If you haven’t thought about search engine marketing (SEM) or search engine optimization (SEO) yet, it’s time to jump onboard the search train. Think about some of the goals of your marketing campaigns – building awareness, boosting ROI, and increasing conversions. What do you think your company’s website is for?

Reach

One of the most important goals of marketing is to increase brand awareness. The great thing about online advertising is that marketers can target consumers at any time during the buying cycle. Social media allows us to reach our consumers in a timely, efficient and measureable manner.

ROI

Analytics help you make decisions about your brand. When we optimize new insights and data, we optimize our marketing budgets. This is why it is important to select relevant keywords for your SEO campaigns. Your consumers (potential and current) use search engines like Google, Bing and YouTube to find information regarding your products/services.

I attended Pubcon last week and learned a lot about where the marketing industry is headed. Here are a few trends (that were discussed in nearly every session) that companies should be thinking about moving forward into 2012:

Painting a portrait with data

Most people in marketing are familiar with the concept of a persona. The idea is pretty simple. Using known information, research and customer interviews, you create a detailed character that best represents your target. The persona has a name, a photo and a well-developed back-story that makes him more “real.”

While there are differences of opinion about how much data you need to gather to construct a useful persona, at its simplest level, you are taking an abstract representation of your target—female, 18-34, income greater than $30,000—and turning her into a “person” you can consider when developing marketing messages and new product offerings. Here’s an example:

Stacy Jones is 24. She recently graduated from college and moved to the city. She shares an apartment with two roommates in a newly gentrified neighborhood.

Stacy is working for a national retail clothing chain while she looks for a job in her field. She really enjoys the interaction with customers and gets a lot of satisfaction helping people fine-tune their style and create the perfect outfit.

Stacy is very social. She is constantly sharing photos with her 300-plus Facebook friends, but doesn’t get why people would waste time on Twitter. With limited income, Stacy also spends a lot of time online looking for the best deals on designer-label clothes.

Stacy likes trying new things and having new experiences. Even with limited resources, she feels it’s important to experience what life has to offer …

You should have as many personas as you do meaningful targets. You can get as detailed as you want. The idea is to identify relevant patterns that are present across your target audience, and flesh those out in a personal description.

Often times, the process of developing personas reveals important differences within a target group that allow for multiple, more meaningful segments to emerge. Armed with a persona, you can now consider how Stacy—rather than a “female, 18-24, income greater than $30,000”—would react to new ideas or product offerings.

Why use personas for social media content creation?

Marketers have been using personas for advertising and product development since the 1990s, but they have an important new role in social media. It is becoming clear that using social media to simply broadcast marketing messages is not an effective use of the channel. The key to success in social is to garner engagement from your customers.

Social media is online word-of-mouth. People interact with content that is interesting, funny, entertaining or helpful to them. It’s hard to create content that will resonate with someone if you think of that person simply as a customer or some other demographic segment.

What do “white-collar men, 35-54” click on and share with their friends and colleagues? It’s hard to say, but “NASCAR Bob,” who owns a manufacturing job shop in the Southeast and is always looking for ways to help his employees make metal parts more efficiently, would probably share a link to an online tool that helped him figure out how to cut aluminum faster.  He would also likely be interested in stories about companies using automated production processes to win business from offshore competitors.

Boost engagement or risk becoming invisible

On a more practical note, engagement is becoming vital to securing visibility in some key social properties. Facebook’s Edge Rank algorithm weighs interaction—clicks, likes, sharing, viewing—very highly when determining if and when your post will be visible in your fans’ news streams. Since 85 percent of people who “like” a company page never return, triggering interaction has become important for enabling ongoing visibility.

This makes creating truly relevant, share-worthy content for your customers and prospects more critical than ever. Evaluating your ideas against a persona can help your team come up with great new content that may not have otherwise occurred to them—content Stacy and NASCAR Bob will be excited to receive and share with others.

What about you? Are you using personas as a tool for creating more engaging, share-worthy content? I’d love to hear your success stories (or missteps) related to using personas for social media.

David Fabbri is Creative Director of LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by David)

Whether you’re an ad agency looking for new business or a supplier serving the marketing needs of businesses, you need to be aware of the challenges CMOs are facing today. A new IBM study of 1,700 chief marketing officers reveals that respondents are feeling stretched, but are also excited about the future of marketing.

The study reveals that top marketing executives recognize a critical and permanent shift occurring in the way they engage with customers, but are not sure their marketing organizations are ready to manage the change.

Expectations of CMOs are greater today than ever. They have to understand and engage with more empowered customers, adopt and adapt to more sophisticated technologies and tools, manage data from disparate sources and be more financially accountable to their organizations.

