Digital Marketing for Small Businesses

Online channels have become a cost-effective and mass means of a good marketing plan. Digital marketing has picked up as a way of marketing one’s products or services via online distribution channels. Interactive channels are also a part of a good digital marketing mix. This includes display ads, banner ads, and digital outdoor ads. Digital marketing therefore goes a long way in reaching potential consumers in a timely, relevant and personal manner.

Why is it being lapped up by marketers like never before? Because online marketing has time saving and cost effective features that come with the added benefit of having a wider appeal. Therefore, digital media is a boon for small businesses. Using website marketing, email marketing and social media marketing, small businesses can reach a wider customer base with a minimum of marketing and promotional expenses. Digital media marketing mainly consists of pull and push techniques--both of which have their pros and cons. An intelligent mix of pull and push techniques, which work along multiple channels, ensures maximum returns for small businesses.

Under the pull varieties of digital marketing technologies, users have to directly seek content by way of a web search. Pull digital marketing mediums such as websites, blogs and streaming media (audio and video) have a specific link (URL) to view the content. Though cost effective and simple to approach, these have limited result options that require considerable marketing effort for users to find the relevant content. Pull techniques also lack a personalised approach.

Push digital marketing technologies include Email, SMS and RSS. These involve interaction between the marketer/creator of the message, and the recipient or the user. Push technologies can be personalized depending on the targeted audience. Small businesses using these techniques can keep a track on the number of people who saw their message along with specific information about each user. Although high on return, push digital marketing technologies come with many regulations to be adhered to. Also, there is a risk of the message being blocked in case of non-compliance of regulations.

When used effectively and with well planned content strategy, digital marketing can be a profitable investment for small businesses. By winning the trust of clients and honouring them, business houses can establish a long and profitable relationship with their potential customers. One should ensure that the e-mail is sent only to those who have opted-in to receive it. Also, clients should be allowed to specify their preferences. There should be clarity on the kind of information they want to receive and how often. By regularly and promptly responding to customer e-mail enquiries small business houses can show their customers how valuable they are. This way, consumers are also convinced that there are real, live people managing the web site. One should also add fresh, relevant content to the website on a regular basis.

Another aspect of digital marketing is social media marketing. By using free social network sites to promote products, small businesses can reach a large number of customers easily. There are popular ones like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn that one can use. A well maintained Google Profile also adds to the business. By setting up Google Alerts account, one can keep a track on what customers think about their products, brand and the company. This will also help to get an insight into the keywords that drive the business. Such information can be used to better the Google profile of a company.

Starting a blog is a great way of creating an image for the business and oneself. Posts can speak about the latest happenings in an industry. But care should be taken that they are not promotional in any way. Well thought and rightly phrased blogs can go a long way in establishing one as a thought leader in an industry. Another way of getting noticed by potential customers is by finding and commenting on blog sites that are popular with customers.

Small businesses can remain in the customer’s vision by publishing regular E-newsletters. Such outbound communication tools help businesses in maintaining a healthy relationship with their clients. Care should always be taken to develop newsletters that have an opt-in feature.

Digital media has various mediums that can be used by small businesses to their advantage. Regular online news release is one of them. One can plan at least one online news release per month for promoting eBooks, events or for new promotions. Nothing attracts costumers more than a free gift. Small businesses can use digital media to take advantage of this psyche of customers. One can develop an eBook as a packaged content download for customers. Taking some basic information from clients before they download the content can help one in getting customer leads too. By keeping it free, one can be sure that the content is downloaded and shared too.

Digital marketing has an advantage over traditional techniques as the content in this case is sent directly to audience mailbox. This makes it possible for small business houses to create personalised mails and messages for each client. One can also use various email marketing solutions to measure the effect of marketing campaign. This gives them complete control over the marketing process and its result on customers. For successful results, one should write short and interesting content for the website. Also, by using software that reports the success of the campaign, one can ensure improved and more focused marketing strategy.

Digital marketing has made many small businesses see happy and sunshine days. Leave the recession behind.

Digital Media Predictions for 2010

Sharing the Digital Media Predications for 2010 made by Tessa Wegert.

At about this time every year, media strategists start to contemplate what the fast approaching New Year might bring. There's always endless speculation about which trends will continue, and which mediums will finally gain the traction they've long been promising. This year is no exception. Talk to 10 of your peers and you're likely to get 10 different opinions on what will be big in 2010, but you can be certain they'll all incorporate at least a few of the following digital media predictions.

