VibeOnlineMarketing.com
| Hi, my name is Stuart and I want to share with you how much I love marketing!
I have a passion for internet marketing and especially contemporary marketing. Whenever I see an advertisement or a promotion at a store I get all giddy inside and think of all the thought processes that lead up to the final product. I try to post content that is educational, entertaining, and informational. I am here to teach what I have a passion for. I have also developed an Internet Marketing Strategy Guide to help any website developer discover what it takes to have a solid website marketing strategy. Enjoy - Stuart “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” |
You have undoubtedly seen the new Old Spice advertising campaign using Isaiah Mustafa telling us that he is “the man your man could smell like”. You know the one where he starts in the bathroom and ends up on a horse.
By the way, the whole commercial was film in one continuous shot. Pretty impressive.
Now they have the commercial where he starts on the beach, is running on a log in a lake, grabs a cake while sawing a board, and does a swan dive into a pool where he is then sitting on a motorcycle.
I absolutely love these commercials.
But here is where Old Spice did it right: Using Facebook, they allowed fans of the Old Spice page to ask the “Old Spice guy” any questions they wanted and he answered them via video on Old Spice’s YouTube channel. Brilliant!
Any time you allow your customers to be involved is always a great marketing tool.
Whoever is in charge of the marketing at Old Spice is doing a terrific job.
I am already an Old Spice user but if I weren’t, I would totally be switching now!
7 Keys to an Effective Website
There are certain things that need to be taken into consideration when building a website. When you learn how to master these elements, then you are on your way to building an effective website.
Using the 7 C’s of Web Design I will show you what you can do to optimize your website and make it more user-friendly.
1) Context
The context of a website involves the look and how it all functions. A website should have a clean design with a color scheme that isn’t blinding or completely hideous.
Function involves the website being easy to navigate and read. Using appropriate line spacing and font size can make a huge difference.
2) Content
The content of a website involves everything from the text to the images and videos used. The text should be well-structured to make it easy to read, and should also be on topic. People don’t want to have to struggle to find the information they are looking for.
Images and video can help enhance your website’s message. When I discuss contemporary marketing concepts in my Marketing Insights blog I usually post a video that will give an example of what I am trying to convey to my readers. This helps the visitors to apply what they are reading.
3) Community
Creating community is becoming a huge deal in the world of web development whether through social media or on-site features. Creating message boards and chat for your users gives them a sense of belonging to the website. Letting them interact by commenting on blog posts and articles is also a great idea. Anything that will make the users wants to come back for more.
4) Customization
If your website has a member’s area, it might be a good touch to allow them to customize the look and feel of their member’s area. This is another way to give a sense of belonging to your website.
Another way to have customization is allowing users adjust the font size of your pages or allow your pages to be viewed in different languages. There are a lot of apps and plugins that enable you to do these things.
5) Communication
Using newsletters, surveys, and contests are a great way to let your visitors know what’s going on around your website and encourages them to come back. If you have a newsletter, then offer them a coupon for your products. Even if you are running a blog site, your visitors wants to know what the latest and greatest things are on your website.
6) Connection
If you have certain pages on your website that you really want to people to read, whether it’s for a certain product or an article, you should link to it on other pages of your website. You can do that by saying “Click here to check out The Internet Marketing Strategy Guide” or you can try to incorporate it into your paragraphs like this:
- I have developed an Internet Marketing Strategy Guide to help your business discover its strengths and face any challenges it may have.
7) Commerce
If you are selling products on your website, it is very important that your visitors feel secure in processing transactions via your website. Make sure you let them know by incorporating the little “lock” image beside forms that are collecting information. Also, if you have it available to you, use Secure Socket Layers (SSL), a type of encryption technology, to process sensitive information.
Related articles
- 15 crucial usability factors for your website (holykaw.alltop.com)
![Cover of "Easy Rider [Region 2]"](http://vibeonlinemarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/31ASFQVYYKL._SL300_2.jpg "Cover of \"Easy Rider [Region 2]\"")
- Cover of Easy Rider [Region 2]
For those born after 1960, Easy Rider is a classic movie featuring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper who, after smuggling cocaine from Mexico to the United States and selling it, decide to drive from California to New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras.
Although this movie was way before my time I am still familiar with the themes portrayed in the movie.
The video for this ad is at the bottom of this article.
The advertisement is to promote the new Bing mobile application.
Here is the problem with this advertisement:
Who in the world is Microsoft Bing marketing to? As I mentioned before, unless you were born before 1960, you may not be familiar with the Easy Rider movie.
This means that they are targeting people over the age of 50.
How many people over the age of 50 are savvy enough to be using mobile apps?
If Microsoft is trying to gain market share from Google then they should probably pick a better group to target.
Maybe if they picked the show Cheers or The Wonder Years or even Alf would have been more effective than Easy Rider.
Good luck next time Bing. But for now I am sticking with Google.
Related articles
- Microsoft’s Bing continued its pattern of incremental gains (robbiz1978.blogspot.com)
- Is Microsoft Bing losing steam? (techflash.com)