Vivid Ascent Blog

Social Media Revs Up the 2012 Chicago Auto Show

January 17, 2012 By Dan Leave a Comment

The Chicago Automobile Trade Association (CATA) has put together the most comprehensive social PR and marketing plan ever. For the first time, the Show is being covered by bloggers in many categories outside the automotive arena who still have relevant ties to areas of interest at the Show. Bloggers covering new technology, safety, sports, travel, food, military and mommy and daddy topics are all being invited to join the fun. Some of the most influential bloggers will drive concept cars for the week of the show.

Dave Sloan, President of CATA finds the powerful impact of social media energizing. Dave laughs at the recollection of some “experts” who said social media would kill major events and conferences because of the online availability of the content. But the opposite turned out to be true. Social Media has helped dramatically increase interest and attendance at the Auto Show.

This year will be the best Chicago Auto Show ever and we’re excited to see all the new interest and participation that will come from the most comprehensive social media PR plan. I hope to see you at the Show!

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: 2012 Chicago Auto Show, Blogger outreach, Bloggers, digital PR, marketing plan, marketing strategies, pr, social media

Try This: Evaluate Your Digital-to-Traditional Media Mix

January 8, 2012 By Dan Leave a Comment

A great story by Robert Channick of the Chicago Tribune last week revealed the tremendous increase in digital advertising (20% increase in 2011), as well as the important accomplishment of Digitas and LeoBurnett by winning the Sprint account. While digital advertising will grow by double digits to $50B by 2015 (28% of the pie), traditional TV will still achieve 38% of the pie. We have to objectively accept that the future of PR and marketing is all about digital and it’s intelligent integration with traditional PR and marketing. Why?

Almost every non-spontaneous purchase includes the use of the internet as part of the purchase cycle. Marketing and PR success requires knowledge of the top keywords buyers use to research their upcoming purchase and then integrating them in all promotional materials aimed at your audience. Linking PR materials and syndicating them with marketing materials leads to better audience penetration, awareness and sales.

Sprint’s media mix, with the dominant focus on digital, is indicative of what will happen with all promotion, whether it’s B2B or B2C. Don’t wait. Evaluate your digital and traditional PR and marketing with an eye on your audience media habits. If you do this objectively, you’ll find opportunities to improve your campaigns and reach more customers with greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: digitas, leo burnett, marketing, media mix, optimization, pr, sprint

Does Google +1 Influence Organic and Paid Search Results? Yes!

July 28, 2011 By Dan Leave a Comment

We’ve had some clients ask about the influence Google +1 (plus one) has had on website organic search results. Questions have also been raised by PC World which ran this story yesterday, so it’s worth exploring. In the PC World article we learn that an SEO company is purportedly selling the influence of +1′s in packages (where you can purchase 50 +1′s for $10, 250 +1′s for $30, and 2,000 +1′s for $170). Where there’s commerce, there’s influence and everyone believes the number of +1′s does influence both organic and paid search. Google has made limited comments about this, but it just makes sense. The intelligence of the crowd is a foundational philosophy at Google and this social search feature will add credibility to search results.

Google has watched with envy as Facebook institutionalized the ‘like’. Danny Sullivan, who is Editor-in-Chief of Search Engine Land, a top Search Technology consultancy, said in this article that +1 is just like Facebook’s “like” button so it will influence website SERPs. In fact, Danny goes on to joke that Google should have named the feature “PageRank” in order to strip the pretense that it is anything other than a clue to help Google’s algorithm determine rank authority.

Google’s position is straightforward: “We’ll look at it as a potential signal to improve search quality”, said Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s WebSpam Team and a member of their Social Search launch team.

The bottom line? If you’re offered an opportunity to buy a package of +1 influence, turn it down. Instead, build your Google Plus social network and invite your customers to +1 your site. You should also build your Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (or other) social networks in order to cast as broad a net as possible. In that way you’ll catch more fish in the social sea.

Filed Under: SEO Tagged With: +1, google, Google +1, Google social search, organic search results, page rank, search authority, search engine optimization, seo, SERP, social marketing, social media, social networks

How Will The New ICANN Domains Affect Your Business?

June 24, 2011 By Dan Leave a Comment

This week the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced an “historic” change in the strategy behind domain name registration. They’ve agreed to sell a variety of new generic top-level domains (gTLD) that will allow companies to buy their name or industry. As an example, instead of www.vividascent.com we could buy pr.vividascent or integratedmarketing.vividascent. Apple could buy ipad.apple or Allstate could buy insurance.allstate or allstate.insurance. The potential combinations are numerous.