The study’s findings point to four key challenges that CMOs everywhere must address:

1. The explosion of data – 90 percent of the world’s data was created in the last two years alone.
2. The rise of social media – 56 percent of CMOs view social media as a key engagement channel.
3. Channel and device choices – The growing number of new marketing channels and devices, from smart phones to tablets, is quickly becoming a priority for CMOs.
4. Shifting demographics – New global markets and the influx of younger generations with different patterns of information access and consumption are changing the face of the marketplace.

The rise of social media is of particular interest for agencies. Currently there are very few global or regional agencies that are leaders in this space. Agencies need to improve their social I.Q. and become leaders to assist CMOs in understanding, measuring and growing revenue from the social space.

Carolyn Heller Baird, CRM research lead for the IBM Institute for Business Value and the global director of the study states, “The inflection point created by social media represents a permanent change in the nature of customer relationships. Approximately 90 percent of all the real-time information being created today is unstructured data. CMOs who successfully harness this new source of insight will be in a strong position to increase revenues, reinvent their customer relationships and build new brand value.” 

The customer relationship is one of the top priorities identified by CMOs, yet most marketing organizations are stuck in traditional approaches to CRM, not taking advantage of real time data and social media. The sooner marketers adopt social media and the insight it provides, the better they will be prepared to anticipate future shifts in markets and technology.

IBM 2011 Global CMO Study Compilation

To access the full 2011 IBM Global CMO Study, visit http://ibm.com/cmostudy.

Mark Hollingsworth is the Vice President of Consumer and Interactive Divisions at LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by Mark)

Jen Doyle, Senior Research Manager at Marketing Sherpa, recently published an article highlighting survey results about perceived 2012 marketing challenges titled “Top barriers to overcoming B2B marketing challenges.” Marketers listed “Lack of resources in staffing, budgeting or time” as their number-one challenge—by a large margin. While it may seem like a rather encompassing challenge (who doesn’t want more money, time and people?), it may be worthwhile to analyze the factors that contribute to this challenge.

The last few years have been remarkable in several ways. In the 23 years that I have been in marketing, I have never been though a more exciting and challenging time. We are in the middle of a turbulent economic period while experiencing a fundamental shift in how we need to think about and execute marketing.

The second most common challenge listed was the “Lack of ability to stop executing and think strategically.” This challenge runs deeper than simply being too busy to stop and think. We need to make sure we’re looking at the big picture—in the right way. Marketing today requires more strategic thinking and planning than ever before for three primary reasons:

1. Most marketers have not fully mastered online channels such as search-engine marketing and social media.
2. Marketing team members are still trying to catch up or catch on, and the rest of the organization doesn’t really understand the changes that have taken place.
3. There are rapidly emerging tools and technologies to measure, analyze and integrate marketing- into sales- and service models – This is a big one, and it is complex.

The third most commonly referenced challenge is key: “Limited ability to develop content.” Branded content is a largely underutilized marketing tool, and clients and agencies need to change their marketing support models to address it. Branded content builds and reinforces company reputation and messaging and bolsters lead generation and it is only getting more important. We need content managers and producers on both sides of the client-agency relationship and we need to ensure that content development is prioritized in the marketing plan. Buyers rely on the content they find online to inform their spending decision – this will not change.

Those of us in the trenches need to stay diligent about our craft, but also realize the importance of continued learning, sharing, training and repetition. Support for marketing needs to flow from deeper within every organization, and it is our job to champion this. Customer service needs be online, technical experts need to come out of the lab, opinion leaders need to speak up, and marketing needs to align with sales. Customers expect to be able to see who we are and what we have to offer before they invite us to be considered. .

As marketing leaders, we need to stomp our feet and wave our flags to get the rest of the organization to join the party. It may feel like pushing an elephant up the stairs, but it’s critical to our success.

Scott LoSasso is President of LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by Scott)

Some Facebook users noticed a change (or three) when they logged into their accounts yesterday – and the majority of them do not seem to “like” it.

The new Facebook layout displays posts and updates at the top of your feed on your Home Page based on what Facebook considers top-story-worthy to each specific user. The feed is refreshed so often that if you miss a few “Top Stories”, the next time you log in those stories will still be listed (chronologically) at top of the page. So why is there an outcry from users?

While Facebook’s attempt to emotionally connect users to their most important friends may be loved by some people, others think the latest idea of “staying connected” is too connected. Whether it’s the concerns of privacy violations or the feed clutter, many have expressed negative responses and annoyance.

But is it all negative? Facebook’s addition of the Twitter-like real-time ticker keeps the content relevant and fresh. For B2B marketers, content will always be the most important aspect of their social, media, and mobile campaigns. “Email and social are completely intertwined…Email lights the fire, and social fans the flame” (Ron Cates, 9.19.11, B2B Magazine). Facebook and other social media content strategies will help bridge the gap between SEO and email strategies.

