I do not understand why old school CEO’s are still wasting thousands of dollars on print advertising. Did you know some businesses spend between $30,000 and $100,000 just for one print ad page in the Wall Street Journal to run one week? This is insane. You can’t even track the success results or conversion factors from print advertising. CEO’s still do this because they like to see their company name in big papers and they think their target demographic actually reads newspapers. When was the last time you saw someone aged 21-35 actually reading a newspaper? I think it has been months. Everyone I know gets their information, advertising, and news online and in real time. If you want to grow your business, you need to advertise where your clients live online.

To start an internet marketing campaign, every business that is business to consumer based should start with organic search engine optimization. This is the core of any internet marketing campaign. CEO’s and marketing professionals then need to research where their target demographic lives online. What sites do they go to? What times of the day and week are they online? Where do they live? All this stuff is crucial for deciding which sites to advertise on and how to market your company.

There are also some great tools you can use to see if your site is properly optimized for SEO and follows all the search engine guidelines.  The SEO Ranker Tool by IMI is a great one http://internetmarketinginc.com/seo-report or companies like Hubspot have some great software as well.

I encourage all CEO’s to try to run an ROI report on their current print spend.  Take half your print budget and use it online and run the same ROI report.  I am convinced you will never run print again when you complete this task.

-Brandon

To remain competitive in today’s environment, real estate professionals and home builders must understand who their buyers are, where they are doing their research, and how to effectively communicate their brand message.   As we continue to see a dramatic shift away from traditional media, home builders and marketers are seeking advertising channels that are most cost effective, more targeted, and more measurable. 

Internet marketing is earning greater recognition as the industry becomes more educated about the valuable marriage between creativity and technology.  Social media is one of these strategies that is gaining fantastic momentum.  Social media as a marketing strategy has made so many advancements in the past 12 months that it is hard to keep track.  The online marketing space has redefined how companies brand themselves, communicate with customers, and allocate marketing dollars. 

Transparency is the only way builders can remain relevant and competitive.  The old days of companies hiding behind their “big brand” are over.  Companies that are engaging in social media are committing to real customer interaction and showing who they really are as a brand and as a team.  This article aims at providing insight into why we should care about social media, how it is redefining the way we market products and services,  and how to use it effectively to sell homes.

Why Should We Care About Social Media Marketing?

Home builders and real estate professionals need to understand that their buyers are in fact online and are using social networking sites on a regular basis:
• According to the National Association of REALTORS “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2008″ 87% of home buyers use the Internet to search for a home.
• According to a 2009 Facebook statistics report, the fastest growing group on Facebook is now the 35 to 54 year old demographic growing at growing at 276.4% in the first six months of 2009.  The 55+ demo is not far behind with a 194.3% growth rate.
• According to Nielsen, unique visitors to Twitter increased 1,382 percent year-over-year, from 475,000 unique visitors in February 2008 to 7 million in February 2009, making it the fastest growing site in the Member Communities category for the month.
• YouTube is now considered the largest vertical search engines in the world with well over 70,000,000 videos (as of March 2008)

Redefining the Marketing Landscape

The hybrid approach:  Social media marketing has created a fusion between real estate marketing, advertising, and customer relations.  The most successful real estate focused social media campaigns combine all online and offline marketing efforts and truly engage the audience.  The companies that use these strategies effectively are fully committed and spend considerable time on these initiatives.  Once a campaign gains momentum, the social platforms (i.e. Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube) become real communication tools.  Builders can now actively interact with potential buyers and industry professionals in a more personal manner.  Consumers want to see user-generated content and learn about your brand from people outside your organization. 

Branding:  We should be careful about how we define “branding” as it applies to marketing and advertising.  Sometimes branding can be thought of as that marketing strategy with an indefinable ROI.  Actually, it is of course much more important.  These days it doesn’t take just good advertising or PR to brand your company.  For home builders that already have a distinct brand image social media is about creating trust and transparency while still protecting the brand.  Once a real estate professional or home builder begins social media they should encourage everyone in the company to contribute.  A builder’s brand shouldn’t just be about the homes and communities.  It should be about the team of people driving the business.  If the Simon Cooper of Ritz Carlton is a regular blogger and uses Twitter, that should tell us something.

