Superb internet marketing community & FREE industry reports (no catch!)

I wanted to draw you attention to a FREE resource for those of you who want to benefit from a community of the world’s digital marketing and ecommerce professionals. Econsultancy exists to help its members “sharpen their strategy, source suppliers, get quick answers, compare notes, help each other out and discover how to do everything better online.” I have to say that it is a great source of independent advice and insight on digital marketing and ecommerce.

imho there’s no shortage of marketing opinion online, but being ten years and with 71,000 marketers Econsultancy is pretty special.  Bronze membership is FREE and there is more info here.

These are complimentary reports you get for free upon joining (there’s another 20+ too!).  Great, er, value!

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Online PR Industry Benchmarking Report

By Michelle Goodall and Aliya Zaidi, December 2008

Overview Authors: Michelle Goodall and Aliya Zaidi Pages: 35 Features: Survey-based research about the Online PR Industry, with expert input from respected industry commentators.

Digital Outsourcing Survey Report

By Econsultancy, December 2008

This report, produced in association with Lemon Digital Production, is aimed at agencies who are interested in the business case and challenges associated with outsourcing digital work.

SEO Supplier Showcase November 2008

November 2008

Online Customer Engagement Report 2009

By Econsultancy, November 2008

The third annual Online Customer Engagement Report has been produced in partnership with cScape. This research is based on a survey of 1,300 respondents carried out in September and October 2008.

Email Marketing Briefing – November 2008

By Econsultancy, November 2008

This free, 12-page briefing contains a write-up of an E-consultancy roundtable on Email Marketing held in autumn 2008.

Comparison Shopping Engines Survey Report 2008

By Econsultancy, October 2008

This DoubleClick-sponsored research is based on a survey of retailers and agencies carried out in August and September 2008, with the aim of understanding more about the use of comparison shopping.

Paid Search Marketing Supplier Showcase October 2008

October 2008

Paid Search Briefing – October 2008

By Econsultancy, October 2008

This free, 12-page briefing contains a write-up of an E-consultancy roundtable on Paid Search.

Affiliate Marketing Briefing – October 2008

By Econsultancy, October 2008

This free, 11-page briefing contains a write-up of an E-consultancy roundtable on Affiliate Marketing.

Measurement, Analytics and Optimisation Briefing – October 2008

By Econsultancy, September 2008

This free, 12-page briefing contains a write-up of an E-consultancy roundtable on Measurement, Analytics and Optimisation.

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The Services Econsultancy Provide:

Reports: Econsultancy is an award-winning online publisher of reports covering best practice, user experience benchmarking, market data, supplier selection, template files, trends and innovation aimed at internet professionals who want practical advice on all aspects of e-business.

Training, Learning & Development: Econsultancy operates a highly popular training division, used by the world’s leading brands for staff education, both in-house and via public courses. We provide training across all areas of digital marketing and ecommerce and at all levels from accredited one day courses to formal qualifications including diplomas and a Masters in Digital Marketing.

Events: Econsultancy hosts over 100 events a year, including conferences such as the Online Marketing Masterclasses, Future of Digital Marketing and Digital Cream as well as regular Supplier Showcases, Roundtables, the annual Innovation Awards and a range of social events.

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Free memberships of marketing clubs, and online resources are ten a penny.  You just have to surf, or browse LinkedIn groups to see that.  But Econsultancy is very different.  I’d highly recommend you join if you are an internet professional who wants practical advice on all aspects of e-business.

Filed under: Affiliate Marketing, Analyst, Analytics, Blogging, Branding, Business, Buzz, CRM, Customer Experience, Design, Direct Mail, Email, Events, Media, Mobile, Online, Planning, Research, SEO, SEO / SEM, Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media, Strategy, Usability, User Generated Content, Viral, Web, Web2.0, digital, marketing, technology, web 2.0 , development, ecommerce, Econsultancy, Events, Free, learning, reports, Strategy, training

Google looks to measure ‘influence’ and the ‘influencers’

Dirk van Graver at “Record | Preserve | Share” has commented on a business week article that asks us to imagine one number that sums up how influential we are.  It is a subject I discussed some time ago, when I was craving a golden ratio in relation to social networking.

