Entrefest Conference Live Stream
March 4, 2009 by Doug Mitchell · 1 Comment
Entrefest Conference
I’m getting ready to head off to the Entrefest Conference in Coralville, Iowa this afternoon. I’m unbelievably excited to immerse myself in throngs of entrepreneurs…some of which are budding “yet to take the plunge” folks while others are probably much more experienced than myself. The speaking panel alone comprises vast resources that I can’t wait to connect with. Word is that attendance is WAY up and there will likely be close to 300 “Uber-preneurs” providing positive energy. Can you feel it too?
I’m giving two breakout sessions:
- Search Engine Optimization: The Basics
- Social Media Marketing: New Name. Same Stuff
I hope to bring a unique approach to each session and can’t wait to field the QA portion of the show. We’ll be capturing my talks and others on video AND:
We’ll be live streaming my sessions and others, providing real time chat, and the twitter stream at http://createwowmedia.com/entrefest so tune in at your convenience and see what we’re cookin’ up.
Doug Mitchell has a new job title at create WOW media: Marketing Technopologist
December 19, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · 1 Comment
There’s a great piece on the Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) called “The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World”. While much of the article shares some pretty common themes over the last few years (in our circles at least), I was floored by the next to the last paragraph. The article recommends that businesses find and hire a:
marketing technopologist
I’ll let a quote from the piece explain:
So who should direct a company’s forays into Web 2.0 marketing? A number of managers identified an ideal set of skills for an executive that go beyond those of a typical M.B.A. holder or tech expert. We coined the term marketing technopologist for a person who brings together strengths in marketing, technology and social interaction. A manager said, “I’d want to see someone with the usual M.B.A. consultant’s background, strong interest in psychology and sociology, and good social-networking skills throughout the organization.”
I’m pretty sure this is what I do every day.
Hi I’m Doug and I’m a Marketing Technopologist.
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Doing less with more in 2009
December 17, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · 5 Comments
We talk quite a bit about doing more with less. Our clients and potential clients are seeking higher return on investment, measurability, and increased Internet Findability. Online marketing/blogging/video provides all of these in one nicely wrapped package.
B2B Magazine just had a feature outlining some goals/strategies/deliverables they believe will be key for companies in 2009. It’s a great read. We especially like 2nd and 7th topics on the list.
Leveraging social marketing
However you define social marketing, this piece is critical. Start with a blogging foundation and build your social marketing strategy around that. Maybe for you Twitter and Facebook are where you need to be. Focus your efforts and get to providing value to the market. Join the conversation.
Video explosion
We couldn’t agree more. As Google begins to integrate video results into “normal search results” you want to be there! When someone searches on “Plumber Des Moines” and there’s a nicely produced video showing what it’s really like to do business with you, your odds just went up.
Let the other guys spend their money being a bigger part of that monstrosity that killed a bunch of trees and gathers dust we used to call a phone book.
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Maximizing email newsletter subscribers with aweber.com
December 16, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
So if you’ve visited us for the first time, you probably were confronted within 5 seconds with an “email subscribe” box and a grayed out site. This is a nifty feature in the email marketing system from aweber. (we are an affiliate and this is an affiliate link because we believe strongly in this product and recommend it heavily). Some people probably find this “insta-pop” annoying. We understand. We’re assuming that you have limited time so we’re giving you a quick out, in exchange for permission to market to you. Straight forward we think.
The proof is in the pudding. Email subscriptions up 500%. We hope you’ll subscribe too. There’s a box down by the comments of this post if you’d care to join our little small and medium sized business online branding revolution.
Leveraging an email marketing system is a MUST if you’re planning to amplify your brand. Aweber goes a long way to helping companies do this in a non-technical/non-threatening way.
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Marketing Departments Under Pressure to Demonstrate ROI Turning to Web
December 16, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · 1 Comment
There’s a great article from Manage Smarter talking about the pressure today’s CMO’s are under to prove ROI. Problem is that nasty little issue about not having any good data or technology to measure and report effectively.
We’ve been saying that for sometime and in fact, that pressure to find marketing methods that meet muster has resulted in substantial growth in our business.
This quote blows me away:
Despite years of conversation about ROI, the tactic of actually measuring marketing investments is still in its infancy, per the Conference Board. Thirty-seven percent of respondents claim to have been tracking ROI for less than a year. Less than a quarter have been doing it for more than three years. One third doesn’t bother at all.
Exactly! In non-web marketing applications, it’s very difficult to figure out what’s effective and driving business. On the web however, it’s a given.
I know many companies personally that have this down to a simple science of spend $xx,xxx/month online and we acquire $xxx,xxx in business. They simple change variables and have a very predictable result with a margin of error. What’s the ROI of a yellow pages ad or a 1 page ad in a magazine? Who knows?
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More Businesses leveraging web marketing and video in down economy
October 30, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
Image by niallkennedy via Flickr
Kelly Spors always puts out relevant articles over the Wall Street Journal’s “Independent Street”. In this piece, she opens the conversation about small businesses turning to affordable online marketing methods with more reach. She quotes Matt Booth of The Kelsey Group:
“Web sites will be viewed as a cost-effective alternative; a channel that didn’t make sense in a booming market will fast become a necessity,” said Kelsey Senior Vice President Matt Booth in a news release.”
The benefit from online marketing that many SMB’s don’t fully grasp is the analytics. There are free tools available from Google and others to actually track results and produce comparisons between “ad effectiveness.” What’s the ROI of having an entry in the phone book in your experience? Do you ask every customer where how they found you?
With online marketing, whether you look or not, much of the data is readily available for digestion. The same things apply for web video marketing as well.
Get your web/online marketing program rolling and reap the benefits. While you’re at it, this would be a great time to learn the ins and outs of web video and some other Internet Findability tools.
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Interactive Learning Environment target audience
October 27, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
Image via Wikipedia
The createWOWmedia team is all about honing in on a niche market. Personally, I’m a disciple of “Crossing the Chasm” by Moore who’s message is clear. He says that technology start ups must focus with precision on a niche in which they can OWN. Then, the start up can leverage that “segment dominance” into other segments…like knocking over bowling pins one at a time.
We are trying to build a base of different types of users/clients for our ILE platform to gather feedback from different sectors and sizes. We’re trying to define that “perfect client” which is SO elusive to most small businesses.
Do a little experiment. Ask 5 business owners you know “Who is your perfect client?” I think this answer should be on the tip of every business owner’s tongue and spoken with clarity and conviction. Are we there yet? Not exactly. We continue to define/refine/revise/elaborate to achieve this clarity of purpose. It’s tough to do. Tougher than you think. Are you willing to shun $X to achieve the real goal of $X. You’d better say YES.
Right now, we’re working with executive leadership coaches, financial educators, lawyers, relationship counselors, physicians, and associations to help them leverage the power of an ILE in their businesses. It’s fantastic having a product that can work for and be applied in virtually any industry. But this makes focus all the more important.
The most important lesson I’ve learned through my years of working in technology startups and asking tons of questions of those who’ve “been there and done that”…
If you try to be all things to all people…you’ll be nothing to everyone.
Take that one to the bank.
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