ICANN is using dramatic language to introduce this change, perhaps to go along with the dramatic $185,000 price tag for each new domain. Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN said “ICANN has opened the Internet’s naming system to unleash the global human imagination. We hope this allows the domain name system to better serve all of mankind.” Thank goodness for mankind they are releasing these new domains! While new domains will provide a higher level of branding, the elephant in the room was not mentioned in the ICANN press release. The elephant question is “what will the search engines do with these new domains compared to the existing .com, .org and other suffixes that are already well established online”?

So far Google is silent on the matter. Well, sort of.

Here are a couple of scenarios that might happen, and how your business may be affected:

A) The most likely scenario is that search engines will not reward these new domains with higher visibility in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) for relevant keyword “organic search” and the well established sites will remain on top. Of course if someone searches for the new domains directly they will find them, but otherwise it could be buried beyond visibility. Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s Webspam team recently indicated that Google will “dial down” the influence of keyword enriched domains (watch this video). This suggests that a keyword-trained domain may not be rewarded with authority in Google’s future.

In scenario B) the search engines might deliver these new domains at the top of organic search results for the keyword or category they mirror. As an example, if a company buys homes.chicagorealestate, and someone searches for “chicago real estate”, the search engines may reward the exact-match domain as long as it’s a credible site with good content and traffic. Another example might be rustoleum.paint, where the search engines reward the “paint” suffix above the brand’s domain, which is rustoleum.com.

Only time will tell what the exact impact will be, but I wouldn’t rush to buy your category or brand domain unless there is a solid, strategic, financial or competitive business reason to buy it. This will not change the way sites appear organically in the near future and you don’t have to rush to make a decision. But you should strategically evaluate the opportunity – assuming you’re large enough to pay the $185,000 fee – to make sure you don’t miss an opportunity that may only fully reveal itself in the years to come.

Ask your marketing or PR partner for their input and opinion. We don’t believe this is a “mankind-changing” issue, but it is worthy of review and thoughtful consideration. Good luck!

Filed Under: Public Relations, SEO Tagged With: .com, brand management, domains, google, ICANN, marketing strategy, pr, search, search engine optimization, seo, URL

Event Marketing Under Utilized or Underwater?

June 13, 2011 By Dan Leave a Comment

Attendance at events has been dwindling for years as people find it more difficult to justify traveling or even committing a day out of their busy schedules. I’ve played in several charitable golf events this spring, including the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund and Passion Outreach, both excellent organizations. There appears to be more people willing to donate money to these fine charities than those willing to attend the events or play in the outing. Event marketers need to get creative. Social media allows people to monitor events from afar, broadcasting important insights through a network of interested and connected influencers. Pre-promotion of an event using social media ensures not only a broader audience, but also greater visibility in the search engines whenever keywords related to the event are searched. Social media interaction, like voting during an event will increase the online conversations and attract more interest.

The economies of scale need to be rationalized for any event given the time challenges we all face, but a robust social media pre-and-post plan will increase your return on investment and contribute to attracting a larger audience and more money.

Don’t lose control of your event, like someone lost control of this golf cart during the event I attended last week. Can you see the corner of the roof sticking out of the lake? How could that happen? The driver was probably texting.

Filed Under: Event Marketing Tagged With: charitable events, event marketing, event ROI, marketing, profitable events, seo, social media, social media events, sponsored events, sponsorships, text, texting, tweet sheets

New Evidence Supports Integrating Advertising and Social Media

May 12, 2011 By Dan Leave a Comment

Results from a surprising new survey by the Affluence Collaborative reveals that affluent US consumers ($500,000+ income) are twice as likely as the general population to follow a brand on social networks because an ad led them to it. This speaks volumes about the importance of integration between traditional advertising and social networking. The digital marketing resource eMarketer published a story about the Affluence Collaborative research results, highlighting the relationship between affluent consumers and brands that use social media. While most of us believe that people follow brands on social networks because of the deals, this study revealed the most important motivation is brand loyalty.

I admit to rolling my eyes (almost) every time I see a Facebook or Twitter address displayed at the end of a TV commercial or print ad with no apparent invitation, offer or other reason to be there. When the voiceover in the radio commercial says “Friend us on Facebook” I have to ask “why”? Only 44% of the general population agrees with me while 52% of affluent consumers believe their love for the brand is sufficient incentive. I’m obviously in the wrong tax bracket.

Perhaps the most important implication from this study is the need for marketers to better promote their social media channels with their traditional marketing programs (ads, collateral, etc). The segment of the population with the most disposable income wants to further their favorite brand relationships in social media and we cannot ignore this opportunity. Now that my eyes are open, I’ll stop rolling them.

