Thursday, March 13, 2008

Community Spending on Agency Side on the Rise?

David Deal of Avenue A | Razorfish sent me a copy of the Digital Outlook report (you can register for it here), (update: it’s available without registration here) it contains many of their findings from the past year, future predictions, and even has some excerpts from Forrester Reports. The scope is on interactive marketing, so it includes elements of social media, search, mobile, verticals, media, etc. I found the digital PDF version difficult to read, so they sent me a print version.

No way is this an endorsement for their interactive firm (If you want to learn more about the connected agency go read colleague Peter Kim) but I find it interesting that they published their billings (revenues) and broke it down by category.

From 2006-2007 “Community” shot up 34 million to 55 million an increase of 61%. If you look at that trajectory it was the fastest growing billing for their firm in the last 4 years.

At one time in my career I considered working at a PR or Interactive agency, and I told them that I thought they should be increasing their billings on social media at 20% for nearly every account.

Take a look at the list of companies that came last night, there were quite a few that had dedicated roles focused on community and social media.

Although we defined Online Community as: An online community is an interactive group of people joined together by a common interest, many executives have a hard time understanding the fluffy term community (”conversations” is far worse btw). so here’s how I translate it: Companies care about their marketplace. Also, customers are important. Since a group of customers is a community, a community is actually another word for marketplace. If you care about customers or your marketplace, you’d ought to care about community.

Now only if my bank account looked like that chart.

Social Media Discussions at the Online Community Roundtable

We shouldn’t be surprised that Social Media Strategists know how to share. Forrester was pleased to host the Online Community Roundtable, you can continue the discussion in the Facebook Group.


(Update: I uploaded this video with the Flip Camera, man it’s easy capture, edit and publish with this thing)

Bill Johnston is a community servant (Update: he posts his thoughts from his blog), and I mean that in the best possible way. He organizes events for the Social Media industry that serve those who are practicing, it’s really a very valuable service. Every other month, he organizes the Online Community Roundtable for anyone who’s struggling with the day to day job of reaching to customers using online tools, a different company hosts this event each time. Update: Chris Kenton provides his thoughts from the event, he was expands off the idea of Identity Escrow. Ken Kaplan gives context on his presentation on storytelling, I’d like to see Ken speak more often.

To me, perhaps the most interesting topic was one around the “Future of Social Networks” and Chris Kenton’s historical look at marketing, and how technology has empowered and disabled marketers

This is actually a ‘user group’ or in Forrester terms, what we call a ’support community’ where friends, colleagues, peers (and competitors) come together to share and learn from each other. The size of the event is limited, around 35 yielded quality conversations, any more would have caused fragmentations. Bill is masterful in not letting anyone pitch, and anyone who wants to share puts their name up on the board, here’s the list of presentations.

One social network even got up and told the group that they were having challenges growing in a particular market and asked for opinions and help. A few questions from the crowd asked for demographic information, objectives, and clarification, then a barrage of suggestions from seasoned community folks came back to help, now that’s community.

There’s a “Soft NDA” in place, so if a member wanted something to stay confidential, then all will have to respect this, it leads to greater sharing and trust. Some of those who attended included those from Intel, Webex, CyWorld, Charles and Helen Schwab Organization, Cadence, YouTube, Lithium, Leverage, LiveWorld, Ringcube, Intuit, Symantec, VM Ware, Wyse, Babycenter, Tesla Motors, Joyent, SixApart, On24, ZapTXT and hosted by Forrester. (who did I miss?)

I think I can speak for Charlene, that for us this was a real treat, these are the folks we research for, these are the problems that we’re also trying to find out what works and what doesn’t for. I’d like to to thank Forrester’s Frans V.E. for funding the food and drink, Frank C. for helping drag the tables around, and Joan M, the Foster City office manager for all her work and preparation.



Benchmarking at Google Analytics

Google Analytics announced the launch of two new features - a beta version of industry benchmarking and a data-sharing settings page.

Industry benchmarking will enable customers to see how their site data compares to sites in any available industry vertical. Google believes this will "provide actionable insights by providing context for users to understand how their site is doing." Sites can also be compared against an industry vertical different than your own. Why would you want to do that? You might learn a little more about the seasonal traffic trends of your industry and the industries that are improving. This could help identify where cross-promotional opportunities exist that you can capitalize on when your own or your industry's traffic dips.

