As an interactive agency we pay close attention to trends and statistics that relate to web usage and user experience. It is important for us to know that the sites we design and the user experiences we plan for our campaigns will be in step with the technological capabilities of the target market we are communicating with. A good example of this is the vexing browser compatibility issues that can cause websites to display differently on different computers. The biggest problem in this arena is with Internet Explorer version 6 and older. Inevitably, there will be some report of a customer or client that has some wonky issue when they look at a certain page on the site. This sends the account team into a panic and the developers to the medicine cabinet.

The proper question here has to do with frequency. If you are taking advantage of newer technologies that allow your sites to look and behave the way you want, you may have some old timers that run into issues. So how much time and money do you spend on finding the “fix”? The answer is a value judgment you need to make while looking at your web analytics.

Because we have a concentration of accounts in the metalworking industry we have fantastic data related to the web usage of this market. One of our clients is the Practical Machinist www.practicalmachinist.com – it is a manufacturing forum that is probably the largest and most heavily trafficked social media site specific to the metalworking industry. Within the first few months of 2010 we have had more than 685,000 absolute unique visitors to the site. This provides a clear snapshot of certain statistics that we need to develop sites targeted to that industry. Here are some we can share:

These are top-line statistics that represent just the tip of the iceberg. The web world is constantly evolving, which provides an incredible opportunity to bring you closer to your customers. Making your company findable, friendly, and informative requires a lot of focus and commitment. But if you develop this capability and build a new set of skills, you can learn how to understand your market better than ever before.

LoSasso Advertising is Chicago interactive marketing agency that combines competencies in advertising, direct marketing, branding, online marketing, and public relations to build integrated programs that drive measurable response.  For more information, contact LoSasso Advertising at 773-271-2100.

For years Apple has been seen as hip, cool, and friendly, but has that happy reputation begun to sour?  In recent months Apple, had cops raid the house of a blogger who wrote about the unreleased iPhone he got his hands on, made Ellen DeGeneres apologize on national television for dissing the iPhone, taken what seems to be a pretty personal jab at Adobe and their Flash brand (Apple says the move is purely business), and banned an app created by Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Fiore because it “contains content that ridicules public figures…”.  This once friendly tech-giant seems to be turning in to a grumpy version of its former self.

On top of that, a battle has been brewing between Apple and Google, two industry giants with rival technologies, for the top spot in the future of mobile phones.  Since its release in 2007, the iPhone has changed the way the world interacts with their phones, but Google’s Android devices are poised to give Apple a run for their money.  Why?  It’s simple – Android phones have something iPhones do not – more freedom.  Freedom to choose your mobile carrier; Android phones are widely available on multiple carriers, while iPhones are exclusively on AT&T (at least for the time being).  Freedom to design what and how you want to; Android phones are considered to be open source (app developers can create what they want, how they want) and iPhones are not (app developers have to play by Apple’s rules).

Another big difference is Androids are in the works with Adobe to become Flash enabled, while iPhones are not; iPhones support HTML5, the newest version of HTML.  HTML5 allows audio and video to be handled by the browsers, meaning plug-ins (like Adobe’s Flash) are no longer required.  So why the battle between Flash and HTML5 – and why does it matter if Apple uses HTML5?  The problem is that most of the Web is currently using Flash.  The change to HTML5 will force sites to redo their coding from Flash to HTML5, a long and costly process.  In the meantime, iPod, iPhone, and iPad users will not be able to view Flash content on their devices, limiting the sites they can fully surf.

So what is a marketer to do to ensure that their ads won’t get lost in the battle?  The safest bet is not to put all your eggs in one basket – banking on one technology or device can lead to disaster if customer sentiment suddenly changes or there is a glitch in technology that sends users running straight for the next-best-thing.  While it is important to adapt to changes in technology it is also important to be realistic and understand that changes don’t always occur over night.  Do what is right for your company and your audience; don’t get caught up in any back-and-forth between feuding corporations.  Keep your focus on your customer and you will come out on the other side of this tech war unscathed.

Geolocation-based services are slowly gaining exposure with platforms like FourSquare and Gowalla, but the trend hasn’t completely caught on – yet.  That may soon change if Facebook makes good on the recently speculated launch of a new application that will allow users to share their location via status updates.  The launch may take place as early as this month, though Facebook has yet to confirm.

Though at launch the application will probably only include consumers, marketers will likely be allowed in on the action shortly after.  According to Ad Age, fast food giant McDonalds is already busy creating an app that will allow users to “check-in” at restaurants.  Once “checked-in” to the restaurant, user’s location will then be shared with friends via their Facebook status.  Users may receive some kind of incentive for posting their location, but details of the application are yet to be released.

With the use of social media in marketing on the rise, geolocation technology seems to be a logical addition to the wide repertoire of available marketing strategies.  It brings even more personalization to advertising, allowing marketers to target users based on physical location at any given moment, when they are “checked-in” to the location.  This will give marketers an improved ability to connect with end users at a very personalized level.

The big question that remains is how will users react to this application?  That is yet to be seen, but with today’s obsession with connectedness, it is not a stretch to assume that many users will feel comfortable sharing their location.  And while current geolocation services are seemingly slow to take off, adoption by a trusted social media giant like Facebook may be just the push they need to get off the ground.

2009 wasn’t a good year for businesses but thankfully 2010 is looking up, but to make the most of it, you need to be creative, innovative, and above all, adaptive. The tools of sales and marketing continue to evolve and companies that are changing their marketing strategies with these trends are reaping rewards. Online marketing and digital media can be highly effective ways to engage a larger audience on a lower budget.

