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		<title>Is It August Yet? LeadsCon East Is On Our Minds</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/is-it-august-yet-leadscon-east-is-on-our-minds</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/is-it-august-yet-leadscon-east-is-on-our-minds#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:59:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>sultan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daryl Colwell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LeadsCon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LeadsCon East]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matomy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[performance marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mediawhiz.com/?p=6010</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/is-it-august-yet-leadscon-east-is-on-our-minds">Is It August Yet? LeadsCon East Is On Our Minds</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Screen-Shot-2013-06-18-at-9.58.20-AM.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6011" alt="LeadsCon" src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Screen-Shot-2013-06-18-at-9.58.20-AM.png" width="250" height="95" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://leadscon.com/">LeadsCon East</a> will be here before you know it, and MediaWhiz will be right in the thick of things at this annual conference for vertical media and direct response marketing.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 157px"><a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/leaders/daryl-colwell"><img class=" " alt="" src="http://gaia.adage.com/images/bin/image/x-large/Daryl-Colwell.jpg" width="147" height="147" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Daryl Colwell<br />MediaWhiz Senior Vice President</p></div>
<p><a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/leaders/daryl-colwell">Daryl Colwell</a>, MediaWhiz’s senior vice president of business development, will moderate a panel of experts discussing their brands’ experiences with performance marketing. Does it live up to the hype? Or has performance marketing become a channel that marketers must unwillingly implement into their marketing strategies? Find out at the Aug. 14 LeadsCon East panel, “What Brands Really Think of Performance Marketing,” moderated by MediaWhiz.</p>
<p><b>Panel: </b><b>What Brands Really Think of Performance Marketing</b></p>
<p><b>Date: </b>August 14</p>
<p><b>Location: </b>Hilton Hotel, New York, NY</p>
<p><b><br />
</b>Performance-based and lead-gen marketers are obviously biased participants in the value you ascribe to a pay-per-action model. Having heard from large agencies, it’s time to hear from some of the better known customer acquisition-focused brands. Do they have a love-hate or a love-love relationship with performance marketing? It should be a no-brainer given their many direct response initiatives, right? Find out whether they truly find value from the channel or whether it is a necessary evil they would rather do without. Plus, find out what it takes to not only earn their business but keep it.</p>
<p><b>Speakers</b></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Moderator:</strong> Daryl Colwell, Senior Vice President, MediaWhiz</li>
<li>Keith Weinberger, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Empire Today</li>
<li>Brian Dominick, Director of US Payment Options – Digital Acquisition, American Express</li>
<li>Mike Venables, Media Director, Neo@Ogilvy</li>
<li>Lou Cohen, SVP – Head of Search and Affiliate Marketing, Citibank</li>
</ul>
<p><b>About LeadsCon<br />
</b>Founded in 2007, <a href="http://leadscon.com/">LeadsCon</a> showcases the best people and companies in vertical media media and engagement advertising. More than 5,000 people rely each year on LeadsCon for unparalleled insights and access to marketing leaders. Click <a href="http://leadscon.com/leadscon-east-2013/agenda/">here</a> to view the conference agenda.</p>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/is-it-august-yet-leadscon-east-is-on-our-minds">Is It August Yet? LeadsCon East Is On Our Minds</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Education Marketers Should Rethink Email</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/education-marketers-should-rethink-email</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/education-marketers-should-rethink-email#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Jun 2013 04:01:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>sultan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[EDU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Industry Insights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhizdom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Performance Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EDU Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[email marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle Hanzas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matomy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[performance marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mediawhiz.com/?p=5989</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/education-marketers-should-rethink-email">Education Marketers Should Rethink Email</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><b>By Kyle Hanzas | Director, Business Development</b></p>
<p><a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Email-inbox.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5059" alt="Generating Leads with Email" src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Email-inbox.jpg" width="400" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Over the past three years online education inquiry generation has undergone a major shift in responsibility. Previously, it was about a 50/50 partnership between schools and marketers. Marketers used creative messaging and various online advertising channels to attract prospective students while the schools utilized strong recruitment and CRM practices to gain new enrollment.</p>
<p>As new legal and regulatory guidelines emerged around marketing messaging and recruitment practices, the responsibility of enrolling a quality student has shifted more toward the marketer. The quality and intent of the prospect needs to be well defined before she is passed to an admissions counselor. A university’s ability to develop the prospect’s enrollment intent is more limited than ever.</p>
<p>Schools are left to consolidate efforts to their highest-quality partners and online channels. The aggregate traffic model and an inquiry driven to multiple schools are no longer of great value; rather they are considered more of a “volume filler.” Admissions counselors can’t get into a sales competition for inquiries who express interest in multiple colleges. An admission representative should not be a salesperson, but rather a guide that aids in the process and helps the prospect make an informed decision about attending their college of choice.<span id="more-5989"></span></p>
<p>As colleges and universities continue to focus on users who have a strong intent on furthering their education, they also hope to grab prospects that have shown interest in their school. We have seen a shift back to SEO and SEM channels. Schools are paying higher cost-per-leads for top placement of their logo on prominent websites. At the same time click costs are continuing to trend upward. Email remains a consistent driver of high-quality traffic but is underutilized.</p>