Benchmarking will only be available however if you're willing to share information about your site with the wider Web community - hence the release of the data-sharing settings page, which allows Google Analytics users to opt in or out of sharing there data. All data will be anonymous of course (Google essentially just aggregates the data into industry verticals). Those that elect to share their data will receive additional features within their accounts such as the integration of Conversion Optimizer. 

Pick a Domain, Find a Domain with PickyDomains

I'll admit, sometimes I spend way too much time surfing for available domain names. It becomes somewhat of a game. Although even when I find an interesting one, I don't always want to go through the process of buying and then trying to sell it. Other times, I have a good idea for a project or business but can't seem to find the right domain name for it.

PickyDomains solves both issues. First, you can create an account, describe your business or potential business and then wait for suggestions from other users. A $50 deposit is required - if you pick one of the suggested domain names you pay $50. If you don't pick any of them, you get your money back.

Now the fun part. You can sign up to be a contributor. Browse people's needs and make suggestions of available domains. You don't need to check for availability, PickyDomains will do that for you. But it might save everyone time if you check it out first. If yours is picked, you get paid $25 via PayPal. PickyDomains keeps track of your suggested domains, how many have been reviewed and how many have been chosen. So it appears that my domain surfing habits could prove to be profitable.

There is one question I don't see addressed on the website: What prevents someone from registering a domain on their own if they see one they like, and avoid paying the fee? I've posed the question to the PickyDomains people and await their response.

Website Magazine Reader Interest Survey

This week, Website Magazine sent out a survey to our subscribers regarding their interests in relation to Internet success. I've pulled two questions from that survey as they provide a lot of insight into what is actually important to the success of our readers and to the success of their Internet properties in general

The three most important areas for the websites of Website Magazine readers to grow and improve were Search Engine Marketing (48%), Website Design (38%) and Content Management (32.7%). These topics of interest were followed by Online Advertising (24.7%), Email Marketing (24.4%), Ecommerce (23.1%) and Social Networking (22.8%). What's left? Quite a bit actually including the mobile Web, web hosting, online video, Web software and applications and customer service.

Regarding the usefulness of information available in industry publications like Website Magazine, just over 80% of respondents indicated that Tips for Successful Websites were very useful, as were Solutions for Enhancing Website Traffic (74%). 55% indicated that Profiles on Successful People were somewhat useful as were Briefs on New Technology and Products (49.8%)

Majority of Shoppers Not Getting Needed Information

It's no secret that the vast majority of online shoppers (74.5% according to ServiceXRG) visit company websites to get information about a product or service. But it seems that less than half (44%) feel the information meets their expectations, according to the study, "Influencing the Online Experience."

Around 1,000 companies and shoppers were surveyed. Some findings:
  • Shoppers were three times more likely to become repeat customers after a positive experience, compared to those that had a negative, or even a neutral experience.
  • They were four times more likely to recommend a company after a positive experience.
Of the businesses surveyed, just 38.9% said they offered an advanced search function for customers.

Tom Sweeny, Principal and Co-founder of ServiceXRG sums the issue up nicely saying, "The onus for delivering a positive experience now lies with the tools and content offered, and their relevance in helping customers achieve their objectives. With competitors just a Google search away, consumers must have easily accessible, quality information at their fingertips."

Other studies have suggested that online reviews are also critical to conversions. The average is 3-4 reviews before a customer feels comfortable purchasing.

How Green is Your PC Machine?

Website Magazine ran a story on green Web hosts in our February issue. We received a nice response, so we decided to take a look at PCs and find out how green they really are. Below are three top manufacturers and ways their environmental responsibility policies and procedures are helping. There are certainly more ways than listed below and many of these manufacturers have similar programs, but here are some highlights of each:

Dell boasts a four-tiered approach to their environmental actions for their goal of becoming the "greenest technology company on Earth." In October 2007, an ENERGY STAR 4.0-compliant desktop was released, powered by an 80% efficient power supply.

