A while back I attended Adtech in San Francisco; April to be exact. Between product launches and my family, it has taken me this long to write about one of my experiences there. Yes, there were lots of great sessions on social media, video marketing, SEO etc... but the one that I remember most was on maximizing my time. It was a session given by Adam Boettiger on Digital minimalism.
As a web marketer, I find my skills are in high demand both in and outside of the office. Which typically means I always have more items to do than time. Evidently, I wasn't the only one in the room with this problem. Here are some Adam's thoughts that I find most useful in balancing my work on the web with living my life.
1. Go dark (digitally) for 1 hour a day. Use this time for planning or working on a task you have been putting off.
2. Schedule time for solitude. Give yourself time to think.
3. Stay focused. Eliminate distractions and STOP multitasking. There have been a number of stories lately that multitasking doesn't really work. It merely means you are trying to do multiple things and doing none of them well.
4. Use email more effectively. Send less email. He had a great statistic here that I found amazing. For every email you send out plan on getting three in return. So if you want to get less email; send less. This hit home with me and has caused me to change my behavior especially with questions. IM is my application of choice for things like questions, or double checking a number etc....
5. Brevity is king for email. Try to send 6 sentences or less in your emails.
6. Use text email. No graphics.
7. Always follow up. There were a number of agency folks in the room asking about contacting clients following up etc. Adam's answer was spot on. He told a short story about how he follows up with people. Send them an email. If you don't hear back from them then call them the next day. Keep trying different ways of communicating with them and follow up promptly. I have used this since his talk and no one has complained and in some cases the folks on the other end felt relieved that I called them and we could put the issue to rest. The other take away was that when someone is contacting you don't put off getting back to them. If you aren't interested tell them that and move on. That is unless you want them to follow up with you every day. ;-)
While none of the items were revelations they are all very useful and have made a difference in how productive I am. Check out Adam's website at digitalminimalism.com and or try some of the items that stuck with me. You have nothing to lose and you could really make your work life (and possibly home life) just a little easier. Let me know your thoughts.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Website Audits - Are you doing them?
Website audits are often overlooked in the world of web marketing. Yet they are almost as important as posting your content on the web. These audits are usually left to summer interns or temporary employees with a few extra cycles. With the increased focus on the web and the amount of web content growing exponentially having scheduled intervals for website audits has never been more important.
There are a number of levels to a website audits. At the most basic level an audit can consist of making sure pages load correctly in a variety of browsers and that videos play and graphics load. At the most advanced level, website audits can include page metrics, page download speed checks, use of ALT tags and advanced SEO audits.
When trying to decide what you want to audit on your site you have a variety if checklist items to choose from. I think the following items should be included in any website audit.
Meta tags
Check the meta tags for each page that you are auditing. Ensure that you have your title tag, keyword and description properly completed. This is a good time to review any keyword changes you wish to make and ensure you are using a often searched term. If you do change your keyword, don't forget to optimized your page text for the new term.
Page Content
Check your web copy to ensure that if you are using dates that any "old" material is either updated or renewed. There is nothing more disconcerting for users than to navigate to a page only to find references to "new" items that have a date associated with them from the last decade. Remember that for something to be news implies that it is new. You should consider removing content that is more than 6 months old and any case studies that are more than 18 months old.
It is also a good idea to use an ALT tag when you have graphics on your pages so that search engines or other applications have a description of what graphic is posted.
This is also a good time to make any changes to the design of your pages; use metrics to ensure that you making data driven decisions about any page changes. Your page should be useful to the visitor first and foremost.
Making pages visitor friendly also includes using short blocks of copy that are easily scanned. Some editors suggest using paragraphs with no more than 300 characters and a maximum of 1800 characters per page.
Update any old photos or graphics that are not in line with your brand.
Ensure that there is a main purpose for your page and make sure that the action you expect the user to take is prominent on the page. Know and understand what you want the user to do and ask for it by making that the easiest task on the page.
Performance
Use an application to measure page download time. Ensure that your pages can be downloaded quickly. Don't underestimate the importance of page that can be downloaded quickly. Page download time can greatly affect the numbers of visitors who download and stay on your pages.
