Out-Smarts has a business profile in Facebook and within a day of creating our page we have 7 fans! We’re testing the waters to see how we can use this profile to share our knowledge and expertise; to collaborate with interested parties and to assess if Social Ads is a viable Internet advertising tool. Become a fan and check up on our progress or submit to our discussions - the current one being innovative corporate blog uses.
When I meet with executives in the finance sector and talk about new media adoption I usually get the response that investors are typically old school and like to do business the “traditional” way. I always have to ask about the next generation of investors - those for whom new media adoption is the norm: have these financial organisations considered how they will attract these new investors in the future without using new media?
Steadyhand, a local financial organisation that provides mutual funds does just that. It bucks the trend both in terms of the mutual funds services it provides and its approach to new media adoption which is leading edge to say the least. The company has adopted a blogging policy that encourages all employees to contribute as well as Internet advertising and social marketing strategies that effectively reach and involve their target audience.
Traditional finance companies should take note - this is the way of the future.
This week the buzz in the social networking arena has surrounded Google’s OpenSocial announcement on Friday and the upcoming announcement expected from Facebook tomorrow. It seems that right now it pays to be social.
Google’s entry into the social networking arena with OpenSocial was fanfared on Friday. OpenSocial is a collaboration between Google and major SN players like LinkedIn, MySpace and Ning to facilitate building social networking apps and to encourage third party participation. The idea is that through application standardisation the development of social networking applications and add-ins will be easier and a shared API will lead to ease of deployment across different SN applications.
Facebook in turn is taking a run at Google on the Internet advertising front. With a big announcement expected from Facebook today rumours are circulating that the company intends to use data collected from user profiles to offer ads highly specific to interests and needs a la AdSense. Considering the personal data that Facebook has collected and the fact that Facebook is considered to be more authentic (profiles in Facebook are more true to real life than say MySpace), its really no surprise that the company is looking to harness this.
From a user perspective these developments can only be positive. The easier it is for companies to implement social networking technology, both on their web sites and Intranets, the better for enhanced communication, community and customer service. The integration of social networks will mean less time in the login and learning process for people like myself who use these networks as valuable business development tools. These, together with the ability to advertise to a highly targeted audience are all positive steps in the evolution of the social networking space.
Its easy to get started with Google AdWords. For a small monthly fee your company could take advantage of the Google search engine to advertise to your targeted audience. Perhaps the only challenging part of the set up is deciding which flavour of Google AdWords is right for you: Starter or Standard Edition.
Starter Edition - If you are an Internet advertising neophyte, Starter is the obvious choice and the one recommended by Google itself. It is aimed at companies with a single product line operating in a single geography. The service is simplified to let users easily set up a campaign and device appropriate keywords. Starter comes with analytics and reporting capabilities that are less complex: ideal for someone just getting up to speed.
Standard Edition - is the full blown all you can eat AdWords suite. It is definetely for the more seasoned Internet advertising professional advertising multiple products across many regions. It brings advanced planning tools that lets you put complex ad campaigns into effect and complex reporting functionality that lets you monitor the results. Standard provides a hole slew of other neat add-ons to let you assess keywords and come up with more effective ones.
Both services are simple to sign up for. If you’re not sure which one is best then go with Starter and work up to Standard once you have developed an understanding of the basic functionality.
GoogleAdWords is a great way to easily target your niche audience and promote your product to that audience. With hundreds of millions of Google searches performed every day it makes sense to tap into that huge potential market and thats just what GoogleAdwords lets you do.
When you next google something look at the right hand side and the top few searches of the page: these are ads (usually highlighted) placed and paid for by companies using the GoogleAdWords service.
The major benefits companies find in using this service (increased traffic notwithstanding) include:
All in all, GoogleAdWords brings great bang for your advertising buck.
Using keywords is a must if you want the right audience to find you on the web. Here are 10 tips to that will make you determine the right keywords:
1. When coming up with keywords, think inside the head of your intended customer. What is she thinking when she starts her search? Put yourself in her shoes and think about the words she would Google.
2. Use concise terms - the simpler the better and use word combinations rather than one word terms to hone in on the right audience.
3. Use a tool like the Overture Keyword Selector to determine how frequently a term is searched for and identify similar terms.
4. Always check your spelling - if it’s wrong then no one will find you!
5. Think of as many combinations of words for applicable terms as possible for every service offering or product you sell - get creative, ask clients and partners for their input.
6. Consider adding geographical keywords that describe your target audience: if you’re going after prospects in Toronto for example, add Toronto to the keywords describing your offerings.
7. Use your keywords frequently, in blog titles, at the start of all web pages and use applicable terms for different pages or services your provide.
8. Make sure applicable keywords are listed in the META tags for each web page - ask your web designer how.
9. Test and try different words and combinations. Don’t be afraid to monitor and change words frequently depending on results.
10. Refine your clicks by using negative keywords (keywords with a minus sign up front) so that search engines will omit your link when the term is searched in combination with your keywords.
With the majority of households now on-line, it’s not surprising that companies are looking to the Internet as a a vital advertising medium. A recent report by VSS shows that in the US new media advertising (including Internet) grew by 36.6% in 2006 in comparison to a spending increase of only 2.4% on traditional ads. At this rate, VSS predicts that investments in Internet advertising will overtake traditional spending by 2011. And Canada is not far behind with a report from the Internet Advertising Bureau of Canada earlier this year showing a 26% increase in Internet advertising spending here in 2006.
Companies can no longer ignore the opportunities the Internet brings to attract new customers and why should they? With lower costs and the ability to target more effectively, Internet advertising affords the chance to level the playing field with competitors and to corner the market niche.