Posts Tagged ‘Crystal DeGoede’
Monday, August 9th, 2010
by Crystal deGoede*
Retargeting – when online targeted advertising is delivered to consumers based on previous Internet actions that did not result in a past conversion – has become more importunate (persistent) as we continue to increasingly use the Internet to shop, order food, book travel, monitor the news or for pretty much anything you want to do without leaving the house.
It is also becoming more widely used within the advertising arena. With so many similar 
brands in the market it is hard to differentiation yourself from the other guy, and this form of remarketing can help to successfully convert those lost opportunities.
This past week Michael Learmonth, digital lead at Advertising Age expressed his creepy experience with Zappos, and “The Pants That Stalked [Him] on the Web.”
Oddly enough, after reading Learmonth’s post I was having dinner with my friend Nancy who was “weirded out” by a similiar experience. Ever since she booked a room at Loews Hotel ads for the hotel began appearing on every website that she visited. She is a sales trader so PPC (pay-per-click), Twitter, retargeting, and cookies are not really in her vocabulary. So I thought it would be interesting to research if retargeting is as effective as marketing and advertising professionals believe and how it actually works.
According to Criteo, a company that specializes in scalable personalized retargeting, more than 90 percent of website visitors leave before converting (i.e., making a purchase, downloading a white paper, etc.) Other research has shown that it can take at least seven follow-up emails or phone calls with prospects to actual convert them to a sale. If we are only tracking those visitors that convert on our physical websites, we are simply losing out on a possible sale down the road. Websites these days are optimized for search and have the technology to place cookies on each visitor’s computers to measure the site’s true audience size, but that is only capturing IP addresses most of the time. Then they have us, until we remove all our cookies and empty our cache.
So how do these retargeting customized ads work? When a prospect/client browses your website they become tagged with a snippet of code, which tracks which products they have shown interest in. When they leave the website and begin visiting other pages that’s when the retargeting begins. Banner ads customized to their search on your site start appearing on sites all over the web, from news, social networks, blogs, etc.
Companies that are using retargeting firms, such as Fetchback, in their marketing strategy have seen a 592 percent increase in ROI and conversions up by 94 percent. There are many other benefits to this form of behavioral marketing. It helps streamline all of your campaigns and the frequency of the ads helps keep your brand on the top of prospects minds. (Most services have an integrated feature that allows you to place a limit on the frequency at which the ads appear, so you don’t bomb your potential clients and “creep” them out because everywhere they go they see you.)
Plus, your ads are not static on a particular site related to your industry, which usually does not yield a lot of traffic because that market is already saturated and are either already your clients or know who you are. With retargeting your ads you are only reengaging with new prospects that have already shown interest in your brand; you can focus on what their needs are and manage your ROI.
In short, retargeting helps build your brand and online presence, while increasing the chances of reengaging your audience. It is not going to convert all on its own and has to be used with traditional marketing tactics to be effective. So don’t eliminate your current strategies. It is also important to measure the effectiveness of your retargeting campaigns, ensuring it is worth the investment and that your conversion rates are higher.
This article from Inc. Magazine highlights a retargeting success story involving Scottevest and its partnership with firm AdRoll.
There is one downside to the growing popularity for converting leads more efficiently via retargeting and that is the possibility that people may have the choice to opt-out (a do not call list for the Internet) of all behavioral targeting ads. What does that do for brands that are following the rules and not hunting down prospects on the web? We lose the opportunity to generate qualified leads for our sales team and revenue for the company. If you do use retargeting make sure you limit your reach frequency because when people begin to feel harassed and stalked by brands they will opt-out; I would.
Is your organization taking on the strategy of retargeting advertising? If so, how successful have you been with campaigns and reengaging lost prospects? Do you think we should have the right to opt-out of all behavioral targeting ad campaigns or just the irritating ones? Please share your thoughts and ideas with me and the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas readers.