<p>Five years ago email was a major part of the quality mix of the major aggregators in education marketing; a quality compliment to internal SEM-SEO traffic that generated quality inquiries for schools. Then came call center traffic — a much cheaper, low-maintenance channel that enabled aggregators to fill high volumes in short time but relied too heavily on job data and pestering phone calls to potential inquiries. Email fell to the back burner with aggregators. Unfamiliarity with CAN-SPAM laws, and the desire to avoid spam problems, caused many schools to stay away from emailing direct information about their institutions. In reality call center traffic has become more of a spam problem, education opt-in users can receive up to 5-10 phone calls a day once their data is passed around.</p>
<p>As CAN-SPAM laws and processes streamline for opt-in users, email has become a higher-quality source. You can take the same user that opted-in for information about your school, send them an email presenting your school and let them choose to open and request information exclusively for your institution. The enrollment rates of those inquiries remain steady between 3%-5% and are comparable with PPC inquiries, but at a 25% lower CPL on average.</p>
<p>So why isn’t everyone running email traffic? Non-compliant spam is no longer a major concern, with mailers and email providers completely honed into maintaining legal practices. Besides, consumers’ opt-in to so much stuff, they end up creating their own spam. They are more or less used to email traffic as a staple of life now.</p>
<p>The real reason why everyone isn’t running email traffic is because email marketing isn’t easy. Traffic can be unpredictable with email providers like Yahoo and Hotmail changing their inbox algorithms and creating shifts in traffic similar to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Penguin">Google Penguin</a>, a search engine algorithm update from Google. Also, maintaining data and keeping a fresh look with new data and messaging is difficult. Quarterly updates and constant landing page testing are part of the process which some agencies and institutions are not set up to handle.</p>
<p>All of these factors, combined with the fact that there are limited email players that cater to education, make running an education campaign for email traffic very tedious. However, as CPCs continue to rise on SEM traffic and education marketers look for new quality sources that are less tapped and competitive.</p>
<p>Email will become a stronger source for direct schools, and it will make a comeback with aggregate advertisers that moved away from the traffic for cheaper alternatives.</p>
<p><i>How has email marketing played a role in your education marketing strategy? Let us know in the comments below on Twitter </i><a href="https://twitter.com/MediaWhizInc"><i>@MediaWhizInc</i></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/education-marketers-should-rethink-email">Education Marketers Should Rethink Email</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Around the MediaWhiz Nation with MediaWhiz Account Executive Fiona McGovern</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/around-the-mediawhiz-nation-with-mediawhiz-account-executive-fiona-mcgovern</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/around-the-mediawhiz-nation-with-mediawhiz-account-executive-fiona-mcgovern#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2013 04:01:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>sultan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Around the MediaWhiz Nation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Employee Spotlights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz News & Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Employee Interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matomy Media Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mediawhiz.com/?p=5975</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/around-the-mediawhiz-nation-with-mediawhiz-account-executive-fiona-mcgovern">Around the MediaWhiz Nation with MediaWhiz Account Executive Fiona McGovern</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>By</strong><strong> </strong><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/Riaz_MediaWhiz?rel=author%22?rel=author" target="_blank">Sultan Riaz</a> | Marketing Coordinator</strong></p>
<p><b><i>Editor’s note:</i></b><i> “</i><a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/category/around-the-mediawhiz-nation"><i>Around the MediaWhiz Nation</i></a><i>” is a regular editorial series in which MediaWhiz employees discuss the intricacies of their work. </i></p>
<p>Recently, I sat down with Fiona McGovern, an account executive in MediaWhiz’s SEO division, and learned more about her life both within and outside of MediaWhiz’s downtown New York City walls. We talked about her interest in travel, including her trip to Iceland last summer!</p>
<p><center> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7SLYKswMfiA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </center></p>
<p><b>Sultan Riaz: If you had to explain your job description in one tweet, what would it be?</b><br />
<b>Fiona McGovern:</b> I help clients improve their presence on the Internet.</p>
<p><b>SR: How do you commute to work?</b><br />
<b>FM:</b> I live in North Jersey, so I commute into Penn station and take the 2 or 3 train downtown. Also, in the summer I have the option to take the ferry into work.</p>
<p><b>SR: What is the first thing you like to do (work related) when you get in the office?</b><br />
<b>FM:</b> The first thing I like to do is check my schedule for the day. This way I can map out what I need to get done. Doing so helps me highlight the important tasks of the day and knock those out first. I also respond to emails that I may have received the night before or in the morning prior to arriving at the office.</p>
<p><b>SR: What is one thing you could not be without during your typical workday?</b><br />
<b>FM:</b> There are probably two things: espresso and my cell phone. If I ever step away from my desk I don’t want to miss any emails, so it’s important to have my cell phone with me so I can stay on top of everything at all times.<b>  <span id="more-5975"></span></b></p>
<p><b>SR: Is there something that you do in your workday that you didn’t expect to do when you took this position</b>?<br />
<b>FM:</b> Yes. I hadn’t expected how broad the client base would be. I work with multiple industries across the world, from Australia to the Unites States to the United Kingdom. I really enjoying have a variation in terms of the clients I work with. <b> </b></p>
<p><b>SR: What are things you like to do when not at work?</b><br />
<b>FM:</b> Whenever I am not at work I love to travel. I was in Iceland last summer and there was a lot to do there. It’s a very unique culture and a very unique area. I would like to go back in the winter and see the northern lights.</p>
