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.

YouTube has over 3 billion views every 24 hours.

Think of the influence YouTube has had on musicians, brands and reputations – Justin Bieber, Orabrush and Domino’s Pizza have gone viral via video marketing. As marketers, we need to understand that not everyone is going to be influenced by traditional media alone. With the increase of fan and follower participation through social media, consumers are clearly interested in interacting with brands and businesses.

Video marketing can help enhance your SEO campaigns and maintain a strong social profile. An important aspect of videos is that they can be picked up by both social media and search engines. They can even rank higher than your brand’s website in search engines. “You Tube is actually the biggest social media site […] it’s bigger than Facebook or Twitter” (Scott Imbrie, “6 Best Practices For Small Business YouTube Marketing”, 11.6.2011).

When it comes to video marketing, I say go big or go home. Marketers need to constantly experiment and test ideas. We don’t know what really works until we try. Test and tweak ideas as much as needed to get your consumers excited and involved.  After all, the use of videos is a great way to boost visibility and drive engagement.

When you get a chance, check out this really cool interactive film by Chris Milk ft. the Arcade Fire (built in HTML5) – The Wilderness Downtown

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.

Content marketing is more important than ever before. To ensure that you are getting the most out of your marketing efforts, you must develop a content marketing strategy that is unique, relevant and measurable.

“The goal of delivering exceptional content & stories to engage audiences in a company’s brand and value proposition is not new — but with the growing importance of online marketing and social media to deliver these messages, it has become essential to consider content development (and storytelling) a primary lever within today’s marketing strategy (particularly in B2B)” (Lydia Vogtner, 9.15.11, www.business2community.com).

Take a risk

In this day and age, it is extremely important to be experimental. The goal of content marketing is to be at the top of SEO rankings. Marketers have an obligation to find out what works and what doesn’t for consumers. We will not always be able to sell our ideas to consumers, but we must be able to create deliverable solutions for what they want. To be successful, B2B marketers have to develop a content marketing strategy because it is not a onetime deal – it is an ongoing, reoccurring process that will boost mobile and online media efforts.

Develop unique content

Search marketing is an essential medium for B2B marketers. Organic searches determine what content is original, relevant and engaging. Well-written content also builds the relationships you create with consumers. You do not want your content to be overly messaged – but it is a good idea to develop themes. For example if you host webinars, create a series of topics based around a theme such as mobile marketing. If you develop a popular video series for your website, make sure those videos feed off each other’s content – again as long as it is relevant and engaging.

Promote your social content

In this economy, some marketers are on a tight budget. Here’s the good news – the most popular analytic tools are either relatively cheap like Raven or free – like Google Analytics and AddThis. SEO tools determine the top keywords in searches, but they also have the ability to identify the social media content that people are buzzing about. In addition to tracking the top content, landing pages, referrals, and search engines these SEO tools can provide traffic analytics for the amount of clicks, shares, posts, etc.  Marketers should incorporate social metrics into their content marketing to generate measurable results.

Marketers need to take the plunge and build a relevant marketing strategy that integrates original and engaging content. Think analytically – monitor your content strategy because it is an interactive process that promotes social content and puts your brand at the top of SEO rankings.

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)

In last week’s issue of BtoB Magazine, Christopher Hosford notes that “[w]hile digital increasingly dominates marketing tactics, the rate of adoption for Web analytics solutions has been comparatively slow, according to new study by BtoB.”

B2B Meet Analytics

Despite the slow adoption rate in the B2B community, the use of web analytics is becoming increasingly important as marketers come to understand the impact of analytics on ROI. Google Analytics (a free service) gives B2B marketers the ability to track and analyze web traffic data for their clients. An important feature of the Google Analytics dashboard is that users are able to view statistics about online visitors from mobile devices – which is a great way to monitor and build mobile marketing campaigns.

Keyword Search

Keyword search is extremely important when it comes to leveraging SEO. By building links and creating searchable content, marketers are able to improve their websites and rankings in search engines. Research your keywords – try using the keyword tool from Google AdWords and see which searches are already ranked at the top. When researching keywords keep in mind the following:

• Relevance
• Volume
• Competition

By optimizing high volume and low competition keywords, marketers can maximize results for their efforts.

Social Media Segmentation

Through Google Analytics, marketers can see web traffic data based on sources like Search Engines, Direct Traffic, and Referring Sites. By creating custom segments we can review detailed data and see traffic based on specific social media websites and projects. The top social networks contribute to SEO because of their high rankings in search engines.

Now is the time to start using analytical tools to develop, define, and drive SEO solutions. Continuously share and link your content so that it is distributed beyond your standard demographic.  As Chris Abraham says “[…] if you cannot target your dream customer directly, you can target everyone around him.” …and her…

Many b-to-b organizations have an abundance of technical and practical resources that can help them connect with their customer base. Unfortunately, much of this content is often buried within technical sales presentations and internal documents that only reach customers in one-on-one meetings and trade-event presentations. This exposure is valuable, but the impact evaporates quickly, the information is difficult to share and the reach is limited.

The Shift to Sharing

A fundamental change has occurred in buyer behavior — most now conduct the majority of their product research online. This shift has forever altered b-to-b marketing leadership practices. You can achieve marketing leadership by becoming a trusted resource for strong, practical information.

