Many companies have been busy catching up this year by relaunching their shiny new websites with Twitter and Facebook logos, even a blog hidden amongst their pages, and now expect magic to happen. Meanwhile, a hard core of non-believers continue to bcc their entire database ...
What's been happening is that many website owners have come to accept that since 'everyone's doing it' they better not get left behind and miss out on potential business. Hence, the fair-sized flurry of website refresh activity that's been a feature of 2010 as companies try to get to grips with creating content for online marketing to the web 2.0 business world.
Many more MDs are becoming aware that even their customers are sending out the odd Tweet, are on Facebook and emailing with their iPhones, and thus, the way people research product or services really has changed! The weekly sales meetings are likely to increasingly show that the response to direct mail and cold calling is just not there any more.
Webmasters have become adept at installing tools, such as spam filters and caller ID for blocking 'interruption marketing', which is how most outbound 'push' advertising is now classified. Today's techniques to get found by pre-qualified prospects are via trust, engagement, added value, thought leadership and shared information. In your face, 'look at us' interruption marketing is no longer acceptable, as reflected in the increasing lack of response.
The techniques of email marketing have also become very demanding indeed. Unless you consult with your web design and marketing agency who should be able to offer current, proprietary email software - so you know exactly who you are mailing to at the right time with the right information agreed in advance by say, an opt-in, the response numbers will be virtually, non-existent.
The web landscape is being utterly transformed under the social media tsunami sweeping across both the online and offline. With the explosion of the mobile internet, whereby, both mobile apps and on the move search are rapidly becoming the consumer channel of choice for advance research, tuning website accessibility, website design and writing content for the new Instant Preview search behaviour on mobile and tablet has to be now on the agenda.
Implementing a rigorous daily website analytics programmes to monitor all aspects of page visitor traffic, will tell the daily story of how the company is being 'found' in search engines, or via social media feedback on blogs, Twitter, etc and will lead the process to understanding the correct application of SEO keywords.
Today's marketing is changing from being 'outbound' message broadcasting, where less than 3 per cent are actually interested, to becoming 'inbound', where people will find you, but only when they are genuinely interested, want to engage or are ready to convert.