JournaMarketing

Online marketing picks up as the economy sinks

It doesn't look like marketers are pulling their money out of online/digital marketing because of the looming economic trouble.  A new survey for Epsilon (reported by Chaos Scenario) shows a shift from traditional to digital marketing.  Take a look at marketers' planned budgets for both kinds of marketing:

Interactive/Digital Marketing:
    * Decreased... 14%
    * Increased... 63%
    * Stayed the same... 23%

Traditional Marketing
    * Decreased... 59%
    * Increased... 13%
    * Stayed the same... 29%

Online marketing is a cost-effective way to reach the people you want to reach -- provided you're willing to engage them in conversation instead of simply talking at them.  It remains to be seen how many marketers are willing to change their mindset to be successful online.

25 tools/plugins to improve your blog

Rich Page has put together a list of 25 tools and plugins you can use to improve your blog. It's meant for Wordpress blogs, but a lot of the other blogging platforms have similar tools to accomplish the goals on this list. It's a good list, no matter what platform you're using, for the ideas it contains. Many of these tools are designed to draw more people back to your site for repeat visits, increasing their engagement with you and your organization.

Tribes: Why you need to be some kind of leader

Hugh McLeod has a must-read Q&A with Seth Godin, on Godin's new book, "Tribes."  Here's a taste:

The world has always been organized into tribes, groups of people who want to (need to) connect with each other, with a leader and with a movement. The products, services and ideas that are gaining currency faster than ever are ones that are built on a tribe.

Barack Obama has one, John McCain tried to co-opt one. Arianna Huffington has built the most popular blog in the world around one. Harley Davidson and Apple are titanic brands for the very same reason. They sell a chance to join a group that matters.

The punchline is that the only way to lead a tribe is to lead it. And that means that marketing is now about leadership, about challenging the status quo and about connecting people who can actually make a difference. If you can't do that, don't launch your site, your product, your non-profit or your career.

Get thee to Hugh McLeod's blog and read the rest. It's outstanding stuff.  And as you're reading it, think about what kind of leadership your organization can offer to people who are eager to connect with you.

Technorati Tags: Seth_Godin, Tribes, nptech, marketing, PR

Podcast on new media

One of the projects I get to work on is a blog and podcast series for the Missouri Foundation for Health. It's part of a program to help anti-tobacco professionals share information and work together.  The program manager, Angela Wilson, interviewed me the other day for a podcast on new media -- especially as it applies to nonprofits.  You can hear it here.

Technorati Tags: nptech, social_media, tobacco

Twitter saves you time and trouble

Denise Wakeman has a story about how Twitter saved her a lot of time and trouble in her search for an online scheduling tool.  If you don't know about Twitter, or don't understand it, you can find more information at Denise's post.  Or email me (link on the left) or post a question here, and I'll be glad to talk to you about how it might work for you and your organization.

Twitter as a tool that keeps you connected with people whose opinion you value. And a place where you can tap into those opinions when you really need them.

Why your organization's participation in social media won't turn people off

A new study says Americans expect companies to be participating in social media sites.  The numbers come from a survey by Cone.  Key findings:

• 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media website.
• 93% believe a company should have a presence in social media.
• 85% believe a company should not only be present, but should interact with consumers.
• 56% feel a stronger connection and better served by companies who interact with them in a social media environment.

What does this mean to you -- not just businesses, but any organization?

1. Your customers or constituents are already looking for you online.
2. Just showing up to the party isn't good enough. You have to interact with people there.
3. Interaction is not inherently intrusive. 
   
4. Being obnoxious and self-centered is intrusive

More analysis at Podcasting News and Terry Heaton's PoMo Blog.

Read more blogs to make your blog better

Most of the time, when I talk to people about blogging for their organization, they say time is their main constraint.  But I think their real concern is related to that: they just don't know what they're going to write about!

It's hard to get in the mindset of providing lots of information to people every day. I remember when I first started working as a journalist, coming up with story ideas was my biggest challenge. So what did I do to meet that challenge? I immersed myself in the topics I covered.

You can do the same thing by reading lots and lots of blogs online. The more you consume, the faster your mind will start to make connections that will lead you to write your own content. And the easiest way to do that is to subscribe to tons of blogs in a feed reader.  No matter what reader you're using (I use Google Reader), subscribe to lots of other blogs who write about things in your area of interest. 

Don't worry about putting too many feeds into your reader.  You don't have to read everything!  But if you can open your reader every morning and see 50-100 articles in front of you, there's a pretty good chance something is going to give you an idea for writing on your own blog.

I'm planning a post soon on how to use Google Reader to optimize your ability to cover lots and lots of material in a short amount of time.  If anyone has any tips, leave a comment on this post, or email me through the link on the right side of the page.

Skills you need to thrive in new media

Steve Mays has a list of skills he believes you need to survive as a reporter in a new-media environment.  I think you can take it even further, and say these skills are important for anyone who wants to communicate effectively, whether as a reporter, or a PR person, or the director of a small nonprofit organization, or a business owner. Here's Steve's list, given to a reporter who wants to know how to make sure he always has a job:

• Start blogging (any topic)  This includes reading other blogs
• Start using an RSS news reader
• Set up a twitter page (get a grasp of social networking)
• Get a smart phone and learn how to use it (see above)
• Keep a small digital (still/video) camera on his person at all times
• Get a YouTube and flickr account and start using them. (any subject)
• Begin the process of creating your brand

What would you add?Technorati Tags: communications, PR, new media

Back from BlogWorld

Well, I'm back from a busy couple of days at BlogWorld Expo 2008.  It was great to meet a lot of people who are breaking ground in social media and marketing. And I have lots to share -- so keep an eye on this blog and it'll be coming in the new several days.

For now, I've got to prepare for 2 presentations and several meetings in the next two days, so posting might be a bit light. But more on BlogWorld is coming, I promise.Technorati Tags: blogworld08, BWE08, blogs

Blogworld: State of the Blogosphere

Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra presented some great information on what makes a successful blog.  His "State of the Blogosphere" report looked, in part, at what the top money-earning blogs are doing.  The takeaway?  The top bloggers are working their tails off.  About half of them post 10+ times per week. They use more online tools (like widgets, etc.).  And the top 10% of money-earners average 81 posts (?!) per month.

Richard's advice to get all that content, by the way, is that you should get some help.Technorati Tags: blogworld08, Technorati, Richard Jalichandra, blogging