Cost Effectiveness:  Just like any other marketing strategy, Internet marketing and social media should be designed to support a builder’s sales goals.  With budgets being tighter, it is crucial to design a marketing plan that contains strategies that are measurable and can produce a desired ROI.   One of the key ways that Internet marketing and social media are more cost effective is because it is targeted.  With social media marketing, an effective campaign starts first with setting goals, doing research, and defining the audience.  There are many great social media tools available to help plan and manage campaigns.  The key element for measuring results should be in the analytics.  All social media pages should link to the company website and gradually build traffic and conversions.

10 Tips for Getting Started

1. The team:  Whether your hire a social media agency or consultant or use an in-house team, you have to be committed to investing in the process.  It’s all or nothing.  If you outsource, it is still recommended to have someone in-house directing the message and strategy.  The more your buyers and potential buyers communicate with you, the more you will have to remain involved.  If you plan to build an in-house team, enlist the help of some Internet savvy interns for some extra man power. 

2. Website:  Do not spend time and energy engaging in any online strategy until you have a website that is user-friendly and designed to foster conversions (i.e. building an email list, capturing registrations, and generating sales).  Your website will always be your most important foundation from which any online marketing strategy will be built.  Make sure to have Google analytics installed in your site so you can actively monitor traffic levels, traffic sources, bounce rates, and time on site. Be sure to have a great database management system for capturing and organizing incoming leads. 

3. Blog:  Keep in mind that social media is first about providing value to your online community and building trust.  The best place to start is with a blog.  Blogs are easy to set up and show your customers that you care about what’s going on in your industry.  Word Press blogs are a great recommendation and very “Google-friendly”.  Be sure to build your blog into your website as opposed to having it as an external site.  Write about current topics that people can relate to and never make your message self serving.  If you don’t think you have time for all this, think again.  Like physical fitness, if you care about it and are committed, you will make the time.

4. Facebook, Active Rain, Twitter, YouTube:  Set up a Fan Page on Facebook.com and profiles on Twitter and ActiveRain.com.  You will build a large network in two ways: (1) networking within the online community itself and inviting people to “join” your fan club or “follow” you on Twitter; (2) driving traffic from outside sources to your profile pages, which you can accomplish this by having links to your profile pages and encouraging people to follow or join. 

You will keep them engaged by having good content (i.e. your blog articles is a great place to start).  You can set up an RSS feed so that your blogs are automatically posted to your Twitter page and Facebook page.  Set up a YouTube channel and start adding content.  Most builders have some kind of video or TV content so start adding it to your YouTube channel and Facebook fan page.  To create new video content, purchase a simple flip camera and shoot three to five minute videos at your properties.  Interview sales representatives, property managers, and even owners. 

5. Communicate & Build a Following:  Your efforts will be fruitless unless you have a loyal following which takes some time to build.  The more effort you put into it, the better your results will be.  Ask your social media partner for effective ways to build a following on Twitter without spamming the community.  Be active on your profile pages on Facebook and ActiveRain.  The more value you have to offer the more people will talk.  Management should lead by example and get involved.  Encourage all employees and sales people to be a part of the network.  Once you have some momentum you can start incorporating your special incentives, promotions, events, grand openings, and other creative messages.  When communicating special offerings, remember to include links to landing pages that give more details and have very clear calls to action like simple registration forms. 

6. Online/Offline Integration:  Include links to all of your social media profile pages and YouTube channel on your website.  Also make reference to these sites in all other marketing and advertising efforts.  If your fully engaged in social media and offer a great resource to potential buyers, why not brag about it?

7. Track Results and Conversions:  The best way to really track results is to be sure your social media platforms are always pointing back to your website and landing pages.  From there you can use your analytics to watch how much traffic is coming from these sources and how its converting. 

8. Get your sales teams involved:  Every member of your sales team should be active in their own social media efforts and the company’s.  Just be sure that there is some level of control to the overall message being communicated through your social networks. 