  1. Energy Efficiency. Dell's Energy Smart program is focused on designing energy-efficient products that reduce power requirements, reducing carbon dioxide emissions. They also purchase portions of their electricity needs from renewable energy resources and are members of the EPA's Smartway program, reducing emissions from shipping and logistics operations.
  2. Materials Use. Dell seeks to substitute materials used for those considered "substances of concern." This includes substances known to have hazardous properties that are a threat to humans and the environment, show indications of hazardous properties and those know to biopersist and bioaccumulate in humans or the environment. They also are committed to eliminating brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from all of their products by 2009.
  3. Recovery & Recycling. Dell customers can return their equipment at any time for free recycling. They also provide free recycling of any brand computer or printer with a Dell purchase. There is also a program to donate working used computers to non-profit organizations.
  4. Plant a Tree for Me. You can choose to plant a tree with every purchase at Dell by choosing the option at checkout. You can also simply make a donation from their website without a Dell purchase.
HP starts with their commitment to reduce their global energy use 20% below 2005 levels by 2010. In 2007, HP reached their goal of recycling one billion pounds of computer hardware and print supplies.


  1. Materials Use. Like Dell, HP looks to substitute materials for those known or suspected of being hazardous to humans and the environment, including phasing out BFRs and PVC in both their products and packaging. In 2006 they replaced all solvent-based paints with water-based.
  2. Operations. HP analyzes the environmental impact of their operations each year. Their HP Workplace Transformation (HPWT) program focuses on "greening up" their buildings to reduce water consumption and energy usage along with using low volatile organic compound paints, coatings, carpets and furniture. Data centers have reduced their energy usage by 21%, potable water use by 50%, and their Dynamic Smart Cooling Technology is anticipated to reduce cooling-related energy consumption by 15% to 40%.
  3. World Wildlife Fund. HP will allocate more than $2 million in cash and equipment to the World Wildlife Fund to establish three projects that seek to research and help solve climate change. The Epicenter for Climate Conservation is a research center supplied by HP technology focused on advancing climate change science worldwide. Climate Witness is an online forum to raise awareness - projects will be established in the US, China, Brazil and India. ICT (information and communication technologies) will be examined to identify one billion tons of carbon reductions through new technologies.
  4. Supply Chain Management. HP sets guidelines for their more than 600 direct suppliers. Requirements include compliance with national laws and regulations, signing of HP's Supplier Social and Environmental Responsibility Agreement, and the following of HP's product content environmental specifiications in their General Specification for Environment policy.
Apple's main method of environmental sustainability lies mainly in their product design. In 2008 the first MacBook was introduced with arsenic-free LCD display glass.

  1. Products and Packaging. Simply put, as Apple's products shrink, so does their packaging and environmental impact. Early iMacs contained some 3.7kg of packaging and 484g of lead, compared with the latest generation with 2.0kg of packaging and 0.6g of lead. Sleep power consumption has dropped from 35W to 2.7W, respectively.
  2. Energy Efficiency. A reduction of 92% in sleep mode and 73% in off-mode has been achieved since the first generation of the iMac. Mac mini consumes as little as 25W when operating - less than half of a typical light bulb. Power adapters used with laptops have reduced their usage by 82% since 1998. Apple products aim to meet or exceed regulations set by the EPA ENERGY STAR program, the California Energy commission appliance efficiency regulations and the European Union code of Conduct on Efficiency for External Power Supplies.
  3. Recycling. Recycling seems to be a big focus at Apple. In 2006, Apple recycled 13 million pounds of e-waste - the equivalent of 9.5% of the weight of all products sold seven years earlier (a precendent set by Dell, based on a product's lifetime.) By 2010 they anticipate recycling 19 million pounds per year, or nearly 30% of the product weight sold in 2003. According to their website, Apple has diverted over 21 million pounds of equipment from landfills since 1994. All recycling is done in the US. Apple will take back your iPod (ask about the 10% discount on a new iPod) or any cell phone for recycling, regardless of manufacturer.
  4. Catching Up. Apple appears to have some catching up to do. They have certainly taken giant leaps in removing toxic chemicals from their products and cutting down on material usage and packaging. A blog about A Greener Apple by Steve Jobs states how they are "beginning to explore the overall carbon 'footprint' of our products, and may have some interesting data and issues to share later this year." That's good news, even if they are a little late coming to the party.
Here at Website Magazine, we take our global stewardship seriously too. Sign up for your free subscription and we will plant a tree on your behalf through our Replace-A-Tree foundation.

Web Layout Tool for Microsoft Expression Web

Users of Microsoft Expression Web can now quickly create customized, Web standards compliant CSS-based layouts with a pre-trail offering of Eric Meyer's CSS sculptor plugin. Produced for the Expression Web design environment (from WebAssist), CSS Sculptor makes developing cross-browser compatible CSS-based layouts less of a daunting task.

