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Gems of 2008: People have not stopped buying things, so how are they researching and purchasing products since they have made themselves immune to old marketing techniques like banner ads and direct mail? The answer is with search engines and Google. According to comScore, Americans conducted 11.5 billion searches in June 2008, and Google was used for 61.5% of those searches. This means it is essential that you make it easy for customers to find you, and one of the most effective ways to do so is search engine optimization (SEO), which focuses on getting your Web site listed in the unpaid, organic search engine results.

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by William Leake

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In a genre of disaster movies, there's a dramatic moment when an asteroid is plummeting toward Earth. Amidst a flurry of intense heroics, the asteroid is redirected... and tragedy is averted. But shouldn't the scientists be working sooner to change the asteroid's path? Which brings us to the relationship between advertising and shopper marketing... and a checklist of five things to consider to change the asteroid's path.

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In search, you have a very short window of opportunity for engaging your prospect. The only way to get a solid competitive advantage in SEO is to use techniques that ensure you are giving a prospect exactly what he or she is looking for. Otherwise, your prospect will simply click the back button and visit one of your competitors—a process that takes mere seconds.

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Is your company packaging experiences? Are they sought—or are they sold? And, drilling the concept down one more level: have you ever looked at yourself and considered the package that you offer and the experience you provide? In the current downturn, where layoffs loom large, those with the better shot at developing business or finding a job understand that the complete package and the experience contribute to a brand identity that stands out in a crowded marketplace.

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Recent buzz about personas has created some confusion. If you've tried to develop and deploy personas, you may have experienced resistance from other departments because they don't grasp the value that personas purportedly provide. The reason may be that personas (in the form of customer profiles) by themselves don't offer all that much. But personas are not just customer profiles; rather, "personas" is the title for a complex tool that has four components.

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This focus on "The What" is exacerbated by some search engine optimization techniques intended to drive traffic rather than to brand product, sell services, or convert traffic into customers. Traffic is important, but converting that traffic into paying customers is more important. Even the best and brightest search engine optimizers will tell you that their job is to deliver traffic, not orders—closing the deal is your job, and anybody who tells you that closing can be done by means of some automatic never-touched-by-human-hands method is just plain nuts.

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To weather the current economic storm, companies must take a step back and assess their core business and brand for continued relevance. Dramatic changes in behavior by cash-strapped consumers have had an impact on respected brands ranging from Starbucks (closing 600 stores) to automotive giants, which have announced cutbacks in North American production and are asking the federal government to help save them from bankruptcy. Did these organizations anticipate the downturn and make the necessary adjustments in advance?

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A good opt-in procedure lays the foundation for a strong email program. But a well-thought-out series of welcome emails will help turn your newcomer into a long-term subscriber.

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Mobile advertising is deemed complex for the same reason online used to be: Standards are murky at best. Online advertising evolved because online dashboards allowed agencies to monitor and optimize their digital campaigns in real time. Why doesn't mobile do this?

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This is the second part of an article that discusses the importance of good Web site design and the process of streamlining the creation of Web sites.

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Eco-logos are all the rage—but how valuable are they as a marketing tool? Are there some hidden risks that warrant a second look? Let's consider the three ingredients of an effective marketing logo—green or otherwise—and their implications for the savvy eco-marketer.

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Unfortunately, for most marketers, email marketing remains an educated guess predicated on seasonal and industry trends. What most marketers don't realize is that they have an opportunity to send out smart, high-performance campaigns based on true consumer desires. Here's how.

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By now you've heard the news—your paid marketing and advertising efforts are suffering from a loss of credibility with your target market. Marketing authorities Al Ries and daughter Laura have even declared the "Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR" when it comes to building brands and perceptions in the minds of consumers. In effect, marketers are now dealing with a "credibility gap"—if you were to create an ad tomorrow that was 100% fact, your target audience may not believe the message solely because it came in the form of a paid advertisement. The good news is that you can close the gap significantly for your brand's marketing activities by leveraging PR and marketing together.

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Where R U? In other words, where is your text message strategy? When will your organization begin using text messaging and other mobile messaging services in your marketing, customer care, and collections processes?

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In the two weeks leading up to the November 4 election, email messages came fast and furious from the presidential campaigns of both John McCain and Barack Obama. In the last week, both supporters received at least two emails a day from both campaigns. In evaluating those email messages, I saw commonly held best-practices that should be emulated, practices that should be avoided by marketers, and a few new concepts that may inspire email marketers to take their programs to the next level. Despite the outcome of the election, lessons can be learned from both presidential candidates. Also, some practices simply do not cross over from the relationships that political candidates form with their constituents to the relationships that marketers develop with their customers.

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Marketers navigating these tricky economic waters need to stay focused on profitable expansion rather than contraction. If you can grow, even in these times, you will emerge on the other side of the economic crisis ahead of the competition. Creativity, combined with on-demand marketing tools, will help. When budgets are tight is the best time to try new and less-costly techniques leveraging Web 2.0 technologies.

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Good site design starts with an idea—not with a technology. In today's internet obsessed world, far too many people are becoming more focused on the latest and greatest Web 2.0 buzzwords than on the fundamental purpose of the Web site. Whether that purpose is to provide information or allow for the purchase of a product or service, there is a main purpose for the site and that needs to be identified.

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Leading companies do not subscribe to the notion that marketing is a discretionary expense. They know that there is business opportunity during economic downturns, and marketing can lead the way.

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: Writing

Can asking a question in an ad increase sales? Some will argue vehemently that the use of a question is a non-starter, a pre-ordained copywriting disaster. Craig Huey, founder and president of the award-winning Creative Direct Marketing Group, froths at the idea of a question in sales copy. Nevertheless, a question is a tool. And as with any tool, any copywriting strategy or tactic, if a question is not formulated and handled with proper caution it could indeed do immeasurably more harm than good. Well, let me correct that: If you're a direct marketer who tests, you can measure precisely how much harm a poorly phrased question will do... or how well a good one will convert.