9. Get your communities involved:  All of a homebuilder’s communities should have their own Facebook and Twitter accounts and be actively involved in the company’s network as well. 

10. Get Creative:  After you gain momentum, the sky is the limit.  Your social network sites then become a platform for creativity and true customer relationship management.  Develop new concepts like special promotions, events, and contests.  Make it fun for people to be inlcuded in your online community.

The Internet is an ever-changing environment and with the Web 2.0 revolution and more people surging to social networking, we’re seeing new trends in online marketing emerge each year.  Consumers want to have a voice in the brands they like and transparency has become the new “normal” if businesses want to remain competitive.  Here are ten trends we will continue to see during 2009:

ONE – Internet Marketing Surge:  As we have already seen, more companies are transitioning away from traditional media and moving to the more targeted, measurable, and cost effective online strategies.  These of course include investing in SEO, social media, PPC, and more email marketing.   

TWO – Discount Offers:  Due to the current economic conditions (the recession), the marketing message for most companies has changed.  More companies are offering discounts, special incentives, and promotions than ever before.  We started seeing this in the housing industry and then it spread throughout most others.  Even brands that have been against discounts due to “brand image” are bending in favor of staying competitive.

THREE – Out with the Old:  For most companies, its time for a new website.  Even large companies that have been around for decades are waking up and realizing that their online brand image does matter and that “YES” they can gain new business opportunties from the web if they make the effort.  More companies are investing in website redesign, building micro sites and using landing pages to support marketing efforts.

FOUR – Customer Interaction:  As mentioned above, the consumer now expects to have a voice and be able to provide feedback.  User-generate content platforms are growing immensely and the way people research goods and services has changed.  They want to here what others have to say.  Brands need to embrace this reality and get involved in these online “discussions”.

FIVE - Blogging:  The percentages of people reading blogs online will (and has) sky rocket this year.  The web is a wealth of information and people enjoy sharing knowledge online.  Companies have now embraced blogging as a part of the new transparent online world.  CEO’s and executives are getting involved in blogging and all kinds of social media.  Blogging is a great support element to marketing efforts, providing value to your audience, building trust, and adding great content to your website (think SEO).

SIX – Video Marketing:  Video content is now considered highly valuable and can improve website traffic and time on site immensely.  Companies that not only include videos on their website but also use YouTube and social media platforms to host these videos increase their online visibility. 

SEVEN – Social Media Marketing:  Social media ties into everything we have been talking about.  Social media marketing is another great way for companies to engage their audiences, provide valuable information, communicate, and create a viral buzz about their brand.

EIGHT – Mobile Marketing:  It seems that everyone is carying an iPhone these days and over 40 million people access email via their phone according to Nielsen.  Mobile marketing is in its infancy and it remains to be seen how consumers will react but it will certainly gain momentum in 2009.

NINE – Retargeting and Behavioral Targeting:  We will see display advertising technology improving and being based more on user’s online behavior.  Display ads can now be served dynamically based on what websites people visit and even what content they have on their social network profiles.

TEN – Integration of Offline and Online Marketing:  Companies are now realizing the importance of incorporating their online marketing with offline marketing.  The messaging must be consistent and all the same conversion rules apply.  For example a print ad with a special offer should direct someone to an optimized landing page rather then just a phone number or home page URL.

It is always surprising to see major brands and companies that have been around for decades that still have website built in the 90’s.  It is fairly common and many times this is simply not a priority especially if the company “doesn’t gain new business prospects via the web”.  The response to this kind of comment of course is “Of course you don’t if your website is old and invisible to Google”.

More large companies (across all industries) are starting to realize the importance of improving their online marketing capabilities.  For most, it is a matter of simply focusing on it, making the commitment, and having an internal team to head up the effort.  Even if the Internet marketing and website development initiatives are going to be outsourced, mostly companies will still need and internal marketing team leading the charge.

Some company owners and executives wonder if now is a good time to invest in improving their online exposure.  The answer of course is that it has never been a more crucial time.  During good economic times, consumers and potential customers do not scrutinize these types of things as much nor do they price compare a shop around as much as they do now.  You have one shot when someone visits your website.  This is important especially if your website is your key resource for providing information about your company and services.

