Marketing 2.0:Finding & Connecting with Audiences

Virginia HinesOnline/Social Marketing Consultant

November 5, 2008

Today’s Agenda

• Web 2.0 marketing is different & game-changing• Reaching your audience• Data: Capture & analyze• Using ROI to set priorities & allocate resources• More tactics

– Blogging– Social networks– SEO/SEM– Name capture– Online PR– Multimedia

• Q&A

Marketing 2.0: A New Game

• Tremendous benefits– Reach an audience of millions

• Plus their friends

– Online medium offers rich, interactive multimedia experience

– Everything is measurable: observe behavior, learn, optimize

Marketing 2.0: A New Game

• But it’s not business as usual– Online reaches a different demographic

with different behavior, expectations– Conversation, not a monologue– Online marketers need different skills

• Data analysis (Excel)• Html• Eager to keep learning• Can-do attitude: make it happen

Web Changes Everything

• Welcome to a new way to communicate• Online is

– Dynamic…not static– Global…AND local– Multimedia…not just text– Interactive…real-time audience participation– Democratic…not hierarchical– Inclusive…not exclusive– Networked…not independent

Reaching Your Audience

2008 Statistics Snapshot

73%

44%77%

2008 US population: 304 million

Reaching Your Audience

• Key sources of traffic– Direct: they type in your URL– Links from other sites– Search engines

• Ideally these sources should be fairly balanced, with each contributing25-50% of traffic

• Another strategy: social marketing

Search Engines

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): search-friendly structure can drive lots of “free” traffic to your site

• Content: page title, metatext,alt-text, tags, keywords, site map

• Site design: navigation structure; content organization; judicious use of Flash, frames

• Use Search Engine Marketing (SEM—“paid search”) selectively for positive ROI

• Get professional help with SEO/SEM

Search Engines

You see: The search engine sees:

Social Marketing

• Exciting new field, still in its infancy• Use Web 2.0 and social networking tools

as channels for building engagement, finding new prospects

• Conversation, not a monologue– Audience participates in the discussion, creates

content, voices opinions, shares expertise– No “hard sell”

• Network effect: you’re exposed not only to direct prospects, but also their friends

Data

Data

• Revolutionary difference between print and online

• Your site is a living focus group of audience interests and behavior– Content preferences– Search terms– Clicks

• Capture it where possible– Use tracking codes for more insights

• Base decisions on data rather than intuition & guesses

Data: Capture

• Web analytics are essential– Google Analytics:

a popular free solution

Data: Analyze

• Track statistics, ideally daily• Develop “key performance indicators”

(KPIs) and chart progress– For example, pageviews, clicks, email

open rates, time on site, names captured

• Learn about your audience from their behavior & affinities

• Proficiency in Excel is a must!

Return on Investment

• Lots of data in the online environment makes it easier to track ROI

• Use ROI to set priorities, allocate resources, optimize your online presence– Was it worth $500 to hire a freelancer to write

that marketing piece?

Tactics

Tactics: Blogging

• You are, therefore you blog: every enterprise should have a blog– Easy, cost-effective way to keep in touch– Gives a personal face/voice to your brand– React quickly to breaking news, share

information of interest, provide frequent updates, link to documents with more detail

– Instant audience input/feedback via comments• Use comments for contests, testimonials, etc.

– In addition to text, share photos, video, audio– Option to subscribe via RSS

Tactics: Blogging

• Host your blog on your own site or use a free service

• Some of the most popular:– TypePad– WordPress– Blogger

• Owned by Google• My choice because it may perform better in

search results

Tactics: Social Networks

• The opportunity: harness the power of “friends of friends”– Tap into the web’s enormous reach– Generate deep engagement with your cause

• The tradeoff: you don’t fully control the message; your message must resonate

• Take your message to websites people use to communicate with their networks of associates– Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn– But also YouTube, Twitter, specialized discussion

forums…or create your own community (Ning)

Tactics: Social Networks

• Create affinity groups and Facebook “causes”

• Provide badges & widgets so members can show their support

• Invite people to participate, share, get involved, tell their friends

• Facilitate sharing with “email this” links, RSS

Tactics: Name Capture

• Integrate name capture opportunities into your online marketing activities– Collect email and mobile/SMS as well as

conventional contact info– Think ahead: include privacy policy checkbox

• Give something in return– Join a networking group or community– Subscribe to an email newsletter– Receive text message alerts or updates– Participate in a live chat event

Tactics: Online PR

• Keep a steady stream of press releases on PR Newswire, PRWeb– PR isn’t just for “big news”

• Links improve search engine performance, in addition to propagating your brand

• Also post this content on your blog, website, and social networks

• Important to “push” content of interest to your audience

Tactics: Multimedia

• Diverse storytelling—not just text– Video (also share on YouTube)

• Create a YouTube channel if you have several videos

– Audio (also podcast on iTunes)– Photos/slideshows

• RSS feeds• “Personal broadcasting”: Twitter, SMS

– Important announcements, timely updates

• Live chat events• User-generated content: give the audience a

voice

PS—The Obama Campaign

• Web 2.0 a vehicle to spread enthusiasm people felt for Obama & his change agenda– Historic number of small donors, many paying

on a subscription plan– People were asked not just to donate but to help

raise money from associates

• Lower the barrier to entry but ask people to be more engaged

PS—The Obama Campaign

• Provided tools to help people tell friends– Badges, widgets, ringtones, affinity groups

• Also used social tools to keep in touch, ask for donations & volunteers– SMS, Email, Twitter

• Strategy very much aligned with a core demographic of Obama supporters– Young, affluent, tech-savvy

PS—The Obama Campaign

• Long-term, Obama’s success with social marketing challenges conventional wisdom about a “big donor” fundraising strategy– With the right cause you can raise huge

amounts of money in a democratized, decentralized social marketing campaign

– Breaking ground in 2012: the Facebook Cure Cancer Group Pediatric Oncology Center

A Few Resources

• BaconSalt online marketing case study• Donor Digital• eNonprofits Benchmarks Study• Google Analytics• My blog: Reinventing Media• Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com• Obama online marketing case study• Social Edge: Drive Traffic to Your Site• Zazengo• This presentation on SlideShare.com