Performance marketing thought leadership articles are a great resource for those interested in learning from the experts. They offer valuable insight into the business strategy of the thought leader in question. Articles have tremendous upside but they can be rather impersonal. Also, depending on the personality of the writer, they can be boring or teeter on the brink of self-aggrandizing. Nobody likes a know-it-all, even an expert know-it-all. Even the most charismatic thought leader can have a hard time communicating his or her experiences and knowledge in a few paragraphs. Ideally, experts should engage people on a one-on-one basis or in a manner befitting a town hall meeting but these options are often logistically impossible and financially irresponsible. But in the constantly evolving and continuously improving worlds of social media and digital marketing, this may no longer be the case.
Social media allows users to put the direct back in direct marketing. On Twitter and YouTube, people proactively market themselves and their special skills. Some users do exhibit a high degree of talent in a number of areas; i.e. singing, dancing, art, technology. Others, on the other hand, offer mediocrity to the masses. And yet both messages connect with people, sometimes in real-time. They are visual; therefore, more immediately memorable. Now take that one step further by utilizing YouTube as a vehicle to drive thought leadership through the web. Why couldn’t, why shouldn’t thought leadership go viral?
I, for one, will never call for the death of the written word. Thought leadership in print is most certainly an important marketing resource. Still, thought leadership articles, regardless of topic or author, can’t help but lack the appeal of a personal appearance, even if it’s remote. If you were interested in affiliate marketing, would you rather read an article authored by Monetizeit GM Peter Klein or would you prefer to sign into a cyber town hall and have Peter answer your question directly? If you were intrigued by the latest advances in search, would you favor accessing an article by MediaWhiz GM of Search Adam Riff or downloading an informal yet informative dialogue featuring Adam on YouTube?
One could make the argument that preparing for these virtual appearances would be a hassle, that the back and forth involved in scheduling them would become a time efficiency nightmare. There is truth to that – much the way meeting written deadlines, rewrite deadlines and unexpected editing revision deadlines can incite stress related hair pulling. But the end result, the spreading of specialized expertise, makes the process well worth it.
When it comes to promoting thought leadership, I’m not advocating one against the other. At the end of the day, it is a matter of individual preference. Articles and “live” appearances each have their place and should complement each other. Perhaps performance marketing should take a page out of its own playbook, creating something akin to a targeted, audience-specific thought leadership campaign. This would enable savvy marketers and thought leaders to expand their reach, spark discussions and potentially drive results.
When I first heard about Google Me, the search engine’s latest foray into the social media space, I thought of the numerous times I have googled myself. Though I never knew what I was looking for or hoping to find, I was confident in and trusting of Google to come through on page one. With Google, reality and perception have proved to be one in the same. Google Search’s propensity toward reliability and relevance could turn out to be the keys in making Google Me a success, even in what is becoming an over-saturated social environment.
Simplicity and user-friendliness are what set Google apart from other search engines. There’s nothing flashy about the homepage. It’s not cluttered with celebrity news, sports scores or trending alerts. It’s a search engine. People find that comforting. Advertisers are rather fond of it, as well, especially when it comes to ad dollars and cents. Mirroring Google Me after the search engine should drive similar results for individual users and those controlling ad spend. Yet, many industry insiders are concerned about Google’s chances of making a dent in Facebook’s stronghold of social media. There is no arguing that in spite of its recent privacy kerfuffle, Facebook remains the social network of choice for individuals, businesses and advertisers. But in the seemingly infinite online space, it’s hard to imagine that anything Google related would have a difficult time catching on.
Search always seems to be searching for the next big thing to drive traffic and results. This time, it’s music. Microsoft states that 10 percent of online searches are entertainment-based. Nearly three quarters of that percentage pertains to searches of music lyrics. That may not seem like much but it is enough of a sampling to propel Bing and Google into music search. Both Bing and Google will look to include song streaming, tour dates, lyrics and link acquisition opportunities within their search capabilities. For performance marketers, link acquisition’s role in music search is most important.
With the popularity of online song streaming on the rise, music downloads have stalled. Stalled downloads mean diminished returns. The logical next step in streaming is an ad-supported system. The music industry as a whole is still reeling from piracy issues, which threatened to permanently cripple record labels. The emergence of an ad-supported system has prompted some record executives to develop their own ad-supported streaming websites. As the music industry prepares to go digital by necessity, digital marketers and SEO link acquisition teams should collaborate with record executives to ensure they buy relevant ads that will target the right audience. The music industry has lost millions via illegal downloads. The pitch from link acquisition experts should focus on helping record executives sing a happy authority song.
Email marketers, welcome back from your July 4th break. Rest assured – email didn’t cease to exist while you were stuck in traffic en route to the beach or at home watching fireworks in HD. Email is here to stay. That’s what everyone says, at least for the foreseeable future. But as Facebook and Twitter drive improved email marketing results and higher click-throughs by way of “like” features and non-intrusive engagement strategies, standard email marketing systems must evolve. Performance marketers fresh from the Independence Day holiday should take a moment to thoroughly assess their email marketing programs, freeing themselves from inefficient, inoperable systems.
When evaluating an email marketing platform, performance marketers should consider the following – the strength of their opt-in, the overall design and content, whether the SPAM police have issued an APB, the importance of continuous testing and optimization, and perhaps most importantly integration into social media channels. By ensuring the functionality of their email marketing systems, performance marketers will increase the likelihood of driving higher ROIs. Driving those kinds of results will make future holiday traffic jams all the more tolerable.
