Internet Marketing Strategy - Website Strategies

In the below video, Tim Berry, MD, talks about the importance of having an internet marketing strategy. I’m going to type out what he says for those of you who have slow internet connections.

Internet Marketing Strategy: Important Concept to Grasp

Having a marketing strategy is one of the most important concepts that you need to grasp before you begin your online marketing career or before you begin online marketing for whatever business you have, including network marketing. The concept that we’re going to cover is the difference between strategy versus tactics. And I want to tell you, it took me several years to really grasp this. It was actually several years before I first about the difference and once I found out about it, it changed my career online forever because it became more efficient and more effective in everything I was doing. The reason most businesses fail online – especially online – is that the business owner doesn’t know the difference between a business strategy and a tactic.

Internet Marketing Strategy: Business Strategy VS Tactic

We’re going to talk about those differences so that you can understand the importance of developing a good strategy. Number one, it’s going to save you a lot of money. It’s going to save you a lot of time, which is the most important thing. A good strategy allows small businesses – especially home businesses – to more effectively utilize their limited resources. I mean let’s face it, we’re not billion dollar companies. We don’t have unlimited supply of experts out there that we can go to for help. So we’ve got to have a good solid foundation before we start implementing various tactics and tools. And finally, developing a good strategy forces you to think more about your purpose and commit to a solid game plan. And that’s the key. I think sometimes we get swept away in this online marketing world with all these fancy new tools and the new software out, and we forget about our main purpose and our objective about what we are trying to accomplish.

Internet Marketing Strategy: Keeps you focused

So as long as you have that marketing strategy lined out it’s going to keep you from veering off course and getting distracted. Having an Internet marketing strategy is going to allow you to decide which tactics are congruent with your overall plan so that you can utilize them to achieve whatever results or whatever goals you want to achieve. Having just a handful of tactics without that strategy will almost certainly lead to failure. Plus it’s a big waste of time as I already mentioned. I call it pinball marketing. When you start working online you are going to start getting e-mails from different experts and e-mails about the experts that they are endorsing. You are going to get to see all these great tools and the more you research them you are going to realize that you need some other tools and other tactics and other e-books and information products. And before you know it, you are jumping all over the place. You spent a fortune. You haven’t done one single thing that’s congruent with your overall business plan. And like I said it ends up being a big waste of money. You get a lot of doubt, you get depressed, and you give up. I mean you can really kill your business just by getting swept away in all that. So, having that strategy lined out first and understanding your purpose is critical before you start implementing any tactics.

Internet Marketing Strategy: Short Term and Long Term

The difference between strategy and tactics is number one, strategy is a longer term plan, whereas tactics are shorter term actions that utilize tools, tactics, resources and services. I say that strategy requires commitment, whereas tactics require testing, tracking and tweaking. They require a little more day to day work, whereas the strategy is your commitment over the long hall. Over a period of time. Perhaps a year. Strategy is your roadmap for your overall plan. Whereas, a tactic is a vehicle for the trip. So those are just some analogies that I like to use.

Internet Marketing Strategy: Very Important

I heard a great marketer, Steven Pierce, once say, “An acorn does not necessarily equal an oak tree. It’s certainly necessary, but it’s not sufficient. There are a lot of other things that go into it, including sunlight, rain, soil, minerals and different things.” But, unfortunately, in the online marketing world, most marketers think acorns. They are looking for acorns to keep planting acorns and thinking that they will have some miracle result. But they need to be thinking the oak tree. They’ve got to think the whole tree, and that’s the business strategy. So I hope that makes a little more sense to you now. You need to be aware of this and you need to develop a strategy ASAP or you are going to be wasting money and time every single day from here on out. When I work with students and businesses, I will not work with people who do not have that strategy. And that goes for all types of marketing. I hope this has been helpful and I hope it makes a lot of sense. Go make that plan!

Hope you enjoyed the Internet Marketing Strategy / Website Strategies blog entry and video. Feel Free to comment

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Nonverbal Communications - Body Motion - Smell - Paralanguage - Touching - Classifications

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Let’s further examine probably the most important way we communicate. It’s not writing, it’s not speaking, but it’s nonverbal communication. Some believe that as much as 85 percent of our communicating is done nonverbally. What is nonverbal communication? The best way to describe it is to list the classifications of nonverbal communication.


NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION CLASSIFICATIONS

Body Motion — Using your body to communicate. Examples would be shrugging your shoulders, crossing your arms, kicking the dirt, and pounding your fist on a desk. This is typically what we think of when we talk about nonverbal communication.


Proxemic — The use of space. Whether someone stands close to you or not and whether you want him/her to stand close to you or not sends a message. We value our personal space—and if someone we don’t want near us stands near us—it sends a message of intimidation.


Olfaction — Smell. If someone uses too much perfume or cologne, it sends a “notice me” message. If someone’s odor is unpleasant, it implies that his or her physical hygiene is not good.


Paralanguage — This includes sounds, but not words—for example, yawning, laughing, and crying. Also, it includes voice inflection. You can give the same words different meanings by bringing your voice up or down in pitch, softer or louder, etc.


Touching — When someone touches us it sends a message—either we like it or not, we feel comfortable with it or not, etc.


Artifacts — These are physical factors like the clothing we wear, the color of our hair, how tall we are, etc.

One of the most important times that a person should be aware of nonverbal communication is in a job interview. As much as we might think, “I’m not removing my nose ring for the interview, employers should accept me for who I am.” Dream on!!!

There are acceptable nonverbal workplace practices related to such things as how you dress, how you sit in a chair, how you wear your hair, the words you use, your attitude, etc. We shouldn’t kid ourselves into thinking that workplaces accept every kind of nonverbal message. For example, many businesses have guidelines about visible tattoos. I am aware of a bank that will not allow any employee who has an exposed tattoo to deal directly with customers. You might think, “Oh, come on,” but companies are allowed to set up nonverbal guidelines that are appropriate for the workplace.

WRITING & GRAMMER RULE ARTICLES
Comma, Semicolons, Colons
Quotation Marks
Abbreviations & Titles
Using "I" or "Me" and the Use of "Self" Pronouns
Double Adjectives
Transcribing Numbers
Separate and Joint Ownership
"Who" Versus "Whom"
How to use commas
Persuasive Writing

Persuasive Communication Strategy
Communicating Bad News
Communicating Bad News / TIps and Tricks
Communicating with People with Disabilities
Cross Cultural Communications
Types of Communication and Characteristics
Nonverbal Communications

Below is a List of My Most Read Entries
Search Engine Optimization
Presentation Skills & Public Speaking Presentation Tips & Ideas
Sample Marketing Plan IMC Integrated Marketing Communications
72 Examples of Best Print Advertisements
Business Letter Format/ Formal Letter Writing

Types of Communication and Characteristics / Spoken / Written / Nonverbal / Aural

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

Listed below are the four types of communication and their characteristics:


Spoken communication — using the spoken word to communicate

It’s fast
It’s temporary (unless recorded)
It uses inflection (people can tell how you feel by the tone of your voice!)

Written communication — communicating in written form

It’s time consuming
It’s permanent (that’s why contracts are put in writing)
It loses the advantages of inflection (although you can use punctuation marks—they just aren’t as effective in relaying tone as voice inflection)

Nonverbal communication — communicating through methods such as body motion, physical appearance, etc. (we will discuss nonverbal communication in more detail in just a minute)

Most important way in which we communicate
Oftentimes done unconsciously
Has geographic and cultural overtones (in some countries, it’s appropriate to shake hands when meeting someone for the first time, in other countries you simply bow, etc.)

Aural communication — listening

The ability to listen, not just hear. Hearing is purely physiological. Listening is the ability to interpret what you hear

It is important not just to emphasize what is communicated, but the form that the communication takes.

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Pop-ups, Interstitials, Superstitials, and Video Ads

All of these type ads are usually alot more dynamic then banner and display ads. These ads can use motion, sound, and sights. Generally, people consider these types of advertising annoying and try to avoid them when possible.

Pop-ups are advertisements that load in a seperate window while the page a user selected is being displayed. Some pop-ups have timers on them that allow them to "pop-up" after the page has been shown for a certain amount of time. While pop-ups are very attention getting, they are also very annoying. Researchers have found that the annoyance level towards pop-ups is 8 times greater than the annoyance level towards television advertisements. If a website has a considerable number of pop-ups, users tend to look elsewere for information. Alot of people are installing pop-up blockers that block most of the pop-ups from being displayed. This is just another negative aspect of this type of advertising. I would consider looking into other forms of advertising before resorting to the use of pop-ups.