Tags: action, AdRoll, ads, advertising, Advertising Age, audience, banner ads, behavioral, Blogs, brands, BurrellesLuce, cache, campaigns, client, compensate, consumers, conversion, converting, cookies, creepy, Criteo, Crystal DeGoede, customized, digital, download, effective, emails, Fetchback, Fresh Ideas, Inc. Magazine, industry, information, integrated, Internet, investment, IP addresses, lead, log-in, Lowes Hotel, marketing, measure, Michael Learmonth, monitor, news, online, opportunities, opt-out, pay-per-click, personalized, phone calls, presence, professionals, prospects, purchase, qualified, rates, re-marketing, re-targeting, reengaging, research, result, retargeting, ROI, rules, sale, sales trader, scalable, Scottvest, search, services, size, Social Networks, static, strategy, streamline, success, success story, tagged, Technology, The Pants that Stalked Me on the Web, tracking, traditional, traffic, Twitter, visitors, website, white paper, Zappos
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Public Relations, Technology | 3 Comments »
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
by Crystal deGoede*
There are a lot of us that follow people on Twitter whom we have never met or heard of just because everyone else is following them. “They” must have something good to say, right? We should trust them. Or we like a brand on Facebook just because they are giving away an iPad, or friend someone from high school merely to see their photos. Yet, we never even talked to them – then or now. (I know people that have over 2,000 friends on Facebook…come on. That number might be ok for Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. because we are “networking” with peers and colleagues, but these Facebook accounts are mostly personal.)
In reality, we all are just building our personal brand. In fact, regardless of the 
network, these people may not really be our “friends” or even acknowledge our tweets but when we update our status or link to an interesting article, they are seeing it and vice versa. Our own word-of-mouth marketing is taking place with every post, generating a buzz for ourselves, company, brand or clients.
Since the 1980s, when word-of-mouth marketing became the big craze, the continuing efforts of companies trying to create a buzz, by having people endorse their products, has increased. And with social media, it is easier than ever. All marketers know that the ability to generate word-of-mouth advertising is not something that can be purchased, or so they’ve been taught.
However, that may no longer be the case. Celebrities, along with other influencers are receiving compensation to tweet and blog, mentioning certain products to their millions of followers. Can you imagine getting paid $10,000 just to tweet?
Sponsored Tweets, a new Twitter advertising platform, connects advertisers with twitter users. Advertisers can create sponsored conversations on Twitter. Tweeters can earn money for spreading the word. Along with advertising on Twitter, the company also has a sister site Pay-Per-Post, which pays influencers to blog about certain products. Currently they have 400,000 participating bloggers and tweeters, and over 40,000 advertisers.
Besides paying people to tweet and generate a buzz around your brand, you can also gain followers or friends by simply buying them. One way to gain “fake,” “targeted” friends is Twitter1k, which offers several options for the quantity of followers. If you need Facebook friends/fans, well you can buy them too. (Interestingly enough, the use of such friending or advertising services could potentially get you banned from a given social network – though some claim that they are less likely to do so then their competitors - unless of course you are using a service affiliated with the network. Then it seems to be more “ok.” Go figure.)
Why are companies doing this? Well most of us trust a brand that has a higher number of followers, fans, and YouTube views. If a brand has this, many “friends” and most of those friends are speaking positively about them, then we assume they must be engaging or influencing. We are also more likely to recommed the brands (personal or business) that have lots of friends and followers. Those artificial friends that are doing your word-of-mouth advertising have real friends that trust them, and that allows your brand to reach different verticals without much effort. Therefore, for some marketers, the incentive to fallaciously drive-up those numbers is very attractive.
If you found out that a brand you trusted had paid for their followers or for praise from someone that doesn’t even use their products or service, how would you feel? Does the ability to buy friends or pay people to be brand ambassadors go against the etiquette for transparency in social media? How does that reflect on the brands and companies who legitimately build their following, slow and steady, over time? Would you ever consider purchasing friends and followers for your brand? Share your thoughts with BurrellesLuce and our authentic Fresh Idea readers.