Back then I said;

It is pretty obvious Trust would be a great dimension for social networks to embrace. So would Influence or Buzz (or both). And when elements like this are developed I believe Social Networks will be onto something very significant indeed.

If you didn’t follow the link, according to the Business Week piece, Google has a patent pending “for ranking the most influential people on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.”

It is a great idea.  Clearly if this works, it would finally make adverts on social networks relevant and potentially profitable.

It would seem (if the report is to be believed) that Google is applying the same approach to social networks that it has used to dominate the online search business (it would be like a page rank).  Apparently the Google approach would take into account all manner of aspects of influence, from ‘how many’ people you know, to ‘how frequently’ you talk with them, to ‘how strongly’ they value your opinion.  So your ’score’ could be compared with that of pretty much anyone in the world.  A personal Google ‘influence score’ if you like.

Hear are my hopes and fears:

FEAR #1: I worry that if an influence score is used to justify, or generate a monitization strategy for social networking sites, the emphasis on what constitutes ‘influence’ must start on a sound footing.  This is an area that I really don’t want to see messed up – as I’m not sure many social networking sites can withstand high profile failures at monitization.

FEAR # 2:  If influence is measured by Google, (or anyone else) surely everyone will be able to find their (or their companies, or their competitors) biggest advocates or doomsayers?  Yes?  Well I cannot see that happening accurately.  I would be very surprised if your biggest influencers are known by you (i.e connected to you) and so how do Google propose to measure or track that?  And in fact, surely influencers by definition are 3rd parties (i.e. are unconnected to you) in the first place?

Hey, maybe I missed something and that is the whole reason why Google is exploring this.

Which brings me on to my great hope.

Hope #1: I hope how ‘many’ people you know (‘follow’, ‘connect’ with, ‘add’ as a friend) is not closely related to your degree of influence.  Those fools who have adopted a strategy of following ‘en-masse’ in Twitter (in the hope that a high percentage will return the favour) must not be seen by advertising buyers and sellers as ‘influencial’.  They are not.  Bob with 1000 friends is not necessarily more influential than Susan with just 85.

Equally seniority isn’t the be-all either.  John the 46 year old bachelor & CEO is not necessarily more influential than Raphael the 28 year old IT Manager, who is a father of two.  And postcode xyz, doesn’t bear higher influencers than postcode 123, in the same way that an OxBridge student shouldn’t be seen as more influencial that a 2:2 student from a ‘lesser’ ranked university.  My hope is that an influence algorithm doesn’t arbitrarily look at volumes and a set of pre-determined values and rules.

Influence is, I believe, far more multi dimensional and complex than that.

If this becomes a reality what are your hopes and fears for ‘Influencer’ tracking?  I’d love to here your views.

Filed under: Business, Buzz, Facebook, Google, Ideas and Riffs, Influence, Measurement, Online, Social Graphs, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Web2.0, ideas, marketing, technology, trust, web 2.0 , Branding, Business Week, Google, Influence, Personal Brand, ranking, Social Networking, Twitter

1000 Paintings on youtube

Regular readers will remember I have posted about the One Thousand Paintings project before; here and here in fact.  I even bought my own 956.

There is now a Google Tech Talk video about the project, which really demystifies the whole thing, and adds a tonne more too.

Filed under: Art, Buzz, Cool, Fun, ideas, marketing , Art, art project, Education, engedu, Google, googletechtalks, One Thousand Paintings, paintings for sale, talk, talks, techtalk, techtalks

The word of Mouth Manual: Volume II

ChangeThis wrote to me today with a special offer from Dave Balter.  Dave is the author of “The Word on Word of Mouth,” a manifesto they published in 2004.

The creator of BzzAgent, co-founder of WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) and author of THE GRAPEVINE, Dave has a new book out. It is entitled THE WORD OF MOUTH MANUAL: VOLUME II, and in an rather unorthodox move, he has decided to self-publish it. The physical edition costs $45.00, but he is offering a digital edition free of charge. If you’d like a copy, simply download a PDF of the book.

Filed under: Advertising, Business, Buzz, Influence, Media, PR, Social Media, Strategy, ideas, marketing, trust, word of mouth , Bzz Agent, Dave Balter, Free, Free Book, WOMMA

The future of marketing communications….

