Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Indirect Direct Marketing on the Internet

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, focused on driving purchases that can be attributed to a specific "call-to-action". Direct marketing is distinguished from other marketing efforts by its emphasis on trackable, measurable results (known as "response" in the industry) regardless of medium. … asks the prospect to take a specific action … Direct Marketing (Wikipedia)

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Direct (Postal) Mail to opt-in list with an offer spam selling Viagra Advertisement in newspaper with a call to action That annoying phone call I got while writing this slide... Direct Marketing Examples

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Indirect Marketing Examples Joining a country club and its golf league and other events Speaking at a conference Joining and participating in professional organizations and trade groups Networking Sponsorships

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Social Any offer is incidental, not fundamental -- perhaps more of an “invitation” Based on (building) relationships Emphasis on providing value Build visibility and awareness of yourself and your organization Characteristics of Indirect Marketing

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Blogs Podcasts Social networking sites ( MySpace, Gather, FaceBook, etc.) Viral videos, ebooks, and other exciting “free stuff” Indirect Marketing on The Internet

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Direct? Where does the “direct” come into play? Directly targeting your market, your prospects, your customers, the people you want to influence (in general, forget about buying lists, think viral) Direct? Indirect Marketing on The Internet

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Characteristics: Informal – not marketese or business-speak but conversational Provide value (give until it hurts, then give some more) Social – two way communications, perhaps by enabling “comments” or by using pre- existing social networks to pass messages Successful Indirect Marketing on The Internet (1)

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Successful Indirect Marketing on The Internet (2) Tracking metrics. How else will you know if you’re successful? –They WILL be much different than tracking DM response rates in many ways (you may need to be creative). –Some evangelists essentially say, “ Metrics? We don’t need no Stinking Metrics. It’s just Cool.” Well, I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid.

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Blogs/Podcasts/Videoblogs Social Networks specifics (MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.) “Viral” content like ebooks and videos We’ll look at:

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Communication channel to talk with your marketplace Implemented as a simple Web site or part of a Web site Over 70 Million blogs today on any and all topics What is a Blog?

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Podcast? Videoblog? Podcast – simply a blog where the majority of the content is audio. A key characteristic is that you can subscribe to podcasts. Videoblog, a.k.a. vlog – no surprise, it’s video. Since podcasts and videoblogs ARE blogs we’ll just use the term ‘blog’ on the following pages

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Written in a personal style Frequently updated Most recently added information shown first Allows for feedback and interaction (comments) Blog Characteristics

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, A Typical Blog

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Communicating with your marketplace Adding personality to fairly impersonal “Company” images Establishing yourself as an expert Why Blogs?

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Driving traffic to your Web site (search engines love blogs) Attracting a regular following of readers as blogs are dynamic and interactive Building familiarity Why Blogs (2) ?

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Most traditional marketing techniques Writing endlessly about your products or services Sales letter type material Any “hard sell” type anything Blogs - What Doesn’t Work

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Providing valuable information to your marketplace Occasionally weaving your products and services into the discussion as appropriate Advertising/displaying in the sidebars Blogs - What Does Work

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, A somewhat experienced blogger – “look before you leap” Planning Consistency Conversational Successful Blogs (1)

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Honesty Personal Patience PASSION – the blogger(s) must be passionate on the subject and that passion must show Successful Blogs (2)

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Text – easy to skim, consume at own rate Podcasts – can consume during free “ear time” e.g. while driving, exercising etc. Videoblogs – require eye and ear attention Different people have different preferences, e.g. I love to read and listen but don’t care for video Blogs vs. Podcasts vs. Videoblogs

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Over 70 million blogs – some of them ARE talking about you. You can listen (and join the conversation via comments) easily using blog search engines: Technorati.com, Google Blog Search, icerocket.com, blogdigger.com, etc. Podcasters love to do interviews – maybe of you? Blogs for non-Bloggers

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Not as “hard” or absolute as direct (e)mail marketing metrics. Some simple ones: -Search Engine results – mine improved in 24 hours! -Traffic/visitors -Ask new customers where they came from. Did they find you through your blog? Was it a differentiating factor? Blog Metrics (1)

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Signups to mailing list directly from blog % of subscribers that generate revenue. Average lifetime value of a new subscriber Clickthroughs to salespages Do they come from Web site or blog or elsewhere? What’s the conversion rate? Is it better or worse from Web site/blog/Google/etc? Maybe you should (or should not) test and optimize the salespage for each source? Blog Metrics (2)

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Lots of things you CAN measure Most people measure very little Be creative – what are your blog’s goals and how can you determine success? Blog Metrics (3)

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, We’ll include: Networks like MySpace, Facebook, Gather and more -let you create a profile and connect with “friends” Forums (aka Bulletin or Message Boards) -like a blog where any member can start a discussion List Serves - list that any member can mail to Social Networks

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Similar to Blogs Explicit marketing usually STRONGLY discouraged! Provide value Be “social” Be honest Let your personality show Look before you leap – they are all slightly different. Learn the culture first. Social Network Rules

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, At least not effectively! Pick a Social Network that matches your target audience – e.g. College Students – Facebook.com Demographics keep changing – for example more than 50% of MySpace users are over 35 now. You can’t join them all!

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, MySpace – Oxfam, many rock groups, The Student Loan Network/Financial Aid Podcast, Aquafina, many more Forums – Many wine retailers/importers/etc. monitor/actively post on the Mark Squires Bulletin Board on wine ListServes – I belong to a few related to blogging and marketing Some Examples

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Viral Content – eBooks/Videos/etc. Viral – spreading by word of mouth/mouse “a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily” -Wikipedia More art than science – no one can predict a smash hit To some extent everything we have been discussing has a viral component.

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, “The New Rules of PR” ebook, David Meerman Scott. 150,000 downloads (no registration/ required) A dozen plus paid speaking engagements Now a commercially available book you should read Soon to be a major motion picture (just joking!) Viral Smash Successes (1)

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Mentos/Diet Coke YouTube Videos -Tens of millions of viewings -Now thousands of different videos What would this many advertising impressions cost? Viral Smash Successes (2)

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Google “dull person” first three hits are me, including two blog posts and a press release “Google Crowns Author Ted Demopoulos Dullest Person” A few bloggers and other online sources linked to me Maybe 1000 extra visitors Book sales slightly up, one new client in mentor program Viral Less Than Smash Success

Copyright 2007 Ted Demopoulos, demop.com, Final Thoughts Can’t do everything – pick one or more techniques and concentrate Goal is provide value to your marketplace Unique content & (strong) opinions valued This isn’t direct mail, but you CAN directly communicate and engage your customers, your prospects, your market. What is the ROI of pants or the telephone? Not everything is measurable – but many things are.