Online Marketing Trends to Lookout for in 2010

Keith Vera
Client Services Manager

As we close out the year here at EyeTraffic Media, every one of us has felt the need to take the time to reflect on 2009, and look ahead to identify key upcoming online marketing trends that we can expect to see over the course of next year. Digital marketing trends and subsequent marketer’s tactics are constantly evolving, and in such a fluid space about the only thing that we can expect is that the high ROI strategies of today are not going to deliver forever. Outlined below are a few thoughts on what we think you can expect to see evolving throughout 2010, and things that marketers should be planning for to maximize their upcoming strategy.

- Complete Digital Footprint: 2009 was the year that establishing social profiles became an integral part of many company marketing mixes, and it’s not difficult to see why. Gone are the days where simply having a website, an online face to your company, is a sufficient web presence. 2010 is the year where many companies will find their online voice. Social profiles allow companies to interact with potential clients and customers directly, and expand communication beyond a one-way blog or newsletter to include community building around a brand, and forums open for discussion. Developing your holistic online footprint is just the beginning of making the most out of the social space however, which leads us to…

- Real-time Communication: Real-time updates are available across every major social profile and is, of course, the basis of Twitter. As the world of real-time online status updates and news feeds develop across social platforms and SEARCH ENGINES, target audiences will expect the same value and convenience of real-time communication from marketers that they get in their everyday lives from friends, family and colleagues. Of course where marketers reach their audience in 2010 is something else entirely, bringing us to…

- Mobile Marketing: Mobile marketing growth has accelerated over the past year; with the introduction of new smart devices more people are accessing the web via their phone than ever before. Social communication has gone mobile, as has significant percentages of search, and the mobile application market has exploded. Expect to see an increased focus and spend in the mobile arena in 2010 as companies focus on reaching consumers directly on their smart device through status alerts, sales updates, product or coupon information, and location-based information.

These are just a few trends we at EyeTraffic expect to see in the upcoming year. Do you have any that you would like to add to this list? Post your comments below.

Google AdWords Translator Toolkit

Keith Vera
Client Services Manager

Google announced Tuesday AdWord's new Google Translator Toolkit, which includes "translation search, bilingual dictionaries, and custom terminology databases. This new toolkit could help advertisers that are targeting audiences in different countries to translate their campaigns more efficiently.

Translator Toolkit:

Have you used Google's new Translator Toolkit yet? If so, let us know what you think by posting up some comments.

EyeTraffic Adds New Client, Mervis Diamond Importers

Keith Vera
Client Services Manager

We are extremely excited to announce our newest client, Mervis Diamond Importers. Mervis is the authority for diamonds, engagement rings, wedding bands, and diamond studs in DC, Virginia, and Maryland.

We look forward to building and tracking measurable interactive marketing campaigns that create lasting relationships between Mervis and their customers.

Learn more about diamonds from Mervis here. We're fans of Mervis, and you can be, too at http://www.mervisdiamond.com/facebook.

Social Media in a B2B World

Keith Vera
Account Manager

Social media has become increasingly important in the B2B space, and lately is beginning to be recognized as a significant lead source. All social media is centered on mutual affiliations or interests, providing large pockets of online communities that B2B companies should be leveraging for lead generation and branding efforts. Of course to capture interest in these communities, a company need to become an active participant that provides a lasting value through the different social channels. Below, we’ll take a quick look at how providing fresh content and ideas allows B2B companies to become more visible and valued to target audiences in the top social media channels.

• Blogging: Blogging should be centered on industry specific topics, and need to be published regularly to help build and grow an audience base. Blogging can lead to solid lead generation as a loyal readership and “community” builds. Blogs should be used as a platform for company and industry updates, and stimulating thought leadership in any industry.
• Facebook: Facebook has become an increasingly resourceful messaging platform for B2B companies. Creating company and product fan pages allows for tremendous visibility and also allows a company to communicate directly with its fans and evangelists. New information shared on these fan pages is also automatically streamed to fan’s Facebook news updates, helping to create a constant connection between a company and its community.
• Linked In: LinkedIn should be utilized to close the social loop in a B2B professionals community, particularly as it is a business-focused network. Take advantage of LinkedIn group announcements and company status updates to automatically promote company messaging across linked industry groups and professional connections.
• Twitter: Twitter is a great platform for pushing company messaging, news and events out to a collective audience. There is a lot of visibility to be gained by simply getting the word out about your company or products and services. Tweets can be at will or scheduled, and ReTweets with different calls to action are particularly effective as audience growth mandates more tweet volume to generate message visibility.

Take a look at EyeTraffic’s social media specialist Blake Bowyer’s blog for tips on social media messaging 10 Pithy Social Media Tips in 140 Characters or Less. Don’t forget to Comment, and tell us how you’ve been leveraging social media in the B2B space.

Rich Media and Video in AdWords

Keith Vera

Account Manager

Google is making it easier for advertisers to build, display and track new Rich Media and Video advertisements in AdWords through new templates in the display ad builder. One of the major benefits of this new services is that it allows advertisers to track interactions with their advertisements ("mouseover rate"), display multiple products or areas within the ad, and use multiple destination URLs to fit each ad feature. Below is a quick demo:

Social Networking Surpasses Email

Keith Vera
Account Manager

Social networking now accounts for almost 10% of all internet time according to the latest Nielsen report, surpassing email in internet activity popularity. The report “Global Faces and Networked Places” looks at data from December 2007 through December 2008, and finds that not only do “member communities” exceed email in participation; the sector is experiencing twice as much growth than any of the 5 most popular online spaces.

Much of this growth can be attributed to the increasing popularity of social networks among an older demographic. As reported by Christine Pepin in February, females over the age of 55 are one of the fastest-growing Facebook user segments, growing by 175% over the last quarter alone, with males over 55 growing over 137%. This new growth helps put over 45% of all Facebook users over the age of 26.

Google News Gets Paid Advertisements

Keith Vera
Account Manager

Google made good on their promise in November to bring paid advertisements to some of their vertical search engines. Yesterday, Google launched paid advertisements on the Google News search-results pages in the United States.

This launch comes on the heels of similar testing and launches across other Google properties including Image Search, Finance, and sponsored videos on YouTube.

Successful Landing Page Components

Keith Vera
Account Manager

The importance of landing pages in the success of a PPC campaign is often overlooked. For conversion-focused campaigns, properly designed and tested landing pages are just as important as the ad text that gets the visitor there, affecting everything from the bounce rate to campaign ROI.

Most successful landing pages contain the same components, but before we get into what those mostly universal items are, the first thing a landing page needs to deliver on is what the PPC ad promised that got the visitor to click initially. Irrelevant information on landing pages will result in a lost visitor almost instantly, even if your site does offer what they are looking for. If that information is not immediately evident that visitor has most likely departed your site in favor of a competing site. To make sure a page delivers on the ad promise, a quality PPC landing page should contain the following:

- Product or Title paralleling what was offered in the PPC advertisement

- Information regarding the product or service, outlining the benefits concisely

- Prominent call-to-action above the fold

Now of course there are other factors on the actual page build that are important, but these three points are consistent across all of our most successful PPC campaign landing pages. Let us know your thoughts, and what has worked for your PPC campaign landing pages.

For a great source on landing page design I highly recommend MarketingSherpa’s 2008 Landing Page Handbook.