….or “How to think in a world gone digital.” by Jan Leth, Ogilvy & Mather.

Filed under: 2.0, Advertising, Branding, Business, Buzz, Data, Design, Ideas and Riffs, Media, Planning, Social Media, Social Networking, Strategy, User Generated Content, Web2.0, digital, ideas, marketing, ogilvy, technology, web 2.0, word of mouth , 2.0, Advertising, alpha, beta, conversations, dada, Data, digital planning, future, Jan Leth, ogilvy, Web

Something to remember ’something nice’ with

Here’s a nice little idea.

And here’s the visual cues:

Plenty of scope to copy that in B2B campaigns. And I will. Unashamedly.

Filed under: Buzz, CPG, Cool, Design, Printing, ideas, marketing , CPG, idea, Noisy Decent Graphics, wine label

Please help

Sport Relief

(I should apologise for bringing you here by illicit categorisation and tagging, but I won’t. You might have wasted just 10 seconds. Hopefully you will make the choice to change someone’s world in less than a minute).

Filed under: 2.0, ACL, Adobe, Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, Analyst, Analytics, Apple, Awards, BBC, Blog, Blogging, Blogroll, Books, Branding, Business, Buzz, CBS, CIM, CRM, Charity, Colour, Computer, Computing, Conversational marketing, Conversion, Cool, Corbis, Customer service, Data, Deloitte, Design, Direct Email, Direct Mail, EMI, Email, Entertainment, Entrepreneur, Events, Experiential, Facebook, Fairchild Semiconductor, Forrester, Fun, Gartner, Google, IBM, IODA, IT, IT Planning, Ideas and Riffs, Illusion, Imagery, Influence, Infrared, Job, Keywords, Knee, MIT, Mac, Measurement, Media, Microsoft, Mobile, Music, News, Online, Online Video, Open Social, PC, PR, Planning, Power 150, Printing, Public Relations, Punchstock, Quotes, RSS, Religion, Remarkable, Research, SEO, SEO / SEM, SPARQL, SQL, Salmon, Scene7, Search, Search Engine Optimisation, Second Chance Tuesday, Second Life, Semantic Web, Sinclair, Social Graphs, Social Media, Social Networking, Software, Sony BMG, Spam, Spectrum, Strategy, Surgery, Survival, TV, Tattoo, The Orchard, Tim Berners-Lee, Twitter, Usability, User Generated Content, Viral, Viral Coefficient, Virtual Worlds, WIFI, WIKI, WOM, Warner Music Group, Web, Web2.0, White Paper, Wired.com, Wordpress, Xerox, Xuuk, Yahoo!, YouTube, ZX, blogs, bob, copywriting, digital, dotcoms, garfield, iStock, ideas, illustration, last.fm, marketing, ogilvy, permission, photography, podcast, sport, startups, stock photography, technology, trust, venture capital, verge, web 2.0, webmasters, wi-fi, word of mouth , 2008, Advertising, Age 5-14, Animals, Anime, Announcements, Answered, Art, Articles, Barack, Basketball, Bible, Big, Big Questions, Blog, Blogging, blogs, Books, Business, Charity, Children, China, Christianity, Church, clinton, Club, Comedy, Commentary, Community, Crime, Culture, Current Events, Daily, Democrats, Design, Economics, Economy, Education, Election 2008, Elections, Eliot Spitzer, English, Entertainment, Environment, Events, Faith, Family, Fashion, Fiction, Film, Food, Friends, Fun, Funny, Games, God, Government, Health, Hillary, Hip-hop, History, Home, Humor, ideas, India, inspiration, internet, Iraq, Islam, Jesus, John McCain, Journal, Kids, Leadership, Life, Links, Love, marketing, Marriage, Me, Media, Misc, Miscellaneous, Money, Movies, Music, Musings, My Life, Nature, News, Obama, Opinion, Parenting, penguin, People, Personal, Philosophy, photography, photos, Physics, Pictures, Poems, Poetry, Political, Politics, Pop culture, Prayer, Projects, Psychology, Questions, Quotes, Race, Ramblings, Random, Rants, Recipes, Reflections, Relationships, Religion, Research, Review, Reviews, School, Science, Sewing, Sex, Shopping, Society, Software, Spiritual, Spirituality, Sports, Stories, Stuff, technology, television, The Page, Theology, Thoughts, Travel, trends, TV, Unanswered, United states, Update, USA, video, Videos, web 2.0, Welcome, Women, work, World, Writing, YouTube

When is your next Grand Opening?