So once you have decided that it is time to make the commitment, what is the next step?  Here are some tips for getting started:

• Define your business and marketing strategy: Your business goals should drive your marketing strategy.  Look at what you are currently doing (or not doing) and set some benchmarks.  Research your competitors that are doing it better.  If your major competitors have a better website (that has been redesigned in the last 12 months), great rankings in the search engines, and an exciting social media campaign, then you have some work to do!  But don’t worry…the fact that they are doing it proves that you should be too.
• Website redesign/redevelopment: Before launching the marketing strategy, you need to prepare your online platform for traffic and converting traffic into new business.  Think of this as having a house warming party.  You wouldn’t send out 100 invitations and make big plans to show off your home unless you have done spome “house cleaning” first.  Your website needs to be compelling, user-friendly, offer great value to your visitor, and have good calls to action so the user know what you want them to do.
• Internet marketing strategy: Start with the basics.  A good search engine optimization (SEO) campaign is the right long term investment to make.  There is no point investing in a new website if noone is going to ever see it (or at least not many people).  Remember my comment above about companies saying that they do not gain new clients or business from the Internet?  Well this is meant to change that.  Great rankings relevant to your industry, business, and services, will eventually build traffic and foster new customers – if the website is set up to convert.  Pay per click (PPC) advertising can be a great way to get quick results in the search engines, target specific areas and consumers, and get faster results than you will with SEO.  PPC is advertising where as SEO is more like a true investment in the future of your business.  Other strategies include social media marketing, email marketing, display ads, retargeting, etc.

The best way to get the process started is to talk to people you trust who are currently doing it.  The most important thing to realize is that consumers in all industries are researching online and could find you if you take the time to “be found”.  The web is a trasparent place and people want to know who you really are.  The days of hiding behind a website that has limited information are over (if you want to survive).   Consider starting a blog and get the executives involved.  If the CEO of Ritz Cartlon can make time for blogging and Twitter, so can you!

Michael Gray of GrayWolf has postulated that by Google providing free Android Ion phones at Google I/O is actually a breach of their own paid links guideline.

Michael’s logic is that the phone (valued at approximately $400 – although sold on EBay for nearly $800) is a way of Google “paying” people to generate buzz and thus link to them.

Michael Gray: @dannysullivan seems like a double standard to me google gives free stuff & links are fine but on viralconversations.com I have to nofollow

Michael Gray: @dannysullivan I jumped thru all sorts of hoops getting Viralconversations.com google complaint and google breaks all those rules today

Michael Gray: @dannysullivan I specifically have to tell ppl to nofollow any links but google nope they dont have to follow those same rules

Michael Gray: @dannysullivan how hard would it have been to put a note with the phone enjoy the phone but please if you link to us use the nofollow tag

Then Michael redirected his wrath to Matt Cutts

Michael Gray: @mattcutts oh so google is judging paid links on intent now … google gonna borrow the term mind meld too to figure that out?

Michael Gray: @mattcutts srsly you cant have everybody else operate under one set of rules with gifts for links and not google #arrogance #aristocracy

Michael Gray: @mattcutts I thought google would have learned from buying links in japan guess not #googlebuyslinksbutyoucant

Matt Cutts: @graywolf google.com is the most-linked-to domain on the web. We don’t need links & aren’t looking for them. We’re looking for developers.

Michael Gray: @mattcutts and just because you dont need links doesnt mean you didnt give away cash in kind gifts to get them

Michael Gray: @mattcutts just remember when celebrities get caught shoplifting its still a crime #googlepaidlinksdoublestandard

Michael Gray: @mattcutts so when are you going to punish google.com for selling links the way you did google.jp or do they get a “bye”

Michael Gray: @mattcutts how hard would it have been to put a note here the phone for free if you link to us please use a nofollow tag #leadbyexample

Michael Gray: @mattcutts the ebay link is proof the gift has cash value or is a cash in kind gift #paysattentioninclass

Michael Gray: hey @mattcutts how those paid links for android.com working out how many of the 57K came from the free phones http://tinyurl.com/mk7mdx

Michael Gray: looks like those phones google gave away and turned into links to android.com have a cash in kind value of $760 http://tinyurl.com/kmy29u

This all started when Michael was recently arguing that TechCrunch should NoFollow the Sponsor links using http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/13/contenture-wants-to-fail-whale-your-ad-network/ as an example.