<p>I also love reading; one of my favorite newspapers is <i>The New York Times</i>, which I read daily.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MediaWhizLLC?feature=mhee">Visit our YouTube channel</a> to learn more about the experiences of other MediaWhiz employees. Follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/MediaWhizInc">Twitter</a> or “like” us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MediaWhizInc?ref=hl">Facebook</a> for MediaWhiz updates.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/around-the-mediawhiz-nation-with-mediawhiz-account-executive-fiona-mcgovern">Around the MediaWhiz Nation with MediaWhiz Account Executive Fiona McGovern</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>What Yahoo’s Acquisition of Tumblr Means for Online Media Buyers</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/what-yahoos-acquisition-of-tumblr-means-for-online-media-buyers</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/what-yahoos-acquisition-of-tumblr-means-for-online-media-buyers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jun 2013 04:01:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>sultan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Display Advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Industry Insights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhizdom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Performance Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[display advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maria Loreto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online Advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tumblr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yahoo]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mediawhiz.com/?p=5960</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/what-yahoos-acquisition-of-tumblr-means-for-online-media-buyers">What Yahoo’s Acquisition of Tumblr Means for Online Media Buyers</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>By</strong><strong> </strong><strong><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/mloreto?rel=author" target="_blank">Maria Loreto</a> | Media Planner</strong></p>
<p>
<a href="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzE5LzFjL3lhaG9vdHVtYmxyLmZkM2Q1LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/68b6c048/08e/yahoo-tumblr3.jpg"><img class="aligncenter  wp-image-5961" alt="Yahoo_Tumblr" src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/yahoo-tumblr3.jpg" width="570" height="320" /></a></p>
<p>Marissa Mayer’s choices have been under the microscope ever since she left Google to head its major rival, Yahoo. Despite <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2284540/Richard-Branson-criticizes-Marissa-Mayers-perplexing-backwards-ban-Yahoo-employees-working-home.html">criticism</a> over some of Mayer’s major decisions concerning Yahoo’s operations, I find her strategic moves both smart and interesting. She appears to be repositioning Yahoo as an online media buyer’s dream – a company that places a greater focus on ad-tech investment and development while still delivering a huge number of quality impressions, something that has always been a core strength at Yahoo.</p>
<p>Mayer initiated her grand plan to change the tech behemoth’s image as a slow, out-of-date Internet giant when she lead the company’s <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/06/yahoo-signs-global-non-exclusive-display-ad-deal-with-google/">partnership with arch-rival Google</a> (her former employer) for display advertising.</p>
<p>But she took the change-now, change-big plan one step further last month with the surprise announcement of <a href="http://business.time.com/2013/05/19/yahoo-acquires-tumblr-initial-reactions-from-around-the-web/">Yahoo’s acquisition of Tumblr</a>. By acquiring the most influential microblogging site in the United States (Tumblr hosts more than 112 million blogs and almost 60 billion posts per month), Mayer laid down the future of Yahoo. It’s a future built around smart online advertising opportunities and digital content.</p>
<p>So what does the acquisition mean for Yahoo? <span id="more-5960"></span></p>
<p>First, it shows that Yahoo understands the value of display advertising, which will be Marissa Mayer’s first bet at monetizing Tumblr despite <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/tumblr-rolls-out-ads/">users’ aversion to ads on the site.</a> Display, a traffic source often underestimated by marketers, has developed dramatically over the last couple of years even outperforming traditional paid search in certain verticals. Furthermore, Google’s paid search cost-per-clicks often turn out to be too expensive for certain industries, pushing advertisers to explore other traffic options in order to pay more efficient cost-per-acquisitions.</p>
<p>Second, given that approximately <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323975004578503104041662958.html">40% of Tumblr’s users</a> access the site via their smartphones, the acquisition opens up new opportunities for Yahoo to expand its mobile presence. Tumblr’s users belong to a <a href="http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Social-media-users/Social-Networking-Site-Users/Demo-portrait.aspx">younger demographic</a> that truly engages with mobile apps and mobile content. Yahoo could use the experience of the Tumblr team in building and growing a mobile audience and carry it over to its other properties in order to become a big player in the mobile space.</p>
<p>Yahoo will make use of Tumblr’s user database to serve ads that are relevant to each microblog’s owner and respective readers – ads will be served, not only based on interests and content, but also on whom these individuals are. Furthermore, the content that prevails on the microblogging platform – travel, entertainment, food , etc. – doesn’t overlap with the content currently displayed on Yahoo’s most trafficked properties (sports, news, finance), giving the search giant more opportunities for monetization.</p>
<p>Finally, this decision puts Yahoo in the news once again, this time as a company that is rebranding itself as hip and current in an attempt to get rid of the ‘old search engine’ image that it currently holds.</p>
<p>Overall, I see this as a smart move that brings Yahoo more data: the acquisition will give the company access to 300 million unique users per month, something that aligns with Mayer’s primary goal of increasing the company’s revenues by growing Yahoo’s impressions, page views and user interactions.</p>
<p>The challenge: How will Yahoo monetize this traffic without scaring Tumblr loyal users away? Will it find a way to monetize display and mobile ads as well as Mayer’s former employer? I believe it is possible, but we will have to stay tuned.</p>
<address>         Do you think Yahoo will be able to meet the challenges this acquisition will bring? Let us know on twitter</address>
<address>        <a href="https://twitter.com/MediaWhizInc" target="_blank">@MediaWhizInc</a></address>
<address> </address>
