From eMarketer.com:
MySpace also recently laid off 30% of its workforce.
Tags: Facebook, myspace, social networking
Here are 10 signs that you don’t understand web analytics very well (via. iMedia Connections):
Sign 1: You bought the tool a year ago, and you’re still not measuring your business objectives.
Sign 2: You still have to remind the executive team what your company’s KPIs are (hint: key performance indicators).
Sign 3: You create these beautiful dashboards, and no one knows what they mean.
Sign 4: Your boss is always asking about the number of “hits” your company’s website is getting.
Sign 5: You’re still scratching your head wondering what you should segment and how it will help.
Sign 6: Even though your homepage has an 80 percent bounce rate, your boss doesn’t want a change because he/she likes the way it looks.
Sign 7: You’re running multiple online marketing campaigns, and you have no idea which performs better.
Sign 8: The one time you ran an A/B test, a winner was chosen — but no improvements ensued.
Sign 9: You still can’t figure out why total site visits don’t add up in all the reports.
Sign 10: You still design with HiPPO (highest paid person’s opinion) standards in mind.
Tags: Internet Marketing, Web analytics
Using data from Alexa and Google Trends, Italian PR professional and marketer Vincenzo Cosenza has mapped out the most popular social networks by country. The largest social network is in fact QQ, the leader in China with 300 million active accounts. QQ has 100 million more users than Facebook, the largest network in the United States.
Here are the top three social networks in some of the worlds major markets:
Australia: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter
Canada: Facebook, MySpace, Flickr
India: Facebook, Orkut, Hi5 (Twitter is a close fourth)
France: Facebook, Skyrock, MySpace,
China: QQ, Xiaonei, 51
Germany: Facebook, StudiVZ, MySpace
Italy: Facebook, Netlog, Badoo
Russia: V Kontakte, Odnoklassniki, LiveJournal
Spain: Facebook, Tuenti, Fotolog
United Kingdom: Facebook, Bebo, MySpace
United States: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter
The full map (click to enlarge):
Tags: social networks, worldwide
AIR TouchPoints is an electronic online branding and marketing communication platform that will enable companies to fully engage and educate customers on the depth and appeal of their products, cross-sell and up-sell among brand choices, and grow additional revenue.
TouchPoints leverages the Cyclone (database) platform to optimize the impact of customer data on marketing. This integration of customer data helps to extend the company brand beyond a single purchase and can help deliver repeat business. TouchPoints will also provide a value proposition to new customers by allowing them to receive personalized offers, promotions and opportunities.
TouchPoints enables clients to consolidate their various affinity and partner marketing programs under one umbrella and streamline the marketing and rate distribution process to maximize efficiency and results. This allows clients to fully merchandise partner opportunities and guide customers into the TouchPoints solution.
Given the fiercely competitive and economically volatile environment, implementing a sophisticated and highly-personalized customer loyalty and customer acquisition initiative may yield many benefits for companies, including:
- Ongoing communication with customers with targeted and specific messaging, allowing us to create stronger relationships with our customers
- Support a portfolio of brands with a strong, integrated corporate marketing effort
- Cross-sell and up-sell the brands in the portfolio, increasing awareness of, and affinity for, the overall company
- Better understanding of the buying habits of customers
- Effectively supporting the “experience” of product attributes and features
- Providing content and information related to customer preferences
- Increasing incremental revenue spend
- Mitigating use of third-party channels and additional expenses
- Maximizing marketing dollars and reducing costs to acquire new customers
How AIR TouchPoints Works
AIR TouchPoints is comprised of both a loyalty program and ongoing corporate automated e-communications. The loyalty program can be promoted on the website, where customers can sign up and provide preference information. All brand-based loyalty programs, e-clubs and email sign up platforms can ultimately link under the umbrella of TouchPoints, but will still maintain their individual identity and value proposition.
