine helpful things.

How to Date 29,000 People Simultaneously

Nearly every sane person wants to succeed. So, Paul suggests that we care for our community by helping our community succeed. Here’s how Paul helps Sales Playbook!, his community of sales and marketing professionals, succeed.

Play matchmaker. This could be a simple email introduction. Or it could be a full-blown LinkedIn group.

Facilitate mind-melds. Paul hosts teleconferences and LinkedIn discussions, where participants are invited to share some tips and best practices.

Distribute helpful resources. In his book, Paul lists some of the resources he likes to pass along to his group. Here’s a short list of what to share, inspired by what he wrote.

• Names of some great books found on Amazon’s bestseller list or Goodreads
• Free e-books. A lot are on Scribd.
• Free apps that boost productivity, such as Evernote
• Websites jam-packed with helpful free resources

How All This Pays Off

Although Paul can’t share names and dollar amounts, he did share a couple of success stories.

One day, he got a random call from a woman at a Fortune 500 company. She wasn’t a member of his LinkedIn group, but she worked with someone who was. Her coworker spoke so highly of him that she checked out his profile and website, then decided to hire him for a major speaking gig at their national sales conference. That gig has now opened the door for additional work and coaching assignments.

Another time, Paul landed a major consulting contract because someone on his group read that he’s a guitar player. They chatted music a few times, then one day, his new music buddy shared some sales challenges his team was having. Things moved very quickly, and, within six weeks, Paul was training the first group of sales reps.

Paul is convinced that all this would have never happened if he didn’t work to foster a sense of community within his group.

(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Man Holding Flowers)

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