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*Bio: After graduating from East Carolina University with a Marketing degree in 2005, Crystal DeGoede moved to New Jersey. In her four years as a member of the BurrellesLuce marketing team and through her interaction with peers and clients she has learned what is important or what it takes to develop a career when you are just starting out. She is passionate about continuing to learn about the industry in which we serve and about her career path. By engaging readers on Fresh Ideas Crystal hopes to further develop her social media skills and inspire other “millennials” who are just out of college and/or working in the field of marketing and public relations. Twitter: @cldegoede LinkedIn: Crystal DeGoede Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Tags: advertisers, advertising, article, bloggers, brand, brand ambassadors, brand fans, BurrellesLuce, buying fans, buying followers, celebrities, clients, company, conversations, Crystal DeGoede, engaging, etiquette, Facebook, follow, followers, Fresh Ideas, generating buzz, incentive, influencers, influencing, iPad, LinkedIn, loyalty, marketers, money, networking, Pay per Post, praise, products, Public Relations, service, Social Media, sponsored tweets, status, transparency, trust, tweeters, Twitter, Twitter1k, verticals, views, word-of-mouth marketing, YouTube
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media | 5 Comments »
Monday, June 14th, 2010
by Crystal deGoede*
Original Images Courtesy of HBO and Diesel
If done correctly, social media marketing (SMM) can really take your organization to the next level. With SMM, the unique and innovative ways to target your audience, promote a new product, or engage with fans/clients are endless. In addition, as more and more organizations realize the benefits they can endure, the more people will embrace SMM.
However, where do you draw the line? When does a great marketing tactic turn into “TMI” (too much information)?
Imagine you are shopping alone, and you come across a “gotta have them now” pair of Diesel jeans. You go to try them on, but wish you had your best friend there to talk you into actually pulling the trigger and purchasing them. How would you feel if you could just press a button, and instantaneously connect to Facebook, where you could stream a video of yourself in the dressing room trying on the new jeans and get the opinion of your friends? Well that is just what Diesel Jeans is doing in Spain as their current “Be Stupid” campaign.
This is “free” marketing via social media for Diesel. Since everyone that you are connected to on Facebook may see your post, they may also want a pair of those jeans. Then again, does it make us peeping toms to look at people in dressing rooms – even if we’re “friends” with them online? What if you forget to “push the red button” before changing back into your clothes or the person that was in there before you forgots and the video continues to stream live? It is a little scary; then again this could be the future of shopping – where every detail of one’s life is made available for viewing (dis)pleasure.
And Diesel isn’t the only brand to put social media connectivity to “good” use. As a huge fan of HBO’s hit vampire series True Blood, whose new season premiered last night, I was intrigued that the newly released second season Blu-ray has a social networking feature. If you are a fan of True Blood then you know the huge presence it has on social media along with the vast marketing strategies of HBO, making fan engagement remarkable. The delightfully fresh (and very HBO on-brand) feel of the whole series was cemented by quirky PR that was infinitely quotable, with taglines like “Thou Shalt not Crave Thy Neighbour” or “It Hurts So Good”?
“HBO’s True Blood is number one in cable and making its debut to the top 25 primetime performers list at number 18, benefitting from fan advocacy and involvement,” according to the Optimedia U.S. Content Power Ratings 3.0
The True Blood live feed that is build into the Blu-ray disc edition gives the viewer the ability to send automatic updates to their Twitter and Facebook accounts. This feature has been described as the most extensive Facebook linking feature in Blu-ray so far, sending updates as you watch the episodes. Additionally, while watching the series, viewers can decide which “True Blood” group they wish to join: Vampire, Fellowship of the Sun, and Follower of Dionysus.
The viewing experience is then customized to that group; for the real “trubies,” they can use a picture and transform it based on the True Blood group selected. For those that choose Vampire, the more they watch, the more pale (and bloody) the picture gets.
“For True Blood, we have such engaged and passionate fans that we really wanted to provide them with a way to extend the fiction beyond what they see in the show,” says HBO’s Sofia Chang, “and share that passion with their friends.”
