June Blog Contest: Tell Us Where It Hurts

June 1, 2010 By 30 Comments
Blog Post Prize

It's a Shark Eat Shark World Out There. Let Us Solve Your Online Marketing Problems.

We’re wrapping up May’s blog contest, and you can vote for your favorite post til Friday! In the meanwhile, we’re launching June’s blog contest. We want you to tell where it hurts when it comes to online marketing. All  you have to do is leave us a comment and tell us an online marketing problem your organization facing. We’ll pick a winning comment that we think sounds really interesting to solve, do a blog post series on it and you WIN A CHUMBUDDY. Really. It’s that simple. (And if you don’t think your life will be improved by the ownership of a 7-foot shark sleeping bag, you can forgo the ChumBuddy and choose either a $200 gift certificate to Moosejaw or Zappos.)

Is your company struggling with measuring your online marketing efforts? Are you having a hard time figuring out the right mix of activities? Do you wonder if your social media activities are a waste of time? Are you using the right keywords on your paid search campaign? Does your blog post competition copy sound like a late-night infomercial? Let us know!

So here’s how it’ll work.

1) You leave a detailed comment on our blog about a problem you or your organization is facing. We’re looking for a topic that isn’t too obscure and we think others can learn from as well.

2) You have to leave your comment by midnight MT on June 30th. This is not hard so don’t wait to the last minute like your senior paper in college. There will be no extensions given.

3) Your comment can’t be anonymous. We’re looking for real problems from real people.

4) We’ll pick a winner by Friday, July 2nd and announce it on the blog. Then we’ll do a series around your problem on the blog in July.

So to recap, you tell us a problem and if we pick your problem, you get an awesome prize and then we’ll tell you how to fix it on our blog.

The Not-So-Small Print: The ChumBuddy is a prototype and may never be built. Don’t weep. We’re pretty sure Moosejaw or Zappos aren’t prototypes.

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About Elaine Ellis
  • http://twitter.com/GregGoodson Greg Goodson

    Ok…I have a great problem, and it's not the first time I've come across something like this.

    So I have a client who I am building an SEM/SEO campaign for. This client owns a health care clinic that provides treatment for folks with mental health and addictive issues. I am happy that I have this client because they have a healthy budget and a great website. I am measuring the campaign by several different measures, such as page views per visit, average time on site, and more importantly, leads for potential patients. We have a pixel set up on their “request information confirmation page” so we can see when folks ask for a brochure, but in the client's eyes, they see it as a big win if you drive a user to the site, and they wind up converting by picking up their phone and calling their 800 number.

    Because this clinic is fairly large, there would be some disconnect between me asking the client to ask their associates to ask the folks calling the 800 number where they found the website. Plus, with the nature of the business, is it the best etiquette to ask the lead how they arrived at the site?

    It's a creative problem and it's not the first time I've run across this issue. Any ideas would be great!

    – Greg

    • http://theartofawkard.com Elaine Ellis

      Greg, this is a great problem! I know my last PR agency had different 1-800-numbers for one client account somehow so you could track based on what number they called. That might be a quick fix.Thanks for submitting!

      • http://twitter.com/GregGoodson Greg Goodson

        Interesting… do you know if there would be a way to serve one 800 phone number for folks that come to the site via SEM/Organic links and those folks who first came to the site via SEM/Organic, but serve a different phone number for everyone else?

        That said, if there was a way to do this, what would be next steps? I'd have to jump through a lot of loops to then track how many times this phone # was called. It's a big bowl of confusing to say the least! :)

        – Greg

        • Bob

          Greg, there definitely are solutions out there to track phone calls, down to the search engine and even keyword level. There are beginning to become many providers in this space, all with varying degrees of call tracking/recording/reporting available. A good place to start is this article that can get you thinking about what you want out of a call tracking service. Or you can always dig in by searching for “SEM call tracking” and see the many others companies in this space.

  • http://twitter.com/GregGoodson Greg Goodson

    Ok…I have a great problem, and it's not the first time I've come across something like this.

    So I have a client who I am building an SEM/SEO campaign for. This client owns a health care clinic that provides treatment for folks with mental health and addictive issues. I am happy that I have this client because they have a healthy budget and a great website. I am measuring the campaign by several different measures, such as page views per visit, average time on site, and more importantly, leads for potential patients. We have a pixel set up on their “request information confirmation page” so we can see when folks ask for a brochure, but in the client's eyes, they see it as a big win if you drive a user to the site, and they wind up converting by picking up their phone and calling their 800 number.

    Because this clinic is fairly large, there would be some disconnect between me asking the client to ask their associates to ask the folks calling the 800 number where they found the website. Plus, with the nature of the business, is it the best etiquette to ask the lead how they arrived at the site?

    It's a creative problem and like I said, it's not the first time I've run across this issue. Any ideas would be great!

