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 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.
That argument, which my MediaWhiz colleagues and I respect, comes about 10 years too late. Some form of anti-tracking legislation is inevitable given the industry’s size and influence. How marketers, publishers and advertisers respond to this legislation will determine whether the industry retains its sizable influence on consumers’ purchasing habits. Read more … (more…)
By Steve Goldner | @SocialSteve | Senior Director, Social Media Marketing
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of an op-ed that was originally published in Advertising Age.
In 1995, Gartner introduced its renowned hype cycle to show different stages of introduction of new technologies. Gartner’s hype cycle provides a research-backed antidote to what is often a searing level of hype surrounding many new technology and media products. The value for marketers is even clearer: The hype cycles serve as an objective guidebook for measuring the success (and inevitable downfall) of new-product launches.
One market that has yet to receive the hype cycle treatment is social media. What might that hype cycle look like if it examined one of the fastest growing marketing sectors in history?
It’s time to examine what I call the “Social Media Hype Cycle.” Doing so will help brands and marketers better understand the seesaw pattern of how social networks and platforms rise and fall in popularity and usage and how that affects companies’ advertising spend and online engagement strategies.
The Gartner Hype Cycle: Cliff Notes Version
Gartner has applied its unique hype-cycle research model to in more than 100 industries, technologies and services, including advertising, social software and what it calls “Web and User Interaction Technologies.”
The Gartner Hype Cycle examines five stages of a technology, starting with a “technology trigger” through to “peak of inflated expectations,” “trough of disillusionment,” “slope of enlightenment” and “plateau of productivity.” The degree of visibility and interest follow a curve as shown below.
According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle theory, every new technology experiences a period of continuous hype growth, followed immediately by a strong downward trend in the expectation and viability of that particular technology sector. Finally, there is a gradual increase toward productivity.
Read the full op-ed in Advertising Age.
By Adam Riff | @AdamRiff | SVP, Digital Strategy
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of an op-ed that was originally published in Search Engine Land.
There is little doubt that mobile search is the hot topic in the SEO world at the moment. Some brands are now finding that more than 30 percent of all searches come from mobile devices,according to Mobile Marketer. It’s fair to say that mobile search is quickly moving out of the Stone Age and into the digital age.
That’s the premise of a new insight paper, Mobile SEO Best Practices, published recently by my company, MediaWhiz (disclosure: I lead MediaWhiz’s search marketing and digital strategy divisions). In addition to a list of our top-10 tips for effective mobile SEO, the paper offers marketers a step-by-step guide to delivering effective mobile search campaigns.
The tips range from the simple (e.g., understanding the differences in how people search on mobile devices compared to their searches on desktops) to the complex, such as best practices to ensure a site’s mobile content can be properly viewed and crawled by search engines.
Below are my top-10 tips for effective mobile SEO. What are yours? Share your tips in the comments section.
1. Be A Search Psychologist
Searchers using mobile devices enter keyword queries differently than they do with desktop applications. They use shorter tail phrases.
Often, their searches are more local in nature and more prone to rely on Google’s Autocomplete feature complete a query. When optimizing meta title and descriptions, it is important to optimize for these shorter tail queries.
2. Think Social-first, Mobile-second
Mobile users tend to want to be “entertained,” and in many instances, they are connected 24/7 to their social media networks via apps. Content displayed for mobile users should be “entertaining.” When developing online content, think social-first, mobile-second.
Mobile sites should have social media links embedded on every page, as many smartphone users are connected to their social networks 24/7. Doing so will increase exposure, traffic and engagement by ensuring content is easily shared across social networks.
The examples below from Macy’s and Tiffany’s show how a social-first, mobile-second mindset with site design leads to more visually appealing mobile sites.
Read the full op-ed in Search Engine Land.
By Peter Klein | SVP, Media Services
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of an op-ed that was originally published in Revenue Performance magazine. Read the full opinion piece here.
Source: Revenue Performance magazine
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.
Lead generation is growing up. Advertisers want strategic partners to provide true performance marketing, which includes lead generation and lead nurturing to a sale. They need expert guidance to develop proper technology and intelligent media plans rather than short-term profit taking.
Technology platforms are getting more robust, lead quality can now be monitored on the front- and backend, and marketers are graded more extensively on consumer engagement. A full suite of products is available to anyone wanting to engage in online marketing and will help drive marketing efforts through the next decade. (more…)
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 Sept. 3-7, 2012, MediaWhiz experts were quoted or featured on a variety of digital media news and trends, including growth in the lead-gen marketplace, Facebook’s advertising pitch to brand marketers, the new rules of brand advocacy and Twitter’s new ad targeting options for brands.
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 … (more…)
By Daryl Colwell | @DHColwell | VP, Business Development
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of an op-ed originally published in MediaPost. Read the full opinion piece here.
Source: NewLaunches.com
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 the full op-ed in MediaPost.
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 Aug. 27–31, 2012, MediaWhiz experts were quoted or featured on a variety of digital media news and trends, including mobile payments; compliance in performance marketing; and mobile marketing challenges. Their commentary was featured in
MediaPost, Revenue Performance and
E-Commerce Times.
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 … (more…)
As one of the leading integrated digital media agencies, MediaWhiz and its executives are often quoted in the media about emerging trends and issues in the digital media and marketing industries. 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. eMarketer subscribers can view the full report here.
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.” (more…)
By Peter Klein | SVP, Media Services
Editor’s note: The following post was originally published in mThink / Revenue Performance magazine.
MediaWhiz took over LeadsCon East with some creative advertising
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.
(more…)
By Keith Trivitt | @KeithTrivitt | Director, Marketing and Communications
Editor’s note: The following post was originally published in iMedia Connection.
Google has always been a search marketing dynamo. It has literally invented or made mainstream several well-known search functions, including autocomplete of search terms and the basic structure of search-based online advertising that is used today. So it should come as no surprise that in its seemingly never-ending race to one-up its competitors, it has recently introduced or improved two critical functions of its search business:
The latter isn’t an earth-shattering announcement. Google launched voice search for both desktop and mobile platforms in 2011 and now serves dozens of languages. This latest update, according to Direct Marketing News, adds languages from various European markets, including Swedish, European Portuguese and Finnish, along with regional tongues such as Basque, Catalan, and Galician. The company said in a blog post that the addition of those newly added languages will add nearly 100 million people to its voice search function.
It’s the integration of Gmail into search results that has generated the most intrigue. Industry reaction to the announcement varied. Some said it wasn’t that big of a deal, while others called it “interesting and creepy.” (more…)