I was eating lunch with Matt Cutts & MG Siegler of TechCrunch along with Danny Sullivan so it presented the perfect opportunity to get to the bottom of Michael Gray’s concern.

Michael Gray: @googleandblog good I hope @mattcutts mentioned this post too http://tinyurl.com/opkmun #sponsoredposts

MG stated he wasn’t aware of it and when Matt looked at the offending page he said he didn’t have an issue with it since it wasn’t within MG’s control.

Michael Gray: @googleandblog sorry I call BS its an advertorial

This whole time Danny was fighting back to stay out of the fray.

Andy Beard even chimed in with this post.

Do you think Michael Gray is getting carried away or does he have a point in either or both paid link concerns?

I was going to ask Sergey Brin about this but instead asked about his thoughts on Microsoft constantly changing search engine names as it relaunches officially at SMX Advanced in Seattle next week.

Danny Sullivan: @googleandblog asks sergey what he thinks, bing or kumo? sergey doesn’t answer but says “we been happy with google”

There was laughter throughout the room when Sergey responded that he is happy with the name Google which was picked up on several sites including TechCrunch.

I was invited to cover Google I/O since I run a popular Android site as Google’s Android platform for mobile devices was front and center at this Google Developer Conference.

At the conclusion I got on my flight home to San Diego with my Ion phone ready to present at SMX Advanced on Tuesday June 2nd, 2009 in Seattle representing Internet Marketing Inc – please come say hi if you are attending.

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The real estate market has seen some dramatic shifts recently and two things have happened.  The market crashed and real estate professionals and companies are taking their businesses online!  The online process began before the bubble burst, but the stormy housing market further proved the need for more targeted and cost effective real estate marketing.

To succeed in today’s real estate industry, you have to be actively engaging the online community.  The days of thinking that your buyers or renters are not online or that your “demographic” doesn’t use the web to find a home are OVER.  Here are some important facts from the 2008 NAR Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers:

87% of homebuyers used the Internet as an information source

77% of Internet homebuyers drove by or viewed a home they saw online

32% of buyers first found their home on the Internet

25% of FSBOs used the Internet to help sell their home

So how do real estate companies large and small answer this direct need to be egaging potential buyers and renters online?  The answer is through comprehensive integrated Internet marketing strategies.  This may sounds more complicated than it really is.  It all starts with the website which is the foundation of any sound online marketing plan.  You must have an interesting and informative user experience by offering loads of unique content, rich media like video and virtual tours, blogs, forums, etc.  Real estate, like most other businesses, have the need to embrace the Web 2.0 world of customer interaction. 

Once the website is in order and you have a great interactive platform, you need to make sure people can find you.  Yes, your buyers and renters are online looking for you (as stated in the facts above)!  Of course, organic search engine optimization (SEO) is the best long term investment you can make in your real estate company.  Homebuilders and apartment development/management companies across the country are making this investment and saving tons of money in other marketing mediums.  Let’s face it…print isn’t going to get the job done anymore.  Sure, its important for branding and can be effctive for promoting grand openings but its not interactive, nor is it cost effective or measurable. 

People want the facts and they want them fast.  Buyers and renters are online because its convenient anf there is a wealth of transparent information out there.  Consumers can do weeks of research and make informed decisions before ever picking up the phone to call a property or speak to an agent (though the important role of an agent or leasing representative will never be obsolete!).  Having first page organic rankings for your relevant keywords will drive higher volumes of quality traffic to your real estaet site than most other outlets.  Real estate is very competitive online so it must be viewed as a long term investment.  Once you have the rankings, then investment will pay off tenfold.