    – Greg

  • http://theartofawkard.com Elaine Ellis

    Greg, this is a great problem! I know my last PR agency had different 1-800-numbers for one client account somehow so you could track based on what number they called. That might be a quick fix.Thanks for submitting!

  • http://twitter.com/GregGoodson Greg Goodson

    Interesting… do you know if there would be a way to serve one 800 phone number for folks that come to the site via SEM/Organic links and those folks who first came to the site via SEM/Organic, but serve a different phone number for everyone else?

    That said, if there was a way to do this, what would be next steps? I'd have to jump through a lot of loops to then track how many times this phone # was called. It's a big bowl of confusing to say the least! :)

    – Greg

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  • Alex Finkel

    Here's a two-part problem that I ran into while helping out a financial company in Boulder that was attempting to develop a social media presence.

    They were having trouble engaging their audience in meaningful conversation and were instead falling into the trap of spewing out information without having a dialogue. Their voice was lost in the crowd, and it led to other problems such as trouble capturing what value their online presence was providing the company. They weren't able to efficiently or accurately measure their work.

    Any suggestions as to how to best create engaging dialogue through social media, as well as how to best measure one's efforts?

  • Alex Finkel

    Here's a two-part problem that I ran into while helping out a financial company in Boulder that was attempting to develop a social media presence.

    They were having trouble engaging their audience in meaningful conversation and were instead falling into the trap of spewing out information without having a dialogue. Their voice was lost in the crowd, and it led to other problems such as trouble capturing what value their online presence was providing the company. They weren't able to efficiently or accurately measure their work.

    Any suggestions as to how to best create engaging dialogue through social media, as well as how to best measure one's efforts?

  • thinkclay

    I have clients ask all the time, “How do I know which social media platform is the most valuable” which is hard to provide a quick and easy answer for. What tools do you recommend as a starting point for measuring a clients' efforts, and to take it one step further.. with all the competitors in the space, how do you know who to trust and who will provide results?

    • http://www.theartofawkward.com/ elaineellis

      I think that is a common concern from a lot of companies who want to engage in social media. I don't think it's a question of what platform is the most valuable but instead what is more valuable for them. It depends on where their clients and industry influentials are hanging out online. So I'd answer that it depends, and you need to do the research to determine that. I know we don't use LinkedIn at all but instead use a Ning network, which is definitely unusual. But it was a better fit for us when building a professional community.

  • http://talltara.com/ tarable

    I work for a web engineering firm and am currently having a hard time finding out where our potential customers might be hanging out. All of my online marketing experience has been in B2C, but now that I'm dealing with B2B, I feel like I'm reinventing the wheel over here. Are there any tips or tools for reaching the audience that I'm looking for?

    • http://www.theartofawkward.com/ elaineellis

      Good problem. Is your goal to reach other web engineers or people looking for sites and web apps to be built? One good place to start might be asking how your current clients found you and then to ask them what blogs, sites and magazines they're reading. What problems/pain spots are your current clients facing that you think other potential clients might be facing? Can you do blog posts around those pain points, which should help with your organic SEO. Also if they found you via word-of-mouth, you could start a referral program.

  • http://www.theartofawkward.com/ elaineellis

    I think that is a common concern from a lot of companies who want to engage in social media. I don't think it's a question of what platform is the most valuable but instead what is more valuable for them. It depends on where their clients and industry influentials are hanging out online. So I'd answer that it depends, and you need to do the research to determine that. I know we don't use LinkedIn at all but instead use a Ning network, which is definitely unusual. But it was a better fit for us when building a professional community.

  • http://talltara.com/ tarable

    I work for a web engineering firm and am currently having a hard time finding out where our potential customers might be hanging out. All of my online marketing experience has been in B2C, but now that I'm dealing with B2B, I feel like I'm reinventing the wheel over here. Are there any tips or tools for reaching the audience that I'm looking for?

  • Danny Wong

    One problem we are facing at Blank Label (http://www.blank-label.com) is that we bootstrap marketing. While we have been very successful in getting media coverage and increasing our organic search rankings, one marketing tactic we are having trouble measuring is building a great product and customer experience. It is easy to tell how usable / user-friendly our website is through Analytics, which is one way to evaluate the 'customer experience,' but measuring the value of a better product is hard. While we know that it is important to have a great product and great customer experience, we haven't been able to evaluate its effectiveness versus other marketing efforts to see which things we should 'double down' on and really focus more effort into.

    Danny Wong
    Co-founder
    dwong@blank-label.com
    @dannywong1190

    • http://www.theartofawkward.com/ elaineellis

      Looking at your company has been really impressive with what you've been able to appreciate. (Plus, who doesn't appreciate some finely dressed men in customer shirts.) Have you ever done a survey or focus group to find out what your buyers thought of the customer experience?