Prepare to Make a Date with Data

Data ownership and retention, and the value of audience data to both advertisers and publishers, was a hot topic in 2009. So, it will continue to be in the next. As companies like BlueKai and eXelate actively partner with publishers to collect user data from their sites and sell it through their data marketplaces, marketers can gain greater insight into the Internet users they're trying to reach.

When working with an individual site, you typically get limited user information: the kind that relates specifically to how the sites' visitors interact with them and their products and services. Data exchanges, however, pull demographic and behavioral data on those same consumers from many more sites to fill in the blanks and create a more complete user profile. Particularly given the increased importance of making every ad dollar deliver, such improved targeting capabilities are sure to become an even more desirable commodity among planners and buyers in 2010.

Opportunities With Mobile Apps

As advertisers find success in creating mobile applications for iPhones, BlackBerry models, and other makes of smartphones, more marketers will be trying their hand at this direct line of consumer communication. It's a useful way to distribute branded content that can be easily integrated into an overall digital advertising strategy.

The more prominent trend, however, may be advertising on these apps. Publishers are reporting an increased interest in this form of mobile advertising, and are increasingly partnering with companies like Rich Media and mobile advertising and analytics platform, Medialets to facilitate app ads. Medialets places adaptable ad tags on existing publisher apps that don't require an up-front commitment to a specific type of advertising. Once a publisher's iPhone app is approved for distribution, the placement of the ads can be controlled remotely, allowing the publisher and advertiser to not only swap out ads for different campaigns, but also vary the ad formats themselves.

Tags can even be placed on behalf of ad networks, such that buyers can supplement their mobile advertising campaign with a network buy. The result is a flexible approach to mobile advertising that provides access to a popular branded app, along with the on-demand delivery of proven ad units.

New Ad Sizes and Formats

This year saw the introduction of the Online Publishers Association's (OPA) larger display ad formats, designed to promote creativity among advertisers and encourage Internet users to actively share ads, as they would site content. Major brands like Mercedes-Benz, Frito-Lay, and Bank of America have already experimented with the ads, and we can expect others to follow suit.

In addition to more prominent ad sizes, watch for ad formats to deliver more in-depth product information. Product preview and inventory data-based banners, for example, are allowing consumers to view entire product lines within the confines of a display ad, and check inventory levels to determine whether their desired vehicle, pair of jeans, or swimsuit is available for purchase or sold out. Such banners are well positioned to lead to impromptu purchases, as users unexpectedly find themselves shopping online before even making their way to the advertiser's online store.

Standardization in Media Buying

The request for proposal (RFP) process is frequently a thorn in the media buyers' side; many times, digital marketers have wished for a more standardized process that would simplify and speed up the exchange of information between agency and site publisher. Digital advertising management platforms from such companies as Traffiq, can deliver this by eliminating many of the inefficiencies of conducting the RFP process offline. The idea is to instead take the RFP process to the Web, with agencies creating and posting their RFPs directly to targeted publishers, and managing the response process more effectively. Look for more of this in large and boutique agencies in the months to come.

The year ahead promises to be an exciting one: there will be bigger and bolder efforts from digital marketers, and an evolving relationship between advertisers and consumers. What trends do you predict for 2010? Don't forget to share your point of view below.

A True Spirit of Leadership…

We All talk much in educating others about the True Value of a great leader and leadership. But actually most of us takes a back seat at the time when we need to exhibit the same. This is one story that not only tell about what is a true leader is but equally exhibits the importance of a leader’s uncalled responsibility(s). A must Read….

Mr. Ratan Tata is the chairman of Indian hotels who own the Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai, which was the target of the terrorists on 26/11/08. Hotel President a 5 star property also belongs to Indian Hotels.

The following is really touching. What Mr. Ratan Tata did for the Mumbai victims.... Don't miss!!!!!!

