Yesterday, we announced an important milestone in the 10-plus-year history of MediaWhiz: the expansion of our affiliate network, MonetizeIt. As part of our cross-publishing capabilities with our parent company Matomy Media Group, we are now able to offer a broader selection of domestic and international affiliate marketing campaigns, including game and mobile app downloads, as well as entertainment and dating campaigns. These are in addition to our extensive selection of branded campaigns in verticals such as finance, education, health and beauty and insurance.

This initiative represents an important step in our integration with Matomy and follows the recent launch of MediaWhiz Mobile, our mobile performance marketing practice.

Approximately 150 new domestic, international and mobile affiliate campaigns will initially be available through our affiliate network, MonetizeIt. We’re also expanding our base of experienced publishers, allowing advertisers to garner additional traffic to their websites and mobile apps.

Publishers interested in joining MonetizeIt can do so here.

The addition of new affiliate marketing campaigns and verticals is a great benefit to our advertisers and publishers. New affiliates have more opportunities to join our network, while our advertisers benefit from additional domestic and international traffic sources.

Here’s a look at the full scope of benefits for publishers and advertisers:

Benefits for Publishers

Publishers will gain a variety of benefits from MediaWhiz’s new domestic and international affiliate marketing campaigns and verticals, including:

• Improved access to join MonetizeIt, the MediaWhiz affiliate network
• Mobile-specific affiliate marketing campaigns
• 3% lifetime referral bonus
• Utilization of Matomy Media Group’s mobile tracking capabilities for a wide array of mobile campaigns

Publishers interested in MediaWhiz’s enhanced domestic and international affiliate marketing campaigns should contact Kyle Hanzas, director of business development, at +1 212.209.0023 or khanzas@mediawhiz.com.

Benefits for Advertisers

Advertisers will gain the following benefits from MediaWhiz’s expanded affiliate network:

• Access to a broad range of domestic and international traffic
• Testing and scale via in-house social media, search and display advertising teams, which generate more than 40 billion impressions per month
• In-house compliance monitoring

Advertisers interested in monetizing their domestic and international traffic with MediaWhiz should contact Daryl Colwell, senior vice president of business development, at +1 646.442.5513 or dcolwell@mediawhiz.com.

A full listing of all of MediaWhiz affiliate marketing campaigns can be found here.

And if you or your affiliate partner have been stranded after this week’s news, please contact us and feel free to send them our way. We welcome all business, as we can offer substantial scale and reach, a full range of verticals, international presence, financial strength and a strong reputation in the performance marketing industry — we’re ranked as the #5 CPA Network.

As always, any business you refer to MonetizeIt will earn you a 3% lifetime referral bonus. So don’t delay! Talk to your affiliate partners and advertisers today and refer them to MonetizeIt.

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An article written by Marc Purtell, director of SEO at MediaWhiz, and published Nov. 20, 2012, in Search Engine Journal, has been honored with a “Best of SEJ” award for 2012. Titled, “SEO in 2013: The Rising Influence of AuthorRank,” it was the most-read article on Search Engine Journal in November, according to the publication’s editors.

In honoring Purtell with the “Best of SEJ” distinction, former Search Engine Journal Editor-in-Chief Phil Butler described the article as an “insightful look at the emerging value of authors in search [that] from one of the industry’s most knowledgeable authors, or a super digitally influential company, MediaWhiz.”

Below is an excerpt of the article.

SEO in 2013: The Rising Influence of AuthorRank
By Marc Purtell | Director, SEO | @MarcPurtell

When considering major trends that will impact SEO in 2013 it’s clear that AuthorRank will play an increasingly important role in marketers’ search and SEO strategies.

PageRank has long been the standard high-level metric used to identify the relative quality of a Web page. There is arguably limited value in using PageRank as a quality metric over the last few years, but it can still be meaningful in conjunction with other quality metrics (i.e. domain authority, page authority, etc.)

