Monthly Archive for November, 2009

Twitter Weekly Updates for @SpurInteractive

Published
by
Steve Latham
on November 29, 2009
in Marketing
. 0 Comments

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Interactive Musings: Attribution and Engagement Mapping

Published
by
Steve Latham
on November 23, 2009
in Marketing and Measurement
. 2 Comments

QuestionIconI came across a recent Forrester post on Attribution and felt the need to comment…  I’ll be short and to the point!

I agree the concept of attribution is not new but unfortunately there are still many issues that need to be addressed, such as…

1. Ad servers reliance on their tag to be served on the last visit preceding an action. Unless I’m mistaken, ad servers above can only attribute credit for prior engagements if the last click preceding the conversion is goes through their server. Unfortunately most conversions are preceded by visits from direct navigation and/or natural search.  So unless the ad server integrates with site analytics data, they can’t attribute credit for a majority of online conversions.

2. Lack of an agreed upon methodology for recasting the cost per action across the touch-points that played a supporting role. How far back do you go? How many impressions are worth one click? How do you split the credit across different types of media?  We have our views and am sure others have theirs.  And most are probably based on sound logic.

3. Acknowledgment that our ability to measure impact is severely limited by increasing use of multiple devices (work, home, mobile) and cookie deletion. We’ve seen for years that users often browse at work and buy at home.  Now they are relying more and more on their mobile devices for browsing, making it pretty tough to figure out how and where they are becoming engaged and interested in our offer.  For every action we can measure via cookies, there must be 3-4 that we can’t measure.

To sum it up, engagement mapping and attributing credit across touch-points is an important and useful approach.  But it alone will not tell the whole story.  Market testing and surveys should also be included in your toolkit for determining what works in online media.

Related articles and presentations:
Online Demand Generation: Strategy and Metrics
Making Sense of Online Campaign Results: Part 1
Making Sense of Online Campaign Results: Part 2

I hope you find this helpful or at least thought-provoking.  Feel free to share with your colleagues, clients and propellerheads who are into web analytics and media modeling!

Steve Latham

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Twitter Weekly Updates for @SpurInteractive

Published
by
Steve Latham
on November 22, 2009
in Marketing
. 0 Comments
  • RT @SimmsJenkins: tis the season- expect daily emails from every retailer that needs huge Q4. Short terms sales vs long term relationships #
  • Guess I'm not the only one too busy to tweet? "Twitter Traffic on Decline" @eMarketer http://ping.fm/wlJT8 #
  • Good article on value of Interactive: 15 Risks Agencies Can't Afford Not to Take (@AdAgedotcom) http://ping.fm/Q9hoC #
  • FYI – Microsoft Office 2010 Beta Released. Still THE suite of apps for business. (@mashable) http://ping.fm/TOGCv #
  • Beware: Joe the Blogger is shaping your brand: User generated content dominates Branded search results (via @Mashable) http://ping.fm/cN9ag #
  • In case you missed it, our new media toolkit is up! For list of tools, apps and services visit http://ping.fm/ABmIj (feel free to share!) #
  • Thanks for the shoutout! RT @OMSummit: Adding new speakers to agenda #OMS10 – today it's @arniek @stevelatham, @lorenmcdonald & @abneedles #
  • New Blog Post: Social Media for Sales and Marketing? – How do you use social media to sell your products and servic… http://ow.ly/162a7o #
  • New blog post is up! Social Media for Sales and Marketing? http://ping.fm/ecwZw #
  • Good article by @AdWeek. The cobbler's kids need shoes! Agencies Slow to Harness Social Media http://ping.fm/s42LV #
  • New Blog Post: Twitter Weekly Updates for @SpurInteractive – Amen!!! Why Digital Agencies Are Ready to Lead (@AdAge… http://ow.ly/161TZK #

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Social Media for Sales and Marketing?

Published
by
Steve Latham
on November 16, 2009
in Marketing and Social Media
. 0 Comments

buynowHow do you use social media to sell?  This was one of the questions on LinkedIn Answers today (BTW LIA is a great forum for sharing insights with industry experts). Actually, this is the full question that was asked:

QUESTION:
“How do you find business via social media? It can be a full time job, between LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, to stay updated, checking out what’s happening the with groups you’ve joined, posting questions, answers, etc. How do you increase your revenue/sales via social media?”

I thought it was a great question and am hopeful that some will take time to think about it.  I replied with my thoughts and recommendations, and thought it was worth sharing on our blog.  So here it is – verbatim.

ANSWER:
In my opinion, it starts w/ understanding the difference between marketing (creating opportunities) and selling (closing opportunities).  You also have to realize there is no silver bullet or quick fix.  And you need to think of business development as fishing vs. hunting.

Before I share my thoughts on how to do this, here is what you should NOT do:
1. Be overly self-promotional in your posts / tweets
2. DM followers with a sales pitch
3. Talk too much about yourself

Retailers have found that coupons and special offers (communicated via Twitter and Facebook) work well for impulse purchases.  But that doesn’t work for everyone.

thought leadershipFor the rest of us who market / sell strategic products or services (considered purchases), I believe the best way to use social media as a marketing/sales platform is by building your brand via thought leadership, engaging content or being memorable (in a positive way, of course).  The tactics you employ depend heavily on your audiences, market and products.

While I can’t illustrate this for every business, I can provide an example of how professional services firms can leverage social media to develop new business.  For a discussion on this please read “Social Media: Killer App or Shiny Object” at http://bit.ly/XUp4c

Please feel free to comment, share with others and subscribe to our blog. Your feedback is appreciated!

