Sellers Marking Online

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

80 More Days

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Friday, October 13, 2006

Online Video Ads: The WEBSTREAMERS Company

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photo (below) credit: http://www.wasp-factory.com/waspfactory/TV/TV%20screen.gif

Distracting? Well it's about time to get used to it. This article discusses an interesting new technology, that of online streaming video advertisements. As television commercials continue to get the attention of less and less consumers because of the remote control and products like TIVO, the medium of offline video has become less and less popular. In July 2006, the online business WEBSTREAMERS announced itself as the solution; online video commercials can now be displayed without significantly slowing down your browser.

Video, a fusion of audio and rapidly moving still images, usually anywhere from twelve(web) to twenty-four(full length motion picture) fps or frames per second, is claimed as being able to “ ‘reach customers on a new level.’” I agree and disagree. I agree because video is more attractive to me than a billboard or radio ad, because video combines the two mediums. Therefore, putting that medium online will be more effective than some other less sensually stimulating mediums. However, I’m not so sure how "new" the level will be. Television is this medium and has been around for years. The new level must therefore deal primarily with ad placement. For example, if a conservative republication politician wants to increase brand awareness(he himself is the brand), he will probably not put his ad on a liberal talk show, much less a pro-choice website forum. However he may place the online video ad on a conservative republican forum or NRA site-a more or less accurate but nevertheless common stereotype. In this way, I think that marketers can more specifically target their audience via the web than the television.

In addition and as alluded to in my weblog last week, the Internet is a "sit-forward" medium-to paraphrase. In order for me to get information or entertainment on the web, I must be active in seeking. Contrarily, the television is a "slouch-back" medium; I do not have to be actively engaged; I can turn on the television and sit there quite lazily. Video is by no means new, but the ability to tap into highly specifc segments with video is.

Marketers are excited about the online medium of video, especially those representing car dealerships, doctors, politicians, and consultants. The article states that marketing through video creates a more personal connection with customers. How it does that exactly the article does not discuss. Nevertheless, online video commercials seem to be the beginning of a richer online marketing experience.

Peace to you,

Tyler

Friday, October 06, 2006

Web Videos

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photo (below) credit: http://www.unitedavg.com/assets/images/LS006118_275.jpg

Web Video Takes Off, Ads Trail.

The author of this article, Louis Hau, begins by discussing the recent high attraction of web videos. Sites like Youtube.com and Revver.com are capitalizing on this phenomenon. Banner and sidebar ads on Youtube.com and post-roll video ads on Revver.com are the main way by which marketers are reaching the increasing population of online video-watchers.

Companies like General Electric, Warner Music Group, NBC Universal, and News Corp are just a few of the main players who are using the above websites as “brand channels.” They are not doing so for free. The article states that “while a 30-second ad during a prime-time broadcast TV show typically fetches a CPM rate of about $20, a 15- or 30-second online video ad currently commands a CPM of around $20 to $50.” However, these companies are justifying these expenses because of the following: U.S. online video advertising is expected to total $385 million in 2006, up 71% from last year – as predicted by emarketer; online video is what marketers call a “lean-forward” medium – that is, users are actively searching for and taking in the content in front of them, instead of just slumping over on a couch and watching television for example.

Something I was not aware of is the fact that video advertisements are usually paired with banner ads. This makes so much sense, but when considering video advertisements as a possible medium for my personal music promotion, I did not take this into account. After reading this article, I was inspired to make a Youtube.com and Revver.com account in order to promote my music.

One particularly important point of the article was the idea of not being too intrusive with video advertising. There is some sort of unwritten law about how long such an advertisement should be and where it should be placed. To maintain an image of being “non-intrusive” with ads, a firm must not let his ads be more than 20 or 30 seconds. As mentioned before and in addition, Revver.com is featuring ads at the end of the videos and these ads can only be viewed with the viewer’s content (i.e. the viewer must click on the ad). Such ethical thinking is quite helpful, maybe not in getting more people to view one’s advertisements, but certainly in maintaining or even establishing a attitude and image that says, “I highly value the online web video viewer and his or her time.”

Peace to you,

Tyler Somers

Friday, September 29, 2006

“The mistake 95% of affiliate marketers are making..."

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photo (below) credit: http://www.advancedlinkmanager.com/images/logo-screen-schots.gif

Firstly, I think that I must define affiliate marketing. It is a term with which I had no familiarity before reading the article. This is not good because I’m a senior marketing major at the University of Delaware, a school that has a great reputation in the business program. Nevertheless, online affiliate marketing involves linking one’s website to the website of another, usually for the purpose of ecommerce. Commissions are given to affiliates based on the quantity, price, and type of items purchased. Such an affiliate may choose to have his site feature the links of many products, firms, and industries, just a few, or one. How much time an affiliate wants to invest in this online business has a high correlation with how much profit he or she may make.