In 2013 a new quality metric will take the spotlight when it comes to page quality and search engine ranking. This metric is affectionately known as AuthorRank (or Agent Rank, according to Google’s patent).

Here’s why AuthorRank will help reshape SEO in 2013:

AuthorRank: A Brief Overview
Content quality, as measured by search engines, is no longer based solely on the authority of a domain or Web page. It is increasingly based on the reputation and authority of the individual that authored the content. This reputational score grades authors on the Web and used that grade when ordering natural search engine results.

Read the full piece at Search Engine Journal.

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MediaWhiz’s leaders are continually sought after as resources for opinions, advice and expertise, based on our deep understanding of industry trends, the needs of our customers and the broader marketplace in which we operate.

For the week of Nov. 26-30, 2012, MediaWhiz experts were quoted or featured on a variety of digital media news and trends, including Peter Klein’s predictions for Performance Marketing in 2013; what lead-gen marketers must do in 2013; the success of the click-to-call campaign for MediaWhiz; and what marketers are thankful for in 2012 | Read previous MediaWhiz In the News posts. 

Performance Marketing in 2013: Companies and Regulation

DMConfidential | Nov. 28, 2012 | Op-Ed by Peter Klein

 The performance marketing industry has undergone massive changes in 2012.

The list of challenges the industry weathered over the past year is long and varied. It includes news of several long-standing affiliate networks going out of business; email delivery getting more difficult; Facebook and Google all but banning affiliate marketing; the federal government becoming more involved in the cash advance and “for-profit” education verticals; the rise of real-time bidding (RTB); data management platforms (DMPs) becoming critical in display advertising; and mobile marketing efforts gaining prevalence among marketers’ digital strategies.

While performance marketers shift priorities and tactics on the fly, the good news is that money continues to pour into performance marketing for its scalability, ROI focus and measurable results.

Source: Search Engine Journal

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MediaWhiz Grows Fast with Click-To-Call

Performance Marketing Insider | Nov. 29, 2012

MediaWhiz, a leading integrated digital media agency, today released results from the first six months of managing clients’ click-to-call campaigns in partnership with RingRevenue. Total calls into MonetizeIt, the MediaWhiz affiliate network, nearly quadrupled from the second to third quarters of 2012 as a result of the integration of RingRevenue’s patented call performance-marketing technology. Calls driven through the network increased 64 percent during that time period.

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Reverse Engineering Human Rating to Predict the Future of Search

Search Engine Journal | Nov. 27, 2012 | Op-Ed by Marc Purtell

The key to remaining competitive in organic search is to always be two steps ahead of the search engines. Given the frequency and impact of search engine algorithm updates, those who don’t consider the long-term effects of their optimization efforts are subject to pitfalls similar to those many brands experienced after Google’s Panda and Penguin updates of 2012.

Part of the puzzle of predicting the future of search engines will take with respect to changes to their search algorithms is first understanding their goals and aligning them with the goals of any brand’s SEO campaign. Google’s mission is to provide users with the most relevant and useful information relevant to a user’s search. Therefore, in order to maintain organic performance, a brand’s content plan must take similar aim.

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What Lead-Gen Marketers Need to Take Care Of Before 2013

DMConfidential | Nov. 26, 2012 | Featuring Peter Klein

Holiday offers
Just as consumers should be doing, marketers should be budgeting for the holidays. More specifically, they should be planning on ways to capitalize on the festive season by having enough money in their budgets for seasonal offers to their clients, according to Peter Klein, senior vice president of media services at MediaWhiz.

“Lead-generation marketers must ensure their budgets have enough leeway to meet seasonal offers for the holidays,” he says. “The holidays are the best-performing season for cash-advance offers. It’s important to keep existing clients happy, as they will undoubtedly present additional budgets to hit for year at the last minute. Lead-gen marketers need to do their best to meet clients’ year-end demands to ensure inclusion in advertisers’ 2013 budgets.”