Interstitials are advertisements that appear between two the content of two web pages. This type of advertisement isn't as annoying as pop-ups because the ads tend to run in between the loading of the two pages. A good aspect of interstitials, for the advertiser, is that the ads can't be stopped as easily as pop-ups can be. With pop-ups, you can just hit the exit button, but if you want to see the content after an interstitial, you have to wait for the entire ad to play.

Superstitials are animated ads that play on top of the content of a web page. Sometimes yahoo has these on their home page. On Yahoo, these ads usually are set to go away pretty quickly, but on other sites they can remain for quite some time.

Online video ads being used more and more frequently. Google has been trying with some success to launch a video ad program as part of there adsense and adwords programs. Alot of the online news and video websites have short video commercials that are played at some point in the video content. This type of advertising is relativly new and can be expected to improve in the future.

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Display or Banner Internet Advertisements / Ads - Click Through Rates and More

The most popular format for Internet advertising is display or banner ads. These ads can be a variety of shapes and sizes. Before you create an advertisement be sure to check the specifications that the website or advertising service has for this type of advertisements. Banner advertisements can be static or interactive. Most people reading this have probably seen the banner ads on the social networking website, myspace, that have interactivity. They encourage increased click through rates by having an interactive game in the advertisement.

Generally, click through rates for this advertising format are very low (usually less than .03 percent). This means that most of the banner advertisements that a consumer is exposed to on a website get ignored and don't get clicked. Even though most banner ads aren't clicked by a consumer, there is still the benefit of enhancing brand awareness.

There are a variety of ways of getting you ad to get more attention and break through the clutter. Make sure you ads are in higher spots on the web page and that most of the ad shows above the bottom of the browser window. Try viewing the website in 800 x 600 resolution and find spots on the site that are good for advertising and above the bottom of the browser.

Make sure that your ads are well designed and that any photos in the advertisement aren't pixelated. Nothing scare potential customers away more then having shoddy looking ads. Keep them clean and professional. Don't try to cram to much into the ad. This is especially important with web advertisements because the image can never be as sharp as it is in print. Think of an advertising message and try to convey that with as little information as possible.

Research that has been done on click through rates reveals that brands that are familiar to a target market have a higher click through rate than other less familiar brands. The research has also shown that CTR (click through rates) for familiar brands decrease as the number of exposures (a.k.a., ad impressions) increases. The opposite is true about less known brands. Understanding this can help marketers plan the exposure rates for each advertisement campaign. This does not imply that well know brands don't benefit from banner advertising. Even though consumers might not click on the ads, it can create top of mind awareness of the brand.

Make sure if you are picking your own websites to advertise on that you pick websites that aren't overly cluttered with advertisements. Choose a website that has relatively few advertisements. Even if they are more expensive, they are still better. Some website have some many advertisements that a consumer starts to ignore all the advertisements.

Change the size and shapes of you advertisements. Don't use the same format for all your advertisements. Research has shown that large ads are considerably more effective than the traditional full banner (468px by 60px) ad size. Try some of these other sizes that have been created as standardized sizes by the Internet Advertising Bureau: Skyscraper (120x600), Wide Skyscraper (160x600), Rectangle (180x150), Medium Rectangle (300x250), Large Rectangle (336x280), Vertical Rectangle (240x400), and the Square Pop-Up (250x250).

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Key Internet Features / Individualization and Interactivity

This is an excerpt from the book Advertising and Promotion by Terence A. Shimp. If you want to have a thorough understanding of advertising and promotion you should get the book.

"Individualization and interactivity are key features of the Internet and of advertising in that medium. Individualization refers to the fact that the Internet user has control over the flow of information. This feature leads, in turn, to the ability to target advertisments and promotions that are relevant to the consumer. Interactivity, which is intertwined with individualization, allows for users to selest the information they percieve as relevant and for brand managers to build relationships with customers via two way communication. We now elaborate on the importance of the Internet's interactivity feature.