As for now Facebook’s facelift seems permanent. Whether botched or not, that’s up to users to decide. The goal of email marketing should be to become a conversation medium like Facebook, but if marketers want to optimize their content strategies, do the opposite of Facebook and reduce the content clutter and confusion.

P.S. Facebook isn’t the only social media network getting a makeover. Pandora, otherwise known as the music social network also made some changes to its look.

For a few years now, SEO practitioners and other online marketers have been stressing the importance of the long-tail keyword. If you have been focusing your efforts on trying to rank for one- or two-keyword phrases and haven’t seen your site budge in the results, it’s time to shift your focus to the long-tail.

The phrase “long-tail” in this sense refers to group keywords that target more niche or specific markets, and typically involve more words (“Neapolitan-style pizza in Chicago” vs. “Pizza”). A report from Hitwise found that search queries longer than six words increased by 3 percent from June to July. While shorter search queries still account for the majority of total searches, long-tail keywords combined (more than 5 word phrases) account for 18 percent of all searches. As users continue to get more specific with their searches to get more relevant results, this trend will continue to grow.

How do you rank better for long-tail keywords? The possibilities are endless, but here are three things you can do today:

1. Write quality content that people actually want to read. The days of writing for search engines are long over. Writing content for human beings means you’re more than likely using keywords and phrases that people actually use in conversation. Users that enjoy your fresh content will link to it from their blogs, tweet it, +1 it, etc.

2. Create internal links within your site’s content to relevant pages. Remember to create variations of these keywords so you don’t go overboard with your optimizations. If you are a marketing agency, switch up the way you refer to yourself across your site. You might be both a “b2b marketing agency in Chicago” as well as a “Chicago social media marketing firm”.

3. Write very descriptive title tags. Write these titles in a way that users would search to find that content. Don’t stuff your titles with keywords separated by a ‘|’. That form of title is very effective for certain sites, but most people don’t actually search Google for “Best Pizza | Chicago Pizza | Chicago Pizza Parlor;” instead, they’ll search: “what is the best pizza parlor in Chicago?” Therefore, this would probably be a better title: “Mike’s Pizza – The best pizza parlor in Chicago”.

If you’re concerned with the idea that focusing only on the long-tail reduces your chances to show up for broad terms, consider adding paid search into your marketing mix. This gives you have the ability to control and craft your message the way you want, plus the added bonus of seeing immediate results for your targeted keywords.

Get to work on your long-tail terms and watch your conversions and on-site user engagement increase!

Mike Hernalsteen is the Senior Interactive Marketing Specialist at LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency where he develops comprehensive online marketing strategies for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by Mike)

A strong mobile strategy needs to be a top priority when companies plan their Web presence. Every day, thousands of new smart phone users enter the market and begin browsing websites. Companies need to move from being ‘mobile friendly’ to thinking ‘mobile first.’

Mobile to Overtake PC

According to MobiThinking, mobile is on pace to overtake the PC as the most popular way to get to the Web by 2013. In face, many mobile Web users are mobile-only: In the United States, 25 percent of mobile Web users are mobile-only. This year, globally, 85 percent of new mobile handsets will be able to access the Web. That percentage is even higher in the United States and western Europe.

People around the world are using Web on mobile devices for more than just games and music. Many use their device for email, to connect with their social networks, do research, make reservations and purchase products.

Amazon Mobile Purchases Top $1 Billion

In July 2010, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com said that customers around the world had ordered more than $1 billion worth of products from Amazon using their mobile devices.

Mobile searches have quadrupled in the last year, according to Google, and for many items, one in seven searches are now via mobile.

• One in three mobile searches are local; after looking up a local business, 61 percent of users called the business and 59 percent visited.
• 71 percent of smart phone users that see TV, print or online ads do a mobile search for more information, but 79 percent of large online advertisers do not have a mobile-optimized site.

“It is true across the board,” says Jason Spero, head of mobile ads, America at Google. “Roughly one in seven searches, even in the smaller categories, are happening on a mobile phone, but how many of you are putting one seventh of your resources into mobile – anyone who hasn’t got mobile only business? Your customer is trying to engage you… it would be like not doing business with your customers on Thursdays.”

Shift to Mobile Happening Now

If you aren’t making mobile a priority, the time is now. This applies to all businesses. The shift to mobile will continue, and new opportunities to communicate with customers and prospects will expand. Now more than ever, marketers must give user experience top consideration. Start by understanding your users and design the experience to meet their desires.