Plan and set goals
Part of closing one year is planning for the next, so it’s only logical for lead-generation marketers to do likewise. But how should they go about this? “Review your financial projections for 2012 and plan realistic goals, month-by-month, for 2013,” Klein says. “Once the numbers are planned, it’s critical to outline how you plan on hitting these numbers, such as staffing, advertisers and potentially acquisitions.”

He adds that the first quarter requires special attention, given the slow start that’s likely to come thanks to New Year’s Eve/Day and conferences. “There are good offers to take advantage of, such as tax season and auto insurance, to help offset some of the slowness and set the proper tone for 2013,” Klein says.

Review org charts and processes
The end of the year is when people tend to take time off – it’s also a good time to take a sober look at your org chart and processes, according to Klein.

“If you are able to move the business forward without some of your employees, then you need to cut ties or upgrade their positions,” he says. “If you can’t succeed and are inundated with tactical maneuvers, then it’s time to get job specs together for the positions you need and seek out the right staffing level.”

As marketers ensure that org charts include positions, descriptions and an ideal model, they should also make sure that all processes are running smoothly. “Whether it is establishing weekly meeting agendas, sales processes, offers setup or just basic document storage, the quieter, post-holiday weeks at year-end are the time to go through everything in preparation for a successful 2013,” Klein says. He adds that marketers don’t even need to be in the office to carry out these kinds of audits.

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What Marketers Are Thankful for in 2012

DMConfidential | Nov. 21, 2012 | Featuring Peter Klein

 Peter Klein, senior vice president of media services at MediaWhiz:

“I’m thankful for a dedicated, hardworking team that has continued to drive client results despite many challenges this year in our space — from Yahoo in email, to Google in search and Facebook in social media, among many others. I’m also thankful for the industry making significant positive progress in lead quality via great monitoring services, such as CPA Detective, in addition to the stellar self-regulation efforts from industry leaders and organizations like the Performance Marketing Association. I’m most grateful for the advertisers that see the value in paying for performance vs. branding, which is contributing to the growth of performance marketing by billions of dollars each year.”

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MediaWhiz’s leaders are continually sought after as resources for opinions, advice and expertise, based on our deep understanding of industry trends, the needs of our customers and the broader marketplace in which we operate.

For the week of Nov. 12-16, 2012, MediaWhiz experts were quoted or featured on a variety of digital media news and trends, including online lead-generation in the post-PC era; extolling the role and value of affiliate marketing; best practices for online lead conversion; and what it’s like to be a digital media buyer. | Read previous MediaWhiz In the News posts. 

source: DMConfidential

Roundtable Discussion: Lead Generation in a Post-PC World
DMConfidential | Nov. 15, 2012 | Featuring Ori Carmel

Ori Carmel, VP of performance strategy, MediaWhiz
To understand the impact of mobile on the lead-gen industry, and online marketing as a whole, marketers should look toward the developing countries in Africa and Central and South America. There they will find the future of mobile lead generation and e-commerce.

Lacking infrastructure, entire regions in the developing world have leapfrogged the PC era. People in these regions rely on mobile technology to operate and streamline many aspects of everyday life, including business interactions, regardless of how large or small those businesses are. At the click of a button individuals can conduct their entire business cycle, including acquiring new customers and solidifying existing ones through mobile-optimized e-commerce and lead-gen platforms.

For the lead-gen world, the implications are massive. As the U.S. transitions to the complete mobilization and personalization of both information and access, potential and existing consumers can now be reached at any time, in any place. This ongoing shift, which is only speeding up, is changing consumption patterns of information and purchasing right before our eyes. Marketers can gather more precise and relevant information to better tailor offers to behavioral and demographic profiles. Brands can pinpoint the exact moment at which the potential client is most receptive to signing up or converting.