Check for broken links on your page and fix them immediately.
Summary
Site audits can keep your pages relevant and well used. The first steps in getting started with a website audit are choosing what to audit and creating an audit schedule. With these two items identified you are ready to get started A page that is up-to-date and focused on the visitor's task is often a rare find on the web today. Reward your visitors with a visitor focused page that is current and relevant.
Let me know your thoughts around website audits. Let's share our ideas and create a really good checklist.
Some good sites and website audits;
One example of a website audit checklist;
http://www.groundspring.org/training/presentations/session-6-5.pdf
This site has a list that addresses a number of the important categories;
http://www.internetmarketinggroup.com/website-audit.html
Fairly complete website audit checklist;
http://www.kelie.com/services_analysis.html
There are a number of levels to a website audits. At the most basic level an audit can consist of making sure pages load correctly in a variety of browsers and that videos play and graphics load. At the most advanced level, website audits can include page metrics, page download speed checks, use of ALT tags and advanced SEO audits.
When trying to decide what you want to audit on your site you have a variety if checklist items to choose from. I think the following items should be included in any website audit.
Meta tags
Check the meta tags for each page that you are auditing. Ensure that you have your title tag, keyword and description properly completed. This is a good time to review any keyword changes you wish to make and ensure you are using a often searched term. If you do change your keyword, don't forget to optimized your page text for the new term.
Page Content
Check your web copy to ensure that if you are using dates that any "old" material is either updated or renewed. There is nothing more disconcerting for users than to navigate to a page only to find references to "new" items that have a date associated with them from the last decade. Remember that for something to be news implies that it is new. You should consider removing content that is more than 6 months old and any case studies that are more than 18 months old.
It is also a good idea to use an ALT tag when you have graphics on your pages so that search engines or other applications have a description of what graphic is posted.
This is also a good time to make any changes to the design of your pages; use metrics to ensure that you making data driven decisions about any page changes. Your page should be useful to the visitor first and foremost.
Making pages visitor friendly also includes using short blocks of copy that are easily scanned. Some editors suggest using paragraphs with no more than 300 characters and a maximum of 1800 characters per page.
Update any old photos or graphics that are not in line with your brand.
Ensure that there is a main purpose for your page and make sure that the action you expect the user to take is prominent on the page. Know and understand what you want the user to do and ask for it by making that the easiest task on the page.
Performance
Use an application to measure page download time. Ensure that your pages can be downloaded quickly. Don't underestimate the importance of page that can be downloaded quickly. Page download time can greatly affect the numbers of visitors who download and stay on your pages.
Check for broken links on your page and fix them immediately.
Summary
Site audits can keep your pages relevant and well used. The first steps in getting started with a website audit are choosing what to audit and creating an audit schedule. With these two items identified you are ready to get started A page that is up-to-date and focused on the visitor's task is often a rare find on the web today. Reward your visitors with a visitor focused page that is current and relevant.
Let me know your thoughts around website audits. Let's share our ideas and create a really good checklist.
Some good sites and website audits;
One example of a website audit checklist;
http://www.groundspring.org/training/presentations/session-6-5.pdf
This site has a list that addresses a number of the important categories;
http://www.internetmarketinggroup.com/website-audit.html
Fairly complete website audit checklist;
http://www.kelie.com/services_analysis.html
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Planning a Virtual Event - Looking Back
Planning a virtual event determines its success. Knowing what to do and when to do it can greatly affect the success of your event. I have identified five areas that you should think about while planning your next virtual event. If you have others please share them.
A few weeks ago our marketing team put on a virtual event. We had some great successes in this project and there were some things which I would do much differently next time around. I want to share my thoughts and hear from you on your experiences with this medium as well.
1. Planning. These events take tons of planning and doing it yourself will require lots of effort so partner with others if you can; events teams, PR, and marcom all are good partners to look for when putting on a virtual event. Also, if you are less than 90 days away from your event and haven't started planning you may be behind. Planning and executing your promotional activities will take time. Promotional items like banners, newsletter links and industry calendars can take a while for placement. Not to mention the fact that you will need to have an idea of who will be presenting and what they will talk about to do your promotions. A six month head start is the best case scenario. You can definitely do it in a shorter timeframe but you will probably need to set other projects aside.