I was recently invited to Apple’s store opening in Milton Keynes.

It got me thinking. 
If you are a technology business professional there is no reason why you can’t put on a “Grand Opening” the next time there is a new office, or an “Open Day” when a new Service is launched, or a “Country Tour” when a new product is launched.

Invite your prospects.  Invite your customers.  Get them to mix together and bring their curiosity, experiences, enthusiasm and orientation – it can be the best thing you can associate yourselves with.

If you are a software, hardware or IT Services marketing professional setting up a place to test-drive, experience or catch a free workshop is a golden opportunity.  And add a sprinkle of peer group – more’s the better.

All that said though – I would definitely advise laying on qualified ‘concierge’ staff (in easily spotted attire, a branded polo shirt will do), to provide hints and tips and a guide to everything.

In an era of web 2.0 (and 3.0), of new marketing techniques and new thinking generally – ‘old’ thinking and ‘traditional’ techniques still bear fruit for the lead oriented marketer.

Filed under: 2.0, Advertising, Apple, Business, Buzz, Events, Strategy, ideas, marketing, technology , Apple, Country Tour, Grand Opening, open day, traditional marketing, web 2.0, web 3.0

The 26 Week Internet Marketing Plan

If I said to you, you can learn about Internet Marketing in a weekend, and implement a thorough Strategic Internet Marketing plan in just 26 weeks, you might react in two negative ways; depending on your perspective. I know I did.

How can you provide me a strategic plan? That’s nonsence.
or
26 weeks? That’s too slow, too lethagic.

I’ve changed my mind. And I’d urge you to think again. I VERY rarely recommend items on this blog, but this deserves a mention…….

When the authors of the 26 Week Internet Marketing Plan asked me if they could send me a full preview of their package I was flattered, slightly nervous about what I would receive and hestitant to be seen like so many other bloggers who jump on a bandwagon to secure affiliate revenue, or traffic to their site (the latter is just not my style)

But I am so glad I accepted the gift, and challenge! What a wealth of content. It took nearly a full weekend to get through the content – and I am sure I missed bits.

Many UK marketing bloggers have been sent the pack as part of the stealth launch, and I’ll link to some of their content in this post. In a nutshell though, to be one of the best online marketers it is really key to know the basic rules of Internet Marketing – and this package has the basics outlined in as clear a manner as I have EVER seen.

The 26 week Internet marketing plan contains 4 DVD’s, 8 Multimedia CD’s and 4 ring-bound workbooks; plus a wall planner and 10 step quick start guide. It is written in a no-nonsense, pragmatic and conversational way – clearly a reflection of author David Bain’s clear understanding and experience in the Internet Marketing space. Great stuff.

Now don’t get me wrong. If you are a well read, experienced Internet Marketer, with a record of practising Internet Marketing for a number of years this quite possibly is not the guide for you. BUT (and I think this is a big ‘but’) if you are a marketing manager, business leader, entrepreneur or anybody who needs to make an impact online, is serious about it (you should be), and don’t know where the hell to start, the 26 week Internet Marketing Plan is an unbelievable package for you.

To give you an idea on its depth and breadth, this is what is provided out of the box.

Phase 1: Website Structure
Business Strategy
Keyword Research
Site Architecture
Conversion Rates
Viral Coefficient
Visitor Tracking

Phase 2: Automation and Launch
Blogging
RSS
Email Updates
Blog Communities
Blog & RSS Directories
Press Releases
Pay Per Click

Phase 3: Broaden Your Base
Major Directories
Industry Directories
Local Directories
Article Marketing
Competitor Backlinks
Forum Interaction
Blog Comments

Phase 4: Broaden Your Horizon
New Website
Social Networking
MyPage Marketing
Podcasting
Video Marketing
Visitor Analysis

Phew! See why it took 2 days to get through it!

This is what my marketing counterparts are discussing about the materials, and here is a brief introduction, plus here’s another.