Traditional advertising media vary in the degree to which they are able to generate mental activity from consumers. Nonetheless, all these media engage the consumer in a relatively passive fashion: the consumer listens to or sees information about the advertised brand, but he or she has limited control over the amount or rate of information recieved. What you see (or hear) is what you get. There is action but no interaction. Whereas action involves a flow in one direction (from advertiser to consumer), interaction entails reciprocal behavior. This idea of reciprocity generally defines the nature of interactive media. Interactive advertising enables the user (who no longer is a "reciever" in the traditional, passive model of communications) to control the amount or rate of information that he or she wishes to acquire from a commercial message. The user can choose to devote one second or 15 minutes to a message. He or she is, for all intents and purposes, involved in a conversation with the commercial message at a subvocal level. A request for additional information occurs with the push of a button, the touch of a screen, or the click of a mouse. In all instances, the user and source of commercial information are engaged in a give and take exchange of information - communications intercourse rather than mere transmission and reception. By analogy, a North American football quarterback throws the ball, and the recievers attempt to catch it. Comparitively, in British rugby, players toss the ball back and forth as they advance downfeild - each player both passes and recieves; their relation is analogous to the give and take reciprocity that defines interactive advertising.

The Internet is undeniably a more interactive advertising medium than most. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the Internet as a medium for advertising is not homogenious; rather, there are a variety of different forms of online advertising. These range from e-mail and banner advertisements, which typically offer relativly little opportunity or desire for interaction, to ads encounted when one activly searches a product category or topic (referred to as search engine ads that appear as sponsored links when one conducts, say, a Google search), which generate more interaction."

I thought the author did a good job talking about it, so I decided I'd just quote him. Get the book.

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Presentation Skills & Public Speaking Presentation Tips & Ideas
Sample Marketing Plan IMC Integrated Marketing Communications
72 Examples of Best Print Advertisements
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Communicating with People with Disabilities: Disability Facts

COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Below is an article that discusses issues related to communicating with people who have disabilities.

Communicating with People with Disabilities

Produced by Adaptive Environment Center under contract to Barrier Free Environments, NIDRR grant#H133D10122

Please note: This material is based in part on Achieving Physical and Communication Accessibility, a publication of the National Center for Access Unlimited, and Community Access Facts, an Adaptive Environments Center publication.

Employees or customers who have disabilities will feel most comfortable at your place of business if you consider these suggestions for effective communication:

Disability Facts: General Considerations

Do not be afraid to make a mistake when meeting and communicating with someone with a disability. Try following the suggestions below. Imagine how you would react if you were in similar situations. Keep in mind that a person who has a disability is a person, and, like you, is entitled to the dignity, consideration respect, and rights you expect for yourself.

Disability Facts: How to Treat People with Disabilities

Treat adults as adults. Address people with disabilities by their first names only when extending the same familiarity to all others present. (Never patronize people by patting them on the head or shoulder.)
Relax. If you don't know what to do, allow the person who has a disability to put you at ease.

Disability Facts: Offering Assistance and How to Help

If you offer assistance and the person declines, do not insist. If it is accepted, ask how you can best help, and follow directions. Do not take over.
If someone with a disability is accompanied by another individual, address the person with a disability directly rather than speaking through the other person.

Disability Facts: "People First" Terminology

Place the person before the disability. Say "person with a disability," rather than "disabled person."

Disability Facts: How to Talk about the Disabled

Avoid referring to people by the disability they have, i.e.., "an epileptic," "blind people". A person is not a condition Rather, refer to "a person with epilepsy," or "people who are blind."

Disability Facts: Wheelchairs

People are not "bound" or "confined" to wheelchairs. They use them to increase their mobility and enhance their freedom. It is more accurate to say "wheelchair user" or "person who uses a wheelchair."

Disability Facts: Physical Disabilities

Do not make assumptions about what a person can and cannot do. A person with a physical disability is the best judge of his or her own capabilities.
Do not push a person's wheelchair or grab the arm of someone walking with difficulty, without first asking if you can be of assistance. Personal space includes a person's wheelchair, crutches, or other mobility aid.
Never move someone's crutch, walker, cane, or other mobility aid without permission.
When speaking to a person using a wheelchair for more than a few minutes, try to find a seat for yourself so the two of you are at eye level.

Disability Facts: Visual Disabilities

Identify yourself when you approach a person who is blind. If a new person approaches, introduce him or her.

It is appropriate to touch the person's arm lightly when you speak so that he or she knows you are speaking to him or her.

Face the person and speak directly to him or her. Use a normal tone of voice.
Don't leave without saying you are leaving.

If you are offering directions, be as specific as possible, and point out obstacles in the path of travel. Use clock cues ("the door is at 2 o'clock").

Alert people who are blind or visually impaired to posted information.
Never pet or otherwise distract a guide dog unless the owner has given you permission.

You may offer assistance if it seems needed, but if your offer is declined, do not insist. If your offer is accepted, ask the person how you can best help.