Furthermore, with increasing resources going toward tailoring brands’ mobile presences and usability, consumers continually grow accustomed and now expect to be able to gather info, sign up and transact online. As a result, consumers are more receptive than ever to being targeted for intelligent, value-driven offers and opportunities on their mobile devices.

The future of PC usage in the U.S., or anywhere else for that matter, is far from obsolete. However, it is certainly past the growth stages of its life cycle.

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Let’s Give Affiliate Marketing Its Due Respect
DMConfidential | Nov. 12, 2012 | Op-Ed by Peter Klein

Rodney Dangerfield would have loved affiliate marketing. It gets no respect, at least not from CMOs and senior marketers.

Long considered the ugly stepchild of digital marketing, affiliate marketing has grown to become one of the leading drivers of brands’ online marketing success. It accounts for more than $21 billion in online advertising revenues in 2011, according to the IAB.

Thankfully, this lack of respect is starting to change. Marketers are taking notice — affiliate marketing is a powerful force in brands’ online marketing strategies. Read more …

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Need Better Leads? Ask a Conversion Optimization Whiz
Website Magazine | Nov. 12, 2012 | Interview with Jeremy Leonard

If you’re looking for an edge (and who isn’t) check out Website Magazine‘s interview of Jeremy Leonard, the SVP of Strategy and Operations at digital media agency MediaWhiz and a real whiz when it comes to conversion optimization.

Numerous well-known names fill the MediaWhiz client roster including Nielsen, Home Depot, Discover and many others — and Leonard’s experience with these brands and their challenges shines through in the interview below, providing Website Magazine readers with compelling insights into high-level lead generation and conversion optimization, some guidance on the debate over form length, and how traffic quality and mobile devices are forcing advertisers to shift their approach quickly.

WM: From a high level, what are some of the most serious mistakes made in conversion optimization for lead generation paths?
JL: First and foremost is having an inconspicuous call-to-action on your site. This is a lead-generation site, not a research site or comparison-shopping site. You want consumers to do something! Tell them exactly what you want them to do and exactly what they will get in return. Don’t be shy.

Second, is a lack of focus. Lead-generation sites expect a direct response from the consumer. Don’t provide the consumer multiple points of leakage on a lead-gen site where they can wander away – that is what homepages are for. Keep the consumer focused with just enough information to convince them to make the decision put forth by your call-to-action. Read more …

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Meet a Media Planner: Michael Greenberg of MediaWhiz
Yahoo! Advertising Blog | Nov. 14, 2012 | Interview with Michael Greenberg

Editor’s Note: “Meet a Media Planner” is our ongoing series of Q&As where we find out what’s on the minds of media planners at agencies across the country. Today we’d like to introduce Michael Greenberg, a paid search manager at MediaWhiz in Plantation, Fla. Michael started with MediaWhiz in 2007 after dabbling in website development, market research and, ultimately, his great passion—search marketing. As a search expert at MediaWhiz, Michael focuses on lead generation for clients across categories such as education, beauty, and flooring.

Yahoo! Ad Blog: You’ve been in the industry for five years. What do you find to be the most satisfying part of the job?

Michael Greenberg: One of the most satisfying things is when I’m at a quarterly business review and I meet someone I’ve never met before, and they shake my hand and give me a smile and say, “You’re doing a great job for us, and we’re at a level we never expected.”

I love to think outside the box and come to work with new ideas and suggestions that clients can implement to see more success, like “that’s a channel I should tackle” or “that’s a keyword topic I should explore.” In such a competitive environment, it’s great being able to achieve something with an approach that nobody else is even thinking about.

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‘Nonline’ Shopping: The Next Great Digital Marketing Opportunity
iMedia Connection | Nov. 12, 2012 | Op-Ed by Keith Trivitt

As the 2012 holiday shopping season heats up, one trend many marketers and analysts will closely monitor is the concept of “showrooming.” Showrooming occurs when consumers try out merchandise in stores then go online to buy them, often at a discounted price.