As I mentioned the workbook writing is hype free, clear, easy to read; but most importantly littered with examples that makes the content easy to read and understand. So what? Well I have read many internet marketing books and too many are still poorly written.

But whilst the 4 workbooks form the core of the 26 week Internet Marketing Plan, they really are just the tip of the iceberg. And that leads me to the next great thing about the package. Its loaded with MP3’s of interviews, documented transcripts and .pdfs which really help to contextualise what you can learn in the core workbooks. Contributors include Jonathan Farrington and Yaro Starak by the way.

And finally what I really like is the overriding candid, honest, hype free approach that David has taken in producing this package.

IMHO there are numerous starter courses that prospective Internet Marketers could take – seminars, courses, training sessions etc. The trouble is they’re slick, polished but ultimately forgettable (most of the time).

For £399 I would be amazed if you could spend your hard earned money more wisely. And for the forgetful – the CD’s, MP3’s, .pdf’s and workbooks are a timely reminder of what to do, when and how. Highly recommended!

Filed under: Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, Analytics, B2B, Blog, Blogging, Branding, Business, Buzz, Conversion, Data, Direct Email, Entrepreneur, IT, IT Planning, Influence, Keywords, Measurement, Media, Online, Online Video, Open Social, Planning, RSS, Research, SEO, SEO / SEM, Search, Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media, Social Networking, Strategy, Usability, User Generated Content, Viral, Viral Coefficient, Virtual Worlds, Web, Web2.0, YouTube, blogs, copywriting, marketing, permission, podcast, technology, web 2.0, word of mouth , david Bain, Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing Plan, Jonathan Farrington, Marketing Automation and Launch, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Training, Purple Internet Marketing, Strategic Plan, The 26 Week Internet Marketing Plan, Website Structure, Yaro Starak

A map of the Internet & Web trends

Information Architects have presented their Web Trends Map (2008 beta). This time they have taken almost 300 of the most influential and successful websites and pinned them down to the greater Tokyo-area train map. By the way, I posted about previous versions before, here.

Ok so what is it? In simple terms its 300 of the most successful websites on the web, ordered by category, proximity, success, popularity and perspective. All the real detail, irony and laughs are captured here. Absolutely wonderful.

I could spend days looking at this. And I will when they get it down to 1024 x 768!

Filed under: 2.0, Branding, Business, Buzz, Cool, Design, Google, Media, Web, Web2.0, illustration, technology, web 2.0 , Branding, customers, Design, General, homepage, information architects tokyo japan, Information Architecture, Internet Branding, Japan, Network, Strategy, Tech, Usability

Lazysphere. An Idea spreading fast

I really didn’t know whether to write this. But ho-hum. Here goes….

On his blog Micro Persuasion, Steve Rubel explores technology and its impact on marketing communications. One of his posts The Lazysphere and the Decline of Deep Blogging has really struck a cord with bloggers, journalists and online observers. And me.

The essence of his original post is that the lazysphere is a group of bloggers who, “rather than create new ideas or pen thoughtful essays, simply glom on to the latest news with another “me too” blog post.”

Shortly after his post was made on the 8th January, there were just 10 Google search results.

Today, 13 days later there are 10700.

10700 bloggers, journalists onlookers “regurgitating the story over and over again” at various levels and with varying intellectual input.

Amazing stuff.

It just goes to show how a new phrase, and a new idea can grow exponentially. But, and it’s a big ‘but’, according to Rubel there has to be “value add”.

I’ll leave that up to you to think about. Frankly I am amazed that lazysphere.co.uk and .com remain available at the time of writing, and if I’ve passed the thought onto someone new that is enough for me!

Filed under: 2.0, Blog, Blogging, Buzz, Conversational marketing, Measurement, Social Media, User Generated Content, blogs, ideas, marketing , Blogging, Google, ideas, lazysphere, micro persuasion, steve rubel

I’d love the iPhone even if I wasn’t a stealth marketing parody

Like you, I’m bombarded every minute, of every day, with advertising. And having been misled more than a few times in my life, I’m immediately skeptical of any gadget or IT product I see on the back of a magazine or in a WAGs handbag. That’s why I was so surprised by the new Apple iPhone.