• User Experience: Mobile is more about functionality than time spent on a site.
• Smart Phones: Flash-driven sites may look terrific on a traditional browser, but on mobile devices, flash often results in an error message. Stay away from extensive use of Flash, fixed-element layouts and complex navigation paths. Enable fast page loads—according to Kiss Metrics, a one-second delay in page response can result in a 7 percent reduction in conversion.
• Prioritize: Many websites contain vast amounts of information, crammed into unrelated promos, links, images and videos. These extra features tend to answer the needs of internal stakeholders, but don’t benefit the website user.
• Revolutionize: Mobile devices present new, simpler ways to interact with content. Move from a click to a swipe perspective. Be creative and take advantage of the new technology advancements.

Consumer engagement is now mobile. It’s time to build your mobile strategy with your users in mind. Provide content in a user-friendly and digestible format. Think mobile first; it’s where you’ll meet your customers.

Mark Hollingsworth is the Vice President of Consumer and Interactive Divisions at LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by Mark)

As you begin to think about 2012 marketing plans and budgets, it’s a good idea to review your media mix. The first step is to categorize your efforts and budgets by breaking them down into paid, earned and owned media categories.

Owned vs. Earned vs. Paid Media

The common idea is that “paid” media is advertising; “earned” media is PR; and “owned” media is all the other channels companies use to reach their customers directly – their website, email campaigns, Twitter and Facebook pages, etc.

These three media types are defined primarily by the level of control a company has over the message or interaction channel. It’s easy to see why companies would be interested in having more control over their messages and interactions—and therefore allot a greater share of their budget to owned media. Meanwhile, earned media can be appealing thanks to the credibility it lends: Third-party endorsements (via trade journals and other new sources) are a crucial part of a comprehensive marketing plan. With such a longstanding focus on advertising and PR, companies might neglect the important third channel: owned media.

Via company blogs and advanced search-engine marketing efforts, owned media has the ability to reach a broader audience–and deserves a greater long-term share of your marketing budget.

Advantages of Owned Media

1. Control – When done right, owned media allows you to tell your company’s story in a way that not only does the brand justice, but that also maintains editorial integrity and brings value to the marketplace. Ultimately, it’s a better way to ensure that a user’s experience fulfills your brand promise, because you control the medium—a significant advantage over earned media.
2. Cost – With owned media, you invest more significantly in creating your own content – white papers, videos demonstrating valuable how-to tips or best practices, and ongoing case studies that demonstrate your brand’s value and provide support to your target market. While creating engaging, attention-grabbing and sharable content is an investment, there’s no cost for placement, since your distribution channels are your own website, social pages, email campaigns and PPC or SEO efforts.

In the long run, you can bolster the overall return on your marketing investment with owned media – and enjoy far more valuable lead generation.

Let’s face it. Online marketing IS keyword research. Without hours of research (and ensuring your research aligns with your goals), how can you expect to have success with PPC, generate quality traffic from SEO or monitor the correct conversations in social media? This isn’t a post to discuss the basics of keyword research, but instead will introduce some often-overlooked tools that can add value to your search and link-building campaigns.

Delicious

Delicious is a great site that can help you discover terms you may not have originally thought of within particular niches.

Let’s say you’re trying to find keyword or content ideas for a children’s health blog. Enter ‘children’s health’ in the Delicious search field to yield results related to children’s health—those that have been bookmarked by Delicious users. Those sites are potential link building opportunities.

The search results will also clue you in on the other tags people used to categorize posts related to children’s health. For example, “adolescents,” “antibiotics,” “fever,” “vitamins,” and the list goes on. Here you can gather ideas around current events and gain a better understanding of what type of content users find interesting.

Wordle

People use word clouds to show a visual representation of common keywords. You typically find them on blogs as a way to dig deeper into tagged content.

Did you know you can use Wordle to get a visual representation of a competitor blog’s commonly used keywords? Simply visit Wordle.net/create and enter the blog URL.

One of the most popular hockey blogs, Puck Daddy, for example, is creating content around today’s free agency period. So terms that pop up in their world include “Free Agents” as well as the names of some of the top free agents available: “Jagr” and “Ehrhoff.” The now-defunct Atlanta Thrashers are relocating to Winnipeg: Naturally, “Winnipeg Jets” appears in Puck Daddy’s Wordle cloud.

Google Insights

One popular blog technique is to develop content related to current events. Current events are interesting to everyone, and while ‘everyone’ might not be your target market, if you can somehow relate your industry’s trends with hot news items, you may be able to attract loyal readers.

Google Insights and Yahoo’s “trending now” section are great places to look for popular current search terms. Just remember to choose a topic that will be relevant to your own content!

Keyword research isn’t all about finding terms that generate the highest monthly search volume. Always be thinking of creative ways discover new audiences.