<address> </address>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/what-yahoos-acquisition-of-tumblr-means-for-online-media-buyers">What Yahoo’s Acquisition of Tumblr Means for Online Media Buyers</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Conversion Conference Chicago: Our Expert Talks Designing for Mobile Lead Gen</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/conversion-conference-chicago-our-expert-talks-designing-for-mobile-lead-gen</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/conversion-conference-chicago-our-expert-talks-designing-for-mobile-lead-gen#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Jun 2013 04:01:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>sultan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Creative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Industry Insights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz Events]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Mobile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Performance Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chicago 2013]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conversion Conference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giles McGrath]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matomy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mobile Creative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mobile Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mobile lead-gen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[performance marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Top-10 Best Practices]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mediawhiz.com/?p=5953</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/conversion-conference-chicago-our-expert-talks-designing-for-mobile-lead-gen">Conversion Conference Chicago: Our Expert Talks Designing for Mobile Lead Gen</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>By</strong><strong> </strong><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/Riaz_MediaWhiz?rel=author%22?rel=author" target="_blank">Sultan Riaz</a> | Marketing Coordinator</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.conversionconference.com/ccc13-home.htm"><img class="aligncenter  wp-image-5956" alt="Conversion conference" src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Conversion-conference.png" width="468" height="124" /></a></p>
<p><b></b>If you are having trouble with your conversion rates or generating leads from your mobile site, then <a href="http://www.conversionconference.com/ccc13-agenda.htm">Conversion Conference in Chicago</a> this month is a must-attend event. And our Giles McGrath, creative director, has all of the insight you’ll need for designing your mobile site with lead generation in mind.</p>
<p>In his presentation, “Don’t Just Replicate: Designing for Mobile Lead Gen,” Giles will distill our top-10 best practices for mobile lead-gen design. As he writes in the introduction for his presentation:</p>
<p><i>Mobile websites shouldn’t be a simple reproduction of your brand’s desktop site. Effective lead generation with mobile requires thoughtful consideration about how consumers interact with brands on Donttheir mobile devices, how they share content and the type of content and features that grabs their attention. In this session, you&#8217;ll see how you can unclutter your mobile website or app to improve conversion and generate more qualified leads.</i></p>
<p>Conversion Conference brings together expert speakers from all walks of digital marketing to help you increase your conversion rate and lead generation. With Digital marketers ranking <a href="http://www.conversionconference.com/ccc13-home.htm">conversion rate optimization</a> as one of their top priorities of the year, it makes Conversion Conference an important event to attend.</p>
<p>We hope to see you at Conversion Conference Chicago, where we’d be happy to answer your mobile creative and lead generation questions. If you’re planning to attend Conversion Conference Chicago, please <a href="mailto:gmcgrath@mediawhiz.com?subject=Conversion%20Conference%20Chicago">contact us</a> so we can meet you.</p>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/conversion-conference-chicago-our-expert-talks-designing-for-mobile-lead-gen">Conversion Conference Chicago: Our Expert Talks Designing for Mobile Lead Gen</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>How Performance Marketing and Higher Education Became Best Friends</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/how-performance-marketing-and-higher-education-became-best-friends</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/how-performance-marketing-and-higher-education-became-best-friends#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Jun 2013 04:01:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>sultan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Affiliate Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EDU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Industry Insights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[affiliate marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[APSCU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Higher Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matomy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online Degree]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[performance marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shon Greenblatt]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mediawhiz.com/?p=5875</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/how-performance-marketing-and-higher-education-became-best-friends">How Performance Marketing and Higher Education Became Best Friends</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>By</strong><strong> </strong><strong><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/shongreenblatt?rel=author" target="_blank">Shon Greenblatt</a> | Senior Director, Account Management</strong></p>
<p><b><i>Editor’s note: </i></b><i>This is the fourth post in a <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/category/edu" target="_blank">series</a> focusing on best practices for lead generation in the online education industry.</i></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://www.skyword.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/bigstock-Learn-Online-31014020skycrop1.jpg" width="504" height="336" /></p>
<p>Online performance marketing remains the most cost effective form of marketing and advertising. As society becomes more digitally focused, and consumers increasingly user their smartphones and tablets to run and organize their lives, advertisers will recognize additional opportunities to reach out to them directly to share the benefit of their perspective goods and services. Colleges and universities are no different.</p>
<p>In the 10 years I have worked in online marketing, I have worked with many of the nation’s top educators and administrators. In that time I have been a witness to the incredible growing demand of online education. The reach of the Web is endless. Educational opportunities that were once unavailable to many people   are now available to almost anyone, anywhere and at any time, throughout the world.<span id="more-5875"></span></p>
<p>Online education is truly one of the greatest beneficiaries of the benefits of performance marketing. And no doubt the performance marketing industry has benefitted tremendously from its ability to help educators and administrators engage, acquire and retain prospective students.</p>
<p>No longer do you have to consider the cost of moving and living in a different state to obtain a college degree and figure out your housing budget to attend the classes that fit your major.<img title="More..." alt="" src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif" /></p>
<p>The surge of online degrees and course can, in part, be attributed to the fact that higher education is now so accessible to many people. The flexible schedule of an online degree, acquired from the comfort of your home, is hard to measure but being able to maintain your current job or family lifestyle and continue to expand your education is a priceless opportunity.</p>
