WavyBrainy

An analytics truism we’ve noticed with the sites we manage is that visitors from social media stay longer and look at more pages. Hmmm. So if followers are valuable web visitors and potential customers, does it make sense to advertise for followers? We’ll let you know. We’re running tests for several clients and Ideopia on super targeted sites and blogs. Following is similar to opting into an email list, but with less risk. Look for a follow-up on our experiment, and see an example of one of our Twitter Banners.

The rebirth of web ads was a hot subject at the Internet Summit we attended in Raleigh. Until fairly recently, eye tracking studies and low click thru rates seemed to show that web ads and banners were largely ignored. New attribution studies that measure how different web advertising elements work together show display ads having a powerful impact, including up to a 60% lift in clickthrough rate on search results followed by a 35% increase in conversions.

Several studies show these click-thru rates improving 30 to 50% based on prior exposure to a web ad. The biggest challenge identified by the Internet Summit attendees is to improve ad creative, which most described as miserable, to engage consumers and drive an even higher lift on click-thru rates. Okay, we can do that!

Thanks to Open Source (free) widgets you can create your own division of the NSA to monitor social media conversations about your products and competition. Using free code from TweetGrid.com we did just that for a new section on our Eyechat Blog. Dubbed EyeSpy, the four columns on the page each search the Twittersphere for terms relevant to optometrists and display Tweets that match. Though other free applications, such as Tweetdeck and CoTweet, also offer search capabilities, they’re not very portable. A widget can work just about anywhere: you’re website, mobile phone, or intranet.

Keywords are the words or phrases that visitors use to find your site via search. Most web analytics programs track keywords and how many visitors each drive to your site.

Here’s what you can learn. Say that you’re in the candy business and your top keywords are “jaw breakers,” “salt water taffy,” and “Carbolicious Carmel Corn.” Great, you sell those products. But what if 30% of your company’s income derives from selling “candy gift baskets,” and that term ranks at the bottom of your keyword list? This is an example of an opportunity missed, and a website that’s out-of-step with its core business. To get the rest of the picture use Google’s keyword tool to find out the frequency of search on key terms. This will help you determine if your business is jiving with reality. For example, if  “mimeograph” machine is one of your top keywords, but it’s very low in popularity as a search term…uhhh…you may want to consider a new core business. Keywords can speak volumes about the state of your site and business, so dig in soon!

Foldit is an addictive interactive game that mimics the way complex protein molecules fold up, and allows users to find new configurations. It’s really fun, and four-year olds have already found solutions that have led to new vaccines. So when you disappear for five hours at the family dinner, you can tell your in-laws you were conducting scientific research. Unlike the hugely complex massive multiplayer online games, Foldit represents a trend in easy-to-use and snap together applications that offer great entertainment and learning environments.

Thanks to our new client, celebrity hairstylist DS Parada, Ideopia, Raleigh, is getting a buzz. Don is a favorite of the New York fashion scene and tames the shag for a who’s who in politics, Hollywood and business.

Huge kudos to our friends and clients at the Ronald McDonald House for their most successful Red Tie Gala fundraiser ever; and to Vivace and Urban Food Group on their new restaurant in Charlotte.

Oh yeah, and some people here want you to see a video about what happens at Ideopia when the executive branch leaves town.

Listen up, you lollygagging bunch of Googlephobes. There’s been enough analyzing, sniffling, webinaring and number crunching on this new media thing. What’s wrong little pretty print person? Fraid a little widget might tear a piece out of your superdog  boxers? Think some Tweety Bird’s gonna bring you down? Fraid something will, and you’ll have to take credit for it, and find ways to spend your big fat raise. You think that’s hard. I know hard. See that scar on my dome. Got that from an art director who went that PTSD on me from cutting type I melted iron and formed letters out of it. I stuffed envelopes, and I killed more trees than you’ve ever seen in your whole pathetic lives. So cinch up or sack up, and get your hinnies out there and take down some new media. I want you to taste it, feel it, own it. Get in the mud and put something real embarrassing about your coach on Twitter. Post a really bad quality video. Start a blog and only post once. Who cares? Daddy’s not going to spank you. Are you new media warriors, or total wimps. Now get out there and do something. Body slam an idea and go for it. No committees, no research, no internal polling or buy in. Just glory. Go grab it, team.

Research conducted on monkeys shows that Biffy’s brain releases dopamine when he gets to absorb knowledge before receiving food or drink. And another phase of the study showed that just the expectation of knowledge and drink released dopamine. Dopamine is like beer for the brain. It’s released when we achieve goals, and triggers the release of our primal urges. Long story short, of course, but it lends even more credence to the need of marketing to educate, entertain and interact with customers. No dopamine. No sales.

If you don’t live in New York, this bit may seriously bum you out. The Dulcinea bakery marks a growing trend of new personalized businesses that serve small niches. In Dulcinea’s case, that would be serious foodies. Every Wednesday, Dulcinea delivers six, hand-crafted baked goods to the doors of its patrons. The selections are based on seasonal produce and ingredients available that week. All ingredients are organic and locally grown. All goods are ordered in advance which all but eliminates waste and spoilage. So you want fresh muffins in November. You better hop on it. Orders are due October 30!

1. Protect your brand from change like a religious zealot. Your marketing  mojo has worked for 100 years, and by golly it’ll work for another 100. Convince yourself that all good change is evolutionary; that anything progressing faster than a teradactyl is downright dangerous.
2. Democracy rules. Vote on everything, especially creative work. And vote often. Phil in accounting. Lisa in customer service. Your mom. And, of course, legal. Your marketing will be stripped of anything that could possibly make it work, but an ass covered is an ass saved.
3. Believe your sacred brand lives in a vacuum where it is immune to cultural, technological and demographic changes. Like Women’s Suffrage and the internet, they’re all fads anyway.
4. Worry about losing your job. That fear will protect from taking any action that could positively move your business forward, while you may get lucky and ride the flat growth line into retirement.
5. Wear Teflon by Armani. Let the little guys take the fall. Make your subordinates more afraid of losing their job than you are of losing yours. Afterall, it’s your job to cultivate talent internally.
6. Talk a good game. Drop buzzwords. Maybe Tweet once or twice. Reference articles about social media and forward them to higher ups. Everyone will know you’re on top of this new fangled stuff, but don’t do anything about it.
7. Congratulate yourself for being at the top of your industry without wondering if your industry will be there in 5 years.
8. Ignore criticism or even the hint of negative karma. Consumers are idiots or difficult cases. Research lies. And your agency’s job is to suck up and take orders.
9. Never benchmark or evaluate your program against other industries much less competitors. Those guys are clueless and their ideas have no relevance to an aged and revered brand like yours.
10. Consumers are idiots (see No. 8). Listening to what they think or feel about your brand, or how it could better meet their needs is just stupid. What could possibly come from it? New product ideas. More share. Why bother? Your brand had this nailed 100 years ago.