Large or Small — This Opportunity Also Represents a Threat

If your company is large, with a deep pool of technical resources, you can have a significant advantage. The move from yesterday’s model, however, requires an investment of both manpower and capital. Making resource sharing a priority requires buy-in from the C-suite; they must agree to share more information, endorse the assignment of new accountabilities and approve related spending decisions. So, with the exception of companies with marketing-savvy executives, large companies are proving to be slow to react — creating opportunity for smaller companies to improve their position.

If your company is a smaller, niche player, this type of resource sharing can be equally advantageous. Specialized product and service providers often have a very compelling competitive advantage when speaking to the right prospects. Sharing content in the right way enables customers and prospects to find you more easily. If you don’t claim your space however, you will miss out on buyers searching for your products or services.

Stop Guarding Your “Secrets”

The only people you are hiding your best content from are your customers. Chances are, your competitors already have most of the information you’re afraid to share. Today, you need to leverage your valuable content—through every channel you have at your disposal. This becomes very dynamic, as you link content to and from landing pages, ads, email, websites, blogs, social sites and others. You need a staffing and marketing mechanism in place to provide constant support for information dispersal and management across the web.

PR, DR and Branding — The Walls are Melting

The big difference today, compared to years past,

is that your control is gone—until prospects experience your brand first hand, they build their perceptions based on the results of their online research—from trade magazines, peer reviews, forums, websites and any number of sources. This is why having a strategy for quality content is vital; it is also why PR, advertising, email marketing, social media, paid search and SEO are now so completely intertwined.

Some of the boldest business successes of late come from unveiling what many would regard as a competitive advantage that should be protected. In this way, companies such as Google, Apple, Lynux, WordPress, Amazon and many others have changed the game. People want to do business with approachable, transparent and resource-rich companies—and this often requires a change in the way organizations approach marketing and business. In the age of information, sharing yours is the ideal way to build trust, credibility and brand equity.

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)

Evolve or become the next fossil in the wake of social media and brand management. The days of sitting in the ivory tower on a pile of cash are over, you’ve got to be with the masses in the muck to get any kind of footing in the new business of curating the attention of others.

But how?

Be a thought leader, become a peer, and transform your brand into a competitive, free-content driven resource for others to utilize. “It used to be so easy when dollars equaled dominance, but now there’s a digital fly in the ointment,” (Brand Week, 4.4.11, p. 12) and that fly is causing huge ripples for brands.

It’s all well and good to be a big dog brand but without drawing people’s focused attention to your content, a big old fossilized dog your brand will become. Content can be bought but the reality is content is generated every second by a spectrum of free agents, and catering to and providing for that new power is essential.

It is important now to bolster one’s in-house talents and recruit those well-versed in generating interest in the new way — social media. Whether brands adapt or not, those who are watching them are most likely tweeting, facebooking and blogging about them — after all “a person’s a person no matter how small” (thanks Dr. Seuss).

Welcome to National Poetry Month!

Each April, the Academy of American Poets celebrates poetry and its vital place in American culture. The first Poetry Month was inaugurated in 1996 and has caught the attention of numerous government agencies and officials along with educational figures, publishers, artists and (of course) poets.

We’re showing our poetic passion this month by participating in an SEO Poetry Slam contest organized by the editors at SEOBoy.com. The contest invites online marketing practitioners to compose a haiku about Search Engine Optimization. A haiku is a form of Japanese poetry consisting of 17 syllables assembled in three lines of 5-7-5.

Here’s where you come in. We’ll be posting SEO haikus throughout the month on the LoSasso Advertising Facebook Page. At the end of April, we’ll submit the poem that our fans have deemed the best through Likes and Comments. So let us know what you think! And if you catch the poetry bug, feel free to join in by tweeting us, commenting on this post, or posting on the Facebook page.

Here’s our first haiku, just to get the poetic posturing percolating.

Search Engines. Look.
Have you seen my website? It’s great!
Fine, I’ll get more links.

Another windy morning in Chicago last Thursday ushered in an intrepid LoSasso quartet to The Drake Hotel. Awaiting LoSasso President, Scott LoSasso and Vice President, Mark Hollingsworth were professors from colleges and universities around the Midwest, plumbing the depths of LoSasso’s interactive marketing expertise at the 2011 Spring Marketing Management Association Conference. The talk was organized by Don Jones and resulted in great dialogue between area professors and our LoSasso team.

The presentation addressed changes in the marketing industry and what businesses are looking for in new hires, especially those undergraduates hot off the presses. Particular attention was paid to content driven interaction: the driving force behind creating a space for consumers to interact with one another and with businesses. Industry forums and social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare) have become the new quilting circle or local watering hole where information is readily exchanged, available and digested at a rapid pace.

The message was clear: the toolbox has changed but the fundamental principles of marketing have stayed the same. Developing a relationship with a client is still at the core of those principles; it is the way in which we enhance that relationship that has grown to include social media, SEO (search engine optimization) and the need to build a presence both physically and virtually for every client.

Frequent and consistent messaging continues to be of utmost importance but a close second is the need for silos within businesses to break down. More than ever, direct marketing and public relations are completely meshed together: communications and marketing departments have to interface constantly to maintain that consistent messaging for optimal success in their campaigns.

The discussion was also centered around best practices for hiring and what makes a new hire successful. Scott LoSasso initiated the conversation by outlining optimal job candidates that contribute to a team work environment. Incoming new hires are strong writers, positive team players, involved in an array of social media platforms, creative thinkers and detail-oriented. For more information about skill sets businesses look for in new hires, visit iMedia Connection.

Thank you to the Marketing Management Association, Don Jones, The Drake Hotel and all in attendance for a great open discussion about our evolving industry!