CSS Sculptor gives Web designers and developers a lot of control. Once a layout is selected, the user can change any aspect of it, including page width and browser window position. Additional columns can be added to the left or right of the main content area; likewise, headers and footers can be included or omitted with a single checkbox click.

The user interface element displays the structure of the CSS markup in a tree-like control, giving users the ability to select any layout component in the layout tree (such as body or header) to define specific properties. Really helpful is that CSS Sculptor comes with thirty common Web page layouts which can be easily modified in every aspect of CSS control, (page positioning, margins, fonts, and background images).

WebAssist has a few other solutions that we've covered here on Website Magazine before:

WebAssist and Skype Integrate
Software In Review: WebAssist eCart

Dynamic Keyword Insertion - DKI

Interested in making the management of your pay-per-click advertising campaigns easier and that effort more fruitful? Of course you are, so let's look at Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI).

DKI enables advertisers to insert the exact term a searches uses into the ad itself. Keywords are most often inserted into the title but can also be inserted into the description, making quick work of managing your campaign. There are also a few other noteworthy benefits in addition to simplified administration. Advertisers using DKI typically receive higher click-through rates, and as such utilizing this method carries the potential to improve quality score which means you could end up paying a little less for PPC traffic.

DKI titles won't stand out if most of your competitors are using them. If that's the case, differentiate your ad from competitors by not using DKI and perhaps just focus on working on the ad creative itself. DKI is also not appropriate for longer keywords. Google's Adwords will replace long search terms with default text. The ad hack tends to be most effective when phrase match is used  and when individual keywords vary only slightly (e.g. blue shoe, red shoes, white shoes). In essence, DKI works well when your campaign requires a long-tail strategy.

Learn more about dynamic keyword insertion at Google.

Business Strategy: Playing the Recession Card

From where I sit, the economy is chugging along nicely. Business owners are investing time and money in their websites even in the face of mass media's assault on the everyman (or woman) with what I call "woe is me" recession talk. Whether you believe a recession is here (or coming) or not, it's important to leverage the current economic environment. How do you do that? Play the recession card in your copywriting.

Schooner Tuna - The Tuna With a Heart

Do you remember the 1980's movie "Mr. Mom?" Toward the end, Mr. Schooner from Schooner Tuna (a take-off of Charlie Tuna) is shooting a commercial. He rambles on about lowering the cost of tuna temporarily. I remember hearing, "These are trying times," "We're all in this together," and "Schooner Tuna, a tuna with a heart." See where I'm going with this? Converting users is not always about the feature list or the support guarantees - it's about understanding the situation of the user. In "trying times" it's important to express that you "feel" your users woes and are doing something about it.

As fear takes over desire as the dominant emotion that drives people to take action, it's in your best interest to empathize with users and play the recession card by working in a few Mr. Schooner phrases. Better yet, find some ways to calm those fears. Perhaps you could cut the cost of an extended warranty. Or offer longer customer support hours. If you can, maybe drop the shipping fees a bit.

Finally, try rebates - they push customers to purchase and often times go unredeemed. The increase of sales combined with unused rebates could boost your bottom line while quelling customer fears about spending money in a sagging economy.

R A C H E L P A L L Y

Recommended by medischa on Mar 3, 2008

yes verry nice

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Nicole Miller Rolled-Neck Dress



Recommended by medischa on Mar 3, 2008

I like this becus whe can not by this in spain verry nice

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Apple Macbook Air



Recommended by jareds on Mar 3, 2008

i want one so badly :(

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Lists: jareds stuff he wants

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Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition)



Recommended by random_kmb on Mar 3, 2008

This is by far the best movie of the decade! Thumbs up, the creative minds have pushed the limits with 29 wonderful Beatle cover songs. As you trip along with the cast, you'll love the colors, meanings, and characters you meet along the way! I had to buy this movie the second it came out!

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Tags: air

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Motorola Razr Cell Phone



Recommended by jareds on Mar 3, 2008

its like the smallest phone every its cool

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Christian Louboutin, Anemone Bow-Backed Pumps » Manolo's Shoe Blog



Recommended by lamarco on Mar 3, 2008

love em!!!! want em!!!

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