Automated corporate e-communications and special promotions will be developed through the use of profiles and predictive modeling from Cyclone. TouchPoints will provide personalized customer communication and offer relevant, value-based packages and promotions in addition to dynamic and original content in the form of articles, podcasts, videos and other third-party content. A set of business rules is developed to ensure that each customer is provided with the information they desire, when they want to receive it, ensuring that customers are not spammed or receive excessive communication.
AIR TouchPoints can be customized for each company and can be adapted to meet its particular marketing and sales goals. So naturally, this is only a very high-level view of its features and capabilities.
Tags: automated marketing, loyalty programs, Marketing, Segmentation, touchpoints
It’s well known that mass marketing has, for the most part, run its course. Today, truly effective marketing is all about going tribal. Simply put, tribes are people with similar interests who find each other connect in social spaces. Tribal leaders are the are the ones that evangelize about things in the language the tribe understands and appreciates.
The things that make a tribal leader (which we should all aspire to be if we’re interested in success) requires going against the norm, identifying with the culture of the tribe and committing to it. But don’t take my word for it. Listen to Seth Godin.
Tags: Marketing, Social Media, social media marketing, TED
Our very own Elaine Ralls, President of AIR Marketing, has been nominated as one of the finalists for the Tempe Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Business Woman of the Year award. Here is a clip from the Phoenix Business Journal:
Lorraine Bergman, CEO of Caliente Construction, Angela Leavitt, director of marketing at Telesphere, and Elaine Ralls, president of Air Marketing, are finalists for Tempe Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Business Woman of the Year.
…The winner will be honored at the 14th Annual Women In Business Conference & Trade Show May 21 at The Buttes in Tempe. For more: www.tempechamber.org or 480-967-7891.
Congratulations Elaine!
Tags: 2009, businesswoman of year, tempe chamber of commerce
I had the esteemed privilege of attending the 8th annual BBB Business Ethics Awards last night. The event was held in the ballroom at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, with cocktails and networking at 6pm and the dinner and program beginning at 7pm. There were five categories in which businesses were nominated, based on company employee size, ranging from less than 10 employees to over 151 employees.
Pat McMahon, long time host on KTAR, was the master of ceremonies, introducing each part of the evening, while poking fun here and there. Each of the business ethics finalists were announced on stage to accept their “finalist” award before dinner began. The Arizona Biltmore staff provided impeccable service throughout the evening; dinner and dessert were equally delicious.
Keynote speaker
Ken Blanchard, author of several books including The One Minute Manager, served as the keynote speaker, delivering a speech relevant to business ethics in the marketplace today. Mr. Blanchard is the namesake to the Ken Blanchard School of Business at the only private university in the state of Arizona - Grand Canyon University - and possesses an entrepreneurial spirit that has led him through a number of ventures over the years. He now owns businesses in three countries and is a sought after speaker and author.
Ken reminded business owners that it is imperative to respect your employees to gain their trust. Without respect, they will not trust you. And without trust, the energy in the room turns negative. There are three things that Ken and his colleagues ask themselves before making any business decision:
- Is it legal?
- Is it fair to all involved?
- Would you want to be recognized for it? Would you want it printed in tomorrow’s newspaper?
“It all goes back in the box”
Ken told an endearing story about playing Monopoly with his ultra-competitive grandmother as a child, who often won the game without leaving a thing for Ken. Ken met a kid in his new neighborhood who was excellent at Monopoly strategy, and agreed to teach Ken. He then went head to head with his grandmother, winning the game! But at the end, his grandmother said “Ken, what you need to remember is this: at the end, it all goes back in the box”.
Ken was kind enough to give each attendee a copy of his new book: The One Minute Entrepreneur, and he signed copies in the lobby at the end of the night.
Wells Fargo has been the corporate sponsor since the event began 8 years ago, and provided the table prizes - a Wells Fargo stage coach cookie jar. Our own president, Elaine Ralls, won the prize at our table!
AIR Marketing was honored to be a winner of the 2006 BBB Business Ethics Awards, and last year Elaine Ralls served as Chairman of the Board of Better Business Bureau.
Tags: arizona, BBB, Ethics Award