  • Danny Wong

    One problem we are facing at Blank Label (http://www.blank-label.com) is that we bootstrap marketing. While we have been very successful in getting media coverage and increasing our organic search rankings, one marketing tactic we are having trouble measuring is building a great product and customer experience. It is easy to tell how usable / user-friendly our website is through Analytics, which is one way to evaluate the 'customer experience,' but measuring the value of a better product is hard. While we know that it is important to have a great product and great customer experience, we haven't been able to evaluate its effectiveness versus other marketing efforts to see which things we should 'double down' on and really focus more effort into.

    Danny Wong
    Co-founder
    dwong@blank-label.com
    @dannywong1190

  • http://www.smallhandsbigideas.com Grace Boyle

    I think effective marketing is extremely challenging to plan AND execute.

    I believe a challenge we face is educating the world on the importance of search. This can be translated to educating to the market/users your company's message and why what you are doing is important.

    • http://www.theartofawkward.com/ elaineellis

      Good point! I don't think everyone recognizes the value good search can bring to creating a better experience for readers. The ability for readers to find exactly what they're looking for.

      Have you ever done an infographic or chart that would visually explain the differences between what your company provides in search vs. other companies? That might help explain the immense value your team delivers.

  • Pingback: What We're Reading This Week | Trada Blog: Paid Search Marketing, Online Advertising and Small Biz

  • http://www.smallhandsbigideas.com Grace Boyle

    I think effective marketing is extremely challenging to plan AND execute.

    I believe a challenge we face is educating the world on the importance of search. This can be translated to educating to the market/users your company's message and why what you are doing is important.

  • http://twitter.com/pugofwar Ef Rodriguez

    I'll take a swing at this…

    *picks up bat*

    One problem I've encountered is the misconception that youth connotes an innate acumen for social media. This is why we see so many junior team members handed the reins of a Twitter campaign – “because they get social.”

    However, ease of navigation doesn't equate to expertise. Much as the ability to drive to Target doesn't make you a safe driver. It just means you can operate the controls involved.

    But more and more, inexperienced young professionals are looked to as masters of this scary land of Twitters and Bookfaces. It's errant, widespread and potentially unpleasant for the brands involved.

    • http://www.theartofawkward.com/ elaineellis

      You definitely see this frequently. What concerns me most about this is that I worry that they don't understand how to drive actual results from social media. I've been citing this quote a lot from Amber Naslund, “Gathering fans on Facebook is an activity. How those fans chose to respond to your offer, sign up for your newsletter, or buy your product (or not) is a result.”

  • http://twitter.com/GregGoodson Greg Goodson

    I struck out the first time, but let's have another at bat :-)

    I have a client that is an advertising agency. They do direct marketing (think TV, billboards, direct mail pieces, etc). They have a solid list of clients, but they aren't completely up to date on SEM/SEO and digital marketing in general. Their website is http://www.firstlooksagency.com .

    They want to rank well in search engines for terms that will bring them more potential clients. Essentially they want to increase their visibility on the web. They've come to me to put together a plan for them based on what we've done with some of their clients (all of which were straightforward campaigns). I am having trouble putting together an SEM/SEO campaign for them. Is this even the right channel to advertise for a client like this?

    I advertised my company SawtoothMedia.com on Adwords with some success. Where should I go from here? :-/

    Thanks!

    – Greg

  • http://twitter.com/GregGoodson Greg Goodson

    Hey Bob,

    I meant to get back to you about this. First off, thanks! I didn't know these companies existed… I guess I should have googled it before I posted here :)

    I've been in touch with four of these companies, and we took to present this idea of phone call tracking to our client in the near future.

    Best,

    – Greg

  • http://twitter.com/GregGoodson Greg Goodson

    I struck out the first time, but let's have another at bat :-)

    I have a client that is an advertising agency. They do direct marketing (think TV, billboards, direct mail pieces, etc). They have a solid list of clients, but they aren't completely up to date on SEM/SEO and digital marketing in general. Their website is http://www.firstlooksagency.com .

    They want to rank well in search engines for terms that will bring them more potential clients. Essentially they want to increase their visibility on the web. They've come to me to put together a plan for them based on what we've done with some of their clients (all of which were straightforward campaigns, all of which were successful). I am having trouble putting together an SEM/SEO campaign for them. Is this even the right channel to advertise for a client like this?

    I advertised my company SawtoothMedia.com on Adwords with some success. Where should I go from here? :-/

    Thanks!

    – Greg

  • Pingback: What We're Reading This Week | Trada Blog: Paid Search Marketing, Online Advertising and Small Biz

  • http://twitter.com/GregGoodson Greg Goodson

    Hey Bob,

    I meant to get back to you about this. First off, thanks! I didn't know these companies existed… I guess I should have googled it before I posted here :)

    I've been in touch with four of these companies, and we took to present this idea of phone call tracking to our client in the near future.

    Best,

    – Greg