Disability Facts: Hearing Disabilities

Ask the person how he or she prefers to communicate.

Disability Facts: Speaking with an Interpreter

If you are speaking through an interpreter, remember that the interpreter may lag a few words behind - especially if there are names or technical terms to be finger spelled - so pause occasionally to allow him or her time to translate completely and accurately.

Disability Facts: Talks to the Person who is Deaf

Talk directly to the person who is deaf or hard of hearing, not to the interpreter. However, although it may seem awkward to you, the person who is deaf or hard of hearing will look at the interpreter and may not make eye contact with you during the conversation.

Disability Facts: Get the Attention of the Person You Are Addressing

Before you start to speak, make sure you have the attention of the person you are addressing. A wave, a light touch on the shoulder, or other visual or tactile signals are appropriate ways of getting the person's attention.
Speak in a clear, expressive manner. Do not over-enunciate or exaggerate words.
Unless you are specifically requested to do so, do not raise your voice. Speak in a normal tone; do not shout.

To facilitate speech reading, face into the light and keep your hands and other objects away from your mouth.

Disability Facts: Speech Reading

If the person is speech reading, face the person directly and maintain eye contact. Don't turn your back or walk around while talking. If you look away, the person might assume the conversation is over.

Disability Facts: Writing a Message

While you are writing a message for someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, don't talk. The person cannot read your note and your lips at the same time.

If you do not understand something that is said, ask the person to repeat it or to write it down. The goal is communication; do not pretend to understand if you do not.

Disability Facts: Sign Language

If you know any sign language, try using it. It may help you communicate, and it will at least demonstrate your interest in communicating and your willingness to try.

Disability Facts: Speech Disabilities

Talk to people with speech disabilities as you would talk to anyone else.
Be friendly; start up a conversation.

Be patient, it may take the person a while to answer.

Give the person your undivided attention.

Ask the person for help in communicating with him or her. If the person uses a communication device such as a manual or electronic communication board, ask the person how best to use it.

Speak in your regular tone of voice.

Tell the person if you do not understand what he or she is trying to say. Ask the person to repeat the message, spell it, tell you in a different way, or write it down.

To obtain information quickly, ask short questions that require brief answers or a head nod. However, try not to insult the person's intelligence with over-simplification.

Disability Facts: Cognitive Disabilities Or Mental Disabilities

Treat adults with cognitive disabilities as adults.

Disability Facts: Be Alert to Responses / Visual Forms of Communication

When speaking to someone who has a cognitive disability, try to be alert to their responses so that you can adjust your method of communication if necessary. For example, some people may benefit from simple, direct sentences or from supplementary visual forms of communication, such as gestures, diagrams, or demonstrations.
Use language that is concrete rather than abstract. Be specific, without being too simplistic. Using humor is fine, but do not interpret a lack of response as rudeness. Some people may not grasp the meaning of sarcasm or other subtleties of language.

Disability Facts: Brain Injuries

People with brain injuries may have short-term memory deficits and may repeat themselves or require information to be repeated.

Disability Facts: Auditory Perceptual Problems

People with auditory perceptual problems may need to have directions repeated, and may take notes to help them remember directions or the sequence of tasks. They may benefit from watching a task demonstrated.

Disability Facts: Perceptual Problems

People with perceptual or "sensory overload" problems may become disoriented or confused if there is too much to absorb at once. Provide information gradually and clearly. Reduce background noise if possible.

Repeat information using different wording or a different communication approach if necessary. Allow time for the information to be fully understood.

Don't pretend to understand if you do not. Ask the person to repeat what was said.
In conversation, people with mental retardation may respond slowly, so give them time. Be patient, flexible, and supportive.

Some people who have a cognitive disability may be easily distracted. Try not to interpret distraction as rudeness.

Do not expect all people to be able to read well. Some people may not read at all.

WRITING & GRAMMER RULE ARTICLES
Comma, Semicolons, Colons
Quotation Marks
Abbreviations & Titles
Using "I" or "Me" and the Use of "Self" Pronouns
Double Adjectives
Transcribing Numbers
Separate and Joint Ownership
"Who" Versus "Whom"
How to use commas
Persuasive Writing

Persuasive Communication Strategy
Communicating Bad News
Communicating Bad News / TIps and Tricks
Communicating with People with Disabilities
Cross Cultural Communications
Types of Communication and Characteristics
Nonverbal Communications