Fifty-six percent of American consumers are expected to participate in some aspect of showrooming this holiday season, according to Mobile Marketer.

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Executive Moves: Nov. 12, 2012
Crain’s New York Business | Nov. 12, 2012 | Featuring Adam Riff & Steve La Peruta

MediaWhiz: Steve La Peruta, 50, was promoted to senior vice president, information technology, at the integrated digital media agency. He was previously vice president, information technology. Adam Riff, 33, was promoted to senior vice president, digital strategy. He was previously general manager for search.

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For the week of Oct. 1-5, 2012, MediaWhiz experts were quoted or featured on a variety of digital media news and trends, including debunking the myth that proposed Do Not Track legislation will kill online advertising and what Bruce Springsteen can teach marketers about success brand marketing in the digital age. | Read previous MediaWhiz In the News posts. 

Do Not Buy the Do Not Track Hype

Digiday | Oct. 2, 2012 | Op-Ed by Peter Klein

Reality check: The proposed Do Not Track legislation won’t kill online advertising. It may hamper innovation and cause financial hardship for businesses that thrive on online consumer-data tracking, but it won’t kill a $31 billion industry.

Not all see it this way, of course. 33Across CMO Allie Kline recently called on marketers to “fight [the] anti-tracking forces.” It’s a call to action growing with increasing alarm in the digital media and online publishing industries. 

‘Do Not Track’ Won’t Kill Online Advertising

AdExchanger | Oct. 3, 2012 | Op-Ed by Peter Klein

It’s easy to take a prominent stance against proposed “Do Not Track” legislation. Like many online marketers I don’t yearn for regulation of the industry, believing it will stunt growth and hamper innovation. However, I also believe that anti-tracking legislation will not destroy online advertising.

Despite continuing pressure by public advocacy groups and members of Congress I don’t expect the United States to adopt anti-tracking legislation or regulations for several years — if ever.

The history of success of competition and regulations against certain forms of marketing and communications is mixed. The U.S. Postal Service has been around for almost 240 years and yet it is adapting (albeit slowly) to Web-based competition. And best of luck to those who try to “unsubscribe” from receiving targeted catalogs and direct mail, despite Federal unsubscribe regulations.

The passage of regulation meant to curb online behavioral marketing will require market adjustments. We’re already seeing that on a small scale after Microsoft introduced default DNT settings in the newest version of its Internet Explorer browser. Despite claims by some that anti-tracking legislation will mean the end of online advertising I wouldn’t start shuttering ad agency doors just yet. Read more …

What Bruce Springsteen Can Teach you About Building a Brand That Lasts

Advertising Age | Oct. 1, 2012 | Op-Ed by Steve Goldner  

It happens to all marketers. They hit a moment when something dramatic and unexpected, or, more often than not, banal, affects their company’s position in the marketplace, and they don’t know how to react. Often, they flounder in place, desperately trying to work out their brand’s next move.

Perhaps they should take a lesson in crisis management from “The Boss” — Bruce Springsteen. The future of the E Street Band was in question when band memberDanny Federici died in 2008, and more recently, the passing of “The Big Man,” Clarence Clemons. Springsteen’s initial comments following their loss were unequivocal: the band would continue.

He laid to rest any questions over the sincerity of his commitment during the band’s opening concert of its Wrecking Ball Tour. Staged at the iconic Apollo Theater in Harlem on March 9, Springsteen’s words that night, and his unequivocal actions to help the band heal from its loss and move forward, reveal two important marketing lessons. Read more …

MediaWhiz Announces Two Promotions

ClickZ | Oct. 1, 2012 | Featuring Adam Riff and Steve La Peruta

Integrated digital media agency MediaWhiz announced the promotion of Adam Riff to SVP of digital strategy and Steve La Peruta to SVP of information technology. Riff will oversee MediaWhiz’s integrated digital media division, which includes search marketing, social media, and display. La Peruta will oversee the company’s IT operations, engineering, and database services.