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Twitter Weekly Updates for @SpurInteractive

Published
by
Steve Latham
on November 15, 2009
in Marketing
. 0 Comments
  • Amen!!! "Why Digital Agencies Are Ready to Lead" (@AdAge) http://ping.fm/Tn9Kx #
  • Google & Yahoo vs. FDA over Pharma ads. I think disclaimers make ads memorable! Is Hot-Dog Fingers a real condition? http://ping.fm/yQXS3 #
  • Glad to see this: IAB & Bain's Roadmap For Building Brands Online: Report Addresses Industry's Dysfunctions http://ping.fm/cdzaq #
  • New Report: Consumers support brands that support causes. Tis the season of giving! http://ping.fm/8YcQJ #
  • Official congrats!!! RT @continental: Congrats to @GeeEmm, winner of the two BusinessFirst® Tickets in the #StarTreatment Sweepstakes. #
  • MS Office vs. Google Docs? I wish Google docs could keep formatting. Til then I have to go w/ Office (@mashable) http://ping.fm/NX5CO #
  • Social Media is nothing w/out a Marketing Strategy RT @audreytrevino: Al Ries Ad Age article http://bit.ly/2faL0f #
  • Good lesson from Flip Video campaign: Social Media should be part of an integrated campaign (incl. paid advertising) http://ping.fm/ZgyzF #
  • IMO this won't last long; registered trademarks will be protected RT @timbay: Squatters Take Over Twitter Names http://ow.ly/ASZW #
  • New Blog Post: Online Medical Tourism Marketing – By 2014, more than 3 million Americans will travel abroad for med… http://ow.ly/160An6 #
  • Bargains still rule! Special offers drive engagement In Social Media (via @mediapost) http://ping.fm/eAzef #
  • Interested in medical tourism marketing? If so check out our new blog post: http://ping.fm/SQuqi #
  • New Blog Post: Twitter Weekly Updates for @SpurInteractive – Good info! RT @AdweekDotCom: Social Media Users Tout B… http://ow.ly/160l1f #

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Online Medical Tourism Marketing

Published
by
Steve Latham
on November 8, 2009
in Health Care and Marketing
. 1 Comment

medical tourism marketingMedical tourism is a relatively unknown but rapidly growing industry.  By 2014, more than 3 million Americans will travel abroad for medical care (Deloitte 2009), taking advantage of opportunities to save 50-80% on cosmetic dentistry, plastic surgery, lasik surgery, bariatric surgery, joint replacements, rehab treatment and invitro fertilization (to name a few).

Historically, local health care providers were somewhat insulated from competition. They didn’t have to be the best marketers; they just had to be better than their local competitors.  But like most industries, health care is going global. Our world is becoming flat and the perceived gap in the quality of medical care is closing quickly.

If you could get a procedure done by a U.S. trained surgeon, treat your spouse to a great vacation and save 50% vs. having surgery here, would you?  According to Deloitte, 9% of the population would strongly consider it. The implication for health care marketers: the competitive landscape is changing and geographic barriers no longer offer a sustainable advantage.

Everyone in health care knows the web has changed the game from a marketing standpoint.  With shrinking reimbursements, restricted coverage and increasing deductibles, patients are taking a more active role in their healthcare decisions and they are using the Web to do their research, explore options and choose providers. The battle for brand awareness, consideration and preference is moving from the primary care physician’s office to blogs, social networking sites, search engines, health care sites, email and other forms of new media.  If international health care providers want to reach U.S. consumers, online media is the place to do it.

Just as domestic healthcare providers have learned, online marketing offers superior opportunities for medical tourism marketers to expand their share of the global healthcare market.  The growth in online media consumption, coupled with the compelling advantages offered by online media make online marketing a critical channel for medical tourism.

Online Medical Tourism Marketing – Spur Interactive

View more documents from Steve Latham.

Like all things, success begins with a plan.  Before you start spending valuable time and money on one-off marketing efforts, develop a strategy that addresses your audiences, objectives, tactics, requirements and metrics with a focus on creating awareness, engaging audiences and acquiring new customers (patients, referring physicians, etc.).  With the goal of helping medical tourism marketers better understand how to use online media to achieve these goals, we’ve published the Medical Tourism Marketing presentation above.  In it we discuss the business case for online marketing and provide a digital roadmap for medical tourism marketing via online media. You can also view the presentation Online Marketing for Medical Tourism on slideshare

While international providers have some additional challenges compared to domestic providers (concerns of quality being the biggest), the path to success is the same: deliver a compelling message in an efficient and effective manner to your target audiences. Whether you are in Boston or Bangkok, Manhattan or Manila, online media offers the most effective way to engage patients and build your brand.

For more on interactive health care marketing:

Please feel free to comment, share with others and subscribe to our blog. Your feedback is appreciated!

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Twitter Weekly Updates for @SpurInteractive

Published
by
Steve Latham
on November 8, 2009
in Marketing
. 0 Comments

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Twitter Weekly Updates for @SpurInteractive

Published
by
Steve Latham
on November 1, 2009
in Marketing
. 1 Comment
  • Looking forward to HiMA's 11/4 luncheon on Influence Marketing. Should be insightful – please RT! http://bit.ly/34QDjV #
  • Checking out the #startreatment twitter traffic. Lots o' people looking for a free trip on @continental! http://bit.ly/3ud55J #
  • Just published New Media Toolkit! Useful tools for search and social media marketers. Feel free to share! http://ping.fm/ABmIj #
  • RT @stevelatham: New Media Panel discussion starts in 30! Looking fwd to joining some smart folks to talk about my fave subject: interactive #
  • New presentation is up! Online Marketing for Medical Tourism (presented yesterday at Medical Tourism Congress in L.A.) http://ping.fm/Gk1JO #
  • Rumor has it @continental is launching a Twitter contest today… Something about #startreatment? http://ping.fm/l4zQr   #

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