True Blood has such loyal and engaged fans in the social media arena; this is a great ploy for social media marketing. In reality though, do most of us feel comfortable letting our friends, family, and colleagues know our true obsessions? I am not sure I would want people that I work with and network with on a professional level, seeing that I watched episode one of True Blood six times over the weekend. I do see the appeal to the ‘trubies” that want everyone to see they are the most devoted True Blood fan HBO has ever had in an effort to maybe win a guest spot on the show or free gifts. But will it become nauseating to see all of your True Blood fanatic friends cluttering your feed to let you know they all “came out of the coffin” to watch episode one?”
HBO and Diesel have differentiated themselves when it comes to social media marketing. For better or worse, they have used social media as a way of maintaining constant fan engagement and brand awareness. Have you had a chance to try out any social media features on Blu-ray releases yet? Do you think these marketing strategies are innovative or TMI? How are you using social media to maintain engagement? Share your thoughts with BurrellesLuce and Fresh Idea readers.
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*Bio: After graduating from East Carolina University with a Marketing degree in 2005, Crystal DeGoede moved to New Jersey. In her four years as a member of the BurrellesLuce marketing team and through her interaction with peers and clients she has learned what is important or what it takes to develop a career when you are just starting out. She is passionate about continuing to learn about the industry in which we serve and about her career path. By engaging readers on Fresh Ideas Crystal hopes to further develop her social media skills and inspire other “millennials” who are just out of college and/or working in the field of marketing and public relations. Twitter: @cldegoede LinkedIn: Crystal DeGoede Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Tags: and follower of dionysus, Be Stupid, Blu-ray, brand awareness, BurrellesLuce, campaign, clients, connectivity, Crystal DeGoede, Diesel, engage, Facebook, fans, fellowship of the sun, Fresh Ideas, friends, HBO, live feed, marketing, Optimedia U.S. Content Power Rating 3.0, PR, Public Relations, SMM, Social Media, social networking, Sofia Chang, tactic, target audience, too much information, trubies, True Blood, Twitter, vampire, video
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media | 7 Comments »
Friday, April 9th, 2010
by Crystal deGoede*
Razzle.com
We all rely on mainstream media to tell us what is going on in the world. We trust the credibility of traditional news as an authority and we expect that at least 95 percent of what they report is the truth. It’s also no secret that the bulk of social media relies on traditional media as the source of its content as well. (Citizen journalism, in the form of breaking world events, is the exception not the rule, but even that often overlaps with traditional media.) I have to admit that I use social media during the day to get a quick glimpse of headlines from the traditional media outlets that I follow – and I am sure that I am not alone.
So, why are more traditional media outlets getting their “news” from social media lately? Social Media is fast and cuts to the chase (only 140 characters), but most of the time we have to wonder if what we are reading is even true (assuming we’re reading what we’re about to tweet or repost in the first place). And with the media landscape changing, it is understandable that mainstream media would want to remain the go-to source. But at what price?
Last Thursday was everyone’s favorite holiday, the one day that you can call your parents and tell them you got married in Vegas, “Aprils Fool’s Day.” We saw many large, well-known organizations joining in with their own pranks, such as Google, changing its name to Topeka, and McDonald’s, going along with a post by Grist, an environmental news website…
Grist announced that McDonald’s would no longer continue its worldwide composting initiatives after a University of California-Berkeley scientist discovered that none of the items on the menu would compost – complete with a photo seemingly depicting a year old “Happy Meal” still relatively fresh. What makes this story interesting is that the news began to spread across social media as if it was legitimate. All of this began with a blog post on March 3rd by Joann Bruso, wishing her “Happy Meal” a “Happy Birthday” and that lead to Grist’s April Fool’s prank. The question is how or why did a New York Times writer tweet the story? (Check out a recent Fast Company article to see how the story plays out.)
In an effort to keep up with the ever-changing media landscape, do you think traditional media outlets are cutting corners and not checking their facts? Or are they just trying to stay hip – proving they’re in on the joke? It is funny how six months ago studies showed that people tweeting and updating in social media were using content from mainstream media sources and I still find that true. But are we all becoming so gullible and wrapped up in the “I want it now” lifestyle that we are making short-cuts in order to be the first to report?