<p>We are seeing everything from certificate and vocational training to master’s degrees and doctorates coming online from colleges and universities throughout the world. In some cases, schools are going even further by translating their curriculum into other languages, such as Spanish and Portuguese, to reach the LATAM audience. This provides people from every corner of the world the opportunity to get a certified U.S education.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:EDU@mediawhiz.com"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5918" alt="Banner" src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Banner.jpg" width="592" height="92" /></a></p>
<p>With that in mind, it’s clear to me that this is an incredibly exciting time for online education. Its reach and accessibility is on a scale we have never seen before and it continues to grow at a steady rate.</p>
<p>Backing online education’s impressive growth is a robust performance marketing ecosystem.</p>
<p>It all starts with that first point of contact. That first email, call or search from a prospective student. The first point of contact is everything. It’s the beginning of the pipeline to a potential student realizing their dream of a college education.</p>
<p>MediaWhiz helps to plant and cultivate those first seeds and find those potential students everyday with our vast knowledge of the online education space and distribution channels, such as our internal <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/productsservices/email-list-management">email network</a> and <a href="http://monetizeit.com/">top-ranked affiliate network</a>.</p>
<p>In some cases, by utilizing our <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/productsservices/affiliate-marketing">Full Service Lead Program</a>, I’ve created an entire portfolio of private, branded sites to the branded specification of a university and driven traffic directly to those pages to help increase not only the visibility of the brand but, more importantly, drive additional applicants to the school of their choice.</p>
<h3><b>The Most Powerful Words in Online Education</b></h3>
<p>Accessibility. Flexibility. Choice</p>
<p>These three simple, powerful words encompass the amazing ability of performance marketing to bridge higher education and the Web to the masses. College isn’t for everyone but now, more than ever, it’s available to so many more people for all the right reasons.</p>
<p><strong>Please join me and my MediaWhiz colleagues at this year’s <a href="http://www.ccaconvention.org/">APSCU Convention and Expo</a>, June 5-7, in Orlando. You can find us at booth #708. I’d love to learn about your ideas and goals for engaging prospective students online.</strong></p>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/how-performance-marketing-and-higher-education-became-best-friends">How Performance Marketing and Higher Education Became Best Friends</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>HOW TO: Improve Your Site&#8217;s Optimization with SEO</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/beyond-search-rankings-using-seo-to-improve-site-optimization</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/beyond-search-rankings-using-seo-to-improve-site-optimization#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 May 2013 04:01:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Keith Trivitt</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Industry Insights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search engine marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search engine optimization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search engine rankings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[site optimization]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mediawhiz.com/?p=5848</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/beyond-search-rankings-using-seo-to-improve-site-optimization">HOW TO: Improve Your Site&#8217;s Optimization with SEO</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>By <a href="https://twitter.com/marcpurtell?rel=author" target="_blank">Marc Purtell</a> | Director, SEO</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Marcs.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5947" alt="Marc's" src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Marcs.jpg" width="530" height="289" /></a></p>
<p dir="ltr">The <a href="http://www.searchenginejournal.com/the-evolution-of-searcher-intent-markers-a-new-way-to-look-at-seo/61541/" target="_blank">evolution of search engine algorithms</a> has added to the complexity of search engine optimization. More significantly, it has impacted the level of integration that is needed with other forms of Web optimization. <a href="http://www.seomoz.org/google-algorithm-change" target="_blank">SEOMoz has a great page</a> that shows the updates year by year.</p>
<p>Search engine optimization is no longer strictly about publishing quality content and building the authority of the content. SEO now involves engaging consumers and building relationships.</p>
<p>The new paradigm of SEO is that it must be implemented in tandem with other website optimization efforts. These include user experience design and social media marketing.</p>
<h3><strong>Optimizing for the Desired User Action</strong></h3>
<p dir="ltr">Getting qualified traffic to a website is only half the battle; once visitors arrive, they need to perform an action. Whatever the desired action may be, whether it’s filling out a lead form, signing up for a newsletter or completing a purchase, the landing pages and the site in general must be optimized in such</p>
<p><img class="alignleft" alt="optimizing for the desired user action" src="http://1-ps.googleusercontent.com/h/www.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/212x142xoptimizing-for-the-desired-user-action.jpg.pagespeed.ic.SkthRJ7lvr.webp" width="212" height="142" />a way that makes the desired action clear and compelling to visitors. Otherwise, the SEO efforts and investment that drove people to the site will have been done in vain.</p>
<p>Given the importance of both driving traffic to a website and influencing that traffic to execute a conversion, it is important not to think of these as two mutually exclusive tasks. The ability to drive traffic is partially dependent on the actions completed once visitors land on a website.</p>
<p>The engagement value of a website is a ranking factor. If a website has low engagement, the site’s organic search rankings can be negatively affected. For example, search engines can easily determine that a website has a high bounce rate if users click on an organic listing then quickly return to the search engine results page. This is a strong signal to the search engines that the site has either poor-quality content or simply provides a bad user experience and, therefore, the search engine will no longer want to send its users to that site. This results in lowered rankings. For this reason, it is essential that SEO efforts are integrated with <a href="http://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-101-introduction-to-usability/">usability/user experience</a> optimization.<span id="more-5848"></span></p>
<h3><strong>Integrating Social Media and SEO</strong></h3>