Search’s Social Exploration

MediaPost | Oct. 1, 2012 | Featuring Adam Riff

… The engines pull data sources from across the Web, but Adam Riff, senior vice president at digital marketing agency MediaWhiz, agrees the industry will need cloud storage and faster bandwidth speeds to support connections.

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The Lead Generation Marketplace Grows Up 

Revenue Performance | Sept. 5, 2012 | Op-Ed by Peter Klein, SVP of Media

The lead generation industry has matured and is now reaching an inflection point. While some companies will fall by the wayside, it represents a positive change and will create many new opportunities.

The good news is that “Online Darwinism,” for lack of a better term, has effectively eliminated many companies that refused to adhere to the basic values that once made them successful.

The great news is that new service and marketing channels continue to arise to support the marketplace.

And the best news? The future offers endless possibilities for those companies that operate in an ethical manner and add value for their partners. Read more …

MediaWhiz: Facebook Needs to ‘Listen to Marketers’

eMarketer | Sept. 4, 2012 | Featuring Steve Goldner, Sr. Director of Social Media Marketing

Recently, Steve Goldner, senior director of social media marketing at MediaWhiz and its sister agency, Ryan Partnership, was quoted in an eMarketer report, “Facebook Marketing: Reaching Consumers in a Changing Environment.” The report analyzes how Facebook is altering brand marketing in the Digital Age.

Goldner’s comments focus on what Facebook should do to help marketers ensure their brands stand out on Facebook and receive more detailed information on the metrics of their Facebook marketing spend. A recap of those comments can be found below.

Comments of Steve Goldner, Senior Director of Social Media Marketing, MediaWhiz and Ryan Partnership

On whether brands that market on Facebook stand out from the competition …

“Marketers, advertisers and clients want something that stands out. The reality is it still is difficult to get a brand to stand out on Facebook.”

On how well Facebook listens to the concerns of marketers …

“The challenge is to get Facebook to listen to marketers. You have no chance of talking to an [Facebook] account rep unless you’re at a certain level of spend.”

On the level of user and ad data analysis that Facebook offers brands …

Ryan Partnership’s Goldner noted that brands and marketers want better analytics and the ability to connect Facebook marketing to sales. That will be one area that continues to develop as Facebook finds the right metrics and results to track on the site.

Twitter Helps Advertisers Home In

E-Commerce Times | Aug. 31, 2012 | Featuring Steve Goldner, Sr. Director of Social Media Marketing

A Giant Step from Promoted Tweets

It is a much more precise way of targeting prospects on Twitter, said Steve Goldner, who leads the social media marketing practice at MediaWhiz and sister agency Ryan Partnership.

“I would say this is a great step forward for Twitter in terms of its monetization,” he told the E-Commerce Times. “Now advertisers can focus on delivering more contextually relevant information to users.”

Users will appreciate the targeting, he said — provided it is truly relevant.

“Social users are willing to engage and hear from brands if what they have to offer is applicable,” Goldner maintained.

More to Go

Still, Twitter needs to make more progress with its monetization efforts, Goldner said. “The next step would be to actually allow users to profile themselves and indicate the type of information they want from brands.”

That is where social advertising is heading — or at least should be headed, he added.

“I, as a consumer, should be able to indicate that I am interested in, for example, digital photography, and that would open a gate for specific information coming to me from relevant brands. That would be the most powerful accomplishment for social advertising to date,” Goldner maintained.

It would also be an accurate reflection of the power of social media, which is firmly in the hands of consumers, and not brands, he pointed out.

How To: Recognize the Power of Brand Advocates

iMedia Connection | Sept. 6, 2012 | Op-Ed by Keith Trivitt, Director of Marketing and Communications

 For years, public relations professionals have known of the power of brand advocacy. But in the digital age brand advocacy is evolving into the realm and responsibility of nearly every type of digital marketer. Whether you’re working on a search marketing campaign or overseeing a client’s display strategy, every marketer needs to understand and believe in brand advocacy.