Filed Under: Advertising Tagged With: advertising, affluent consumers, facebook, increase ROI, Marketing integration, social media, Social Networking, Twitter

Social Media Marketing Impacts Strategic Planning, But Doesn’t Get the Love

April 20, 2011 By Dan Leave a Comment

A new study by BrightEdge reveals that 70% of the leading 200 consumer brands do not have their company Facebook pages appear in the first two pages of search engine results pages (SERPs). Although these companies are pouring millions into social media, especially Facebook and Twitter, it’s surprising that they’re not getting the search visibility to support their investment. Social media has achieved a seat at the strategic planning table, but it can’t grow on it’s own. Many executives believe that social networks get “favored” by the search engines and all you have to do is build it and they will come. The fact is, corporate social network pages need marketing support.

With all the changes made to search algorithms recently, the beliefs of the past cannot be relied upon for success. Facebook and Twitter are excellent channels to connect with new and existing customers, where companies can develop a deeper, more profitable relationship. A peek at GE Appliance’s Facebook page reveals a contest where you can use a creative tool to design pictures of the socks you’ve lost in your dryer. The winner gets a new GE washer and dryer. Google is using it’s Facebook page to introduce a new tool called Map Maker for the United States. Many companies are using Facebook intelligently, like GE and Google, distributing contests, new products and other content that will grow their customer base and increase involvement with their brands. However, Facebook doesn’t show up in the top SERPs for either GE or Google when I search their brand names.

I recommend companies use marketing resources to promote their Facebook and Twitter search results, especially if they’re using them intelligently. The cost to improve the search visibility of your corporate Facebook or Twitter page, in most cases, is much smaller than the investment required for most other marketing disciplines. Truthfully, social media budgets aren’t getting anywhere near the same budgets as advertising, PR, direct marketing or events. Why not? It has the potential to deliver better ROI, economies of scale and customer acquisition. Re-balance your media mix and invest in the value of your digital community.

Do you agree?

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: facebook, integrated marketing, marketing budget, media mix, roi, social media marketing, strategic planning, Twitter

On This Day In History – 10 Breakthroughs

April 1, 2011 By Dan Leave a Comment

1. Social media became relevant to senior executives
2. ROI actually became measurable
3. Prospects enjoyed receiving emails from advertisers
4. Someone saw a commercial for a product they actually cared about
5. Journalists featured positive stories
6. Work productivity on the iPad surpassed the time spent playing Angry Birds
7. Ads on Facebook were finally appreciated
8. Media companies made a profit
9. Companies used the same strategy across online and offline platforms
10. A sale meant you could really save money

April Fools. Looks like we have to go back to work Monday.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: advertising, journalists, marketing, pr, roi, seo, social media

Top 5 Public Relations Risks and How to Avoid Them

March 9, 2011 By Dan Leave a Comment

There have been several high profile cases recently about large companies getting penalized by Google for link-building tactics that violate Google’s Webmaster link guidelines.These cases were disastrous for the reputations of JC Penny’s, Forbes and Overstock.com. Know what’s sad? I suspect that the senior PR and Marketing leadership at these companies didn’t even know someone was violating the rules and risking their company’s reputation. Leadership doesn’t typically get into the details of the SEO program because they don’t understand it. Now there’s an important reason to get involved.

In today’s highly viral, internet-dependent world, there are 5 risks that every Corporate Communications leader must anticipate:

1. Understand the details of your Search Engine Optimization program and make sure there are no violations occurring that could hurt your reputation and penalize your visibility in search results. It is still the wild west in the SEO space and too many people are trying to game the search engines. Google is getting better at identifying and defeating violators but the rules are not well understood or implemented.

2. Clearly communicate the importance of integrity as an integral component of your aggressive growth strategies (on and off the job). Employees can become easily confused by a focus on “growth at all costs”. They need to understand that your company values integrity despite the focus on growth. In the absence of clear communications on this matter, employees will make up their own rules and that is not something any company can afford.

3. Clarify your vendor relationships and contracts to make sure they’re protocols are consistent with your expectations and policies. Your company reputation can get hijacked by a vendor that makes headlines for violating rules so make sure there are contract protections and close oversight of their performance.

4. Build equity in the public goodwill bank to better insulate your company from possible negative press. This helped Groupon after their Super Bowl misstep. Most companies have great volunteer and public service programs that fortify and confirm their commitment to the community and people in need. Make sure your PR program leverages the quality of your corporate character by building awareness of your involvement.

5. Identify and aggressively pursue trademark squatters. These are people or companies that use your brand name to make money. You may believe there is nothing you can do to take control of domains that use your brand name, but that’s not true. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a not for profit that is dedicated to internet security and integrity, and they have a domain name dispute resolution policy that can help you regain control of your trademark.

If you adopt these strategies, you’ll reduce your corporate risk and have a better opportunity to improve your image and authority online.

Filed Under: Public Relations

Vivid Ascent Blog

Try This: Evaluate Your Digital-to-Traditional Media Mix

How Will The New ICANN Domains Affect Your Business?

Top 5 Public Relations Risks and How to Avoid Them

Vivid Ascent Services

Blog Categories