For advertising agencies, this adjustment requires that they reinvent themselves. They need to retool their staff, add different core competencies and recognize that they need to provide a different type of service and value to help their clients succeed. They need to take an active role in helping clients understand the opportunities and navigate the changes in the marketing landscape. There is more opportunity than ever for agencies to include metrics and measurement to show that their work is producing results.

Many clients are shifting budgets away from larger advertising firms that are having a hard time changing their business model. They are engaging smaller and more specialized firms or even in-house talent to help create online media and marketing that is in step with today’s trends and technologies. They are taking a more grass-roots approach to connecting with customers through social media and other electronic marketing outlets, taking advantage of the Internet’s constant connectedness and unparalleled opportunities for personalization.

The CMO Council, who’s 5,000 member base accounts for $150 billion in annual marketing expenditures, conducted a survey of about 600 members for its seminal report: “The State Of Marketing: Outlook, Intentions and Investments for 2010.”  In the 46 question survey the council found that:  46 percent of the respondents are investing in digital demand generation and online relationship building, 38 percent are exploring alternative media and new routes to market, and 62 percent will be crunching customer data to improve segmentation and targeting.  Most of this will be undertaken by specialist firms, in-house talent and outsourced service providers.

“Globalization of markets and new channels of digital engagement are causing senior corporate marketers to seek new internal skills and capabilities, and re-direct spend towards more inventive and localized go-to-market programs,” notes Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “The transformation of marketing organizations, practices and functions is well underway. This is being driven by the need to engage at an individual level, create more content relevance, and leverage a new world of crowd-sourcing Internet communities, omnipresent connectivity, and pervasive mobile device ownership.”

When it is all said and done, the future of marketing lies with those who are willing to not only accept, but embrace change.  It is those who can bring fresh and innovative marketing tactics to the table, allowing for a more personalized and relevant connection with consumers that will ultimately succeed in this new era of marketing.

Click here to read more details on the report and download the PDF summary.

Augmented Reality (AR) is gaining more recognition in the industry and will revolutionize the way marketers reach consumers. If you’re not familiar with the term, you may have heard of AR-based projects like Xbox’s 360 Project Natal and Yelp’s Monocle iPhone app.

AR technology is defined as a “live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer-generated imagery, creating a mixed reality.” This intuitive technology can apply to both AR and Mobile AR applications.

So what does this mean for marketers? Let’s get to know AR better.

The latest interactive technology will change online media, shopping and entertainment as we know it. The December 2009 issue of Esquire magazine cover features Robert Downey Jr. But beyond this 2-D realm, it offers an “Augmented Reality issue” experience for readers—downloadable software makes Robert Downey Jr. pop into 3-D life onscreen, interactive with the physical magazine and webcam, while other elements start talking and moving. Watch the video for the full experience:

Retail-based applications like Zugara’s Webcam Social Shopper allow customers to try on clothing virtually and shop online, take pictures of their new looks, and share with friends on Facebook. If they like what they see, they can make the purchase virtually using both AR and Motion Capture technologies—all with the wave of their hand.

And in mobile games like the zombie shooter ARhrrrr, players interactively shoot zombies with their phone, using a real-life map as the battle grounds. Products like Skittles candy can be physically placed on the map and simultaneously used as bombs in the game—an entirely new realm of interactive game playing and product placement.

Mobile location-based AR marketing in applications like Yelp’s Monocle allow users to find area businesses via GPS navigation by simply holding their phone in any particular direction. Nearby Yelp business listings will pop up on-screen, complete with ratings.

AR continually evolves each day, and these examples are merely the beginning of what it may become. The technology looks to bring an entirely new experience to interactive shopping, games, social media marketing, and the consumer buying process.

Are your blog, Twitter feed and e-mail newsletters full of “important,” “relevant,” and “compelling” facts about why your products and services are better than your competitors? Do you make a great case? Lay out all the facts? Drive home the important messages?

You could be chasing away the people you are hoping to engage.

Like the creep at the cocktail party that can’t stop talking about himself, companies that have little to offer beyond traditional “Me, Me, Me” marketing messages are finding little audience and even less engagement in the realm of social media.

These days marketers are all abuzz about social media. They want to find ways to better utilize social media to “harness the groundswell” and “go viral.” The problem is most don’t deliver content that anyone would want to read, much less forward to a friend.

The truth is, most people don’t care that much about your products or your company. And why should they? People go online for information and entertainment – not a sales pitch. If you want to attract and engage their attention, provide content that will trigger their “a-ha” reflex, relieve a pain point or provide some form of entertainment.

In a recent post on CopyBlogger, Sonia Simone discusses how boring, self-serving content has “killed” e-mail marketing:

Self-centered content is dull… I get dozens of messages every day that are so boring and self-centered I can’t be bothered to unsubscribe. I just set up a rule to automatically throw them in the trash as they come in. Or I let them pile up in the spam filter until I feel like deleting 20 or 30 at a time without looking at them.”

Any marketer will tell you they understand the need to provide valuable information online. But what constitutes value? Unless someone is actively researching a purchase, a list of specifications isn’t going to hold much value. Besides, that information is already available on your website.

To be effective in social media, you’ve got to stop selling and simply provide information that offers independent value. Industry trends, interesting anecdotes, helpful tips, links to important content from other sources – anything that your target audience will be excited to read.

Providing content that is relevant but not a direct sales pitch, builds credibility and authority for your business. It creates trust and ongoing engagement. People want your content. They’ll wait for it, open it, read it and forward it on to others.

If you establish and nurture this type of relationship, then when they are ready to make a purchase, they know and trust you, putting you high on their list of potential solutions.