Thus, a recent eMarketer report, titled, “Brand Advocates: Scaling Social Media Word-of-Mouth,” was a timely addition to marketers’ library. The report highlights the stunning growth of brand advocacy over the last five years while providing helpful tips companies can use to cultivate brand advocates and how to avoid common pitfalls of annoying those who most appreciate your brand.

Not surprisingly, the report’s executive summary sums up what most marketers already know: “Brand advocacy is becoming a critical part of the social media marketing mix.”

But there’s more than the obvious that underlies successful brand advocacy campaigns. Consumers aren’t just “liking” a brand and commenting about it on social networks for the fun of it. As eMarketer reports, they are doing so because many desire to see their favorite brands succeed. And that can have powerful positive effects on companies — if they respect and utilize their brand advocates properly. Read more …

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Mobile Wallet Is Expanding, But Hype Doesn’t Match Reality

Aug. 30, 2012 | MediaPost (Op-Ed by Daryl Colwell, VP of business development)

Six months ago, mobile payments were on the ropes. Consumers weren’t interested or, worse, didn’t understand the value proposition. Business adoption was at a novel, if less-than-promising, growth stage.

What a difference a few months makes.

Mobile payments, which allow consumers to use their smartphones to make in-store purchases, received a major shot in the arm recently, courtesy of Starbucks’ $25 million investment in Square. The funky start-up, founded by Jack Dorsey of Twitter fame, has created a payment system that allows local merchants to accept credit card purchases with a mobile device.

The mobile wallet is growing up. But is the hype outweighing the consumer value?

The use of mobile wallets and Near Field Communications (NFC) — the technology behind mobile payments — are on the rise. Analysts peg the global transaction value of mobile payments at nearly $1 trillion by 2014, up from $162 billion in 2010, and 24% of all global e-commerce by 2017. By 2015, Forrester forecasts that NFC-enabled handsets will comprise 15% to 25% of all mobile phones in the U.S.

Mobile payments’ future is bolstered by reports that Google now supports all credit and debit cards on its Google Wallet app for Android devices.

With two key factors — ease-of-use and rate of adoption — moving in the right direction, mobile payments may finally reach their lofty potential. But there is still a long way toward mainstream adoption. Read more …

Summer Conference Recap: Accountability and Compliance Take Center Stage

Aug. 30, 2012 | Revenue Performance magazine (Op-Ed by Peter Klein, SVP of media services)

It has been a busy summer for online marketing professionals. LeadsCon East and Affiliate Summit East were scheduled three weeks apart, making scheduling and planning for these important events somewhat more complicated than in years past.

Despite the close proximity of the two shows, each continues to offer a different kind of value.

LeadsCon attracts a more advanced professional group, one that leans toward advertisers, brands and the professional services end of the online marketing business. Transparency, lead quality and government regulations are repeatedly covered topics.

By comparison, Affiliate Summit focuses more on the tactical aspects of affiliate and performance marketing. It’s aimed at the beginner and intermediate affiliate marketers, with seminars and workshops on website optimization, blogger relations, SEO and finding the right affiliate network. Read more …

Google Study Dives Into Multiscreen Marketing Madness

Aug. 30, 2012 | E-Commerce Times (featuring Daryl Colwell, VP of business development)

… For marketers, the findings suggest several strategies that must be put in place, if they haven’t been already, Daryl Colwell, VP of business development at MediaWhiz, told the E-Commerce Times.

“You need to have a consistent message throughout all the channels from online to television to email,” he said.

Marketers also have to be a lot faster and more concise in their messaging with so many people access content via a small screen. “You want to hit them with an offer right away. Don’t make them wade through a lot of content to get to the offer,” he said.