<p dir="ltr"><img class="alignleft" alt="integrating social media and SEO" src="http://1-ps.googleusercontent.com/h/www.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/268x201xintegrating-social-media-and-SEO.jpg.pagespeed.ic.oHm8GLS_r0.webp" width="268" height="201" />Another important area of necessary <a href="http://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-seo-insights-for-the-new-age-of-search/59803/">integration with SEO</a> is social media marketing efforts. Social signals, such as Likes, Tweets, +1’s, etc. are strong authority signals in the eyes of search engines. Furthermore, it is important to build strong relationships with consumers via SEO and maintain those relationships through social media. By building strong social communities and engaging with those communities, search engines will view a brand as a positive destination for its users and those connected to the brand’s followers will be more likely to come across and engage with the brand.</p>
<p>The integration between SEO and social media marketing that should always happen includes facilitating website visitors to join a brand’s social communities by prominently placed social media buttons and links on the website. If performed correctly, visitors driven to the site by SEO efforts can be leveraged for building a stronger social presence for the brand. Alternatively, website content meant to generate organic traffic should be shared via the brand’s social media profiles/communities to build authority to that content, increasing the SEO value.</p>
<p>These are just a few examples of various Web optimization principles and channels that should be integrated with SEO.</p>
<p>SEO should not be viewed as a stand-alone channel for inbound marketing, but rather part of a larger digital strategy that is fully integrated. Allow SEO to help other channels succeed and allow other channels to benefit SEO.</p>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/beyond-search-rankings-using-seo-to-improve-site-optimization">HOW TO: Improve Your Site&#8217;s Optimization with SEO</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Choose the Right Marketing Agency for Higher Education Advertising</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/choose-the-right-marketing-agency-for-higher-education-marketing-success</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/choose-the-right-marketing-agency-for-higher-education-marketing-success#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 May 2013 04:01:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>sultan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[EDU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Industry Insights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Performance Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trade Shows]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Admissions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ASPCU 2013]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Call Centers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frances Gutierrez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Higher Ed Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Higher Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MediaWhiz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[performance marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mediawhiz.com/?p=5805</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/choose-the-right-marketing-agency-for-higher-education-marketing-success">Choose the Right Marketing Agency for Higher Education Advertising</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>By</strong><strong> </strong><strong><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/frances-gutierrez/63/622/6a3?rel=author" target="_blank">Frances Gutierrez</a> | Education Project Strategist</strong></p>
<p><b><i>Editor’s note: </i></b><i>This is the third post in a <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/category/edu" target="_blank">series</a> focusing on best practices for lead generation in the online education industry.</i></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" alt="" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2012/6/8/1339163701210/Internet-Companies-Vie-Fo-008.jpg" width="460" height="276" /></p>
<p>The tide is changing in higher education. A more diverse student population can be found at most college campuses throughout America. The opportunities — and challenges — for universities to find, enroll and retain students have never been greater.</p>
<p>Two recent reports underscore this emerging reality.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.career.org/news-and-media/press-releases/rebuild-middle-class-through-education.cfm">press release</a> from the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU) reported that a surprising 92% of current students meet one or more standards of a non-traditional student. A glut of undereducated employees in the workforce — 90 million of them, <a href="http://www.career.org/knowledge-center/facts/skills-gap.cfm">according to APSCU</a> — has helped widened the gap in the labor market. With an expected 85% of new jobs requiring a postsecondary education, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for higher-learning institutions to close the gap.</p>
<p>Institutions are facing challenges with student recruitment, retention, employer advocacy and more while striving to gain a competitive advantage.</p>
<p>Through years of admissions management experience I have gained an in-depth understanding of the ever-changing realm and unique marketing challenges of private higher-education.</p>
<p>What’s the silver bullet to achieving online marketing success in higher education? While it may seem rudimentary, the quick answer is clear: <b>put the student first</b>. Develop and maintain a student-centric approach. This requires higher education marketers to make <i>all</i> decisions with the student experience as the main priority.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:EDU@mediawhiz.com"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5918" alt="Banner" src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Banner.jpg" width="592" height="92" /></a></p>
<h3><b><span id="more-5805"></span>Measure Higher Ed Marketing Results Early and Often</b></h3>
<p>Many colleges and universities that have begun this transformation know that success lies in the ability to measure results, specifically by measuring student impact. The journey, however, begins with learning about the student beyond demographic information and engaging in a process of discovery before true engagement. Advisors are expanding their roles to form relationships with students. Faculty members are moving beyond a focus on learning outcomes and focusing more on the student’s overall learning development. But when does this student-centric focused approach really begin? How can this approach be optimized for greater success?</p>
<p>We know that the first year of the student experience is crucial for retention in the student life cycle; however, the path to long-term enrollment and retention success involves a truly holistic approach <i>before</i> the student even has an interaction with the college or university.</p>
<p>A student’s experience begins before he or she registers, fills out an application or even receives an informational brochure. It begins in the research stage, initiated by a basic question: “Which school is the right fit for me?” In my experience, making the decision to even ask this question is daunting, not to mention the proposition of starting the unknown path of an educational journey. Therefore, it is essential that <i>every</i> interaction the student has within the admissions process and beyond is tailored to the student experience.</p>