The article states that before entering this specific sect of online marketing, one should do a good amount of research. The main two researched topics are (or should be) as follows:

1. What type of product will be featured? Should there be more than one?

2. What commission percentage will one obtain from a certain affiliate program?

And while these researched topics are very important, there is usually one very important detail missing for most affiliate marketers - as the title of the article states for 95% of them. The answer is found in bold letters, where the author simply writes, "the capture page." The idea is this: one can set up a pre-sale list of information about the product and then ask the potential customer to enter his or her name and email address. From there, the affiliate builds a customer base and is therefore able to contact them in the future about similar or different products. Setting this up is not too difficult; all that is really needed for success is a good autoresponder program.

The article ends by emphasizing a common practice which includes friendliness and willingness to help in almost every situation. If the morale of one’s affiliate marketing based company is high, then customers will trust that company’s suggestion about certain products.

Thank you and peace to you,

Tyler Somers

Friday, September 22, 2006

Bring them back

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photo (below) credit: http://www.ourplacedc.org/images/clip_image002_000.gif

Bring them back...

This article is a great resource for any real estate broker, but the principles discussed in it are applicable to many more industries. Michael Antoniak, the author, begins by talking about the current predicament facing online real estate brokerage firms, which is battling for loyal online customers, or (as the title of the article clearly says) “[bringing] them back.” Antoniak then cites specific examples of what some companies are doing to be successful with such customer retention.

The author first discusses some online tools utilized by broken-owner Hector Rivera. I visited Rivera’s site. It looks pretty slick, yet simple. There are good visuals, including a slide show, a toolbar concisely labeled, and the company’s logo in the top left hand corner. The company’s contact information can be found opposite the logo. Under the “Resources” tab are certain interesting links; one of which is labeled “Daily News and Advice,” encouraging daily visitation for prospective sellers. Additionally, Antoniak makes a point to state the significance of knowing one’s local community and Rivera’s site pays tribute to this principle quite well. Under the “Community” tab, there are links for “Community Profiles,” “Area Schools,” “Community Links,” and “Request An Area Guide” – useful and meaningful links for any potential buyer who wishes to better understand his or her community.

In my opinion, the most interesting tool is an amortization calculator featured on the website of broker-owner Mike Bradley, of Metro Brokers Eagleview Properties LLC; the calculator can be found here . This tool attracts online users by allowing them to test out different numbers in the calculator and see what might best suit them.

The article ends by essentially stating that websites are only as good as the company behind the website. One can have the best tools of online marketing at his or her disposal, yet if principles like integrity are not there, customers may only come back to a website as long as they have not conducted business with that company. Thus, the website should reflect a business’s best qualities. Lots of different tools are then listed.

Peace to you and God bless,

Tyler Somers

Friday, September 15, 2006

Law Firms and Online Marketing Mistakes

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photo (below) credit: http://www.daymarcollege.edu/images/gavel.jpg

Even though you might not consider a law firm to a business entity that concerns itself with selling products and services, they almost certainly are, needing to “sell” their business to prospective clients. This article discusses the marketing for these law firms. Essentially the article reads like a list of “thou shalt not” commandments. I will discuss the majority of such commandments; all pertain to law firm websites (online marketing).

The first “commandment” deals with listing a firm’s won cases or success stories on their website. If I was the head of a firm, I would have a detailed list of these cases, with links to website articles relating to the cases and a pdf of the court document signed by the judge – or something similar. “Potential clients look for examples of [the law firm’s] work.” Additionally, I believe that if “won cases” are displayed, all cases should be displayed. I believe in marketing the whole firm, its successes and its failures, being as truthful as possible. When one does this, he brings integrity to his business. The phrase “you’re only as great as your biggest mistake” comes to mind.

The second point deals with listing clients on their websites. Again, I agree one hundred percent with the author of the article. Why firms do not do this is beyond me. Potential clients should know whether or not they would fit in with the law firm. A company like Microsoft might want to re-consider law firms whose clients consist solely of mom and pop stores.

All of these commandments are similar in that they focus on establishing the firm’s reputation, positioning the firm. As the article continues, things like website aesthetics and old information are discussed in greater detail. All of these points should be considered before publishing a website; some even apply to businesses other than law firms. The article helped make tangible some pretty common-sense ideas, which is quite beneficial for any online marketer.

Thank you,

Tyler Somers