I am sure you all remember the breaking news last July that actor Jeff Goldblum was dead. Many popular news organizations actually printed, and ran with the story for a couple of hours even though they found it online and the reports weren’t confirmed. I place a lot of trust in traditional media, as I am sure most of you do, and I always will; accidents happen and people post without understanding the repercussions and without scrutinizing the facts. No matter if we are a major news journalist or a back office tweeter, can we ever know that something on the Internet or printed in the paper is completely true? Not unless we are willing to get the hard-facts, do the research, and spend hours verifying every source.
As major news organizations, journalist, and mainstream bloggers they are trusted by their publics and their credibility depends on “getting the facts right” and producing quality stories. And as news consumer don’t we have an obligation to educate ourselves and help ensure accuracy before passing the information along? Shouldn’t the media and its audiences work together to create a certain standard of news and then hold each other accountable when it isn’t met? Then again, perhaps, “quick and easy” and “check the facts later” are the acceptable standards.
So, do you think mainstream media is trying to keep up with the fast-paced world of Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of social media by using content they find on the web? Do you rely on traditional news outlets for the truth? Share your thoughts with the readers with BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
*Bio: After graduating from East Carolina University with a Marketing degree in 2005, Crystal DeGoede moved to New Jersey. In her four years as a member of the BurrellesLuce marketing team and through her interaction with peers and clients she has learned what is important or what it takes to develop a career when you are just starting out. She is passionate about continuing to learn about the industry in which we serve and about her career path. By engaging readers on Fresh Ideas Crystal hopes to further develop her social media skills and inspire other “millennials” who are just out of college and/or working in the field of marketing and public relations. Twitter: @cldegoede LinkedIn: Crystal DeGoede Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Tags: April Fool's, bloggers, BurrellesLuce, changes, checking the facts, credibility, Crystal DeGoede, Facebook, Fast Company, Fresh Ideas, Google, Grist, Jeff Goldblum, Joann Bruso, journalists, mainstream media, McDonald's, media landscape, New York Times, Public Relations, Social Media, source, traditional media, Twitter, University California-Berkeley
Posted in Media Industry, News Coverage, Public Relations, Social Media | No Comments »
Friday, March 26th, 2010
Valerie Simon
Do you choose your words carefully? I’m not referring to SEO, but to everyday communication – blog posts, emails, texts, meetings, and even office conversations.
Recently, I have heard several Gen X managers, voice concerns regarding patterns of communication they are noticing in Gen Y employees; in particular, lengthy email exchanges that could be more efficiently managed with a quick phone call or a stroll 30 feet away, and tweets and emails which appear hastily written and not well thought out. Is this simply the result of a heightened comfort level that comes with growing up immersed in digital communications?
While I have read concerns that these digital habits also have a negative effect on face-to-face communications skills, my experience has been quite the opposite. In fact, I have noticed many of these same members of Gen Y, thrive in “real life” conversations. I see a respect and humility in their body language, and have been touched by the sincerity and thoughtfulness of their words. Looking someone in the eye seems to bring out a heightened awareness of the impact of their words and adds a sense of importance to the discussion.
As a Gen X’er, I grew up with the utmost respect for the written word. Letters were to be carefully crafted and edited. The only content available to the general public was published by professional journalists. To this day the power of the written word leaves me awed, impressed, and perhaps a little intimidated. Conversely, I find it easy to become extremely casual in conversation. A mentor recently encouraged me to write out my thoughts before meetings, so not to let my enthusiasm deter me from effective communication.
My BurrellesLuce colleague Crystal DeGoede recently questioned whether the mentality of other generations is the same as millennials. I wonder whether it is the mentality that is so different or simply the way in which the different generations communicate. Does growing up in a digital environment alter both written and in person communication styles? I’d be curious to hear your thoughts. What differences do you see between the communication styles of Gen Y and Gen X? And let’s not forget about the Boomers… how does their communication style fit into the mix?
Tags: boomers, BurrellesLuce, communication, communication styles, communications, Crystal DeGoede, digital, face-to-face interaction, Fresh Ideas, Gen Xers, Gen-Y, genX, millennials, multi-generational communication, Multi-generational employees, Valerie Simon
Posted in Career Advice, Public Relations | 11 Comments »