In the short term, pay per click advertising (PPC) (when managed properly) is a great way to drive targeted traffic to your pages.  Google Adwords has developed over the past year and their algorithms are now more sophisticated.  You must approach paid search campaigns in similar ways you do with basic SEO – you must have a thoughtful keyword strategy with good title and descriptions, and use solid landing pages with unique conent.  Google now uses what they call “Quality Score” to ensure that campaigns are well managed and providing value to the user.  The Quality Score process ranks your campaigns from 0 to 10 (10 being the best) and makes judgements based on title, descriptions, and landing page quality.  Google will also now take into account the overall value your website has to offer.  This is were many real estate sites can hit a road block. So many sites out there now just aggregate MSL listings and property listings from all over the web without providing unique content and information.  Without offering the user unique content found nowhere else on the web, Google may not give a good Quality Score when running PPC campaigns.  So now its not just about outbidding competitors for terms, its about value. 

The fastest growing marketing phenomenon is social media.  All types of companies in all kinds of industries are embracing the ability to interact with their customers in an open transparent forum.  Social media is actually very simple (though it can take a lot of time and energy to run a successful campaign).  Its about finding your target audience in social networks, blogs, forums, etc. and listening to what they have to say.  Once you have a loyal following and are offering value to the community (Free information, advice, knowledge, etc.) you can start communicating your more “commercial” messages.  From a real estate perspective this is very important.  Buyers and renters are seeking value and real information now more than ever.  Additionally, once you have a robust online presence in the social media world, you can simply use it as a communication platform – announce grand openings, share videos, pictures, special incentives, etc.  Always remember though, you should lean more heavily to the “value” offering to maintain a trusting and loyal following.

One very simple and effective compliment to both SEO and social media, is regular blogging.  Blogging used to be quite foreign to real estate professionals and now it is very mainstream.  You just have to find the time to do it!  To use blogging effective for real estate, it should be approached in two ways.  (1) Have a blog on your own website and write on it regularly.  Send out links to your articles through your social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.  (2) Get out there and write blogs on other sites.  Once you become a regular on some sites you can start providing links back to your site.  This is a great way to get traffic and very powerful for your inbound link building campaign (the most crucial element to orgainc SEO).

Regardless of the economy, people still need homes and they are looking for them online.  Make sure you are where they are looking!

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There is so much buzz out there about the decline of traditional media and the major shifts to online platforms.  Companies are making these transitions for many reasons including cost effectiveness and measurability.  These dramatic shifts have spurred the development of great market research that shows us what industries are leading online ad spending, who the online audiences are, and what Internet marketing mediums are gaining the most popularity.  Nielsen’s recent report title “The Global Online Media Landscape” is packed with information on all these categories.

What industries are leading the pack in online spending?

We have seen a change in this arena.  Financial services firms, retail and the auto industry have been the leaders in online ad spending in the recent past but due to obvious economic conditions, this has changed.  Now, we see that the top four industries in online marketing are pharmaceutical companies, healthcare, telecommunications companies, and packaged goods manufacturers.  On the retail side we have seen a big drop off in online ad spending just at the time when they should be ramping up.  More consumers are buying online and searching for coupon deals.  The buying still persists in areas such as apparel, electronics, etc.

What are the demographics for people spending the most time online?

The United States has seen the largest surge in the age group of 50+.  The days of assuming baby boomers are not online is over.  They are now among the leaders in online usage.  This change is even more interesting in the area of social media/social networking.  Social media has taken the world by storm and it is forcing us to look at things differently.  Social media has forced companies, marketers, and market research firms to view online communities with a newfound respect, to change the way we gather market research, and to change the way people view online marketing. 

One of the most interesting demographic growths in social networking has been “New Moms” between the ages of 25 and 35.  If you think about it is quite obvious.  Younger new Moms that spend more time at home are seeking advice and friendship and do so through sites like Facebook and MySpace.  Here they can keep up and what’s going on with friends and family, post pics and video, and have ongoing social interaction from the comfort of home.  According to Nielsen, younger Moms are 85% more likely to spend sugnificant time on Facebook than any other consumer.

What Internet marketing mediums are gaining the most popularity?