SALUTE TO MR. RATAN TATA and the True spirit of Leadership

The Tata Gesture

• All category of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated on duty during the time the hotel was closed.
• Relief and assistance to all those who were injured and killed
• The relief and assistance was extended to all those who died at the railway station, surroundings including the “Pav- Bha ji” vendor and the pan shop owners.
• During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent by money order.
• A psychiatric cell was established in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to counsel those who needed such help.
• The thoughts and anxieties going on people’s mind was constantly tracked and where needed psychological help provided.
• Employee outreach centers were opened where all help, food, water, sanitation, first aid and counseling was provided. 1600 employees were covered by this facility.
• Every employee was assigned to one mentor and it was that person’s responsibility to act as a “single window” clearance for any help that the person required.
• Ratan Tata personally visited the families of all the 80 employees who in some manner – either through injury or getting killed – were affected.
• The dependents of the employees were flown from outside Mumbai to Mumbai and taken care off in terms of ensuring mental assurance and peace. They were all accommodated in Hotel President for 3 weeks.
• Ratan Tata himself asked the families and dependents – as to what they wanted him to do.
• In a record time of 20 days, a new trust was created by the Tatas for the purpose of relief of employees.
• What is unique is that even the other people, the railway employees, the police staff, the pedestrians who had nothing to do with Tatas were covered by compensation. Each one of them was provided subsistence allowance of Rs. 10K per month for all these people for 6 months.
• A 4 year old granddaughter of a vendor got 4 bullets in her and only one was removed in the Government hospital. She was taken to Bombay hospital and several lacs were spent by the Tatas on her to fully recover her.
• New hand carts were provided to several vendors who lost their carts.
• Tata will take responsibility of life education of 46 children of the victims of the terror.
• This was the most trying period in the life of the organization. Senior managers including Ratan Tata were visiting funeral to funeral over the 3 days that were most horrible.
• The settlement for every deceased member ranged from Rs. 36 to 85 lacs [One lakh rupees tranlates to approx 2200 US $ ] in addition to the following benefits:
• Full last salary for life for the family and dependents;
• Complete responsibility of education of children and dependents – anywhere in the world.
• Full Medical facility for the whole family and dependents for rest of their life.
• All loans and advances were waived off – irrespective of the amount.
• Counselor for life for each person

Epilogue

• How was such passion created among the employees? How and why did they behave the way they did?
• The organization is clear that it is not something that someone can take credit for. It is not some training and development that created such behaviour. If someone suggests that – everyone laughs
• It has to do with the DNA of the organization, with the way Tata culture exists and above all with the situation that prevailed that time. The organization has always been telling that customers and guests are #1 priority
• The hotel business was started by Jamshedji Tata when he was insulted in one of the British hotels and not allowed to stay there.
• He created several institutions which later became icons of progress, culture and modernity. IISc is one such institute. He was told by the rulers that time that he can acquire land for IISc to the extent he could fence the same. He could afford fencing only 400 acres.
• When the HR function hesitatingly made a very rich proposal to Ratan – he said – do you think we are doing enough?
• o The whole approach was that the organization would spend several hundred crore in re-building the property – why not spend equally on the employees who gave their life?

This is NOT COVERED BY Any NEWS CHANNELS ! I wonder are we living in state of the so Called “Breaking News” that the true news of leadership needs no cover.

I Salute the true Spirit of Leadership & Mr. Ratan Tata!

Save the Tiger

It’s not just people that social networking is getting closer. The new way of the world is also bringing us closer to some real issues. The Save the Tiger appeal of the WWF has picked up like wild fire! Everyone is hopping on to join the campaign that has been unleashed to protect our national animal from extinction.

If you are not clued into the numbers yet, here’s a lowdown. WWF statistics suggest that at the turn of the 20^th century, India had a population of 40,000 tigers. After that, the numbers started to decline rapidly. There were only 3642 of them left in 2002 and by 2008 Indian soil had to reel under disgrace for the 1411 tigers that remained. I am not even sure if the number of 1411 still valid after a death of 2 tigers recently.

What’s social networking got to do with it? The biggest driver of conservation is awareness. And that comes quickly and easily with social networking. We are particularly prone to following the herd and social networking uses the advantages of that in a surprisingly positive way. What follows is tremendous debate, people knowing the significance of preserving forests, all of us wanting to restore protective corridors, strong policy debate and promoting the issue as particularly chic.

While the tiger is a fascinating and beautiful animal, it also sits on top of the food chain. This makes the tiger important to conservation of all other species and the human race. A loss in the number of tigers will lead to a decline in the diversity of the ecosystem. Forests are water catchment areas and tigers play a pivotal role in protecting these. With each tiger that we protect, we are safeguarding 100 sq. km. of forest area. With land and water being predicted as the most scare resources of the future, this is a great saving not just for India but for the entire planet. Imagine how much saving the tiger population will aid in overall environmental conservation!

In 1973 Indian government launched the Project Tiger conservation program, which led to a steady increase in the population of tigers in India till 1989. As of now India has 19 tiger reserves that cover about 29,716 sq. km. of forest area. But the population of tigers has only declined over the past decade. This implies lethargy on the part of authorities and nonchalance on the part of you and me! Goes without saying then that something needs to be done urgently to protect our tigers. With collective knowledge and group attempts this might be easy to do. Safeguarding our forests, blowing the whistle on poachers and maintaining other species of the environment are some things all of us can do to Save the Tiger. The predator is the protector of the environment. The earlier we start to do our bit towards protection of this gorgeous animal the better.