<p>Your marketing partner must be the true first step in the student enrollment and retention lifecycle. They are the bridge between your college or university and engaging the right potential student. Having a detailed understanding of student needs and creating the best student experience from this initial stage through the admission and retention steps has proven extremely valuable for me as the education project strategist for MediaWhiz.</p>
<p>MediaWhiz’s online education portal, <a href="http://chooseyourcolleges.com/">ChooseYourColleges.com</a>, which has traffic dominated by targeted search engine marketing, applies the same student-centric approach to engage the <i>right</i> students online. This strategy, as well our <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/productsservices/email-list-management">internal email channel</a>, focuses on hand-picked media sources to deliver quality results. An additional distinction is that MediaWhiz acquires and manages the exclusive data we send via our internal email channels. Doing so ensures compliance and quality control remains with your college or university through an approval process.</p>
<h3><b>Call Centers: The Unsung Heroes of Education Marketing</b></h3>
<p><em><img class="alignleft" alt="" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSBqoYHjGsxMobqMvffrKW1zTfdWQouPWHi6QViBB8CNiiAyztT" width="275" height="183" /></em></p>
<p>Another quality process that connects potential students to a college or university is a call center’s process of hot transfer. This process helps ensure a student has a more t<em id="__mceDel">ailored fit with a school by identifying the student’s key needs through a dynamic conversation.</em></p>
<p>Call center hot transfers are a crucial starting point of a student’s overall higher education experience. The first conversation a potential student has with a college or university is with a call center representative who can tarnish the student experience.</p>
<p>The realm of control over a student’s first experience with a college or university rests largely within the admissions department, which can be frustrating with traditional call center operations. This is why I’m excited that MediaWhiz has partnered with a 100% inbound hot transfer product that holds an educated 20- to 30-minute call with the potential student <i>before</i> the student is transferred to the school, resulting in a 100% contact rate.</p>
<p>Being a part of a student-focused business partnership is very beneficial. This is what the experts at MediaWhiz can offer you.</p>
<p><i>How are you ensuring your higher education marketing campaigns are engaging and retaining prospective students? Share your best practices in the comments.</i></p>
<h3></h3>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/choose-the-right-marketing-agency-for-higher-education-marketing-success">Choose the Right Marketing Agency for Higher Education Advertising</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Native Ads: The Marketing Opportunities Just Keep Growing</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/native-advertising-marketing-opportunities</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/native-advertising-marketing-opportunities#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 04:01:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Keith Trivitt</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Creative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Display Advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Performance Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advertorials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eMarketer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[native ads]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[native advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sponsored Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Atlantic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mediawhiz.com/?p=5892</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/native-advertising-marketing-opportunities">Native Ads: The Marketing Opportunities Just Keep Growing</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>By</strong><strong> </strong><strong><a href="http://twitter.com/keithtrivitt?rel=author" target="_blank">Keith Trivitt</a> | Director, Marketing and Communications</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="native-ads-the-atlantic-scientology" alt="" src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/atlantic-sponsored-post-border.jpg" width="456" height="257" /></p>
<p>Native ads here, native there, native ads everywhere. That seems to be the prevailing theme of digital marketing nearly halfway through 2013. Native ads — or sponsored stories, or advertorials, or whatever is the trendy buzzword of the day — are all the rage at the moment.</p>
<p>A recent eMarketer report puts some numbers behind all of the hype. According to eMarketer, native ads are providing new ways for marketers to reach target audiences and new avenues of monetization for content sites that are under intense revenue pressure.</p>
<p>But, as <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/native-advertising">we wrote back in February</a>, native ads aren’t without their <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/184542/native-advertising-the-slope-gets-slipperier.html#axzz2Txeftz9I">detractors</a>. Some media and marketing executives are concerned about the potentially negative effects of blurring the lines between content and advertising. Others questions the return on investment of these ads, arguing that native ads cannot scale for multiple placements (we happen to agree on latter).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article/All-Eyes-on-Native-Advertising-Despite-Uncertainties/1009895"><img class="alignleft" title="native-ads-us-spending" alt="" src="http://www.emarketer.com/images/chart_gifs/156001-157000/156656.gif" width="325" height="335" /></a>Despite those concerns, there is no doubt that native advertising has grabbed a significant foothold within the online marketing industry. eMarketer estimates that native ads will generate $4.57 billion in revenue in the U.S. by 2017, up from $1.63 billion in 2012.</p>
<p>So what makes for a great native ad? As my colleague Sultan Riaz wrote last February, a powerful native ad comes down to two crucial factors: a seamless blending with the editorial content and a non-disruptive message that is relevant to the consumer.</p>
<p>Below is an example of native advertising on Twitter.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/native-advertising"><img title="native-advertising-example-twitter-hubspot" alt="" src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Sponsored-Tweets4-300x279.jpg" width="300" height="279" /></a></p>
<p><span id="more-5892"></span>Notice how HubSpot’s promoted tweet blends seamlessly within a user’s Twitter stream, providing relevant content that is just disruptive enough to make you stop, read the tweet and consider clicking the link. The ad doesn’t overpower the medium or take away from the overall experience. Instead, it blends in within the overall flow of content so as to seem natural within the larger discussion.</p>