As far as spending goes, search is still leading the pack but the three areas of greatest growth in popularity are social media, online video, and mobile marketing.  According to Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google), they forsee making more money in mobile marketing than through the desktop eventually.  People spend more time with their phones than anything else.  Mobile marketing is still in experimental stages and we have yet to fully understand whether consumers will warm to this over time.  In the US, 50 million mobile subscribers access the web via their phones each month.  Additionally, smart phones and faster 3G networks are making web access that much easier.

Online video has enjoyed tremendous growth and although YouTube is still the leader, there are many other sights gaining momentum in the “long-form” video arena.  From February 2008 to 2009, the viewers of online video grew 10%, the streams per user grew 27%, and the total minutes engaged with online video grew 71% (Nielsen, 2009).

Social media has gained such tremendous growth that companies in all industries can no longer ingore the opportunity to listen and engage their customers.  The question remains for each industry…how do we best pursue social media for our brand and how do we gain the best possible ROI?  True social media engagement can be utilized for many purposes.  Companies can now effectively listen to their consumers and engage them in ongoing discussions.  The days of Web 1.0 are over as consumers are more likely to ask others about products and expect to find feedback online.  This can be scary to some companies but true transparency is becoming the norm (especially in this economy).  As video and mobile marketing continue to grow, social media will grow right along with it.  Mobile access if actually furling the fire for social media marketing as more and more consumers are accessing their Facebook and Twitter pages through their phones.

What does all this mean for Internet marketing?

It means great things.  Thought 2009 may not be a record year for online ad spending, Internet marketing/advertising will still beat out all other forms of media.  One of the interesting areas to watch will be how the “paid” online advertising interacts with (or competes with) “earned” online marketing.  Earned marketing refers to consumer acceptance and feedback (user-generated content).  In the long run, and according to Google, the more earned media exposure you can get the better!

Do you have an online business, but think your  sales team is falling short on deliverying your pitch?  There are many factors involved in growing and online business and selling any type of product or service, but the purpose of today’s message is to analyze your inside sales team.  If you have an Internet marketing business, or any type of company where inside sales are crucial, review these five qualities and make sure your sales team members have these competancies.

Ambition and Drive:  This is one of the most important factors but is very hard to teach.  Driven sales people are always seeking new opportunities and earning potential  It is safe to say they are driven by success and more importantly, MONEY.  The more money they make, the more money your business is making.  A business owner will quickly be able to pinpoint the members of their team that are truly driven to succeed because they are self starters, proactive about prospecting, and have great energy.  When hiring new sales people, this is a difficult quality to determine during the interview process.  The best way to bring these potential qualities to the forefront are by asking the right questions.

Process Orientation:  This refers to the quality of being process driven.  A good sales peron will be able to give you two or three top examples of big deals they closed and exactly the process they followed to get it done.  Each person might have a slightly different process but usually the basic principles apply.  The process doesn’t have to be formal either…but it does have to be consistent.  When interviewing for this position, ask for these types of examples.  A process can be provided and trained but usually a successful sales person will develop their own strategy that works best for them.

Sales Prospecting:  Have you ever employed a sales person that simply refused to prospect for new business?  Mind blowing isn’t it?  I always figured that sales people  understood that to close deals and earn commissions they knew they had to hit the phones and/or get out there and network.  This is not always the case and should not be assumed.  It is always beneficial to have a process for supplying your sales team with leads or at  least a defined direction or resource.  The good ones will use what you give them as well as network and make cold calls.  When interviewing new inside sales people, make sure they are comfortable on the phone.  However, just because someone has “telemarketing” experience doesn’t mean they can sell your product or are the right people to be talking to your target audience.  All of this depends where your product or service falls into your given industry (i.e. innovative and new, gaining traction, mature, etc.).

Control and Close:  This is the most important core competency.  A good sales person needs to be able to have control over the process and close the deal.  Keep in mind of course there are different levels of sales responsibility.  A sales role that is defined as being an “appointment setter” doesn’t have to have this skill, but it helps because they know the process and how important that initial relationship building effort is.  This leads us to the final quality.