2. Content. Timely and relavent content is another key factor. If you can get a well known speaker in a field, do it. Next to promotion, key speakers and topics are some of the most important items to get for an event. Review your event goals with the speakers so they understand what you are trying to accomplish with the event. They can help you with your event goal if they know what it is. Plan ahead with content templates and style guidelines so you can share them with the speakers prior to them creating their presentation. Meet with the speakers prior to the event to make sure you can answer their questions and make them feel more comfortable about what will happen on the day of the event.
3. After the event. Plan for what you want to attendees to do after the event; is it visit a landing page or have attendees contacted by sales teams, etc... Don't wait till after the event to figure this out. Warm leads aren't warm for long. Custom landing pages on your website can be a great tool for keeping the interaction going with event attendees. You can provide additional information, host videos by the speakers, present flash demos, etc... all are good ways to engage attendees after your event. The point here is don't let all your hard work go to waste by not thinking about what you want attendees to do after the event.
4. Send invitations out to people who will care. Inviting large numbers of potential attendees is important but make sure the attendees you invite are your target audience. If you have buy or rent a list it can be expensive so make sure you have a very specific audience identified for your event. Click through rates can be less than 2-3% for invitations so plan accordingly. To some degree the success of your event will be driven by identifying your audience or target market prior to the event and then using that information to drive who you invite, where you promote and how you promote your event.
5. Do a postmortem on your event. Make sure you plan to review all aspects of your event after it has taken place. This helps ensure that you set up ways to measure each step along the way. For example did all the lists you used perform equally towards your goal? Did attendees stay to the end of each session or did some speakers turn the audience off completely? How many attendees visited your landing page? Did the web page serve its purpose? These are just a sample of the items you might track. Having the measurement tools in place prior to the event is critical as some metrics cannot be gather after the fact.
Planning is critical for any virtual event. Knowing what and when do certain things can help you plan a successful event. What types of things do you use to plan your virtual events?
A few weeks ago our marketing team put on a virtual event. We had some great successes in this project and there were some things which I would do much differently next time around. I want to share my thoughts and hear from you on your experiences with this medium as well.
1. Planning. These events take tons of planning and doing it yourself will require lots of effort so partner with others if you can; events teams, PR, and marcom all are good partners to look for when putting on a virtual event. Also, if you are less than 90 days away from your event and haven't started planning you may be behind. Planning and executing your promotional activities will take time. Promotional items like banners, newsletter links and industry calendars can take a while for placement. Not to mention the fact that you will need to have an idea of who will be presenting and what they will talk about to do your promotions. A six month head start is the best case scenario. You can definitely do it in a shorter timeframe but you will probably need to set other projects aside.
2. Content. Timely and relavent content is another key factor. If you can get a well known speaker in a field, do it. Next to promotion, key speakers and topics are some of the most important items to get for an event. Review your event goals with the speakers so they understand what you are trying to accomplish with the event. They can help you with your event goal if they know what it is. Plan ahead with content templates and style guidelines so you can share them with the speakers prior to them creating their presentation. Meet with the speakers prior to the event to make sure you can answer their questions and make them feel more comfortable about what will happen on the day of the event.
3. After the event. Plan for what you want to attendees to do after the event; is it visit a landing page or have attendees contacted by sales teams, etc... Don't wait till after the event to figure this out. Warm leads aren't warm for long. Custom landing pages on your website can be a great tool for keeping the interaction going with event attendees. You can provide additional information, host videos by the speakers, present flash demos, etc... all are good ways to engage attendees after your event. The point here is don't let all your hard work go to waste by not thinking about what you want attendees to do after the event.
4. Send invitations out to people who will care. Inviting large numbers of potential attendees is important but make sure the attendees you invite are your target audience. If you have buy or rent a list it can be expensive so make sure you have a very specific audience identified for your event. Click through rates can be less than 2-3% for invitations so plan accordingly. To some degree the success of your event will be driven by identifying your audience or target market prior to the event and then using that information to drive who you invite, where you promote and how you promote your event.