<p>Some of the most common types of native ads include Facebook Sponsored Stories, Twitter Promoted Tweets, branded videos and other ads that appear in the content streams of media sites such as Forbes.com and BuzzFeed.</p>
<p>So which native ad type will perform best for your brand?</p>
<p><img class="alignleft" title="native-video-ads" alt="" src="http://www.emarketer.com/images/chart_gifs/150001-151000/150931.gif" width="324" height="227" />According to native advertising platform <a href="http://www.sharethrough.com/" target="blank">Sharethrough</a>, nearly 50% of media executives it polled find native video ads to be more effective than conventional ads at hitting key performance indicators (KPIs). Slightly more than one-third of respondents said it was too early to tell which were more effective, and the rest said native ads were either equally effective or somewhat less effective than other ad types.</p>
<p>Whether you buy into the hype that native ads are the next generation of online advertising, or think they are an overhyped waste of brand dollars, there is no denying that native advertising has become a powerful force in online marketing.</p>
<p><i>Have you started to use native ads in your online marketing campaigns? If so, what success have you found?  </i></p>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/native-advertising-marketing-opportunities">Native Ads: The Marketing Opportunities Just Keep Growing</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Twitter&#8217;s Lead Generation Cards Will Be Big for Performance Marketing</title>
		<link>http://www.mediawhiz.com/twitter-launches-lead-generation-card</link>
		<comments>http://www.mediawhiz.com/twitter-launches-lead-generation-card#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 19:46:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Keith Trivitt</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Affiliate Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Performance Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[e-commerce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[landing pages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter Cards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter Lead Generation Card]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/twitter-launches-lead-generation-card">Twitter&#8217;s Lead Generation Cards Will Be Big for Performance Marketing</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>By</strong><strong> </strong><strong><a href="http://twitter.com/keithtrivitt?rel=author" target="_blank">Keith Trivitt</a> | Director, Marketing and Communications</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" alt="Twitter logo is displayed at the entranc" src="http://cdn.thenextweb.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/04/110014362-645x250.jpg" width="516" height="200" /></p>
<p>Today’s <a href="http://advertising.twitter.com/2013/05/Capture-user-interest-with-the-Lead-Generation-Card.html">announcement by Twitter</a> of the launch of its new Lead Generation Card represents a major milestone in the evolution of both the microblogging site and performance marketing. Lead Generation Cards are part of the suite of <a href="https://dev.twitter.com/cards">Twitter Cards</a>, which are essentially expanded tweets that allow organizations and businesses to promote their content and offers.</p>
<p>For Twitter, it is a recognition that engagement and social media buzz are great but the days of advertisers being able to live solely off of that as justification for investing in social media campaigns are quickly coming to a close. As Twitter said in announcing the new direct marketing offering, the key goal for many marketers “boils down to one more theme: generating leads and ultimately driving purchases.” We couldn’t agree more.</p>
<p>For performance marketers, Twitter’s Lead Generation Cards should become a useful tool in their performance social marketing campaigns. Performance marketers have longed argued for more lead-gen-specific capabilities within social platforms. As we <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/facebook-new-performance-marketing-benefits">wrote recently</a>, Facebook’s recent <a href="http://www.adexchanger.com/social-media/facebook-rolls-out-cpa-bidding-for-hard-core-direct-marketers/">development of CPA bidding</a> for direct marketing advertisers is an important step toward making that social network a more performance-marketing-friendly advertising platform.</p>
<p>So how do Twitter Lead Generation Cards work? Here is how Twitter explained them on its blog:</p>
<blockquote><p>Twitter Cards let you bring rich experiences and useful tools to users within an expanded Tweet. The Lead Generation Card makes it easy for users to express interest in what your brand offers. Users can easily and securely share their email address with a business without leaving Twitter or having to fill out a cumbersome form.</p>
<p>When someone expands your Tweet, they see a description of the offer and a call to action. Their name, @username, and email address are already pre-filled within the Card. The user simply clicks a button to send this information directly (and securely) to you.</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://advertising.twitter.com/2013/05/Capture-user-interest-with-the-Lead-Generation-Card.html"><img class="aligncenter" title="Twitter-lead-generation-card" alt="Twitter Lead Generation Card " src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DuJpvgnaR_E/UZvhN5En8rI/AAAAAAAAAao/ezvzxyhHhMI/s1600/LeadGenCard_520.png" width="520" height="549" /></a><span id="more-5906"></span><!--more-->For now, Twitter’s lead-gen cards are only available to “managed clients” but the social network plans to make them globally available soon. As <i><a href="http://marketingland.com/twitters-lead-generation-card-now-live-for-selected-brand-advertisers-45202">Marketing Land’s Matt McGee writes</a></i>, we can expect a “fair amount of small business owners will want to kick the tires [by testing lead-gen card campaigns] when that happens.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, Congress.org <a href="http://congress.org/2013/05/22/twitter-unveils-lead-generation-card-great-addition-to-any-advocacy-effort/">points out</a> that the release of Lead Generation Cards by Twitter may have the added benefit of helping nonprofits and advocacy groups increase visibility and build their membership base.</p>
<p>At MediaWhiz, we’re excited about this new opportunity engage, acquire and retain customers via Twitter. Social media has opened up so many new opportunities for brand marketing over the last five years. It’s an encouraging sign that Twitter, along with Facebook, are finally bringing some of their marketing magic to the performance marketing world in the form of direct response, lead-gen capabilities.</p>
<p><i>What do you think? Will Twitter’s new Lead Generation Cards amount to anything? Will you be using them for your next lead-gen campaign?</i></p>
<div class='kindleWidget kindleLight' ><img src="http://www.mediawhiz.com/wp-content/plugins/send-to-kindle/media/white-15.png" /><span>Kindle</span></div><p>The post <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com/twitter-launches-lead-generation-card">Twitter&#8217;s Lead Generation Cards Will Be Big for Performance Marketing</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.mediawhiz.com">MediaWhiz</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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