It truly lives up to the hype: Clean lines and crisp design, refreshingly quick web connection and crystal clear voice calls, it reminds my jaded ears how good a phone can be. Sure, I may not be a stealth marketer employed by an international conglomerate to imperceptibly push the product in public, but this gadget is so unbelievably great, I subliminally market it to perfect strangers for free!

Honestly, this awesome slice of history packs such a social punch, you’d practically have to pay me not to pretend to talk about it (even when I’m using it), whilst I’m in earshot of consumers in the coveted 17-34 demographic.

I’m not required by a sponsor to walk down Oxford Street while emitting a quiet but distinct “All right!” under my breath – just loud enough for the other potential customers to hear – but I do it anyway – just for the pleasure of furtively turning people on to this amazing 8th wonder of the world.

In stealth-marketing parlance, this is what is known as “grooming,” but I prefer to call it “the least I can do.”

Seriously, it’s an honour to subtly plug something I actually believe in for once. I’m so in love with this thingamajig, that I want to shout its name from the rooftops, on Tower Bridge and on the busy commuter train that is 23 minutes late. Its a busy train too, where consumers are sat still enough for brand loyalty to be wedged into their head without fail. I know it sounds crazy, maybe even a little scary, but honestly, the iPhone is just that good. How cool am I?

Don’t tell anyone, but I enjoy the iPhone so much, I sometimes stealth market it well outside the target demographic. Maybe it’s wrong of me to sit in the Oxford Town Bowls club transit van as they leave for the Devon away leg, chatting away to no-one on the other end of the line, or tipping it from side to side? But the rush I get from inconspicuously getting the word out about this tremendous new product is nearly impossible to find anywhere else. Come to think of it, the only other time I experience pure exhilaration like that is when I lift the lid and fire up the Mac Book Pro. Or listening to my iPod Nano. Or flirting about with Mac OS X v10.5.

Sure, the task of registering for nearly 30 different newsgroup accounts using fake names and e-mail addresses just to generate the honest word-of-mouth buzz this product deserves may sound like a lot of work to you, one of the few Brits who hasn’t been bowled over by the no-holds-barred brilliance of the iPhone.

Come to think of it, if I were hired to viral market a new phone I wasn’t particularly passionate about – for example a new phone with Microsoft Office whatsitcalled on it – I would just subliminally insert favourable comments in two dozen or so high-traffic chat rooms and be done with it. Maybe post a youtube video or two and kick start the conversation with a few dummy posts.

No, only a very special product could make me devote a week of evenings to surfing literally hundreds of chat rooms, gaining the confidence of unwitting users by establishing a base of common interests before casually mentioning how I recently tried the most hardcore, design-led, pick-a-chick-up phone the world has ever seen.

But hey, don’t let me influence you. Try the iPhone for yourself. If only the dating process was as impressively simple. Gotta go. Must post a new photo of me and my phone out and about, on Facebook.

Filed under: Apple, Blogging, Buzz, Design, Fun, Microsoft, User Generated Content, ideas, marketing , , Apple, Blog, iPhone, Joke, Parody, stealth marketing

Trusted advice or marketing clap-trap. Your choice.

I have written about Crowdstorm in my posts The UKs small firms – “failing to make use of web” and 13 British dotcoms to watch, and yesterday the price comparison site developed by Philip Wilkinson, the founder of Kelkoo UK and Shopgenie, was launched.

What I like about this offering is that it’s a shop comparison site plus much more.  The wisdom of a crowd (community) is leveraged to help buyers make better informed purchase decisions, based on the crowd’s advice and recommendations.  This overlays the usual price comparison elements. The result is a one stop destination for researching products and getting impartial buying advice from a crowd of experts and trusted users.

Nice.

I’ll take trusted advice over marketing clap-trap anyday.

Go take a look at there offering.

Filed under: 2.0, BBC, Buzz, Entrepreneur, Social Media, User Generated Content, dotcoms, marketing, startups, trust , advice, Crowdstorm, dotcom, trust

be cool

Filed under: Buzz, Cool, Fun, marketing

Remarkable

These are remarkable.

I am not an iPhone fan based on what I have seen to date.

But I am very jealous that my phone doesn’t have a wooden cover add-on.

Filed under: Apple, Buzz, Mobile, Remarkable, marketing