5. Do a postmortem on your event. Make sure you plan to review all aspects of your event after it has taken place. This helps ensure that you set up ways to measure each step along the way. For example did all the lists you used perform equally towards your goal? Did attendees stay to the end of each session or did some speakers turn the audience off completely? How many attendees visited your landing page? Did the web page serve its purpose? These are just a sample of the items you might track. Having the measurement tools in place prior to the event is critical as some metrics cannot be gather after the fact.
Planning is critical for any virtual event. Knowing what and when do certain things can help you plan a successful event. What types of things do you use to plan your virtual events?
Monday, January 17, 2011
It is Time for Marketing to Fully Embrace Analytics
More and more marketing efforts are applying metrics to gauge their success or failure. This trend is not stopping and metrics will become a critical requirement in ensuring marketing has a seat at the key decision maker's table.
Forrester recently published a paper on Lead to Revenue Management for Tech Marketing that takes a look into making revenue the focal point of marketing activities. In my opinion, this has been too long in coming. Many marketing efforts are content to focus on merely getting leads; regardless of the quality. This type of measurement usually leads to a lead quantity game. Sales organization typically despise these types of activities as they have little time to track down poor quality leads. The Forrester paper mentions that marketing should be more responsible for nurturing leads as well. This would definitely keep marketing organizations focused on attaining quality leads. By having marketing teams focus on revenue as opposed to merely lead gathering their strategies and approaches to marketing efforts should become more outcome driven. However, tying marketing to close to sales is not without its own issues.
These issues include marketing focusing on more short term goals and not thinking about the lifetime value of a customer. All too often sale teams are focused on their quarterly numbers and it is marketing who represents the long term view of the market and customer. It is critical that marketing not lose that view. In addition, measuring revenue against marketing activities can be difficult. This is an issue that the Forrester report doesn't cover that much. Tying revenue to marketing activities is difficult in that marketing efforts often move potential customers through different stages of the sales cycle and this process takes time.
Depending on how long the sales cycle is can determine how marketing efforts to revenue should be measured. But for organizations that don't have the sales process from lead to conversion completely mapped out measuring marketing to revenue is almost impossible. Marketo has written a number white papers which address this issue of marketing to revenue and time. I recommend this one as a good read before starting a measurement program.
Ultimately, measuring the impact to sales of marketing efforts can help with forecasts. Predictive models can help sales, manufacturing and even CMOs work together to help drive the business. The time for marketing efforts to be better to tied to sales is now. The fun really begins in choosing a model that takes into account both the time of sale funnel and the methods of nurturing customers through the process. It may be a long journey to get to a predictive marketing model but it is a journey we should start now.
What are your thoughts?
Forrester recently published a paper on Lead to Revenue Management for Tech Marketing that takes a look into making revenue the focal point of marketing activities. In my opinion, this has been too long in coming. Many marketing efforts are content to focus on merely getting leads; regardless of the quality. This type of measurement usually leads to a lead quantity game. Sales organization typically despise these types of activities as they have little time to track down poor quality leads. The Forrester paper mentions that marketing should be more responsible for nurturing leads as well. This would definitely keep marketing organizations focused on attaining quality leads. By having marketing teams focus on revenue as opposed to merely lead gathering their strategies and approaches to marketing efforts should become more outcome driven. However, tying marketing to close to sales is not without its own issues.
These issues include marketing focusing on more short term goals and not thinking about the lifetime value of a customer. All too often sale teams are focused on their quarterly numbers and it is marketing who represents the long term view of the market and customer. It is critical that marketing not lose that view. In addition, measuring revenue against marketing activities can be difficult. This is an issue that the Forrester report doesn't cover that much. Tying revenue to marketing activities is difficult in that marketing efforts often move potential customers through different stages of the sales cycle and this process takes time.
Ultimately, measuring the impact to sales of marketing efforts can help with forecasts. Predictive models can help sales, manufacturing and even CMOs work together to help drive the business. The time for marketing efforts to be better to tied to sales is now. The fun really begins in choosing a model that takes into account both the time of sale funnel and the methods of nurturing customers through the process. It may be a long journey to get to a predictive marketing model but it is a journey we should start now.
What are your thoughts?
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