Relationship Effectiveness:  This of course is important for closing the initial deal but also for building a lasting relationship that will lead to repeat business.  Sales people are not out there to make “friends” but rather “relationships”.  If friendships develop, that is great but it is not the main purpose of course.  There needs to be a balance.  A good sales person will build a trusting relationship based on integrity and transparency.  Sometimes this means being completely honest, even if it might cost you some business.  In the long run, your recommendations to a client (that are honest) will earn you their respect and more business.

Whether you have an Internet marketing business sell golf cart parts online, these key qualities will be imperative for your sales staff.  Naturally, discovering all of these qualities in an interview is very difficult and takes a lot of experience (and following your gut feeling).  The ongoing success of the sales team will be up to the business owners and management and how well they provide ongoing training and coaching.  You have to give the team the resources to succeed.

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Advancements in mobile technology opens the door to mobile marketing.   Mobile marketing today is described as a marketing channel on mobile devices.  Despite the decline in overall marketing, a recent report suggests that mobile marketing will increase by at least 36% in 2009.  In 2009 and 2010 the Internet will play a major role in mobile application development.   In Europe and Asia mobile marketing continues to rise exponentially.  Last month, Europe alone had sent out 100 million advertisements via mobile marketing.

Why move with the mobile marketing trend?

1. More people all over the world use the mobile interface to access the Internet versus the PC.
2. Mobile platform has location sensing to enable you to segment your target market locally, nationally, and/or globally.
3. The convenience of coverage practically anywhere and everywhere.
4. Availability of smart phone web analytic enabling you to market smarter.
5. Enhanced display technology making it the perfect platform for web and landing pages.
6. Create an application to promote your business with another avenue for earnings potential.

Mobile marketing may just impact the world as mobile technology.  Stay tuned for Mobile SEO.

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With so much information out there about Internet marketing and how to improve a company’s online brand exposure, there seems to have been a gradual removal of “customer loyalty” from that discussion.  One of the most important aspects to improving conversions for an e-commerce platform (or any website for that matter) is through enhanced customer experiences and loyalty focused programs.  The happier your curstomers are, the more they will by from you (or refer people to you).  The goal here is to increase the percent of your overall sales in the “repeat customer” category.  It is much easier to grow revenue from current customers that to spend more time and money attracting new ones (although this is very important as well).

Let’s back up for a minute and consider the dramatic shifts we are seeing in retail VS. online.  The current economic conditions have placed strains on traditional retailers and caused substantial increases in online spending.  The online consumer is now becoming more savvy and expects a lot from the service/product provider.  As more and more traditional retailers either move their business online or at least create an online store to sell their products, the focus needs to not only shift to Internet marketing strategies but also customer loyalty strategies.  So much emphasis has been on how to drive traffic to e-commerce sites that we have seen visits go up, but not  conversions. 

Conversion optimization involves getting the right kind of traffic as well as ensuring that a large portion of that traffic leads to a sale.  Some online companies out there are doing this quite well but not simply becauase their Internet marketing strategies are so good…it is because their database of happy customers keeps growing.  Let’s look for example at www.freshdirect.com.  This company has been providing online grocery shopping to the New York City area for over five years.  One of the main reasons their numbers keep growing is not because they are spending so much time and money driving traffic to their website.  It is beacuse each day, senior management meets to review analytics and customer transactions to see where things are working and where things need improvement…and then of course to discuss what is being done to improve the areas where they fall short.  They also conduct about 150 customer surveys each year.  This might seems excessive or even scary to some companies but over time it makes for happy customers.  Your critics can be your best source of constructive feedback!

More about conversion optimization:

The best way to ensure that your traffic is going to convert into business involves several key factors:

• Understanding your customer base in great detail
• Ensuring your traffic is targeted and you methods for driving traffic support that goal
• Continually analyze your online platform through focus groups, A/B split testing, etc.
• Konw where your conversions points occur and where people leave your site and why – then work to improve these areas
• Always be improving your sales cycle and customer experience
• Ask for feedback and make improvements based on realistic suggestions
• If you are asking for feedback, get involved in these conversations with your customers
• Test, Improve, then test again – use your analytics…the numbers won’t lie.

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