Some FREE basic CSS layout files…

I’ve posted some free, basic CSS layout files for anyone to download. Visit http://www.kevintheese.com/css

Microsoft will get a “social” life

I’ve heard whispers on the ‘net lately. If true, it’ll put a stamp on social media. If anyone questioned it before (though I can’t imagine too many people were), the social networks are ready to make their way in everyday, mainstream business.

Microsoft 2010 will integrate components of some social media into its Office package. I’ll write more on this later, but am curious what everyone thinks this’ll mean for communications.

Bill gets social

Bill decides to use new social site, Jellybean, to market his widget business.

“Hey, I heard about this great…!”

I often wonder how a marketer extends the reach of the phenomenon known as “word of mouth” communications. It’s universal and ubiquitous, and we all take part in it. It is such a free-spirit, hard to control. But, there are ways to extend its power.

Finding the “influencer” in a crowd can be like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. Let’s briefly think about three kinds of influencers.

1. “Connectors” – they talk to many different people. They’re the folks with lots and lots of Facebook friends.

2. “Mavens” – they can provide lots of different information…for better or worse.

3. “Salespeople” – they have a knack for being good at convincing others.

Next time, I’ll look at how to grab hold of the “Connector” type.

Avoiding the perils of re-buffering

Online, streaming video is becoming a significant part of most organizations, from universities to corporations, and non-profits to health care. It’s important to make online video as smooth for the user as possible, and yet, optimize bandwidth.

Variable bandwidth can be a good solution. It means “feeding” the right video, depending on the user’s connection (dial-up, DSL, T1, T3…). Someone on a slower connection would be fed 128kbps versus someone on a faster connection, who might get the same content, but perhaps at 512kbps. This can be one solution for the ever-present issue of re-buffering.

Google Analytics tracks site search

If you have site search built into your web site, you probably want to know what your customers are swearching for. Google’s Analytics tool can be configured to track those searches by tracking your query. Horizon can help you set that up.

The new meta tag: “reality”

So, as far as meta tags and Google’s indexing goes, it turns out that the meta keywords tag doesn’t really get considered in the search results. Not only does this go against conventional wisdom, but it makes the meta description tag even more important. It HAS to be there, and should be good.

How predictive analytics can help

Businesses spend bundles of money on direct mail campaigns. Finding the most fruitful mailing list can be hard…and no one wants to waste money mailing to names that are no longer with the company, won’t buy, or simply don’t exist. Predictive analytics can help you mine data to get the most out of a mailing.

Information Management

Meet “Bill”

So, it was a Sunday afternoon, and somehow, I had a moment of downtime. I went to my computer (yes, the one I use to work all the time…hmm), and began to storyboard a concept I’ve had in my head for some time. “What’s that?” you ask? It’s “Bill.”

For a while now, I’ve envisioned a cartoon-style campaign that would tell the story of a new business owner named Bill. Bill doesn’t think marketing will do anything to help him sell his product…the ubiquitous “widget.” Bill will learn over the course of time how different marketing intiatives can help him out. Subscribe to my YouTube feed and watch him learn.

Putting “strategy” in strategic marketing-communications

Too many businesses handle their marketing with the age-old approach: “throw things against the wall and see what sticks.” A strategic marketing plan has to include: strategy.

Step one should include determining the strengths and weaknesses of the business. The strengths can be marketed as the value-add of spending consumer dollars with that organization. What does your business do well that a consumer is willing to pay for? Those strengths should be at the forefront of your message.

Weaknesses are often looked at as something that should be “swept under the rug.” On the contrary, your business’ weaknesses present the opportunity for you to address them head-on, and to speak to how you’re addressing them and that you’re fully aware of those issues.

These internal factors are the low-hanging fruit in your quest to craft a message for your marketing. External factors, such as, “opportunities and threats” present additional information, and we’ll talk about them next time.