Perhaps most fundamentally, marketers have to assume that anything designed for online will be read by a smartphone — and optimize accordingly. “We do a lot of email marketing, and on any given day, between 20 percent to 50 percent of our emails are read from a smartphone. Marketers have to get smart about how they design their messaging.”

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Do You Need a Mobile Wallet?

The Wall Street Journal / SmartMoney | Featuring Daryl Colwell, VP of Business Development 

… Plus, the leather wallet has one distinct advantage: It doesn’t require a battery. Even a digital-wallet fanatic is “always going to want some kind of backup,” says Daryl Colwell, a vice president at MediaWhiz, a digital media agency.

If there’s good news for consumers, however, it’s that as retailers embrace mobile commerce they could be offering deals of all sorts as part of the formula, experts say. Think “instant” coupons or other offers, designed to trigger a last-minute purchase.

And just as retailers will offer shoppers a special one-time discount for signing up for an in-house credit card, they could do the same with a mobile-wallet platform.

Mr. Colwell believes it’s this sort of promotion that could ultimately make the mobile wallet a mainstream consumer reality. “As long as there’s a big incentive for shoppers to jump on board, they’re going to jump on board,” he says. Read more …

Note: Article also published on MSN Money. 

Navigating the Social Media Maze

Inc. magazine | Featuring Steve Goldner, Senior Director of Social Media

… Assessing the social media programs of all types of businesses, large and small, Steve Goldner, senior director of social media at MediaWhiz, a digital media agency based in New York, estimates just five percent represent real business value, and 95 percent are wasted effort. “Regardless of size, most businesses simply don’t understand what social media is about—which is building relationships and having appropriate metrics that align to your company’s KPIs (key performance indicators) and core business objectives,” he declares. …

Goldner notes that many companies stumble over the “tremendous need” to listen first and market second in social media. Effective business use of social media starts with listening to key conversations in and around your industry and target markets, building trust with those communities and slowly working your way into those conversations. “Trust within those communities has to be there first, otherwise consumers will tune you out,” he warns. …

In general, social media is not a highly effective channel to directly drive transactions, but its ability to increase levels of customer awareness, consideration, and loyalty is a powerful tool to “tee up” conversions. “Social media provokes these behaviors, and these behavior changes drive transactions,” Goldner says. He adds that social media marketing programs are most effective when the right tools are used, enough time is allotted for the programs to build momentum, and you are committed to delivering value to customers as opposed to selling to them. Read more … 

Having a grown-up mobile marketing strategy with site and SEO

By Heather Fernandez, Senior SEO Strategist | Mobile Marketer

Mobile is not just for email anymore.

That is evident to any marketer who has spent time around teens, at a mall or at a sporting event. Mobile is everywhere and it is reshaping how people interact with brands and make online purchases.

In a three-month study spanning February to May 2012, comScore found that 234 million U.S. consumers use smartphones and, of that number, 110 million are smartphones owners. 

This impressive growth demonstrates the need for marketers to understand that consumers are changing their online behavior when they research and engage with brands. … Read more …

Signs Signaling Relevance in Search

MediaPost | Featuring Adam Riff, SVP of Digital Strategy

… In a recent post I explain how pushing rather than pulling of information by people searching for information will make recommendations more important. MediaWhiz SVP of Digital Strategy Adam Riff said agencies who can gain a “recommendation” line on paid-search ads can increase click-through rates. It’s not just extra copy, he said, but rather verification that others saw and like the page or ideas that represent the company’s content.

For search engine optimization, since Google’s algorithms track sharing activity, the brands can gain negative or positive results in rankings based on recommendations. Riff agrees that it makes sense to run an integrated media campaign around a product launch or announcement in advance of the introduction to gain social recommendations based on specific keywords.

“If you can get enough people sharing the content relevant to the keywords ‘digital camera,’ the client’s brand can start ranking higher for those words,” Riff said. Read more …

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The post MediaWhiz In the News | Week of Aug. 13–17, 2012 appeared first on MediaWhiz.